Kirsty’s dad, Cameron, and his assistant, Ben, had brought up two cars – one Range Rover and one black six seater that looked a bit more hearse-y but not so’s you’d notice. Mum, Suky, Tansy, Parker and Michael went in that car, while Harry, Lou and Chloe got in the Range Rover.
‘I’ll drive you down, love,’ Dad said as I went to follow them. ‘Be nice to have a bit of time.’
I got into his car, arranging my dress carefully around me on the seat so it didn’t crease. It was dark now of course – well after six p.m. on a winter’s night – and we watched the tail lights of the other cars disappear down the hill, before Dad started the engine and pulled out of our drive.
‘Jamie’s a good man,’ Dad said as we drove down the hill – at a much more leisurely pace than we’d driven down earlier. ‘And he’s lucky to have you.’
I put my hand on top of his on the gear stick and gave it a quick squeeze.
‘We’re lucky to have each other,’ I said.
As we pulled up outside the cafe, I felt a lurch of nerves again.
‘It’s going to be okay, isn’t it?’ I said, getting out of the car.
Dad pulled me into a hug.
‘It’s going to be great,’ he said. ‘You look beautiful and so do all those bridesmaids. Jamie will be blown away. And you know what? Even if everything goes wrong…’
‘And it might,’ I pointed out. ‘It has so far.’
‘I’m not leaving that cafe until you’re married,’ Dad said with a smile. ‘Shall we go?’
Mum and Suky had lined the path to the café with lanterns. They were flickering in the dusk, lighting up the snow and looking very beautiful. It was magical. I glanced at the candles – there were about two hundred of them as far as I could tell – so it probably was actually magical.
He offered me his arm and together we climbed the stone stairs to the gallery. Mum was waiting at the door, along with Kirsty. When they saw me arrive, Kirsty held up a hand for me to pause, blew me a kiss, then wiggled down the aisle in her pencil skirt.
‘Ladies and gentleman,’ she said in her clear, calm voice. ‘Please welcome our bride, Esme.’
In the corner of the room, Frankie pressed play on the iPod and At Last by Etta James started to play – it was “our song” because it had taken us so long to get here, and it was absolutely perfect. I heard the guests all get up
I looked at Mum and Dad.
‘This is it,’ I said with a smile. All my nerves had disappeared and now I couldn’t wait to get married.
Dad gave me a kiss, and I looped my left arm through his, and the other through Mum’s, then we were walking down the very short aisle waving at the guests and giving a thumbs up to Parker. It was only a few steps but it felt like a long walk. I was glad I didn’t have a bouquet to hold, as I wasn’t sure what I’d have done with it. Behind me, I heard Chloe whisper ‘amazing’ to Harry. She was right. It really was. The room looked gorgeous, lit up by hundreds of candles and with the loch gleaming through the windows.
At the end of the aisle, next to Kirsty, stood Jamie. He looked so handsome it nearly took my breath away. He was wearing a navy suit with a narrow tie and he was fidgeting from foot to foot which made him seem very nervous – and very young. My heart flipped, the way it had the day I’d first met him in the cave, and the day our paths had crossed again after ten years apart, and the day he’d proposed, as I did the washing up in our Edinburgh flat.
Unable to resist, I threw my arms around him and kissed him.
‘I’m here,’ I said.
Jamie laughed – so did all the guests.
‘I’m glad,’ he said.
The ceremony was perfect. Kirsty did the most amazing job, talking about our relationship and bringing in wee anecdotes from our friends and family – she’d spoken to everyone. She made us all laugh telling stories about the ups and downs of our romance – and there were enough of those to keep her talking for hours – and made me cry when she spoke about love and how as long as you had love you could achieve anything. I looked at Parker when she said that and he gave me a smile that melted my heart. Kirsty was right, I thought. Jamie and I loved each other, and we both loved Parker – so we could work this out. It was going to be a bit messy. DNA tests, and birth certificates and making sure we did see the little boy often enough for him and Jamie to build a proper relationship – which would inevitably mean us jetting backwards and forwards to Boston while Parker was still so small, with all the expense and inconvenience that brought with it. But if it was what we had to do, then so be it. It may not have been the family we planned, but families came in all shapes and sizes, I knew that better than anyone.
Then Mitch and Jamie’s cousin Annalise did their readings – which made me sniff again because they were both so lovely – and it was time for the big moment. I’d been worried that when we came to say our vows, I wouldn’t be able to speak because I’d be too emotional but when it came to it, I was almost giggling in delight.
‘I do,’ I said. ‘I really do.’
Jamie laughed again. There was a lot of laughing in fact. It’s possible we were verging on hysteria after the day we’d had, but it was lovely anyway.
There was a slightly tense moment when Frankie pretended he’d lost the rings but even that just made me giggle more – once he’d produced them with a flourish of course.
Eventually Kirsty said: ‘I now pronounce you husband and wife.’
Amazing, wonderful words that I felt like I’d been waiting years to hear. Probably because I had been waiting years to hear them. Jamie and I kissed and all our guests applauded. It was perfect.
And oh my goodness, had Claddach pulled out all the stops for the party. Millicent’s food organisation was a triumph. We had big tureens of soup, pots of chilli and curry, a huge lasagne, loads of salad, homemade bread, cheese, crisps, hummus – all sorts. Everyone was starving, obviously, after waiting so long for the wedding, so they all dived in and soon the groaning buffet table wasn’t groaning so much any more.
We’d invited so many people in the end that we’d decided not to do proper speeches but once everyone had helped themselves to seconds from the buffet, Jamie tapped his fork on the side of a glass to get attention.
‘My wife and I,’ he began. Everyone cheered.
Jamie paused.
‘We just wanted to say thanks for coming. It’s taken us a fair while to get here, and we couldn’t have done it without you.’
Everyone cheered again.
I looked round at the room. Everyone was there – Mum, Dad, my brothers – Mitch was already chatting up Kirsty, who looked slightly alarmed at the attention. Harry, Suky, Louise. Eva and Allan, Douglas, Chloe and her family. Even Penny from the mountain rescue team had come along. And William was capturing all our precious memories with his camera.
I cleared my throat.
‘I’ve always thought Claddach was a special place and today you’ve all proved it,’ I said. ‘Thank you all so much. Let’s all have a drink.’