Dragon Land (14 page)

We gazed out of the window with amazement, but Granny broke the silence. ‘Milly’s landed on her feet here.’

We were ushered into a hall that had a lovely tiled floor before entering the lounge, which had big windows overlooking the garden. There was a blazing fire burning in the grate and there were comfortable chairs and sofas placed around it. The only other occupants in the room were an elderly man with silver hair and a slight stoop to his shoulders and an older, plain-looking woman who was dressed in black.

Milly made the introductions. ‘This is my cousin Jeannie and my future father-in-law Alfred Bernard.’

Alfred came over and shook our hands, while Jeannie nodded her head. The door opened and Milly’s fiancé entered the room carrying a tray with glasses of sherry. She turned and gave him a loving look. ‘And this is Albert.’

Albert said he was so pleased to finally meet his fiancée’s friends and he thanked Mum for agreeing to be a witness at their wedding.

Mum sat in one of the chairs nearest the fire, clutching her glass of sherry. She looked slightly amazed at her surroundings, while Granny looked totally dumbstruck, which amused me because I had never seen her like that before.

After our sherry we all went through to the dining room, which also overlooked the garden. The table was large enough to seat about a dozen people. The meal started with soup, followed by steak pie, which was brought in from the kitchen by Milly. The wedding was the main topic of conversation, and Mum mentioned the weather and hoped it wasn’t going to be snowy or wet. Afterwards we all went back to the lounge for coffee, tea or more sherry. Granny and Mum had another sherry, but I wasn’t keen on the taste of it, so I settled for a cup of tea.

Later in the afternoon when the light began to fade, the lamps were lit and we said it was time to leave. Milly announced that she was coming back to the guest house with us in order to discuss further the wedding arrangements with Mum, so we emerged out into the cold winter’s afternoon and back into the taxi.

Milly looked so happy as she discussed the plans for the following day.

‘The ceremony is at one o’clock and then we’ll go to the Royal Hotel for a meal. It’s a hotel not far from the registry office and there will only be eight of us, as we didn’t want a big wedding. Robert Davidson, Albert’s friend from his schooldays, is the best man, but he couldn’t be here today. He is the manager of the shop in Tollcross. You’ll meet him tomorrow.’

Mum was keen to hear all the news.

‘Does Albert work in the shop along with you?’

‘No, he does the office work and is the general manager of the three shops, but after I’m married I will still work as well, as I enjoy being in the shop.’

‘I didn’t know he owned the three shops, Milly. Are they all in Glasgow?’

Milly said they were. ‘Mr Bernard, my father-in-law, is the owner, but Albert does all the work, plus there are ten assistants in the three branches. We are very busy because they are good-quality shops.’ She turned to Mum. ‘They’re not big stores like DM Brown’s, Beth, but we sell ladies’ clothes, hats and shoes.’

Granny said, ‘You made the best decision to leave Dundee, Milly. Look how well it’s turned out for you.’

‘I know, I sometimes feel I’m dreaming. I never imagined it would end like this, but I’m very lucky to have met Albert.’ She looked down at her hands, which were clasped tightly around her small handbag. ‘I know I’ll never forget Michael and Billy, but it’s not often you get a second chance of happiness like I have. The one regret I do have is that my mother couldn’t be here with me on my wedding day.’

We gazed at her silently until Mum said, ‘I know how you feel, Milly, but you’ve got the rest of your life to live and you can’t live on memories.’

She stood up. ‘Well, I’ll see you tomorrow. The taxi will pick you up at half past twelve and take you to the registry office.’

Mum went to see her off, then came back in. She was rubbing her hands. ‘It’s got a lot colder, so let’s hope it’s a nice day tomorrow.’

When we woke up the next morning, the sun was shining brightly, but there was a white frost on the pavements and there was a cold wind. Mum spent ages getting ready. She had brought two outfits with her and she was in a quandary as to which one to wear. As the time was marching on, Granny settled her dilemma for her.

‘I think you look good in the lavender skirt and jacket, Beth, and the cream hat goes well with it.’

Mum had a final look in the mirror, turning one way then the other before stating she would wear the lavender outfit. With that big decision made, there was just a short time left before the taxi came, so we sat in the small lounge while the owner brought us a pot of tea and some biscuits.

