Page 56 of Happiness Under a Summer Skye

Bella gasped. ‘I sincerely hope not, Granny. And I think that would be pretty tricky too.’

Isla turned to her granddaughter. ‘Aye, well, there’s no much room in a coffin, I suspect.’

‘It’s not that, Granny.’ Bella was giggling now.

‘Was he cremated?’ Isla asked, scowling.

‘Erm, no!’

‘What is it then?’ Isla said, as serious as ever.

‘Because he’s not actually dead!’

Isla’s eyes widened. ‘Oh! Is he not?’

‘He’s very much alive and kicking, Isla,’ Ferris added, grinning.

‘Actually, Isla, from what I know of Mick, and it’s not much admittedly,’ Angelia said, ‘but I reckon he’d be impressed by your talent. In fact, I might get Ed to record it on his phone so I can give him a call and play it for him,’ she said with a wink. ‘Also, I think he’s around your age.’

Isla waved her hand as she laughed. ‘Och, don’t you dare! I’m a married woman, you know. I can’t have some rock god sweeping me off ma feet.’ The whole place erupted in laughter.

They ran through Ed’s rather apt suggestion, considering their recent conversation, of the Rolling Stones’ ‘You Can’t Always Get What You Want’ and it went surprisingly well. Angelia glanced over at him where he stood with his mic’d electro-acoustic guitar and they shared a heartfelt smile.

‘Are you going to sing at the concert, Angelia?’ Evin asked at the end of the session.

‘Angelia’s here to help us all, son, not to perform for free,’ his dad, Reid, informed him.

Evin sighed, disappointment evident in his downturned expression. ‘That’s a shame in my opinion. I think it’d be the highlight of the show,’ he said defiantly.

Ferris glanced worriedly at Angelia and then back to Evin. ‘Erm… I’m sorry, Evin, but it’s not quite as easy⁠—’

Angelia interrupted Ferris with, ‘It’s okay, I’m happy to explain.’ Ferris nodded and gestured for her to go ahead so she continued, ‘What I’m about to tell you all will soon be public knowledge, but I’d really appreciate it if you could keep it to yourselves just for now.’ The group shared concerned glances, but each agreed to do so. ‘The thing is, I’ve been diagnosed with a condition that affects my muscles, including my vocal muscles. When I do repetitious things like singing, walking and even smiling, for extended periods the symptoms worsen. That’s really why I’m here on Skye. That and, of course, the fact my folks live up by Portree.’

‘And that you’ve bought an awesome shop,’ Ed added.

Angelia giggled. ‘Yes, that too. So please forgive me if I choose not to sing at the concert. It’s not because I don’t want to, believe me. Singing is my greatest passion. It’s just… not as easy as it once was.’ Her voice broke and she cleared her throat as her eyes misted over.

Evin stepped forward from his position and Angelia thought he was going to walk out. Had she embarrassed him? Made him feel bad? She really hoped not. But instead, he stopped right in front of her and, after the briefest of pauses, he enveloped her in his arms and hugged her.

‘I’m so sorry, Miss MacAuley. I’m so, so sorry.’

Her eyes welled with tears and she hugged him back. Then, one by one the rest of the choir stepped forward and joined the embrace until it was one mass of people with her in the centre. The compassion she felt at that moment almost brought her to her knees whilst simultaneously lifting her spirits higher than she had ever experienced.

‘Thank you,’ she whispered. ‘Thank you all so much.’

At the end of the rehearsal, once everyone had left the church and Ed had gone to bring her car across, Ferris stood with Angelia by the church door.

‘You were very brave tonight,’ he said as he reached out to touch her arm.

‘I didn’t feel brave. I felt like a gibbering wreck,’ she replied with a laugh.

He shook his head. ‘No, you were amazing. You’re always amazing, Angelia.’ He fixed his gaze on her and smiled. ‘Always.’

Ed opened the door and paused, glancing between them. ‘Sorry, am I interrupting?’

As if snapping out of a trance, Ferris said, ‘Oh, gosh, no. Sorry, just getting caught up in the events of the night. See you both tomorrow?’

Angelia nodded. ‘See you tomorrow, Ferris,’ she almost whispered before following Ed out to the car.