Page 83 of Every Christmas Eve
I’m too busy absorbing the delight on Ben’s face as he introduces himself to my precious Gracie with a warm handshake and a dimpled smile.
‘The last time I saw you, you were a tiny babe in arms,’ he says to her. ‘And you’re the image of your beautiful mother in so many ways. Aren’t you lucky.’
‘I’m told that so much these days,’ says Gracie. ‘I’m very, very lucky and I’m so glad to be here.’
Most of all, I feel like my heart might burst with the joy of every single precious moment I’m experiencing. And the party is only starting.
‘Now I know why you kept rabbiting on about Ballyheaney this and Ballyheaney that,’ Gracie whispers as I lead her into the ballroom to find Nana Molly and Mum, who areabout to get the shock of their lives in the best possible way. ‘It’s because of him, isn’t it?’
I stop and look my beautiful girl, my best friend, who is now a thoughtful, sensitive and caring young lady.
‘It’s because of him,’ I tell her, tears pricking my eyes again. ‘Yes, it’s all because of him.’
As our guests sway to the music, talking and laughing with old friends and new, I see Tilda look around her with such joy and pride. Cordelia, with the bulk of her job done, nudges her mother playfully and hands her a drink. Mum and Master Campbell are locked in conversation, while over by the window I see Uncle Eric and my grandma outside, laughing merrily as he shows her the new prize peacock.
Then, when I think I can’t take any more happiness, I feel Ben’s arm drape around my waist as Ava invites Gracie on a tour of the house.
The Christmas spirit seeps into every crevice and every corner of Ballyheaney House once more. The walls are no longer silent. The rooms are no longer still.
‘I love you, Lou,’ Ben whispers, his words making my heart swell. ‘I hope you know now that you made the right decision to come back here. I know I have.’
I lean my head on his strong shoulder, wondering if life can get any better than this. Then the band strikes up a thumping version of the song ‘Feliz Navidad’, and the whole place is rocking.
‘That song is going to haunt me forever,’ laughs Ben. Cordelia is already on the dancefloor, followed by Ava and amuch more reluctant Gracie, who does her best to copy their dance moves.
‘Will we join them?’ I ask, but Ben is already leading me by the hand to where even Tilda is dancing along. I wave outside to call Uncle Eric and Nana Molly in, though I’d no need as they’re already behind us, shimmying and swaying to the music.
‘By the way, I love you too, Ben Heaney,’ I say to him when we’re strutting our stuff on the dancefloor. ‘Same time next year, then?’
‘Same timeeveryChristmas Eve from now on,’ he says, kissing my cheek before twirling me under his arm.
‘Every Christmas Eve,’ I agree. ‘Every single one of them.’
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Christmas Eve, Two Years Later
As the snow falls on to the streets of Bellaghy village, I take one last glance at the sign on the window of Buds and Beans that says we’re closed for a family wedding today at Ballyheaney House. My skin prickles with excitement at what lies ahead.
‘Your chariot awaits,’ Uncle Eric calls from the chauffeur-driven shiny black Bentley on the kerbside by the shop. ‘Did you get everything you need?’
I place the paper bag of Colombian coffee beside me in the back seat, a last-minute contribution to the menu of the day, which has been planned with precision down to the very last detail. Except for the coffee. I can’t believe we forgot the coffee.
But truth be told, I wasn’t only there for the coffee. In my hasty fluster the evening before, I’d left something much more precious behind. I reach for it round my neck, knowing I had to have it with me today of all days.
‘That’s everything,’ I say breathlessly to Uncle Eric. He insisted on coming with me, even though the ceremony isdue to start in ten minutes, and our morning Bucks Fizz toast meant I couldn’t drive to fetch it myself.
‘Are you sure no one else could have run such an errand on a morning like this other than your good self?’ he asks. ‘Talk about being fashionably late. Thank goodness there’s no traffic to battle through on the road out to Ballyheaney.’
‘You’re becoming as grumpy as your late brother,’ I joke with him. He doesn’t have an answer to that, but I get his point. It was a rather radical detour to make on such a big day when we should be there already.
The ever-so-patient uniformed driver shuttles us down the country lane out of the village, then through the gates of Ballyheaney House, where hundreds of guests tiptoe carefully along the frosty pathways towards The Stable Room, where our ceremony will be held. We will party afterwards, not in the blue ballroom as before, but in a spectacular custom-built wedding marquee Cordelia invested in when she took over as general manager of the newly named Ballyheaney Park.
Since Ben and Ava moved in to Katie’s Cottage with me, Cordelia has put her heart and soul into making Ballyheaney bloom again, while we help her out as much as we can around Ben’s new village vet practice and Ava’s schooling. Gracie, who is home for the wedding, has already been headhunted by Cordelia to help with event management should she ever feel the desire to settle down in Ireland, though I don’t see that happening for a very long time.
Today’s wedding is extra special for more reasons than this, however.
It’s the first time that guests will be able to stay in the new luxury accommodation, designed by Ben, in what were once the outhouses that lined the courtyard. It’s also the first time that Cordelia has opened the doors of The Stable Room, now a high-end venue for fully licensed ceremonies and where the vows will be pledged today.