It was so cold when we went outside that our breath was misted up, but we hoped the sun would warm things up a bit.

I enjoyed looking at the buildings as the taxi made its way to our destination and, like Dundee, the streets were busy with people shopping or going to work. The registry office was situated in a lovely old building in the city centre, and we were shown to a room that had chairs in front of a large, heavily decorated table with a big vase of flowers placed at the side.

Jeannie, Albert and his father were sitting down with another young man who we assumed was the best man, and Granny and I joined them while Mum waited in the corridor for Milly’s arrival.

We didn’t have long to wait before the door opened and Milly and Mum entered. The bride was dressed in a soft blue dress and jacket and she looked so happy. Albert stood up, along with his best man, and the bridal party faced the desk, where the registrar, a middle-aged man in a dark suit, smiled and welcomed them.

The service didn’t take long, but I found it very relaxing and simple and I made a mental note that should I ever get married then this was the service I would like to have. Then it was time to leave for the hotel, as another couple were waiting to be married, so it meant we couldn’t hang around. As we stood on the pavement, three young girls came forward and handed a silver horseshoe to Milly before throwing confetti over the bride and groom – confetti that was soon whisked away by the cold wind.

Albert smiled and Milly gave the girls a hug. ‘We’ll see you all tomorrow night,’ she said.

We all got into the waiting taxis and within a few minutes we were in front of the hotel, which looked like it had been a large house at one time. It faced the river and the water looked cold and grey on this winter’s day, so we were glad to be inside, where a lovely log fire was burning brightly.

A small room had been set up for the wedding party and a two-tier wedding cake sat on a small table beside the round table with its flowers, glasses and silver cutlery on the white tablecloth. Two waitresses dressed in black outfits with small white frilly aprons handed out sherry for the women and whisky for the men; then we sat down for the wedding breakfast.

Mum was sitting next to the best man and he introduced himself, saying he was the manager of one of the shops, and he also explained that his friendship with the groom went back to their schooldays. Mum didn’t mention that Milly had already explained everything, but she smiled and nodded her head as he spoke.

The meal was delicious and Granny whispered that she hadn’t realised how hungry she was. Afterwards, the best man stood up and made a speech that was humorous and everyone laughed. He mentioned incidents from his and the groom’s youth before turning to Milly and saying Albert was a very lucky man that she had come to work for him, and we all agreed as we drank the toast.

I overheard Mum asking Milly if they were going away for a honeymoon, but Milly said no, not at the moment, but they did intend to take a few days away after the January sales. ‘The shops are always busy then, so we have to stay till they’re over. Tomorrow night we’re having a party here for the staff from the three shops. The three girls today who gave me my horseshoe were members of staff, but we couldn’t invite them all to the wedding because we couldn’t close the shops. But with the New Year holiday the day after tomorrow we intend to see everyone at the party.’ She looked at Mum. ‘I was hoping you could all stay another day and come as well.’

Mum said she was sorry, but we had to leave tomorrow morning as there might be no transport on New Year’s Day, and she added, ‘Lizzie has made plans to meet up with her friend Laura on Hogmanay, Milly, but it’s been a wonderful time and I’m glad to have been at the celebration of your wedding.’

Milly took out a small lace-edged handkerchief and dabbed her eyes. ‘Oh, Beth, I feel so happy I want to cry.’

‘Well, that’s what weddings are for, Milly, to have a good cry.’

At that statement both women began to laugh so heartily that Albert and Robert looked over with a smile, especially Albert, who was beaming with joy as he gazed at his new wife.

Then it was all over. Albert and Milly were booked into the hotel for the night, so we said our goodbyes at the door. Jeannie thanked us for coming.

‘I’m so glad she’s happy,’ she said as she got into the taxi to take her back home. ‘I was a bit worried when I asked her to come and live with me, but it’s all turned out well.’

‘It been lovely meeting you, Jeannie, and we’ve had a wonderful time,’ Mum said as we waved her goodbye, then we set off for the guest house for our final evening in Glasgow.

