Chapter 19 #2
Ruby and Rose, Laura’s twins, wave up at us, both covered in green face paint.
I’m not sure what they’re supposed to be, but I’m probably not cool enough.
They’re with Becca’s daughter, Little Edie, who is Doctor Who, and Katie’s older boys, one of whom is a vampire and one of whom is just wearing a onesie with a dinosaur hood. Low maintenance. I like it.
We drift through to the main ball room, running the gamut of some very overexcited Minions, and find a lively version of the ‘Time Warp’ underway.
Cherie is in the middle, along with Edie, and there’s something weirdly fascinating about watching the giant killer clown and almost-a-century-old woman in a bloody zombie outfit dance in a line.
I stare on as they do their pelvic thrusts.
‘I’ll never un-see that,’ Aidan murmurs, shaking his head.
‘I know,’ I whisper, as Sally leaves us and runs over to join in.
Obviously. Aidan takes my hand and puts it through his arm like an old-fashioned gent.
It’s a very Gomez and Morticia gesture, and I’m happy to be led over to a table.
Within a few minutes, we’re joined by Cherie and Sally, and a Minion delivers glasses of Murderous Martini to us all.
I have a tiny sip, just to please Cherie, but then stick to water.
‘You two look magnificent,’ Cherie announces, raising her glass to me. ‘The perfect costume. I always had a bit of a thing for Gomez. He was such a romantic…’
Aidan slides his arm around my shoulders.
‘Easy to be romantic when you have such a beautiful wife,’ he says, smiling at me.
I feel a blush on my cheeks, which is decidedly un-Morticia.
This isn’t real , I remind myself. This is him pretending.
This is all a show for Sally. As soon as she leaves, we can go back to normal. Whatever the hell that is.
The night goes with the kind of swing I’ve come to expect of Budbury, and within an hour of us arriving, the whole place is packed.
Laura is, as promised, wearing a sheet with eyeholes cut out of it, and she ambles over to admire my dress with its long black velvet skirt and dramatic flared sleeves.
‘Next year,’ she says determinedly, ‘I’ll be able to wear something like that… ’
Max has succeeded in getting Gabriel to come with her, and he looks almost unbearably hot in his frilly white shirt, britches and pirate hat. She can’t keep her hands off him, and I don’t blame her; he’s giving off a totally Pirate Poldark vibe.
Zoe’s costume makes me laugh. She’s wearing a sensible grey trouser suit with Doc Marten boots, a rumpled grey overcoat, and a deep red knitted scarf around her neck.
It might not be immediately obvious to most people, but I notice straight away– she’s actually come to the party dressed as DI Carina Shaw, my fictional heroine.
Carina has a whole selection of brightly coloured knitted scarves that her mother makes for her in the secure unit where she’s lived for the last twenty years.
Long story. Zoe waves from across the room, and I give her an amused thumbs-up.
Sally throws herself into the party with great gusto, burning up the dance floor and taking part in everything from apple bobbing to a vigorous game of pass the parcel where every layer reveals something ghoulish.
She emerges with a plastic skeleton hand, which she proceeds to enjoy poking me with every five minutes.
There’s a bit of a surprise after the first few hours, when the music turns off, the lights go down low, and Edie takes to the microphone.
Her lovely little face is now covered in scars and fake bites, and her pink ball-gown is tattered and torn.
‘One two three, testing testing…’ she says. ‘Is there anybody out there?’
A huge cheer goes up in the room, and then she continues: ‘Good! So, tonight, my friends, we have a very special treat for you all… A mysterious guest, all the way from distant lands!’
A spotlight appears, lighting a path from the doorway through into the room.
A woman walks into it, tall and slim and dressed in a traditional frilly Spanish dress.
Her hair is pinned up and twined with roses, and her face is painted white and red in a striking Day of the Dead design.
She strides over to Edie, and takes the microphone from her.
‘ Buenas noches, amigos! ’ she says. ‘And happy Halloween!’
At the sound of her voice, more cheers go up, and I see Auburn get up from her chair so fast it falls over.
She’s joined by Van, her brother and Katie’s partner, and they run together to the front of the room.
They throw their arms around the new arrival and hug her to within an inch of her life.
As Auburn is dressed as a blood-spattered Ariel from The Little Mermaid and Van is wearing a huge Count Dracula cape, it looks pretty terrifying.
