Reef - Chapter 16: To Have and To Hold

Reef was having a bath. If you're reading this and you're a boy or a girl this might seem like a pleasant thing to do. You might have a rubber duck to play with or a submarine to take on little adventures. For certain you will have nice warm water and soft bubbly foam stretching out to the horizon (well, to the edge of the bath tub). Reef, being a dog, was not enjoying herself quite so much. Bob had a paddling pool for such occasions and he filled it with the hose at the side of the garden, just topping it up at the end with a kettle of steaming water 'to take the chill off'. He then carried a shivering Reef, all glum eyes and dangling tail, over to it and plonked her down in the middle. Holding onto her collar he then grabbed the dog shampoo and carefully made her fur as clean and un-doggy smelling as possible which, for a dog, is not a favourite smell at all. Usually of course Dougie would have been there to help but today he was excused for today was the day Dougie and Jeannie were to be married.

Somehow this fact made the scrubbing down almost bearable and Reef held as still as she was able as Bob towelled her dry and brought forth from his back pocket the dreaded detangling brush. Inch after inch of her coat was gone over until she was as sleek as a show dog and as fluffy as she was ever likely to be. 'Now,' said Bob, 'I'm afraid it's the bedroom for you until the service. Don't worry – you'll have Mhairi for company.' Reef's tail, which had almost got back to wagging level, drooped once more.

'REEF! Awh, come here, wee PUPPY!', squealed Mhairi, putting down her own hairbrush and coming towards her with mad eyes of affection. Reef wagged her tail despite herself and gave in to Mhairi's never ending hug. 'Och, you be careful now not to distract people from the Bride, ya wee beauty you.' Reef assumed Mhairi was satisfied with Bob's handiwork. She settled down upon the sheepskin rug and watched as Mhairi primped, preened, plucked, puffed and powdered herself into a state worthy of a visit by Royalty. The time dragged like a rainy day but was eventually dealt with by Bob's call of, 'Ladies, your carriage awaits!' Mhairi took a powder blue satin strip from the bed and laced it through Reef's collar. 'Just for show,' she said though Reef suspected it was so she didn't get into any accidental adventures.

They got in the car under Bob's umbrella and drove two streets to the church. It seemed silly to go only a few yards like this but Mhairi was worried about the rain mucking about with her coiffured hair. Twenty short steps later and they were inside. The place smelt of anticipation. Warm murmur filled the building and the pews were packed. Mhairi and Bob though had a place saved for them next to Jeannie's parents at the front and a little mat too for Reef, to stop her getting a cold bottom on the flagstones.

All at once, as if they had practised it, the church fell silent and all the taller people turned to look
back at the entrance to watch what was happening. Reef was watching Dougie instead, he had a different sort of nervousness to normal and his Adam's apple bobbed up and down below his clean shaven blushing face. His eyes were huge and, though he tried to look a bit solemn in front of all his friends and relations, he couldn't stop beaming for more than a quarter second at a time. His huge eyes became even shinier as his gaze fixed upon something at the far end of the aisle. His brother Paul checked his jacket pocket for the twentieth time since he'd arrived, flustered, four minutes ago. That was, assumed Reef, the pocket he'd put the dog biscuits in for when she got restless though she could only smell the ones in Bob's jacket. She licked her lips.

Music filled the space and finally Jeannie came into view. Reef had never been allowed to a wedding before but she had seen many brides at receptions and recognised the beautiful ivory dress that carried a particularly happy Jeannie inside. Dougie stepped forwards and took her by both hands and Reef thought back to that time more than a year ago when he had asked Jeannie to dance at the Ceilidh Place. Bob handed the first of many tissues to a sobbing smiling Mhairi as Reef wondered why she had bothered with all that make up in the first place.

As the minister said some words to Jeannie and Dougie that seemed to be intended only for them, and Reef, to hear, she looked about her and noticed that everyone seemed transfixed by the bride and groom in a way that customers at the hotel never seemed to be when they were working as waiters or behind the bar. Reef decided that this day was their day and that they were
the King and Queen of it all. In fact she had been so swept up in the magic that she was surprised when Paul began fumbling at his jacket pocket of a sudden, she hadn't uttered a peep. She was even more surprised when Paul brought forth a little black box and opened
it up to reveal a pair of shiny gold rings that Dougie and Jeannie then presented to one another, though she decided that, in some very unusual and special way, she like this even more than a biscuit, and that was a statement not likely to be heard from Reef on most days.

The minister stepped forwards from the newly married couple, hugging and kissing beside him and announced that the happy two would be delighted, after photographs, to see everyone back at Ceilidh Place to toast the pair and for feasting and dancing to follow. Reef barked loudly in approval for dancing was the proper way to celebrate and she finally got a biscuit as everyone
laughed and Dougie and Jeannie came over to give her a cuddle.

The End.