Rona and Felicity watched as she chatted away and hung up the call with a huge grin on her face.
‘Oh my,’ she said, with excitement fizzing inside her.
‘The call went well then?’ asked Felicity, leaning against the counter.
‘Apparently, he’s the son of a farmer over in Glensheil. His father has passed away and has left a herd of prize alpacas that need re-homing. He’s over from Wales tying up the legalities of the farm … Anyway, cutting a long story short, I’m buying them!’
‘Woah, really?’
‘Yes really! He assured me they are self-sufficient, easy to look after, so … I’m going to surprise Drew! As much as he’s moody at the minute, he loves his animals and what a birthday present this is going to be! I can’t wait to see his face.’
Isla had made the decision there and then. Talking to David on the phone, they’d negotiated a price for the herd, and he would deliver them on the morning of Drew’s birthday.
‘Some things are just meant to be,’ exclaimed Isla, pleased with her purchase and feeling impressed with herself. She knew Drew would be over the moon and that this extraordinary gift would definitely bring a smile to his face. Isla was elated, this was just meant to be and farming the fleeces would bring in a hefty sum. The alpacas would pay for themselves in no time at all.
‘But I want to keep this amongst ourselves … no telling Fergus or Drew. I want this birthday present to be a complete surprise!’ said Isla excitedly.
Chapter 8
One week later …
Isla’s eyes opened slowly as she focused on her surroundings. A quick glance at the clock told her she’d slept for a full eight hours. Throwing back the duvet, she saw that Angus was still fast asleep, the second night he’d slept through. Things were definitely brighter after a good night’s sleep.
Drew had already left for market with Fergus, and Isla and Martha’s plan was to decorate the kitchen with banners and balloons for his birthday. Once Drew had fallen asleep last night Isla had left his birthday card on the kitchen table along with a note asking him to be back at the farm by noon. She planned to cook him birthday lunch before the alpacas arrived at one o’clock.
Over the last few days Drew had seemed to be back on an even keel. Yes, he had still seemed tired, but he hadn’t snapped at Isla. Maybe he had just been having an off day. Isla couldn’t wait to see his face when he arrived home, she knew he was just going to love the alpacas.
Quietly, she padded past the cot and pulled back the curtains. Her mood dampened a little when she noticed there wasn’t a chink of sunshine to be seen, only dark clouds looming in the sky. The cows were already shielding themselves from the rainfall that was about to teem down at any minute. She had pictured the alpacas arriving in gleaming sunshine, their mops of hair bobbing on top of their heads as they were unleashed, running across the meadows. Torrential rain was not what she needed today.
Leaving Angus to sleep, she grabbed her dressing gown and wandered downstairs where Martha was busy in the kitchen.
‘You’ve made a start,’ chirped Isla, staring around the kitchen. Martha had already hung up the birthday banners and the colourful paperchains that Finn had secretly made draped the window and the spaces between the picture frames. Even at Drew’s age he was always like a kid on his birthday. Usually they cooked the best steak, followed by birthday cake, always chocolate, and would open a decent bottle of wine to toast another year together.
‘I caught Drew before he went, he seemed in good spirits,’ said Martha.
‘He does like birthdays and I can’t believe we’ve managed to keep his birthday present a secret. I need to pop to the bank this morning and withdraw the cash.’
‘Leave Angus with me.’
‘Thanks, Gran. I’ll drop Finn at school on my way.’
Although Isla had had her doubts when Martha arrived, she was worth her weight in gold. The children loved her, and Isla was enjoying the company around the place.
Once Finn was safely dropped at school Isla drove over to the bank in Glensheil. As the windscreen wipers frantically swished the rain continued to hammer down. The wind swept through the branches of the trees that adorned the river bank, causing them to sway violently. Luckily for Isla there was a car-park space right outside the bank which she pulled into. Tugging her hood over her head, she ran sprightly towards the revolving glass door. Isla wished she’d withdrawn the money sooner but didn’t want to alert Drew, she wanted the alpacas to be a surprise.
