Raisins and almonds - Poisoned Pen Press (UK)

Raisins and Almonds 11
to for a decision, had agreed that white was the only possibility.
So what if she’d had a little slip? So had Cec and no one was
trying to debar him from his own wedding because he wasn’t a
virgin. In fact he’d gone to considerable trouble and expense to
make sure he wasn’t a virgin.
No, white it was to be, and Dot Williams had very kindly
agreed to go with Alice to the first fitting, in case she was nervous.
No one in her family wanted her to marry. She was earning good
money at the grocer’s shop, and her dad was a soak. But she had
made up her mind. She was marrying him, and her dad couldn’t
say nothing about it.
Cec allowed his train of thought to wander even further, until
he was brought back to the present by his mate Bert nudging
him and advising him that he was grinning like a loon and asking
whether he had taken leave of his senses?
‘Here you are with a soppy smirk on your dial, and we’re
supposed to be paying attention,’ scolded Bert.
‘All right, mate, here I am,’ said Cec soothingly. Bert was a good
bloke, but he was prone to go crook when he was nervous.
And Bert was nervous because he didn’t know what to
look for in this big bustling market. Neither did Cec, but his
Scandinavian ancestors had bequeathed him some Viking fatalism.
If they were meant to find out, they’d find out.
They delivered the shoes for Miss Harrison, and she was so mollified
that she offered them a tip, which they took graciously.
‘Now what?’ asked Bert.
‘I reckon we stroll around to the birdshop and see what Mr.
Rosybum wants us to do next,’ said Cec. ‘And we get an idea
of what this place looks like. He’ll be with his birds for half an
hour. What’s up the stairs?’
They climbed, to be greeted with a wave of scents, all manner
of flowers and wet stone. The top floor was full of florists—John
Lane and several Irelands. They noticed Tintons Glass and China
Repairer, Albert Fox, Fruiterer. Strolling by they saw through
his window a man in titanic struggle with a pineapple, which
was resisting having its crown chopped off. His language was