One Night to Wed

by Alison Roberts

  'A good place to hide.' The grip on her hand tightened as Angus took a step towards the hedge.

  'I stayed in mine for hours once. I was hiding because I was scared of what would happen when Mum found out I'd broken her favourite vase.'

  They had to let go of each other's hands to part the branches of the hedge and peer into the dusty space inside.

  'Cody?' Angus called. 'Are you in here, buddy?'

  They worked their way downhill from where the bikes lay.

  'Cody?' Fliss called again and again. 'Where are you, love?'

  Her hands were scratched. She could smell the pungent oil from crushed needles and the residue of long-dead vegetation made her cough and sneeze repeatedly. The heat from the gathering sunlight was hot on the back of her neck and exhaustion made the hedge appear to stretch for miles.

  There was no response to any of their calls.

  They could find nothing.

  Finally nearing the end of the hedge, Fliss stepped back to push tangled strands of hair from her face. She turned to Angus. Was it time to admit defeat and tarn away?

  But Angus smiled at her. Despite any lack of evidence to the contrary, he still believed in her idea. In her. He wasn't about to give up.

  And neither was Fliss.

  She parted a new set of branches and poked her head right into the hedge.

  'Cody?'

  Fliss backed out much faster than she had gone in.

  'Fliss? What's wrong, love?'

  'I saw something.'

  'Cody?'

  'I think so.' But Fliss gulped and took another step backwards. 'He's not moving, Gus.'

  Angus did more than just part the branches. He bent them and twisted them, oblivious to the damage he was doing to his hands and arms, snapping branches off until he had created a hole large enough to see the small shape of a curled-up child. He knelt down.

  'Hey,' Fliss heard him say very gently. 'What's happening, buddy?'

  For a long moment Fliss stared at the curved back of the man in front of her as Angus hid Cody from her view.

  Then, miraculously, she saw two skinny arms snake themselves around Angus's neck. He wriggled backwards and then stood up, with a small boy blinking sleepily in his arms.

  'Are you all right, Cody?' Fliss had to clear her throat. 'Does anything hurt?'

  Cody shook his head and then opened his mouth. 'Where's Callum?' he demanded. 'And where's my bike?'

  'Your bike's not far away, mate,' Angus told him.

  'And Callum's gone for a ride in a helicopter,' Fliss added. 'I know where your mum is, though, and she's going to be very happy to see you.'

  Angus smiled over the top of Cody's head. 'And you, Fliss?' he asked quietly. 'Are you very happy?'

  Fliss could have drowned in the emotional well she was in right now.

  'I don't think I've ever been this happy in my entire life,' she whispered.

  'Hmm.' With a satisfied nod and a look that caressed Fliss with all the love it was possible for one person to offer another, Angus turned to carry Cody back to his mother. 'Me, too.'

  EPILOGUE

  'It all looks exactly the same.'

  'Places like this never really change.'

  'Shall we park the car here and walk?'

  'I'm not sure that's a great idea, darling.' Angus McBride gave his wife a speculative glance. 'I wouldn't want you going into labour halfway up that hill.'

  'I'm weeks away yet.' Fliss patted the huge mound of her belly. 'This is going to be a Christmas present, this baby.'

  Angus chuckled. 'Make sure you keep it wrapped up, then.'

  They were heading across the bridge now. Into what represented the CBD of Morriston. Where Mrs McKay's general store looked to still be the main competition for the pub in any commercial enterprise here.

  'Oh...look!'

  'What?'

  'The pub.'

  'Looks exactly the same to me:'

  'They've changed the name.'

  Angus gave a huff of laughter. '"Jack's Arms"? Is that meant to be a joke?'

  'I suspect it's more of a tribute.'

  'But he only had one arm.'

  Fliss smiled. 'I reckon they've given him back the lost one.'

  'I guess Roger decided to stay on after all.'

  'Yeah. I think Jack's funeral gave the whole community the chance to see how special this place is.'

  'I wonder how many of them would have turned up for Darren's funeral if it hadn't been up north.'

  Fliss was silent for a moment. 'I'm sure he's been forgiven by now. It's not as if he actually killed anyone. The only murders were the Barrett brothers and that was done by the gang affiliates from Christchurch.'

  'If Darren had opened his door when they went knocking, it would have saved a whole heap of trouble, though.'

  'Would you have opened the door?'

  'Not if I'd been up to what Darren had,' Angus admitted with a wry smile. 'He was stupid to have got involved in any drug dealing in the first place.'

  'But that's where using leads all too often. Habits are expensive.'

  'It's all pretty sad, isn't it?' Angus was slowing the car as he looked around. 'Hard to believe that was all a year ago.'

  'It's flown past, hasn't it?' Fliss agreed. 'Not surprising, though, when we had so much to get done.'

  'Yeah.' Angus sounded smug. 'And the wedding was the best part.'

  'It was.' Fliss sighed happily. 'Mind you, hunting for our house was great fun and I have to confess I've loved being back working in the emergency department.'

  'And you've just been made a consultant. You'll miss it while you're on maternity leave.'

  'Doubt it. I'll have something far more exciting to keep me busy for a while.'

  Angus nodded. 'That's how I've felt about going back to being a road-based paramedic. Anything I've missed out on has been more than made up for by what I've got outside working hours.' His hand left the steering wheel and rested for a moment on the rounded belly that hid their first child.

  'Ooh, he kicked you.' Fliss laid her hand over top of his. 'Did you feel that?'