‘Good morning, Mrs Allaway.’
Isla pushed back her hood and smiled, ‘It’s brutal out there today.’
Lucy the bank clerk glanced towards the huge glass windows. ‘I’m glad I’m safely tucked away in here until five o’clock. What can I do for you today?’
Isla handed over her bank card, ‘I’d like to withdraw some cash. It’s quite a large amount but I rang through to check that would be okay.’
‘Perfect,’ said Lucy, tapping away at her keyboard while concentrating on the computer screen.
‘Is it for anything special … a holiday?’
‘Would you believe I’m buying my husband a herd of alpacas for his birthday?’
Lucy let out a low whistle, ‘Wow! I’d just be happy with a bunch of flowers!’ she said, counting out the cash, placing it in an envelope and sliding it under the counter.
Just as Isla was safely tucking the money away in her bag her phone pinged, a text message from David O’Sullivan. He’d set off early, the alpacas would be with them soon. She smiled to herself, happy with her purchase, and she couldn’t wait to see Drew’s face.
The second she stepped back inside the farmhouse a jovial Martha beckoned her, ‘Come and take a look at the cake.’ But hearing the crunch of tyres behind her, Isla spun round to see a truck.
‘The alpacas are here!’ Isla shouted down the hallway towards Martha. ‘Grab a coat and come and take a look.’
Isla sheltered in the doorway as a short bald stocky man jumped down from behind the wheel, thrusting his hand forward for her to shake. ‘Nice place you have here,’ he said in a gravelly Welsh accent.
‘Thanks, we like it. I’m Isla.’
‘David,’ he said. ‘The weather isn’t being kind to us today … which field am I letting them loose in?’
Isla pointed and grabbed an umbrella from the hallway before following him to the back of the truck.
‘These creatures are responsible for bearing some of the silkiest, most versatile fleece found in nature. Stronger than mohair, finer than cashmere, smoother than silk, softer than cotton, warmer than goose down … you’re on to a winner with these beauties. Shorn annually for a good price,’ said David.
Isla watched in amazement as he pulled open the door and unleashed numerous docile-looking animals. She couldn’t take her eyes away from the magnificent creatures. Isla had never seen an alpaca up close and was mesmerised by their floppy furry tufts, slender necks. They genuinely looked like they were sporting huge grins.
‘They are captivating,’ said Martha, joining them, not taking her eyes off them. ‘How many are there?’
‘Twelve,’ answered Isla.
Once all of them were unloaded into the field they huddled together, sheltering under the canopy of the trees.
‘Thank you so much, we’ll look after them, I promise. And I’m sorry to hear about your father.’
‘Father?’ said David, looking puzzled as he bolted up the back of the truck. ‘Oh yes, my father. Thank you. All I need now is the money.’ He stood and waited while Isla rummaged around in her handbag and pulled out the envelope of cash.
‘Thank you,’ he said, not hanging around. He jumped into the trunk, started the engine and was off.
‘That was short and sweet … strange little man. He couldn’t get out of here quick enough,’ noticed Martha.
‘Twelve alpacas, all present and correct. Aren’t they wonderful?’ Isla squeezed her Gran’s arm. ‘Let’s get out of this rain.’<
br />
They’d only been inside a couple of minutes when they noticed Drew’s van pull up outside.
‘He’s here … quick,’ said Isla, unboxing the birthday cake and placing it in pride of place in the middle of the kitchen table. She risked a tentative look in the mirror, ran her fingers through her hair and quickly applied her lip gloss.
As the kitchen door opened, two loud pops erupted. The unmistakable sounds of party poppers.
‘Happy birthday, Drew!’ Isla moved towards him and planted a kiss on his cheek.
Drew’s face didn’t crack a smile, he was drenched with rain and Fergus looked even more dishevelled standing next to him with his overalls splattered with mud.
‘You poor things, look at the state of you both, all wet through. Let me get you a towel.’
‘Never mind a towel,’ Drew said, eyeing up the banners pinned to the kitchen wall before locking eyes with Isla. ‘For a second I thought I’d come home to the wrong farm.’