We caught the morning train the next day and were back home for early afternoon. Mum carefully put her outfit away in the wardrobe and kicked off her shoes, while Granny bustled about making tea and hot toast.

Both women sank into the armchairs with a sigh.

‘It’s good to get away, Beth,’ said Granny. ‘But it’s also good to get home.’

Later that evening I got ready to go out to meet Laura, as we planned to be in the city centre to bring in the New Year. When we arrived at eleven o’clock, the streets were already busy with revellers. I told Laura all about the wedding and she laughed when she said that someday it could be our own weddings we would be arranging.

At twelve o’clock the bells began to chime and there was a lot of hugging and kissing strangers. We had arranged to visit Victoria Road first and we found Mum and Granny half sleeping by the fire. Granny jumped up and gave us glasses of raspberry cordial, shortbread and sultana cake before saying they would soon be going to bed.

Later we stepped out into the street, which was still busy with first-footing revellers, and we hurried up to the Hawkhill. Laura’s house was so different from mine. There was a host of neighbours in and Irene was handing out sandwiches, black bun and shortbread, while Wullie was laughing with his neighbours. He was wearing a brightly coloured tie and a new pullover, which I admired.

‘Do you like my outfit, Lizzie? It’s my Christmas present from my wee girl.’

I looked at Laura and she had the grace to blush. I whispered as I passed by, ‘What happened to the gift-wrapped chisel?’

About three o’clock in the morning Irene produced a huge steak pie, and we all sat at the kitchen table as if we hadn’t seen any food in weeks. I stayed there that night, squeezing in beside Laura, who complained I was hogging all the blankets. I think she was joking.

It was great to be back at the college and to catch up with all the news from our friends. Pat was also glad to be back, as she said she had been working in the big house for most of the Christmas holidays.

We were studying hard and time seemed to go so quickly. At the beginning of March I decided to go with Granny to the church every Sunday. I had gone to Sunday school when I was younger, although I wasn’t a regular member, but in view of the emphasis on religious education at the college I thought I should make the effort.

Granny was delighted when I mentioned this, so every Sunday morning we made our way down the steps from Victoria Road to King Street and attended the morning service at St Andrew’s Church. I found the experience so peaceful and I loved singing the hymns and psalms.

Mum never joined us, as she liked a long lie in bed after her work all week. Maisie Mulholland came with us, then afterwards we went back home, where she joined us for tea and rolls with bacon. The knitting group was still busy every Sunday afternoon, but I usually curled up in a chair with my college notes or a favourite book while Mum stretched out on her bed with her library book.

One day Laura said, ‘We’ll have to plan a holiday when the college breaks up. I thought we could have a cycling holiday, staying at the youth hostels.’ She looked at me and Pat. ‘What do you think about that?’

There was only one small flaw in the plan, as I explained to her. ‘I don’t own a bike, Laura.’ I turned to Pat. ‘Do you have a bike, Pat?’

Pat said there was an old bike in the cowshed at home, but she didn’t think it was very roadworthy.

Laura rolled her eyes in exasperation. ‘I don’t own a bike either, but we can hire them for the week. Remember where we hired the two bikes in the summer, Lizzie?’

Pat wanted to know where this was.

‘There’s a shop on the Hawkhill that sells bikes, but the owner also hires them out. We can go and look at them on Saturday.’

So it was all settled, and on the following Saturday morning the three of us trooped up the hill to the small bike shop. I hadn’t visited the shop in the summer, as Laura’s father had brought the two bikes down to the house, but we saw the shop was full of wheels and chains and oily cloths. There were a few new bikes on display, but the owner took us out to the shed in the back court, which was stuffed full of bikes of every size, from kiddies’ tricycles to large black sturdy machines that looked heavy enough to support a hippopotamus.

We chose three that looked reliable and they came with the added bonus of a basket in front and a leather bag at the rear. As he pushed one of the bikes around the yard, he said, ‘These bikes will carry you around the country for miles.’ He gave a loud cough and patted the bike affectionately. ‘Aye, lassies, my bikes won’t let you down.’

That guarantee was enough for Laura, who stepped forward. ‘That’s great, Mr Wilson. Can we hire three for a week during the holidays?’