  'Sure did.'

  'I think he's hungry,' Fliss announced. 'Could we stop at the shop for a minute? I've got this really bad craving for ice cream.'

  Angus laughed. 'Don't you mean you've got a really bad craving for a bit of gossip?'

  'Huh!' Fliss tried to sound indignant but had to join in the chuckle as Angus slowed the car and stopped. He knew her far too well. 'Hey.. .Gus?'

  'Yeah?'

  'I love you.'

  Angus unclipped his safety belt and leaned over to kiss her. The kind of slow, exquisitely gentle kiss that was a regular feature of any daytime hours they spent together.

  'Not half as much as I love you,' he murmured eventually.

  'So how come I haven't got my ice cream yet, then?'

  'You distracted me.'

  'Oh.' Fliss finally tore her gaze away from Angus. 'That will never do. Come on.' She unclipped her own safety belt but waited until Angus was ready to help her out of the vehicle. 'I feel like a stranded whale every time I sit down,' she complained.

  'Well, you are getting pretty fat.'

  Fliss narrowed her eyes. 'Just for that, I think I might have two ice creams.'

  'That'll help.' Angus kept hold of her hand as they entered the general store, which was just as well because they had a near collision with a small boy who was exiting the premises at speed.

  'Callum Johnston,' a female voice yelled. 'Come back here this instant!'

  'Hi, Jenny!' Fliss was beaming. 'Great to see that Callum's giving you the run around again.'

  Jenny rolled her eyes but smiled as she returned the greeting. She handed two full grocery bags to Callum as he arrived back, and as she ruffled her son's curls her harassed expression softened noticeably.

  'Thanks,' she said to Fliss. 'Sometimes I need reminding of just how good it is to have him back to normal.'

  Callum had ducked away from his mot
her's caress. He was scowling. 'How come Cody doesn't have to carry bags?'

  'You know why.'

  'He could carry one.'

  'No, I can't. It might hurt my good arm and I need that to write with.'

  Fliss eyed the cast on Cody's left forearm. 'What have you done to yourself, Cody?'

  'I broke my arm,' the seven-year-old said proudly.

  'He fell off his bike,' Jenny sighed.

  'He didn't get to ride in a helicopter,' Callum told Fliss. 'But I did.'

  'You don't even remember going in the helicopter.'

  'Yes, I do.'

  'That's not what you said before.'

  'Stop arguing,' their mother ordered. 'It's time we got home and made dinner for Dad. I'll have to catch up with you later, Fliss. You'll be around for a while?'

  'Absolutely.'

  Jenny picked up another two bags. 'I was so pleased to hear the news, by the way. We'll be seeing a bit more of you.'

  'There's certainly a bit more of her to see,' Angus put in.

  Fliss aimed a kick at his ankle. 'Please, excuse my rude husband.'

  Jenny was laughing as her gaze dropped. 'When are you due?'

  'After Christmas,' Fliss said firmly.

  'So's Maria.'

  'No! Maria's pregnant again?'

  'They're aiming for ten kids.' Jenny was peering through the door to see where the twins had disappeared to. 'God knows why. Callum! Cody! Get back here.'

  Mrs McKay appeared and made tutting noises. 'Those boys,' she said with fond disapproval.

  'They'll be the death of me,' Jenny agreed. 'Gotta go. Good to see you, Fliss. And you, Angus.'

  Mrs McKay was only too happy to take up any slack in passing on the village gossip.

  'Maria's quite certain it's going to be another boy. She's going to have her hands full with a new one.'

  'She'll cope,' Fliss said. 'Maria's a superwoman.'

  'Hmm. She'll have her work cut out this time. She had young Oliver in here today and he was running around, pulling tins off all my shelves.'

  'At thirteen months? Good grief, what a monster!'

  'It's a blessing that Maria's running just as fast again.'

  'So her leg's line now?'

  'Good as new. Took a long time, mind you. She was on those crutches for ever. I kept saying, "Maria..."'

  Angus left the women to enjoy their conversation. He took a trolley and began wandering down the narrow, overstocked aisles. They needed supplies for the next few days. As he added cleaning items to the foodstuffs, he wondered how much work would need to be done.

  Jack's little house on the hill had been emptied when the estate had finally been sorted out but it was doubtful whether any cleaning had been done in the six months since then. The process of purchasing the property had been very slow and it had only been last week: that he and Fliss had learned of their successful settlement.

  Now they had a holiday house. A place to return to each year.

  A place to bring their children and give them a taste of a life that would be very different to what they would have in a larger city.

  Angus paused beside a shelf full of fishing tackle. He would take their children fishing one day. And walking in the forests. He'd build a driftwood fire on the beach sometimes and tell them stories.

  One day, he might tell them about why this place was so special.

  How it had given him—and their mother—the opportunity to find the kind of magic that only the very luckiest of people ever got to find.

  Pushing his trolley towards the checkout, he caught sight of the woman he loved but the joy he always felt on seeing Fliss was tempered with concern. She looked tired and it didn't sound as though Mrs McKay was anywhere near finishing all she wanted to say.

  Fliss looked up—as she always seemed to do, even before she could possibly be aware of his approach. The slightly glazed expression on her face changed to one of relief. Her smile was joyous and her eyes told him all he ever needed to know about how much he was loved.

  Angus smiled back.

  Yes.

  He would be able to tell their children with the utmost sincerity that he and Fliss were definitely the luckiest people on earth.