‘Hiya, I’m home!’
‘Shh. She’s asleep,’ Freya mouthed the words at Travis rather than said them. Tanned yet looking tired from jet lag, he put his camera bag down on the rug and tiptoed over to Freya who’d been sitting on the sofa for the past half an hour, hoping that he’d be home from his latest trip before their baby daughter went to bed.
The mellow evening sun was shining through the window of the cottage, settling on the baby’s head like a halo around a cherub’s curls. Elise’s hair was fluffy and soft after her bath, and afterwards Freya had dressed her in her sleepsuit and settled down on the sofa to share a picture book with her.
The little girl’s eyelashes had soon fluttered against her pink cheeks and her eyes had closed. Now, she was snuffling softly against Freya’s chest, smelling deliciously of baby bath foam and milk.
‘I’ll take her up,’ Travis murmured, and the exchange of a precious parcel followed in slow motion. At eleven months old, Elise was no longer the tiny bundle she used to be and made soft moans of protest as Travis gathered her into his arms, though her eyes stayed closed. Wincing at every creak of the stairs, Freya crossed her fingers that her daughter would stay asleep.
If she’d thought she was busy before Baby Elise had arrived, she now knew the full meaning of the word. Elise had been born barely nine months after Travis had moved in with Freya – rather unexpectedly but with a rush of joy that Freya could never have imagined.
Travis was besotted, her mother was ecstatic, and Freya had had to take on an assistant at Cottage Angels so she could work part-time. It was fortunate that both her business and the gallery were thriving. Travis had courses booked months ahead and a healthy stream of customers purchasing prints, especially during the summer months. He had to go abroad for some of the year, leading tours, but Freya still had to pinch herself every time she saw him feeding Elise or taking her to the park and pushing her on the swings.
They were now a family of three: impossible to believe.
Travis’s grin was wider than the Cheshire Cat’s when he walked back into the room. ‘Phew. Made it. She’s in the cot, and still fast asleep.’
Freya held up crossed fingers. ‘For now.’
He joined her on the sofa, lifting her legs into his lap.
‘How was the trip?’ she asked, relaxing as he massaged her feet.
‘Good, we didn’t get eaten by any of the wildlife and two of the people have already booked the Iceland tour.’ He gave a wry grin. ‘I bought a cuddly polar bear for Elise but I’ll wait until morning to give it to her. I’ve missed you. How have you been?’
‘Mum hasn’t ripped her hair out while she was babysitting, I managed to get the quality gradings sorted at work and Elise only threw some of her spag bol on the walls this evening.’
Travis laughed. ‘I’ll clean it up.’
Freya smiled. ‘It’ll wait.’ She felt a rush of longing for him. ‘Stay here, please. I’ve missed you too.’
He circled her ankle with his fingers, intent on her skin – or perhaps unwilling to look her in the eye. ‘I’ve been thinking while I’ve been away,’ he began.
She laughed. ‘Always dangerous.’
‘True … but I’ve been thinking about this particular idea for a while.’ He lifted his eyes to hers. ‘How would you feel about eloping?’
Goosebumps popped out on her skin, and her stomach flipped, but she knew instantly that they were the excited kind of goosebumps and the thrilling kind of somersaults.
‘When you say “eloping,” do you mean running away to get married?’
‘I do. Why don’t we get married and not tell anyone?’ His voice held an urgency. ‘Just run away and do it, you, me and Elise.’
‘I don’t think Elise would count as a witness,’ Freya said shakily, still processing that Travis was proposing. ‘It sounds great but surely we can’t just do it? You have to give notice, don’t you? Even if there’s a space?’
‘You only need twenty-nine days’ notice, I looked it up. And maybe we’ll get lucky and get a cancellation at the register office.’
‘Wow. You really have been thinking. Is getting married anything to do with us having Elise?’
‘No, it’s to do with me wanting to marry you.’ He grasped her hands in his. ‘Because it feels right, right now.’ His gaze was intense. ‘So, is it a “yes”?’