‘What do you mean?’ she asked. ‘Aww, because of all this … Finn made the paperchains and of course Flick made the cake.’
‘Isla … I could have sworn there are llamas in our field.’
Isla wagged her finger, ‘Actually, that’s where you are wrong … they are alpacas … Happy birthday, Drew! What do you get a man who has everything? A herd of alpacas!’
Fergus looked suitably impressed, but it was clear by the look on Drew’s face that he wasn’t quite feeling the same.
‘Alpacas? You’ve bought me alpacas? Where do you think we live, the Peruvian Andes?’
‘Beautiful animals,’ said Isla, hoping for a better reaction and noting the slight tension that had crept into the room. She couldn’t help but feel disappointed, this was not the reaction she was hoping for.
‘Where the hell have you got a herd of alpacas from?’ asked an annoyed Drew.
‘A man called David O’Sullivan came into the teashop and mentioned to Rona that his father had passed away, he didn’t know what to do with them and needed to re-home the herd. I thought you’d be happy.’
Drew blew out a breath, he looked relieved as a small smile hitched on his face. ‘Why didn’t you say … so he gave them to you? I had visions of you spending a small fortune on them.’
Isla just stared at him. Of course she had spent a small fortune on them and now felt a little guilty because of Drew’s reaction. This was not how it was meant to be.
‘Isla?’
‘Of course he didn’t give them to me. They’re a prize-winning herd, but what an asset to the farm … and what a birthday present, too.’
‘Isla, I can’t believe you can be so stupid,’ Drew blurted.
Isla felt infuriated, he was talking to her like she was a child, not his equal.
‘And who’s this David bloke? You’ll have to ring him now and tell him to take them back and get the money back.’ Drew was so angry he barely came up for air.
‘I can’t do that. He’ll think I’ve lost the plot, and anyway, what’s the problem? Those fleeces will bring in a small fortune. They’ll pay for themselves in the long run.’
‘Isla, it matters. How much did you pay for them?’ His question was loaded with more than polite enquiry.
For a second, the question hung in the air. ‘Isla?’
Martha gave Fergus a nod and they quickly disappeared into the living room, leaving them alone.
Isla narrowed her eyes at him, ‘What has got into you? You’ve just embarrassed me and yourself in front of my gran and Fergus. I’ve bought you a present, at the very least you could act grateful.’
‘An extravagant present, do you think we have money to throw around?’ Drew lunged at Isla’s phone which was lying on the table. ‘David, you say?’ he said, scrolling through her last numbers.
‘You are acting like a complete idiot. What the hell is going on with you, Drew? It’s like I don’t even know who you are at the minute.’
‘Marvellous … bloody marvellous,’ he said, switching the phone to speaker and throwing his hands up into the air.
‘Your call cannot be connected.’
Isla had to admit she felt a tiny pang of worry. Surely it was just because the mobile phone signal was sparse in this region, but before she could voice her opinion Drew jumped in with his.
‘My guess is David is a crook, by chance he rocked up here and sold you those animals …’ he pointed towards the window, ‘that are probably riddled with disease.’
‘Don’t be stupid,’ Isla was now shouting but had begun to worry. Maybe she had made a mistake. ‘His father passed away. They needed re-homing and Rory can give them the once over.’
Drew shook his head, ‘Oh brilliant … more money on our vet’s bill. I can’t believe you would spend so much on a herd of animals that we know nothing about. Seriously Isla, I just can’t understand you sometimes.’
Drew stormed out of the kitchen, slamming the door, leaving Isla to burst into tears. Isla had hoped that this would make Drew happier, be the best birthday present ever, but it seemed it had all gone wrong. She felt like she’d made a terrible mistake. Goodness knows what Martha and Fergus were making of it all in the next room.
‘Happy bloody birthday!’ she bellowed after him. ‘Happy bloody birthday.’
Chapter 9
It was just after six o’clock when Isla heard Drew kick off his boots and throw his overalls into the washing machine. He totally ignored Isla as he entered the living room and instead threw Finn up in the air, who wished him happy birthday.
