Chapter 24
WINTERbrUCK, SWITZERLAND
The following December
It had been eleven and a half months since Chrissie, Meg, Sarah and Rhys returned to their lives in England, although since then Earl and Astrid had been graced with visits from their daughters, together, no less than three times, and two visits from Rhys and Sarah.
Sarah had kept going with her letters to her grandparents over those eleven and a half months, and a couple of weeks ago they’d had another letter from their granddaughter.
Dear Grumps and Nanna,
We can’t wait to see you again very soon! Can you believe we’re getting married in less than two weeks (by the time this letter reaches you).
Nanna, Rhys tried to make a fondue last night using the different cheeses you suggested, and while it was delicious, I think he needs some tips when we come over.
I had another dress fitting as it’s been so long since I chose the dress.
Me, Mum and Meg went to it together – Mum and Meg made the most of the champagne as I was driving – I am so excited that I’ll soon be putting it on for real and holding your arm as you walk me down the aisle. Are you as excited as I am?
You bet he was. As he had read the letter that day, Grumps felt his emotions churn. He’d given Chrissie away and now he had the privilege of doing it all over again for his granddaughter.
Nanna, if you haven’t yet done your cinnamon roll deliveries, then I’ll help with those. Rhys said he wouldn’t mind that recipe too. Honestly, he’s supposed to be an architect, not a chef. It seems he’s hooked – or perhaps it’s got more to do with your cooking.
Rhys and I can’t wait to be at the chalet again and see the tree, the lights, and all the snow.
The wedding is going to be magical. I’ve said that so many times over the last eleven or so months, you must be tired of hearing it.
Earl had never got tired of hearing Sarah’s excitement.
Chrissie hadn’t either. Sarah had made the best decision for her and for Rhys.
They’d waited. Rhys’s parents had held what sounded like an enormous New Year’s Eve party in the marquee out the back of their property in Northumberland, and although Sarah and Rhys had had a quiet New Year with Chrissie in Oxfordshire, Sarah had accepted an invite to Northumberland for this New Year’s Eve.
Sarah and Rhys had spent the last eleven and a half months enjoying living together and learning about each other. They’d had their first fight – and their first make up, neither of which Earl wanted to know the details of. They were well on their way to spending the rest of their lives together.
And today it was happening. Their beautiful granddaughter was getting married.
The whole family was here together, the chalet was dressed for Christmas, and that morning Astrid had gone with Jonathan, Sarah and Meg to deliver cinnamon rolls to all their neighbours as per tradition.
She’d been a little late doing it this year, which was understandable because she’d been in charge of sorting out the flowers for today as well as some of the catering.
But Astrid would never change. She baked for people, she never let anyone down, and in both his daughters and his granddaughter, Earl could see so much of his wife.
Astrid came up behind him in the bedroom. ‘Turn around,’ she said. He’d been looking in the mirror to adjust his pale-green silk cravat.
Astrid retied it for him and then put her hand against it, on his chest. ‘There, perfect.’
He leaned down and kissed her. ‘You look more beautiful than the day we got married.’
‘I doubt that.’ She laughed.
‘You do, I promise you.’ He kissed her once more.
He’d never forget their wedding day, but the life since was what he really treasured.
The hard days, the easier ones, all of them.
He wouldn’t change them for the world. He was glad Meg had told them how she and Chrissie had felt about the way his job had impacted their lives.
He wished they’d said so earlier, but again, that same strength Astrid had, they both had too.
And perhaps if they’d told him earlier their lives might not have finally brought them here to the Swiss Alps. And that, he couldn’t imagine.
‘How is Sarah doing?’ he asked.
‘She’s calm, she’s ready. We’re just waiting for everyone to take their positions.’
He bent his arm up so that she would link hers through. ‘Then it’s time.’
They went down the stairs and Astrid scurried off to organise the thirty-three guests and get them outside to the tipi.
The ceremony wasn’t going to be held out the back as they’d originally planned.
When Sarah and Rhys had looked into options to have the wedding at the chalet, it had been Jonathan who suggested a tipi wedding.
He’d done some work with a company who constructed the tents, but to accommodate it they would have to use the front lawns across both chalets.
And so there was an impressive looking tipi at the front, inside which chairs would form an aisle, then guests would come into the chalet for canapés and champagne, followed by a return to the tipi for dancing.
Earl had already been inside the tipi that morning to check everything was as it should be.