Freya didn’t have to think, she took his face in her hands and kissed him, knowing that nothing had ever felt more right. ‘Yes,’ she murmured, then louder. ‘Yes. Yes. Yes!’
Now, here they were, six weeks later on a wet September morning, driving up in Hamza’s van to the jetty that took the launch to the castle on the far side of the lake. Earlier that day they’d been to the register office, with Hamza and one of the office staff as witnesses and Elise as mini bridesmaid.
The drizzle that had fallen while Hamza had taken photos outside the register office hadn’t been predicted, Freya mused, but when did any forecast in this rainiest of places turn out as planned?
Life was full of twists and turns and surprises, as their unwitting guests were about to discover.
A wooden launch, its cabin bedecked in bunting, glided towards the jetty on the lake shore. Freya spotted her friends and family gathered on the pier, in waterproofs and under umbrellas. They all thought they were there to belatedly celebrate Elise’s first birthday on board one of the traditional wooden ferries that plied the lake. They were right in one way – and so wrong in another.
She tapped Travis on the shoulder. ‘Do you think Mum will ever forgive me?’
‘I should think she might, by the time of our tenth anniversary,’ he replied from the front seat. ‘Shall we get this over with?’
Having parked the van, Hamza turned round, smiling. ‘I’ll fetch the umbrellas and my camera out of the boot.’
‘I’ll strap Elise into her buggy,’ Travis said. ‘You stay inside for a moment.’
Playing with a toy beside her, Elise gurgled happily and Freya’s butterflies took flight again. She genuinely hoped her mum would forgive her: but then again, her mother had also sprung a surprise.
Travis appeared at the door, looking gorgeous in the first suit he’d ever owned. He didn’t seem to care about the rain, more concerned that Elise wouldn’t get wet while she was being fastened into her buggy.
Hamza held a golf brolly over Freya as she swung her legs out of the van, trying not to drape her hem in the puddles.
‘Well, here you are!’
Peacock-like in turquoise wellies and a purple raincoat, her mother scurried towards them. ‘What time do you call this …’ Her voice tailed off and her eyes widened into saucers.
Behind her Roxanne and Mimi, Bree, Neil and the families were all pointing or had hands over mouths as realisation slowly dawned.
‘Why are you in a suit?’ she demanded of Travis. ‘Why are you wearing a wedding dress … oh my God.’
Freya took a deep breath.
‘I’ll give you three guesses, Mum.’
Her mother let out a shriek. ‘No! I can’t believe it. You ran off and got married without telling me?’
‘Well, you did set the precedent,’ Freya said, her heart beating faster. ‘We decided a few weeks ago and we wanted to do it as quietly as we could, no fuss – like you and Neil – but now … well, we’re ready to celebrate with all the people we love most.’
By this stage, everyone had twigged what was happening and rushed up to hug and congratulate them.
Sandra embraced Freya, tears streaming down her face. ‘I wish you’d said, I’d have dressed up! Now here I am in my wellies! You look so beautiful, my darling. And you’re a dark horse!’ she declared to Travis who also gave her a peck on the cheek.
Dylan hurtled up and stomped in a puddle, spraying up water.
Bree dashed forward. ‘You’ll make Freya’s dress all muddy!’
‘Uncle Travis likes me to splash in puddles,’ Dylan protested. ‘He says it makes a good picture!’
‘I don’t care what Uncle Travis said. I don’t want to be drenched before we even get there.’
Rosie kicked up a spray of water. ‘I’ve got new wellies,’ she declared.
‘I don’t mind,’ Freya said, laughing. ‘I’m sure Elise would do the same if she could get out of the buggy. She’s almost walking already.’
Dylan giggled and jumped in a puddle right in front of his mum. ‘And now my trousers are all damp and dirty.’
