Page 68 of Happiness Under a Summer Skye

A few moments later a message came through from Heath.

Heath

Oh no, he didn’t just send that. (face palm emoji) he’s such an idiot. Leave it with me. You sound incredible in that video by the way. Very proud of you. H.

The village hall was decorated with flowers and bunting in readiness for the concert, and every seat had been booked. Angelia had arranged for Sarah and her parents to come to the hall early and meet her in the kitchen area so she could see them in private.

‘I want to thank you all for your help the other day at the café. It must have been terrifying for you all and I’m so sorry you had to experience that,’ Angelia told them.

‘Hey, no thanks needed,’ Sarah’s dad said. ‘We wouldn’t stand by and watch that lunatic intimidate you like that. I’m just glad the café had a back door for you to escape through. I hate to think what might have happened to you if it hadn’t.’ He shivered.

‘So, Sarah, have you had a lovely holiday? Apart from that incident, of course.’

Sarah nodded. ‘The absolute best holiday of my entire life,’ she replied.

Angelia beamed. ‘I’m so glad to hear that. Now, I’ve got a wee gift for you.’

Sarah’s eyes widened and her face flushed pink. ‘Oh, gosh.’

Angelia reached into a tall broom cupboard and took out a guitar case. ‘In this case is the first guitar I ever owned. It’s the one I learned to play on,’ she told Sarah as she opened the case. ‘I want you to keep going with your lessons, and then the next time you come to Skye, you and I are going to play a song together in my record shop, okay?’

Sarah’s eyes welled with tears, and she let out a sob as Angelia handed her the guitar. The front was covered in flower motifs, interspersed with old band stickers and when Sarah turned it over there was an inscription written in silver Sharpie.

To Sarah, my hero, happy playing, all my love, Angelia

‘I can’t even speak,’ Sarah said through her tears. Angelia, Sarah’s mum and dad and Ed all laughed, none of them had dry eyes at this point.

Sarah’s mum hugged Angelia. ‘Thank you so much for this. I can’t tell you how grateful we are. You really are a wonderful person.’

Angelia shook her head. ‘It’s my absolute pleasure. Please keep in touch and let me know how the lessons are going and make sure to practise often, okay? And look after that guitar.’

Sarah nodded as she wiped her eyes with a tissue her dad had passed her. ‘I’ll treasure it forever. And then maybe one day, when I’m famous, I can give it to another girl like us.’

Angelia sniffed and wiped at her eyes. ‘I think that’s a wonderful idea. Now, why don’t you go on and enjoy the show, eh?’

Sarah and her parents left the kitchen, and Angelia took a moment to compose herself.

‘Are you okay?’ Ed asked as he put his arms around her. She nodded.

There was a knock on the door and when Ed opened it Ferris was on the other side. Angelia gasped. ‘Oh, sorry, I’m coming.’

‘Erm… could I have a word with you, Angelia, in private, please?’

Ed smiled and squeezed her arm. ‘See you out there.’

Once Ed had left the room, Ferris cleared his throat. ‘I just wanted to say… I wanted you to know that I’m taking the job in Lerwick.’

Angelia nodded but sadness washed over her. ‘I see.’

He took both of her hands. ‘I want you to know that your friendship means the world to me and so does your happiness. I think it’s possibly obvious that my feelings for you have grown since you’ve been here, and now that I know how you feel about Ed, I think maybe I need a fresh start of my own. But please know that I’m not running away from you, or Ed. Quite the opposite. I’m running towards whatever God has planned for me next. Because, in a way, I’d like to think that God put me in your path for the very purpose of helping you to see how you really feel, and for you to find what will make you happy. If that’s the case, then I’m so glad He did. Now what have you decided to do about the record shop? Please tell me you’re going to be the one running it.’

She beamed. ‘I am. I’m so excited for this next chapter of my life, Ferris. We talked about it for hours last night. Ed’s going to run the shop with me and I’m going to write songs for other artists too. I’m already working with Anouk from Angel and the Fallen and there are a number of others who Heath has put me in touch with.’

Ferris shook his head. ‘Incredible. I’m so glad. Is Ed not going back to orchestra work?’

‘He’s in touch with the chamber orchestra again about doing some local shows but he’s also going to go into music tuition. A couple of the locals have asked him, and he’s said he’ll help them. Inspector Donaldson, I mean Harris, I can’t get used to calling him that,’ she giggled. ‘He’s asked Ed if he’d like to join the Glentorrin Four as their guitarist is moving away to the mainland for a promotion.’

‘Wow, it’s all happening. And it’s all wonderful.’