Fourteen
It turned out that wedding planning could be difficult after all.
I phoned at least five prospective venues for the wedding reception, all of which were fully booked for several months, and some, more than a year, in advance.
It was the same story for churches. Plus the people answering the phones at those asked awkward questions, like, whether the bride and groom were religious, and if they went to church on a regular basis.
Who knew?
Thankfully, Sam did confirm that Elliot was not only available to do the wedding photos, he was more than happy to oblige, and even said he’d give his services for free as a wedding gift.
Noelle also confirmed her friend, the florist, was on board and that I could meet up with her once I had discussed with Adele what flowers she wanted, both for her wedding bouquet, and for the church or other venue, and possibly also for the tables at the reception.
I felt as though I had been on the phone for hours, so I was quite relieved when Lucy called and asked if I fancied lunch.
‘Ask me a sensible question,’ I said.
Lucy laughed. ‘Where do you want to eat?’
‘Ah. Ask me a question I can answer.’
‘Okay. English? Indian? Italian? Spanish? Chinese? Thai? Or fish and chips on the beach?’
‘Ooh. Fish and chips on the beach.’
‘See you outside the sailing club at noon?’
‘It’s a date. Wait. Does the sailing club have a function room?’
‘Yes it does.’
‘Do you know if they have had any wedding receptions there?’
‘No. But I could ask Sam. Or we could pop in today and ask them ourselves. I assume this is for Adele and Marcus’ reception.’
‘No. It’s for mine and Jasper’s. Of course it’s for Adele and Marcus’ reception. I haven’t had any luck finding anywhere else, so far. And if it’s possible to have exclusive use of the balcony, that would be great. Imagine what that could look like with flowers and wedding bunting and stuff like that. And imagine watching the sunset from there. In fact … Imagine them exchanging their vows on that balcony. At sunset. What do you think? We could have lunch, or an afternoon, or evening meal at a restaurant. And then get a carriage or something to bring Adele and Marcus along the promenade to here. We’d have cocktails and maybe some music and dancing, and then the wedding vows at sunset, followed by a disco or dance or whatever in the function room.’
‘I think that sounds fantastic. But I don’t think the sailing club is licensed for weddings. I suppose, if Adele and Marcus like the idea, they could have a simple ceremony at the registry office beforehand, and then exchange their vows in front of a celebrant at the sailing club.’
‘You’re a genius!’
‘Tell me something I don’t know.’
‘Do you know any celebrants?’
‘Do I know any celebrants? Erm. No. Wait. I’m at Fairlight Brides and Tilly is here and she’s trying to tell me something. Wow! Really? Hey, Erin. It seems I do know a celebrant.’
‘Don’t tell me. It’s Billy, the Dachshund, isn’t it? No doubt he’ll have his own bow tie. Does he also do an Elvis impersonation?’
‘Uh-huh. And he’s all shook up.’ Lucy laughed. Her Elvis impersonation was actually quite good. ‘It’s Willy Trotton. Tilly’s husband.’
‘Seriously?’
‘Uh-huh.’
‘Check he’s free on that date, and tell him he’s provisionally booked.’
‘Will do. See you later. Before Will arrives to pick her up, I need to get Tilly to tell me all about how Willy became a celebrant. They amaze me more each day.’
‘Ask Tilly if she can recommend anyone for the cars,’ I said, wondering why I hadn’t thought of this before now. ‘She must’ve had thousands of brides pass through her doors over the years and I’m sure they told her all about their weddings. In fact. Why don’t you give her a copy of the list and see if there’s anything else on there that she, or Willy, or even Billy, can help with?’
‘Now who’s the genius? Will do.’
I was rather pleased with myself. And with Lucy and Tilly. And also Willy.
I had been sitting at the table in the dining room since I’d returned from Sam and Lucy’s this morning. There was more room for me to spread out all my notes for the wedding. But I was beginning to feel stiff. I stretched out my arms, and stretched up my back, and then twisted and turned my head and neck from side to side.
And then I did a double take.
Was that Jasper in the car park?
I almost fell over as I jumped to my feet.
I dashed into the hall, quickly slipped my feet into my sandals, yanked open the front door, and raced outside, waving almost maniacally as I hurried down the path, calling out to him as I ran.