Bree shook her head. ‘Gav! Can you please help me get these kids onto this boat in one piece? Dylan! Please leave the ducks alone!’
Even with the rain pattering on her brolly, Freya couldn’t stop grinning, swept up on a tide of joy and laughter that no grey sky could dim.
Her mother took charge of the buggy but Travis was scanning the road to the boat jetties anxiously.
‘Where’s Seb?’
‘On his way. Look …’ Bree pointed to the head of the jetty where a motorbike had stopped.
Carrying his guitar case, Seb climbed off the pillion, followed by its rider who took off her helmet and shook out long dark hair. He’d started dating Araya a few months before and they were planning to move in together.
‘Sorry I’m late! The music shop was rammed. Lucky for me that Araya is a speed merchant …’ He frowned and gawped at Travis. ‘Why are you wearing a suit, bro? Where’s the funeral?’
Bree batted his arm. ‘Seb! You idiot! It’s a wedding. These two have sneaked off and got married!’
‘Right. OK …’ With a shrug that implied he’d expected this day forever, Seb pumped Travis’s hand up and down then kissed Freya on the cheek. ‘You took your time but you got there in the end. Congratulations.’
With a cry of delight, Sandra pointed to the sky. ‘Oh, look, there’s a peep of blue. They say if there’s enough blue to patch a sailor’s shirt, the rest of the day will be fine.’
Freya gazed at the glimpse of blue that seemed to be changing by the second – though whether it was expanding or shrinking, she couldn’t decide. Most importantly, she didn’t really care. It could rain all day long, if it wanted to. She’d never looked for or planned a ‘perfect’ wedding; she had everything she ever wanted already.
‘OK, everyone on board!’ Hamza called. He’d been snapping away from the moment Travis and Freya had arrived at the jetty in Hamza’s van. Freya had seen him, capturing shots of the children splashing in the water and Elise smiling in her buggy and everyone hugging and kissing and gasping in amazement. She had a feeling they’d be the best wedding photos ever, even if Travis hadn’t taken them.
With Hamza’s shutter whirring, their guests filed onto the launch: Bree, Gav and the children; Mimi and her family; Seb with his guitar; and Araya in her leathers. Only Neil and Sandra were left on the jetty, looking after Elise in her buggy.
‘Not you two. I want some pictures of you together.’
‘Whoever knew you could be so bossy?’ Travis said, posing with Freya under a huge golf umbrella.
‘Ah, and now can we have some of you with Elise?’
Freya’s mother heard. ‘Neil, can you bring the little one over?’
Neil plucked the wriggling baby from a buggy decorated with white ribbons and handed her to Sandra.
‘Oh, she looks like an angel! I’ve been inundated with lovely clothes for her since I became a granny. Her little wellies are just so cute.’
Freya’s heart was too full.
‘Dada. Dada. Mumm,’ Elise babbled away, plucking at the flowers in Freya’s hair.
Travis whispered. ‘You are beautiful. You both are and I couldn’t love you more.’
‘Same …’
‘OK. That’ll do for now. Don’t want to keep you out in the rain too long.’
Freya lowered the umbrella. ‘Actually, I really do think it’s stopped raining.’
Neil stepped forward to retrieve the golf brolly, leaving Freya, Travis and Elise standing under the brightening sky. The sun peeped out shyly, warming her arms and drying out the wooden jetty.
Hamza grabbed some more pictures before finally lowering the camera. ‘OK, that’ll do for now. Shall we get on board and party?’
Travis laughed. ‘I thought you’d never ask.’
A cheer went up when Freya and Travis took their places in the bow and a champagne cork popped.
The launch pulled away, gliding across the lake as glasses were lifted.
‘There, I told you!’ Sandra cried triumphantly. ‘The sun’s coming out properly now.’
Travis squeezed Freya’s hand and kissed the top of Elise’s head as she pointed at the sun shining down as the clouds lifted, slowly but surely, and the green and purple fells rose up to meet the sky.