Chapter 20

Isobel and Gerry spent the three days of Christmas with his parents. Libby Williams was conducting a forty strong choir singing carols at the village hall during the afternoon of Christmas Eve. Hermoine and Bruno had been dragooned into it. Court's father played the piano. The majority of the choir went to midnight mass that night so pleased were they with their singing. It was a rousing service.

On Christmas Day the Crown was open for drinks and snacks closing after the Queen's Speech. It seemed that the entire village was there. Very few of the regular diners from outside the village came which was just as well as the place was packed.

Isobel was wearing Gerry's present, a gold locket on a gold chain. He had not put a photograph of himself in it ('Vanity', he said) so she had cut a lock of his hair instead. She also tried to take photographs of him but all he did was pull faces.

"Don't worry, my boy. I'll get one of you in the end."

She did at the pub. She gave her camera to Bruno, sidled up to Gerry while he was talking to someone and squeezed his hand. He turned smilingly to her and Bruno snapped him over her shoulder.

"Monkey," he said, kissed her and was gratified to see her blush.

Between Christmas and New Year they went on a reconnaissance to Swindon to pinpoint the office, find a suitable car park and enquire whether there were season tickets. The trip also gave Gerry an idea of the time he ought to allow to get to work taking account of the current lighter seasonal traffic.

Gerry was welcomed warmly on his first day by Desmond Peterkin who personally took him round and introduced him to everyone. He was given two briefs there and then to start work on. One was a messy divorce with arguments about lump sums and maintenance payments. The other was a custody case.

Gerry did not have time to wonder whether he had done the right thing. He had work to do and everyone was friendly and helpful. Isobel was delighted by his glowing reports of the place.

Arthur and Dorothy had decided that as their wedding was going to be a registry office affair and neither was interested in a church blessing afterwards to only invite close relatives and to have it in February. That meant Dorothy's widowed mother from Kent, Arthur's parents and his unmarried sister. They decided to keep Dorothy's house until the wedding so that she could put her mother up and look after her for two nights. They put it on the market before that though and had a buyer waiting. Once married they would look for a slightly larger house than Arthur's cottage.

"You know," said Arthur, "even though we decided to keep the wedding just to close family I think we ought to invite the couple who were responsible for bringing us together in the first place."

"You're right but do you think they'd want to come. Mum is really very doddery these days although I'm sure they'd like your parents."

"Let's be honest with them and say that they will be the only non-family and that we won't be hurt if they decide against it."

"OK. Fine by me."

Isobel accepted like a flash when Arthur rang her. "If you'd like us to come we'll come. That we will be the only non-family is an honour."

It was indeed a quiet wedding followed by lunch at the Trout after which everyone went home. Isobel and Gerry took it upon themselves to keep Larry entertained whenever Arthur or his mother was preoccupied.

Arrangements for their own wedding began to pick up speed: invitations to be written, dress fittings, reception arrangements. There was also the honeymoon to be decided on and bookings made. They decided on a small but well respected hotel in Tuscany from which they could walk, drive to the sea and visit Venice, Florence and Verona.

There was one problem with the wedding. Isobel had no girl friends and, although she had met and liked Gerry's sister, she did not really consider it suitable to ask her. Who would be her bridesmaid? In the end Isobel decided on Merle even though she might feel a little out of place. Merle was delighted and very touched. Gerry's best man was one of the Wiltshire hockey players, Frank Humbert, who Isobel had met and liked very much. He was a small, wiry man with a wicked sense of humour who worked for his father who ran a sizeable local building company at Devizes.

It was in late March that Arthur rang Isobel. "Larry's mother is playing up again," he said, "but this time to my advantage. She's found a new man but he wants nothing to do with Larry. She wants me to take him on full time. She didn't seem particularly interested in access to him. Ought we to do something official?"

"Yes," said Isobel decisively. "To go against the court's ruling without permission could be held as contempt of court. Furthermore, if she changes her mind again you don't want to be stuck with the current arrangements."

"That's rather what I thought so what do we do?"

Isobel was unable to restrain herself and got the giggles. "Normally I'd get in touch with her solicitor but I doubt she's got one, either eaten him or not been accepted as a client for fear of getting eaten."

Arthur laughed with her. "So?" he asked.

"I'll write to her telling her what is necessary and at the same time draw up an agreement for you to look at."

"OK.

"Presumably you'd be happy just to reverse roles."

"I would and in her present frame of mind I doubt she would take advantage of it. If however this romance falls through she might start trying to mess me about again."

"How about if we stipulate that all access must be agreed four weeks beforehand and that any failure to meet her commitments other than caused by Act of God will mean denial of future access?"

"Whew! Do you think the court would buy that?"

"From what she knows of your ex I'm jolly sure Mary Davidson would and she did reserve this case to herself. If your ex signs the agreement then I'm pretty certain that the court will merely endorse it."