Chapter 9

Excluding the news of Ella's change of plans, the month of April went by uneventful. The weather finally warmed up, which allowed her and Henry to take more study breaks in the courtyard. May arrived, which meant that the end of the semester along with graduation was less than a month away, which excited her very much. But first, another milestone would be celebrated on May 6th, which happened to be today, which was Shelagh's eighteenth birthday. Her Da sang happy birthday to her that morning, continuing the tradition that her Ma had started and had Marjorie come in to do the cooking that day so she wouldn't have to.

Her birthday fell on a Saturday that year and she spent most of the day relaxing, which was hard for her at first, but by the afternoon it felt nice to sit on the bench in the family garden and enjoy some lemonade. That evening, she invited Ella and Henry to come eat dinner at her house to celebrate. Her Da playfully questioned her intentions when she asked if Henry could come over, but she assured him that they were just friends and that was the end of the matter.

Shelagh was in the sitting room as Marjorie was cooking a roast with carrots and steamed potatoes when she heard a knock on the door. Shelagh walked over and opened it to see Ella standing in her front doorway.

"Happy Birthday Shelagh" she said holding a cake tin. Her gift to Shelagh every year was making her favorite cake, which was red velvet and a box of tea packets from her family's coffee shop.

"Thank you" she replied as she gave her a hug

"Come on in to the sitting room while we wait for dinner to be ready" Shelagh stated

"Sounds good" she replied and followed her into the sitting room

About fifteen minutes later, she heard a knock at the door and opened the front door to find that Henry had arrived.

"Happy Birthday" he told her

"Thank you" she replied and noticed that he was holding a small box and an envelope in hand. She wasn't sure what to do next, but Henry leaned forward and gave her a hug and she hugged him back.

"You didn't have to get me anything" she told him

"But I wanted to" he said

"Well thank you, I will be opening presents after dinner so you can sit that on the table of the sitting room" she said

They walked into the sitting room and not long after they all got settled, dinner was ready. Their dinner was filled with laughter and joy along with wonderful food, which was bittersweet to her considering that she was about to leave it all behind to move to London.

Once they finished eating cake, they all went into the sitting room so she could open her presents.

Once everyone was seated, Shelagh said "So Ella got me the wonderful cake that we all just ate along with some tea from her family's coffee shop, so thank you so very much"

"You're welcome, but I decided to get you something else this year" Ella replied

Shelagh looked over to find a extra box next to the two boxes and a big paper bag that she remembered sitting on the table before dinner. She grabbed the one that wasn't there before and opened to find that there was a small camera on the inside.

"Something to capture your new adventure with" Ella stated

Shelagh smiled and said "That was really kind of you, thank you. How did you manage to sneak it in here?"

"I brought it over earlier without you knowing and your Da brought it in here after you were seated for dinner" she answered

"Well you did a good job of making it a surprise" she replied

"Thank you" Ella told her

She grabbed the next box, unwrapped the paper and opened the box to find a stethoscope inside along with a card that indicated that it was from her father.

"Thank you so much Da, where in the world did you get this?" she asked him

"That day I told you I would be working over, I actually took the train into Aberdeen and got it from a shop there. I hope that you can get a lot of use out of it during your training" he answered

"That is so sweet, thank you" she told him

"You're welcome sweetheart" he replied

She grabbed the paper bag next and opened it to find a a crocheted blanket on the inside that was made with red and blue yarn, but with no card indicating who it was from. Henry didn't bring a bag, so the only other person it could have been from is Marjorie.

"Thank you so much Auntie Marjorie" she told her

"I know you may not need it right away, but although London winters are not quite as cold as Inverurie winters, I hope that it will remind you of home" she said

"I think that it will. Thank you, for cooking such wonderful meals today and for the blanket" she told her

"You're welcome" she replied smiling

She then grabbed the small box that Henry had brought and opened it to find a bracelet with blue and silver beads wrapped around it. Underneath it she noticed a piece of paper folded up which read:

I got you something else underneath the tissue paper, but you need to be discreet about looking at it because I am not sure your Da will like it.

- Henry

She moved the tissue paper over as discreetly as she could to find a lighter intended to light cigarettes. She smiled and had to stop herself from giggling and thankfully no one else noticed, except for Henry, who was beaming at her when she looked back up at him.

"Thank you for the bracelet, it is so pretty" she told him as she put it on her wrist

"You're welcome" he replied

"I would like to thank everyone for coming tonight and I am so thankful for each and every one of you. Thank you all for supporting me as I move to London next month, I know that it is not easy and I will miss everyone here so much" said Shelagh and then she started tearing up

"You're going to be just a train ride away. I will miss seeing you almost everyday, but we will write and still get to visit on holidays" Ella reassured her

"I know that you will go to London and make us all proud as you work towards becoming certified as a nurse" said Marjorie

"You make me so proud Shelagh and I will cherish each visit that you are able to make" Da stated

"From the short time I have known you, I know that you will do great training as a nurse" Henry told her

"Thank you all for your kind comments" said Shelagh

They all sat and talked in the sitting room for a little while longer. Marjorie was the first one to leave, with Ella and Henry shortly following her. Once they said their goodbyes, her and Da cleaned up the sitting room and kitchen before they went to bed that night.