Narcissus

Chapter Twenty-Two

We sat in silence for a few minutes as I contemplated what Mary had said and she chewed slowly. "I'll think about it." were my only words on the subject before it was closed and we left, driving together to school.

--

"Right, so mind telling us why you called this emergency meeting?" I questioned. We were all sat in the bakery; Rita, Mary, Mary's husband Angus; a tall, beefy Scottish gardener, and Marcus, my fiancée. The bakery was now shut, and a small, rather pathetic lightbulb hung above us, the only source of light in the late evening darkness.

"Well, basically," Rita began casually, "I'm getting married."

"What!?" I spluttered, as Mary choked on her sausage roll.

"Ay, good on ya, lass." Angus nodded firmly.

"To who?" Marcus looked shocked.

"Timmy. From down the road." Rita gestured vaguely. Braemore was so far in the middle of the nowhere, though, that 'down the road' could mean they lived miles away.

"What!? Timmy, the guy from the post office?" I frowned, picturing the tall, dark haired man.

"Yes, yes, him." Rita shrugged, brown curls swaying as she moved. "Anyways, yes, that's it, really."

"Right. Well. That's news." I laughed and leant back in my chair, but Marcus frowned slightly. He didn't like it when I was unladylike. I sat back up.

"And I want you to be my Maid of Honour, of course." Rita smiled brightly at me and I soon found tears in my eyes.

"Thank you." I smiled. She then said she wanted Mary and two of her friends from the florists to be the bridesmaids, and apparently her estranged sister was coming to live here for a while, so her niece would be the flower girl.

The whole way home, I was smiling brightly, Marcus' hand resting on my thigh as he drove the car back. He parked in front of our modest cottage and immediately the sound of barking filled our ears.

"Hello, gorgeous boy!" I grinned as I was assaulted by my dog, Jon. I had rescued him as a puppy when I moved here, and had fallen in love with him straight away. He was a massive, white, Great Dane with black spots who was blind in one eye and limped when he ran. He was also convinced he was a lot smaller than he was, and always sat on my lap, even when his weight was sometimes crushing.

--

"Morning, Elizabeth, morning Marguerite." said the chirpy Scottish receptionist. I smiled back, but Mary grimaced. She was not a morning person. Our classrooms were opposite each other, and mine was always warmer than hers for whatever reason, so for the twenty minutes before class started, she would often come and sit with me and chat. This time, however, we were interrupted as the receptionist appeared in the doorway.

"Hello, Ms Brown, Ms Warrington. We have a new student with us today!" her voice was overly cheerful as she stepped to the side and a young girl walked into the room, no more than 8 years old. She looked absolutely terrified, but she was adorable. Already dressed in the uniform of the school, a red tartan dress with black tights and a white shirt underneath, she had long, white-blonde hair and the brightest blue eyes I had ever seen. "Ms Brown, this is wee Isla Hart. She has just moved here from London so she's very nervous." the receptionist smiled and disappeared, and Mary followed her out of the door so that the child was not too overwhelmed.

"So, what kind of things do you like to do, Ms Hart?" I asked, hoisting myself up onto the table, dangling my legs off the edge. The girl looked impressed, and tried to copy my actions, but was too small to get on the table. "Here." I got down, giggled, and lifted her up, and she smiled brightly as I returned back to my original position.