Page 63 of One Night in Edinburgh

‘Thank you.’ Jamie slips his jacket off and hands it to him.

I feel a slight sense of relief when I see that the casual outfit Jamie described is quite smart, then feel annoyed at myself for such a thought. It shouldn’t matter at all what he’s wearing.

We make our way across to the table, where my family stop mid-conversation as they see us approaching. While I’d like to think this is out of politeness to give Jamie their undivided attention, I strongly suspect that it’s really because they’ve been discussing his suitability ahead of even meeting the poor bloke.

‘Jamie, this is my mum, dad, Kayleigh and Mikey… everyone, this is Jamie,’ I announce as we reach the table.

The place settings on the side of the table where I’m sitting have been moved discreetly and an extra chair added so that Jamie’s able to sit with us. I consider offering him the middle seat so he’s not left on the end, but since that would leave him flanked on all sides, I decide that it’s better to allow him the breathing space. Instead, I sit myself next to Mikey again. The only downside to this seating arrangement is that it means we’re facing Mum, Dad and Kayleigh, which is a little bit like facing an MI5 interrogation.

‘Hello, Jamie.’ My dad gets to his feet and reaches across to shake Jamie’s hand. ‘I’m Ron. Good to meet you.’

‘Good to meet you, too.’ Jamie clasps his hand firmly and confidently, I notice. ‘Happy birthday and thanks very much for allowing me to crash your party.’

‘Not at all. It’s a pleasure to have you join us.’ My dad smiles broadly at him.

Well, that’s a good start. One down, three to go.

My mum’s next to get up.

‘Jamie, it’s lovely to meet you.’ She holds out a hand and clasps his gently. ‘I’m Marjory. We’re pleased you could join us.’

‘Thank you, Marjory. As am I.’ Jamie bows his head a little then fixes my mum with such piercing eye contact, she actually blushes.

One hundred per cent success rate with two of the most difficult members of my family. I’m impressed.

Jamie then turns to Kayleigh with a genuine smile.

‘Kayleigh, it’s lovely to see you again. Did you get some good material from your visit to the market yesterday? I do hope it was a fruitful venture for you.’

My mouth hangs open as Kayleigh simpers like a shy five-year-old.

‘It was, Jamie. Thanks for showing an interest. I broke my record for likes and comments with a rather spectacular shot that really captured the core essence of veganism.’

‘Fantastic. You must show me that later.’

Wowsers.Jamie’s like a magician. Or a wizard. I need to get him to teach me how to cast these spells on my family.

‘Jamie, mate.’ Mikey reaches around the back of me and shakes his hand in a very buddy-buddy way. ‘Great to have you with us. This party’s needing a bit of life in it. You a pint in the pub over a game of footie man, are you?’

‘Definitely,’ says Jamie.

‘What’s your team?’

‘Partick.’

‘I’m a Celtic man, but I’ll let you off, given we’ve demolished Partick in almost every game since ninety-five.’ Mikey gives Jamie a wheeler-dealer wink.

‘Very gracious of you.’ Jamie plays along perfectly. ‘Celtic are my number two. I support them when I need a win.’

As I watch this exchange, it’s clear by his expression that Mikey’s smitten.

‘Enough of the football chat,’ my dad pipes up. ‘Jamie, a more important question, are you a whisky man?’

‘Never known to refuse a malt, Ron.’ Jamie takes a sip from the glass of water that’s been poured for him by the waiter.

‘Splendid. Let’s get the sommelier across for some recommendations with dessert then.’

Observing this scene as it unfolds around me, I couldn’t be happier. With things going the way they are – that is very,verywell – and my subconscious resuming the wedding daydreams, I want nothing more than Jamie to be accepted by my family, and it seems just that is happening. I can’t believe my luck. With Connor it was like an endless losing battle, but this… this makes for a much easier time of things.

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