Annabel had never seen her grandmother lost for words before, but receiving personal correspondence from Her Majestyleft her in a kind of awed silence. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house as her nearest and dearest watched her gaze at the photograph on the front of the card. Annabel heard her whisper, ‘Well I never!’
Then she opened it and read the message aloud:
I am so pleased to know that you are celebrating your one hundredth birthday on 9th March, 2019. I send my congratulations and best wishes to you on such a special occasion. Elizabeth R.
‘Well, thank you very much, Your Majesty; it was very good of you to remember!’ she quipped, earning a burst of laughter and another round of applause as she held the card up for everyone to see.
‘Speech!’ came a voice from the back of the room, which Annabel recognised to be that of Neil Polkerris, the farmer who leased the Penrose farmland. Everyone laughed again and Dotty let herself be talked into it.
‘I’m not one for speeches, but I would just like to say a few words,’ she began and then paused as she looked around the room. Sitting next to her, Annabel squeezed her hand encouragingly.
‘I’d just like to say thank you so much to you all for coming today, it really does mean an awful lot to me. I’m a very fortunate old woman! Lots of you have asked me the secret to reaching this ripe old age. I’m not sure what the answer is, maybe it’s the little glass of sherry I have every evening – purely for medicinal reasons, you understand!’ More laughter. Annabel felt a surge of pride as she watched her grandmother captivate her audience.
‘But in all seriousness,’ she continued, ‘I think it’s love.’ A sigh echoed around the room. ‘I’ve had a long life filled witha lot of love, for which I thank my lucky stars every day. I was blessed with the most wonderful husband. He loved me and took care of me from the moment we met, until the day he died. And we were blessed with the best son we could have ever wished for, our dear Noel. I could never have asked for a kinder, more loving son. Thank you, darling.’ She looked over to where Noel was standing and blew him a kiss.
‘What about us, Nanny Dotty?’ came the small voice of William’s eldest, six-year-old Lucy, from the corner of the room. Everyone laughed and Dotty wiped away trickles of laughter.
‘And you too, darling, I was saving the most important till last! I am so fortunate to have my wonderful grandchildren and great-grandchildren here; my dearest Annabel, William and his Sarah, and their cheeky little monkeys, Lucy and Aiden. I love you all, thank you for being my family.’ Dotty smiled out at her guests and gave a slight bow to show that she had finished, prompting rapturous applause and cheers from around the room.
Noel stepped forward next and motioned for quiet. ‘How to follow that?’ he joked. He started by echoing Dotty’s thanks to everyone for coming, to the Lord Lieutenant for making it such a special occasion and to the caterers, who were now busy setting up the buffet on the patio.
‘And now comes the hard part, how on earth can I do justice to a hundred years of my wonderful mum in just a few minutes?’ An encouraging chuckle murmured around the room.
‘All I can say is thank you, Ma. You have been our family’s rock and mainstay through the years, through all the ups and downs. And not just for us, but here in the village you have been a stalwart of the community. Never one to let the grass grow under your feet, you’ve always got involved, whether it was the bowling club, the WI, the church rotas, the keep-fitclub or the Cancer Research committee. I know from all the cards you’ve received today – as well as all the guests here – that you are very much loved and very much appreciated.’
Dotty’s eyes glistened with pride as a murmur of agreement echoed around the room. Several voices called out, ‘Hear, hear!’
‘Ma, you’ve made our family what it is. You talked about love, but it was you who showed us how to love. You and Pa – God rest his soul – have been the best parents I could have ever wished for. I am truly blessed to call you my mum. A mere “thank you” seems so inadequate, but I mean it with all my heart.’
Dotty’s eyes welled up again and she reached up to take his hand in hers. Noel raised it to his lips and kissed it tenderly.
‘Ladies and gentlemen,’ Noel continued, dabbing at his own unshed tears, ‘Please raise your glasses. To my wonderful Ma . . . To Dotty!’
‘To Dotty!’ cheered the guests as they toasted the birthday girl.
At that moment, Jeanette made her way through the crowd with the birthday cake. Annabel moved a side table in front of Dotty, as per her mother’s instructions, and took the cigarette lighter from the pocket in her dress. The cake was covered in perfect, snow-white icing, with ‘Happy Birthday Dotty!’ piped in cheerful yellow lettering. Delicate yellow flowers decorated the top and a matching ribbon was tied around the outside. Springtime yellow was the perfect choice, Annabel mused, pleased with her mum’s decision. It was bright and cheerful, just like Dotty.
Annabel lit the candle that stood in the middle of the cake and, as it flickered into life, Noel led the guests in singing ‘Happy Birthday’. The beaming birthday girl leaned forward in her chair, ready to blow out the candle.
‘Make a wish!’ called out one of the guests.
Instead of the full complement to match her age, there was just a single ‘100’ candle standing in the centre. Dotty closed her eyes and smiled as she made her wish, then took a deep breath and blew. The candle was soon extinguished and the guests began to clap. But then it flickered and came alive again, much to Dotty’s bemusement.
Encouraging shouts of ‘Blow harder, Dotty!’ and ‘Give it some welly, girl!’ came from around the room. Dotty looked puzzled, but took another deep breath and had another go.
After the fourth attempt, the penny dropped and Dotty chuckled, realising that she’d been had. ‘Oh, you rascals!’ she said, slightly out of puff. ‘Is this one of those fancy candles that won’t go out?’ she asked, causing much amusement around the room. ‘Fine way to finish an old biddy off on her birthday!’
“Sorry, Dotty!” Annabel clutched her hand and gave a wry smile. “Blame William, it was his bright idea!”
Dotty looked across to see William grinning at her. He gave her a wink and she wagged a finger at him, but couldn’t keep the smile from her face.
The last of the visitors had made their farewells by late afternoon and the family moved through to the comfy chairs in the sitting room. Jeanette directed the catering staff in their tidying up and Sarah set off to make tea for everyone, while Annabel helped her grandmother into her favourite chair beside the fireplace. Monty joined her, sitting loyally at her feet with his head on her knee.
‘Well, that was a big success!’ Annabel sighed contentedly, slipping off her shoes and curling up on the sofa. ‘Did you have a nice time, Dotty?’
‘Oh, I’m exhausted!’ the old lady puffed. ‘But it was marvellous! I had a wonderful time. It was so kind of everyone to come. And all these lovely cards!’ She pointed to the sideboard, which was a sea of birthday jollity. ‘I was very touched.’
‘And the old colonel was a bit of alright too, wasn’t he Dotty?’ William quipped from the hearthrug, where he was getting out the Lego to keep his children entertained. He waggled his eyebrows suggestively at his granny, making her giggle like a schoolgirl.
