Chapter TEN
As I steered Maddy and Katja out of the café and across the village green, they were giggling uncontrollably at something, although I’d no idea what.
It had been raining steadily all day and it was still coming down, plastering our hair to our faces. But to see the pair’s reaction, you’d think they’d spent the last decade living in a parched desert!
Maddy was whooping and spinning giddily around, holding her face up to the elements and blinking rain out of her eyes, while Katja laughed and followed her onto the green, somehow managing to trip over her feet and land with a squeal on her bum.
The Hallowe’en cocktails we’d been sampling (for a good cause, obviously; the wedding was the following week) had clearly been a lot stronger than any of us had realised.
Ellie had offered to do the mixing with the cocktail set she’d received for Christmas and hadn’t had a chance to try out yet.
Somewhere between delicious sips o.
‘Zombie Smash’, ‘Witches’
Brew’
an.
‘Bloody Eyeball’, I’d become aware that some of us were ‘sampling’
rather more eagerly than I was. Maddy and Katja, who were on days off, were clearly determined to make sure Sylvia and Mick had nothing but the best scary cocktails at their wedding reception and were stoically giving up their afternoon to ensure that the balance of spirits and mixers was exactly right. (Giggling, I’d told them I had to admire their single-minded focus on the matter.)
I’d stayed reasonably sober, even though Rob had said he’d collect me, and I was now chaperoning the pair across to Katja’s flat, where Maddy was staying over for a girls’
night in. (I’d told them I was going that way anyway, but really, I just wanted to make sure they crossed the high street without any mishaps.)
As I struggled with my umbrella, Maddy suddenly shouted.
‘Taxi!’. Leaving the green, she started haring along the lane, waving her arms about and shouting for it to stop.
I looked and sure enough, a vehicle with its light on was motoring slowly along in the distance, past the houses lining the green.
My heart sank.
‘Maddy, no!’
I glanced over at Katja, who was now whooping and doin.
‘rain angels’
in the wet grass. Cursing under my breath, I abandoned the umbrella and ran after Maddy.
Luckily, she was slowing down, enough for me to catch up with her.
‘It’s not a taxi.’
I grabbed her arm.
‘It’s a police car! Come on, you numpty, before you get arrested.’
She looked quite put out that it wasn’t a taxi but as I explained with a grin, it was just a short walk across the green to Katja’s place and they’d be there in no time.
Katja was on her feet now but thoroughly soaked through. Chuckling, I linked both of them, and we stumbled across the green together.
‘Where’s Caleb tonight, Katja?’
I asked, suddenly realising she hadn’t mentioned him for a while.
‘I’ve no idea what he’s up to,’
she said gloomily.
‘We’re taking things slowly.’
‘Oh, right.’
I’d thought they were madly in love, but maybe he wasn’t as keen as Katja.
‘So was this his decision?’
She shook her head.
‘Mine. All mine.’
‘Okay.’
‘I told him I didn’t want to rush things, but now I’m scared his horrible ex might sneak her way back in.’
‘No, she won’t. Caleb won’t let her. He’s crazy about you.’
‘Yes, but she looks like a model and I hate her,’
slurred Katja.
‘You’re not exactly Shrek yourself,’
said Maddy, breaking away from us and heading for the pedestrian crossing.
‘You can give that bitch a run for her money any day.’
I chuckled. ‘Maddy!’
‘What? What did I say?’
‘Nothing. Hey, that’s a pedestrian crossing pole! It’s not to be used for that,’
I called, watching in horror as Maddy attempted sexy moves around it – much to the amusement of a passing driver who did a cheery honk on his horn at her.
She waved gaily at the car.
‘I’d earn a fortune as a pole-dancer.’
She beamed in my direction.
‘Don’t you think?’
‘No, I bloody don’t.’
I hurried over to pull her back from the road.
‘Honestly, you’re so embarrassing when you’ve had too much to drink, Maddy.’
The green man appeared and I managed to shepherd them both across the road.
The whole thing was quite funny. But I couldn’t help thinking we should have experimented with a few mocktails as well. If the wedding guests ended up losing their inhibitions like Maddy, it would be utter chaos.
When we arrived at Katja’s flat, Maddy went straight to the fridge saying the night hadn’t even started and she fancied a glass of wine. When I said a glass of water would be better, she looked sulky but she allowed me to guide her into the living room. She plopped down, and when I returned a minute later with water, she was curled up like a hibernating dormouse in the corner of the sofa, already dozing off.
Katja was flaked out in an armchair, looking a little pale.
I perched on the sofa arm and grinned at her.
‘You’re like me. You’re not used to drinking so much, are you?’
She grimaced and shook her head.
‘Especially in the afternoon. I honestly didn’t realise how strong those cocktails were. We were gulping them down like they were lemonade.’
She rubbed her tummy queasily.
‘I’m going to really suffer in the morning.’
‘Water. And lots of it.’
Smiling, I passed her Maddy’s glass, and she took it gratefully and gulped it down.
‘So you’re not really worried about Caleb, are you?’
I probed gently.
She shrugged.
‘Richard really hurt me, going off to New York and falling for the first girl he met over there. So the last thing I want to do is dive into another relationship only to have it all fall apart again.’
‘So what does Caleb think about you taking it slowly?’
She smiled wistfully.
‘He says he’s prepared to go at a pace I feel comfortable with because he doesn’t want to lose me.’
‘Well, that’s good, then.’
‘Is it?’
Her face crumpled.
‘Oh, Fen, what if my fear of being dumped again never goes away? And what if I end up ruining the best relationship I’ve ever had?’
Celia