Maddy’s Christmas Wedding (Little Duck Pond Cafe #37)

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Later, back at the chalet, I took a warming hot chocolate out onto the balcony. It was just after four but already it was dark.

Wrapping my fingers around the mug and sipping slowly, I gazed out at the stunning star-filled sky. Lights from afar twinkled through the fir trees.

Apart from the thick, closely-packed snow everywhere, there were two things that completely entranced me about this winter wonderland.

The first was the way the blanket of snow seemed to wrap everything up and cushion you against any noise. My ears just weren’t used to the muffled quality of the sounds around me. At home, even when you were alone and it was quiet, you could still hear the hum of life going on in the distance. But standing alone on this balcony, gazing out over this vast snow field sprigged with fir trees, the peace and the silence were all-encompassing.

The other thing was the magical light.

The sun had appeared mid-morning, a beautiful shimmering gold on the horizon, and through the day, the sky had been touched with hints of pastel violet and pink. Jaz had talked about the ‘blue hour’ which on a clear day bathed everything – the snowy landscape and the sky – in blue. And earlier that afternoon, we’d seen it for ourselves. It didn’t last long but the sight of it from the balcony took my breath away, everything surrounding us coloured with a magical blue light. Apparently, it was a phenomenon that happened only in the Arctic Circle; nowhere else in the world. And that had made experiencing it even more special.

The sky had darkened after that to an inky blue and now it was almost black and studded with stars.

After the heavenly sleigh ride, I was now anticipating the sauna and ice plunge with rather more mixed feelings. I realised I should never have expressed my reservations about a dip in the frozen lake, because of course now everyone kept teasing me about it. Especially Jaz, who kept telling me it would be a brilliant experience and I’d be missing out if I didn’t do it. She was still talking about it when I finished my hot chocolate and went back inside.

‘I’m more adventurous than Milo when it comes to trying out new things like this,’ she was saying. ‘He’s much more cautious than I am. But my motto these days is “Feel the fear and do it anyway!”.’

I grinned. ‘But what if you die in the process?’

She laughed. ‘Plunging into a lake isn’t going to kill a reasonably healthy person. So you really don’t have to worry that you’re going to leave the twins motherless, Fen.’

Her smug smile was a little irritating, although I knew it was my issue, really. Because she was right, of course. I just wished I could be as brave about things as Jaz. But everyone was different. It would be a boring world if everyone was the same.

I imagined Rob’s face if I was to tell him I’d jumped into a frozen Arctic lake. He probably wouldn’t even believe me at first.

But I was determined not to be pressured into doing the lake plunge. I’d do it if I needed a cool-down after the sauna (unlikely when the temperature outside the sauna was sub-zero) but if not, I’d just have fun watching the others squeal . . .

*****

It was nearly five and we were being collected by taxi at 5.30pm for our magical evening at the lake.

But before that, we’d all gathered on the sofa for a FaceTime session with Ellie back home and were telling her all about our trip – the endless snow and the freezing temperatures and the morning’s magical sleigh ride into the forest to find Santa.

Maddy had taken Ellie on a whistle-stop tour of the chalet, including the balcony and the amazing view, and I’d heard Ellie’s exclamations of wonder. ‘I’m so jealous!’ she laughed, although to be fair, she’d sounded fairly cheerful about the fact that she was still back home in snow-less Sunnybrook.

‘The thing is,’ she was saying now, ‘I’ve got some news that I want to share with you all. And I couldn’t bear to wait until you got back.’

We all sat up straight, moving fractionally nearer Maddy’s phone screen. Ellie’s face was glowing and a smile was hovering around her lips, looking as if it was bursting to be released.

Whatever her news was, it was most definitely good news.

‘Oh, is it the house?’ blurted out Maddy.

‘What?’ Ellie’s expression changed, her brows lowering in a frown. ‘No, no. I mean, house? What house?’

Maddy looked horrified for a moment – perhaps even a little guilty – then she smiled and shook her head. ‘Sorry, no, wrong guess, obviously. So . . . come on, then, Ells. What’s happening that’s so exciting? You’re keeping us in suspenders here!’

Everyone chuckled, and I saw Maddy’s shoulders relax slightly with relief, as if she’d managed to smooth things over.

What had she meant about a house?

Ellie and Zak had only moved from the flat into a rented house earlier this year, needing more space, and they’d been busy decorating it. They surely wouldn’t be thinking of moving again already?

‘Okay. Well . . .’ Ellie cleared her throat. ‘Girls, you’re never going to believe this. I really couldn’t believe it myself at first when I did the test.’

I gasped and clutched Katja’s arm as her eyes widened. The atmosphere was suddenly electric. Everyone seemed to be holding their breath.

Laughter burst from Ellie then. It was a laugh of happy disbelief and sheer, unbridled joy . . . a sound I hadn’t heard from her for a very long time.

‘You don’t mean . . . ?’ Jaz looked as if she didn’t dare to finish the sentence in case it wasn’t actually true.

‘Yes, you’ve guessed it,’ sang Ellie. ‘I’m pregnant!’