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“I’d forgotten about that,” Jenn said.
Beltane—or Là Buidhe Bealltainn to give it its fancy Gaelic name—was a big deal on Hellisay. It was on the first of May, and everyone celebrated with a ‘beginning of summer’ street party. There were bonfires, dancing, garlands of yellow flowers, BBQs, charms, and so on. All supposedly to appease the Daoine Sìth, or na sìthichean—the fairy folk—who were especially active at Beltane. Whether anyone remembered the original meaning was debatable, but the most important point was that it was a full weekend affair and people partied hard. Monday was always a hangover holiday on Hellisay.
“And… me, you, and Mairead have the Saturday, Sunday, and Monday off that weekend. It’s meant to be.”
“What? How?”
“Well, because we’re covering most of Easter, Ealasaid’s put her, Eileen, and the part-timers in that weekend.”
“You’ve got this all planned, haven’t you, you witch!” Jenn laughed.
“You know me.” Abigail winked. “So? Can I hit send on the Moon & Mischief pack?”
“Oh, go on then,” Jenn said, and Abigail squealed. People actually turned to stare.
“Abi, calm down, you maniac.”
“It’s going to be sooo good. Mairead, she said yes!”
Jenn turned to Mairead in disbelief. “So, you were already in on this?”
“Yes!” Mairead grinned. “I’ve not had a proper night out in ages. Seanny’s already said he’ll be on babysitting duty all weekend.”
“Well then, I have to do it now. Who is all descending on me, then?”
“Well, me, Mairead, and Anne Marie. Mairead’s already said to Eilidh, and she’s up for it—she’s amazing, you’ll love her. She’s even taking the weekend off and letting the other staff take over. I was going to ask Cathy Ann, Lizzie, Màiri, and the rest of the regular yoga girls—although the two Margarets probably won’t come. Dolina might, mind you. Apparently she was a wild yin back in the day…”
“Haha, well I guess we’ll find out—that’s what, three weeks away?”
“Yup. Oh, it’s going to be sooo much fun, I can’t wait!” Abigail sang and danced her way back out to the café floor.
“Jack! Turn that music up!”
Chapter 11
A couple of weeks later, Jenn was clearing tables and chatting to customers who were watching the plane land through the café windows. She always enjoyed seeing passengers disembark and do that involuntary gasp—the wide-eyed look of wonder as they took in their first glimpse of Hellisay. It reminded her how lucky she was to live somewhere so naturally beautiful. Albeit temporarily… Which, knowing her luck, meant disaster was likely moments away.
The three amigos were on fire duty today—sweetie-wife Dallas and his two partners in crime, Eòin and DJ. They were in their late fifties and still acted like naughty schoolboys. Jenn always laughed when they were on shift together.
She glanced out at the beach-runway and frowned. DJ was doubled over on the sand, crying with laughter beside the plane’s open luggage door. Eòin had got out of the luggage truck to investigate, and after DJ’s enthusiastic pointing, he too began laughing. In between gasps, the two of them were calling for Dallas and the pilots to come over. Jenn’s stomach dropped. The pilots were the two aeronautical hunks—Ruairidh and Enrique.
Oh no. Please don’t let this involve her, somehow.
Ruairidh had gone inside the luggage hold while Enrique joined the others, already laughing. A few passengers were craning their necks toward the noise. What the hell was going on?
Jenn spotted Ruairidh’s head pop out of the hold—his expression was thunderous. He pointed firmly toward the airport, saying something that made Dallas start walking to the café, trying not to laugh. Dallas stepped inside the café, scanning the room before approaching.
“Jenn… could you come with me a minute?” His voice wobbled with suppressed mirth.
“Umm, sure? Is everything okay?”
“Let’s just go and see, shall we,” he said, clapping her on the back.
They walked down the beach together, Dallas shaking with barely-contained laughter.
“Awright, Jen Jen!” Eòin guffawed as he drove past with the luggage truck.
Jenn approached DJ and Enrique, wary. Ruairidh was still inside the hold.