At first I thought he hadn’t heard me, and assumed he had those damn ear buds in his ears, but then he slowly turned his head in my direction and his smile, although a little lopsided, no doubt due to the pain in his nose, was like a sliver of sunshine on a cloudy day.
Not that it was a cloudy day. In fact it was a very sunny day. So sunny that I had to hold my hand up in front of my face to shield my eyes from the glare as I rushed across the wooden footbridge and into the car park where Jasper was leaning against his van, his legs crossed at his ankles, and his arms crossed over his chest.
‘Fancy seeing you here,’ I said, somewhat stupidly. ‘They let you out then?’
‘Hello, Erin. This is a surprise. I assumed you’d be out enjoying yourself. And by that I mean, assaulting innocent people. What torture do you have in store for me today?’
The laughter was written all over his face, and his eyes twinkled with amusement. It made him more handsome, if that were possible, even with a lump on his nose and two long black streaks under his eyes.
I grinned at him. ‘Give me a minute and I’ll think of something.’
His eyes held mine as we gazed at one another in silence.
‘I’m waiting.’ He laughed. ‘Sorry. But I’ll need to hurry you. Places to be. People to see.’
‘Same here,’ I said. ‘I just wanted to say hello.’
‘Hello, Erin.’
‘Hello, Jasper.’
Our eyes were still locked.
‘O-k-a-y, then.’ He pushed himself away from his van, uncrossing his legs and arms as he did so. ‘I’ll come and get my ladder in a day or two, if that’s still okay?’
‘It is. Come round anytime. But maybe, give me a quick call first just to check I’m in.’
‘Okay. Or I could use another ladder and climb through an open window.’
He glanced across at Far Cottage where all the windows were wide open.
‘You could. But I wouldn’t advise it. And besides, I’m a little paranoid about stuff like home security. We actually give talks about it. The police in general, I mean. Not me, specifically. Anyway, I always make sure all windows and doors are closed and locked before I leave.’
‘Good to know. How’s the wedding planning going?’
‘It’s going well. Oh. Do you know Fairlight Bay Sailing Club?’
‘I do. Although it’s been a while since I’ve been there. I’ve been living in Canada for several years, and I only got back here on Friday.’
‘Really? Whereabouts in Canada?’
‘All over.’
‘Is that near Toronto?’ I joked.
‘Yeah,’ he teased. ‘Just down the road.’ His smile widened and then a flicker of pain flashed across his face, but it was gone in a split second. ‘Mainly in Vancouver, and other places in British Columbia. But I did travel about, a lot. Have you ever been there?’
‘I’ve never been to Canada. No. But I’d love to go there one day.’
‘You should. It’s spectacular. Anyway. Why did you ask me about the sailing club?’
‘How would you feel about exchanging vows at sunset on the balcony?’
He raised his brows. And then clearly wished he hadn’t.
‘Is that a proposal?’
‘What? No!’ Heat rushed into my cheeks. ‘I meant I was asking for your opinion. For Adele and Marcus to exchange their vows. I’m having trouble finding a venue for the reception, and, having been there myself, and seen how wonderful the view is, I thought it might be a special place for them to exchange their vows. And you knew that’s what I meant didn’t you?’
‘I did. And I agree. That would be special. You don’t have a boyfriend, do you, Erin?’
‘What? No. Why?’
Now it wasn’t merely my face that was burning up. Something in his eyes was sending heat racing through my entire body. How could just a look … a flicker of something … make me feel like this?
He shrugged. ‘Just asking. I must go. I really do need to be somewhere. It was good to see you. You look lovely in that dress. Although from what I can recall, those pyjamas you were wearing last night were also rather fetching. And this is a first for us. I’m getting into my van unscathed.’
He smiled as he opened the door and climbed inside. He gave me a little wave by raising his hand in the air, and then he started his van, turned the steering wheel, and tooted his horn as I watched him drive away.
I beamed as I glanced down at my sundress, and then cringed as I remembered the PJs I was wearing last night. They were dotted with dancing flamingos, but they were also rather flimsy.
Oh well. I suppose it could’ve been worse. And as it was pitch black, save for the light from his torch, for most of the time we were together, he couldn’t have seen that much. I’d tightened the belt of my dressing gown by the time the power had come back on. And he did have a broken nose at the time, so I doubt that getting a good look at my body had been top of his list of priorities.