‘Is that Willow?’ I ask Cherie, seeing the delighted smile on my friend’s face. I know Willow used to work at the café too and that they were close. ‘It is, my love. It’s been hard keeping her visit a secret, but it was worth it! Look how happy everyone is!’
She’s right, I think, looking on. Laura has torn off her sheet to throw her arms around Willow, and even the normally reserved Katie is getting in on the act.
Cherie ambles over to join them, and the music starts up again.
How lovely to be so missed, I think. So much a part of this world.
I know she’s been living in Spain with her husband and baby, but there’s no sign of them. Probably too loud for a baby.
Aidan’s hand slips into mine under the table, and I glance up at him in surprise.
‘You look wistful, Morticia,’ he says, leaning in close. ‘You okay?’
‘Yes, of course. I just… Well, it’s nice, isn’t it? This place, and the way it holds people so close? Does that make sense?’
‘It does, and yes, it is. I’ve never known anywhere like it. I suspect Budbury is magical all year round. Did I tell you how beautiful you look, by the way?’
‘You did,’ I reply. ‘And you know you did. You just want to make me blush again.’
He winks at me, ensuring that I do, then says he’s off to find more drinks. He kisses me on the forehead before he goes.
I can’t take my eyes off him as he walks away, and I’m only brought back from my lustful trance when Sally pokes me on the shoulder with her skeleton hand. I turn back to face her. She’s sipping on a Murderous Martini.
‘I’ve never seen you look at a man like that,’ she announces. ‘Not even Will, and you actually married him. Could it be that my sister is finally in luuuurrrve ?’
I am shocked by the very idea and shake my head vigorously, feeling my Morticia hair swishing over my back. ‘No! Of course not!’
‘Why do you sound so horrified? It’s nice! It’s lovely! It’s delightful. It makes the world go round, didn’t you hear?’
‘I did hear, but I never believed it. I’m sure the world goes round because of something complicated to do with the astrophysics of the solar system.’
‘Pah! Trust me, I’m a doctor. Love makes the world go round, not physics. In fact, I have you to thank for reminding me of that. It was seeing you and Aidan together at the twins’ party that made me realise just how unhappy I was with Ollie.’
I freeze, my blood turning cold in my veins. ‘What do you mean?’
‘I mean that I saw the way Aidan looked at you. Saw the way he, I don’t know, cherished you even.
Every time he laid his hand on the small of your back, or held you in his arms, he was just so…
respectful. Loving, but respectful. Like he couldn’t believe his luck, like you were a precious object.
Not gonna lie, I was a bit jealous. Things hadn’t been good with me and Ollie for ages, but that pushed me over the edge.
I want that, too. I want to be seen the way Aidan sees you, and if Ollie can’t do that, then…
well, then I suppose it’s over. I’d rather be alone than settle for second best.’
I desperately wish I hadn’t agreed to drive now, because I really could murder a Martini.
If I’m interpreting this correctly, then one of the reasons my sister has walked out on her husband of twenty years is because of me.
Because of Aidan. Because of our charade.
I grab my water and gulp some down. I have to tell her.
Awkward as this is, I can’t allow my silly games to influence such a major life decision.
What if this separation sticks? What if my darling Lucy and Libby lose their stable family home, at least in part because of me?
No. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.
I reach out and grab her hand, making sure she’s looking at me and not at the dancefloor. Admittedly that’s hard, because a whole room full of people is doing the Michael Jackson ‘Thriller’ stomp, and it’s quite the sight.
‘Sally, listen to me.’ She turns back, grinning. ‘None of it was real,’ I tell her.
‘None of what was real?’
‘None of me and Aidan. We’re not a couple. He’s not my boyfriend. I’m not in love and he doesn’t cherish me… It was all an act. Please don’t judge Ollie by a lie.’
She frowns, looking understandably confused. ‘More detail please.’
I sigh out my tension and swallow down the embarrassment. This needs to come out.
‘Aidan is a friend, nothing more. In fact I barely know him. I asked him to be my date, to pretend to be with me, because I wanted to come to the twins’ party and for once not be the loser of the family.’
‘That’s how you feel? Like the loser of the family? You, the one who has the world at your feet and a career we’re all in awe of?’
I nod, surprised at the comment. ‘Yes. Me, the one who got divorced and can’t make a relationship work and never had kids. The one you all think is a bit of a freak. You all have me tucked away in a little box, and I suppose I wanted to break out of it.’