And it was. It was perfect. Twinkle lights wound up and around the wooden beams, an aisle was formed with lanterns lighting the way, powerful heaters might have made them forget about the winter outside if it weren’t for the transparent walls that kept the heat in but allowed a view of the falling snow, snow-laden boughs of the trees, and the mountains in the far-off distance.
When Chrissie came over to him, he kissed her on the cheek.
‘You look beautiful.’ She was wearing an emerald-green dress, her hair loose and free with those big curls made using the rollers Meg had brought with her and used too.
The sisters were making up for lost time, and it warmed his heart every time he spoke to either of them and they mentioned the other.
‘How are you coping?’ he asked Chrissie.
‘I’m all right. A bit nervous, but it’s all good.
’ She looked across at Nolan who seemed to be relaxed, but not so laidback that he didn’t realise Earl would be watching him.
He was a relatively new man in his daughter’s life, at least romantically.
They seemed happy, but Earl would be keeping a very close eye on him.
As Chrissie went to get Sarah, Earl looked at Jonathan escorting Meg out to the tipi.
He hadn’t had to keep a close eye on him really, after he and Meg made it official that they were dating, because he’d known Jonathan for years.
He’d always liked the man, and he couldn’t have been more thrilled with the match.
Jonathan had even asked his permission to date his daughter.
Much like in the olden days when a man asked to marry the daughter, just like Anthony had done with Chrissie.
Earl hadn’t even hesitated to say yes. He and Meg seemed to be making it work long distance for now.
Jonathan had made the trip over to London, she’d come here, but the reason for Meg’s reluctance to move to be closer was no longer because she had her flat, or the new job as a lead chocolatier at another booming chocolaterie in London – it was because she wasn’t ready to leave Chrissie and Sarah.
And much as he wanted Meg to be in Switzerland, her forging a relationship with her sister and niece after all this time was more than he ever could’ve wished for.
The good thing was, Switzerland did a lot of chocolate, and they did it well.
He had no doubt that Meg could make her mark over here when the time came.
The chalet grew quiet and Earl waited at the foot of the stairs. It felt like forever until Sarah appeared at the top, gingerly taking one step down at a time.
She looked calm, composed and breathtakingly beautiful. When she reached his side, his eyes filled with tears.
‘I’ll give you guys a moment,’ said Keira, Sarah’s bridesmaid, resplendent in an ice-blue dress.
Chrissie lifted Sarah’s veil up and over so that it fell gently in front of her face. ‘I’ll see you out there,’ she said, and off she went leaving Sarah and her grandad alone.
Sarah put a hand against his arm. ‘Grumps… don’t cry, you’ll make me cry too and it’ll ruin my make-up.’
‘I’m sorry. You just look so happy.’
‘I am.’ She nodded to him, her supporting him when it should have been the other way round.
Chrissie might think she’d made mistakes with Sarah by not doing things the right way, but she’d done a wonderful job bringing this young woman up and loving her so much that the product of all that love was a poised, in-control bride, ready to take this incredibly big step.
He crooked his arm in the same way as he’d done for Astrid earlier, the same way as he’d done when he gave Chrissie away. ‘You ready?’ he asked.
‘I’m ready.’ She smiled across at Keira, who was waiting by the front door to the chalet, ready to lead the way.
The ceremony was a tiny slice of magic. It was perfect.
The food was magnificent, the speeches poignant and special, and when Meg brought the enormous four-tiered chocolate mud cake – complete with fresh flowers, berries, and shards of chocolate around the edges – into the room to a round of applause, Earl and Astrid both felt the emotional connection to Meg’s way of saying another I’m sorry to her sister.
Seeing his granddaughter get married and walking her down the aisle was a moment he would hold in his heart forever, as was his dance with Sarah, who had now returned to the dancefloor with her husband, their friends, Chrissie and Meg.
Keira looked like she was enjoying dancing with someone new – apparently, Rhys had been briefed that she should be introduced to any eligible bachelors, and he was doing a good job honouring the request.
Astrid came to his side, and they sat on the chairs at the edge of the tipi, the fun going on around them, both absorbing the utter joy of the occasion.
He watched his family. ‘We did pretty good, didn’t we?’
Astrid leaned into him as Meg and Chrissie laughed and danced together with everyone else. ‘We sure did.’
And they shared a kiss of their own in this tipi, out front of their chalet, in this magical town of Winterbruck in the Swiss Alps that they called home.
* * *