Out of curiosity Isla had continued to call David’s number throughout the afternoon, only to receive the same message as before. Isla had begun to worry that maybe Drew was right and she had been taken for a ride and the alpacas were riddled with disease. But David had seemed so genuine when she’d spoken to him on the phone.
‘That’s how con-artists operate … give you a sob story and you fall for it hook, line and sinker. Hand over your cash and they disappear, never to be seen again,’ Martha had said, unhelpfully. ‘The TV is full of stories like that.’
Isla just wanted the day to end. She’d taken herself off to her bedroom and cradled Angus who was unaware of the sadness that flowed through her veins. As her unhappiness gained momentum, her eyes glazed with glassy tears. She blinked, dripping tears sliding down her face.
‘Oh Angus, what are we going to do?’ she murmured, kissing him lightly on the top of his head. ‘What is going on with that daddy of yours?’
Looking out over the fields, the alpacas appeared to have settled in well, and were happily grazing. She’d texted Rory, who had shown more excitement than Drew about their arrival and promised he’d be over in the next couple of days to give them the full once over.
But now Isla had to get through tonight.
Everyone had been invited to the pub for Drew’s birthday. Meredith and Fraser had organised a band and Felicity and Rona had prepared a buffet. Everyone was looking forward to it … well, everyone except Isla and most probably Drew. He couldn’t even look at her.
Maybe her marriage really was in trouble. Thinking about it more and more, it had never mattered how tired either of them had been at night, they’d still curl up together under a fleecy blanket watching late-night films and fall asleep in each other’s arms. But lately Drew had started to take himself off to bed early and had been fast asleep by the time Isla had slipped under the duvet.
Finn appeared in the doorway, bubbling with excitement and Isla didn’t dare turn round as she blinked more tears away.
With a calming voice she said, ‘Finn, go and get changed, put your special shirt on. Daddy will like that.’
He zoomed out of the room with his arms stretched wide while making the noise of an aeroplane. When Finn’s footsteps petered out Isla turned to face her husband.
‘What’s going on with us, Drew?’ her voice quivered.
He didn’t turn around.
‘So, is this going to be our night? Not talking to eac
h other? What’s the point of even going out?’
‘Because Meredith and Fraser have organised a band, and everyone is expecting us.’ And with that he disappeared into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. Isla felt his words were like a kick in the teeth, she was disheartened. All Drew was bothered about was saving face, not what was going on between them.
An hour later they all headed to the pub. Isla pushed Angus in the pram, thinking about the last twelve hours. All she wanted to do was burst into tears but knew she had to keep that smile on her face. Martha walked quietly at the side of her, obviously sensing the tension. Drew gave Finn a piggyback, his pudgy arms wrapped around his dad’s neck, both of them laughing. Isla wished she could feel as happy as they seemed.
The Grouse and Haggis was heaving as they pushed open the door.
‘Here he is, the birthday boy!’ bellowed Rory above the jangle of voices, and everyone turned and cheered.
Meredith had pulled out all the stops. ‘Happy Birthday’ banners hung from the wooden beams that crossed the ceiling, and at each end of the bar danced a cluster of colourful balloons.
Isla parked the pram next to the table in the corner by the window and pulled out a stool for Finn, but he’d already spotted Esme and ran off to play with her.
Allie was serving behind the bar and waved across to Isla. Drew joined Rory who was chatting to Fergus.
‘Drink?’ asked Martha, turning towards Isla. ‘I think we need one after today.’
‘A very large gin and tonic, please,’ answered Isla, sitting down feeling deflated and most definitely not in the party mood.
With huge beams on their faces, Felicity and Polly wandered over to join Isla. ‘Loving your new top,’ exclaimed Felicity. ‘But more importantly, how did the alpacas go down … did Drew love them?’
Isla looked up, holding on to her tears, ‘He hated them.’
Felicity and Polly exchanged worried glances before squeezing into the seats opposite her.
Foxglove Farm Page 6