Chapter 46
Fleur stood at the edge of the timber decked area jutting off the side of the cocktail bar area of the hotel, looking out over the beach, a bundle of nerves and thrumming with anticipation. Everything was all set and ready to go. No backing out now. Peering in the direction of the lawn where the wedding was taking place, she felt a little flicker of nerves in her chest. All of it looked just as she’d hoped and dreamed; pale linen-draped chairs on either side of a central aisle, an arch drowning in tropical flowers and frangipani, rows of flickering candles in beautiful white lanterns leading down to where Patrick would be standing in just under half an hour. The sky the kind of perfect holiday blue that she’d never really seen before and a heavy, tropical, full feel to the air.
Sighing in pleasure and a deep satisfaction of a job well done she let it all settle inside and around her. Here she was ready to go. From the proposal to the dress to the planning and emails with the hotel to the flights, the nerves, and the unbelievability of it all. It was all about to come together and she couldn’t wait to see it through. Our Champo was getting wed.
Somewhere behind her, Cassy was saying for the tenth time how amazing everything was and Wendy was adjusting her dress in front of a large, gilded mirror. Lucy was standing next to the photographer's assistant deep in conversation and her mum was sitting on a chair looking down at her phone. Everything had been planned to within an inch of its life and was exactly as it should be. It couldn’t really be any more perfect. There was only one thing that could have made it better; her dad.
Just as Fleur was looking in the direction of the bay admiring the deep blue of the ocean, she suddenly frowned and looked down at her arm. A single fat raindrop right in the middle of her forearm. Surely not. Frowning, she glanced up. Strange; the sky was still so blue and so untouched that it made no sense that rain might be involved. Another drop and then another. Fleur turned around and peered backwards and felt her eyes go wide. Coming in at the double were rain clouds and before she could even get the words out, the heavens opened.
‘Oh my goodness!’ Cassy shrieked, leaping back from the table, clutching a glass of bubbles to her chest as though it needed saving before anything else.
Wendy swore under her breath, reaching for a napkin from nearby tables as if that would somehow help.
Lucy’s mouth dropped open. ‘Oh. My. Actual. What in the world do we do now?’
Fleur just stood there for a second, as a beat of pure stunned silence stopped her from doing anything, then gathered up her dress and made her way undercover. One of the wedding planners and a couple of hotel staff came rushing out from nowhere, waving clipboards and shouting instructions. The little delicate flower arrangements—meticulously placed on every single chair—were being swept off into the wind and a few of the lanterns had fallen over.
‘Someone get the covers! Move the chairs! Archway plan going into action!’
Cassy let out a wild laugh, grabbing Fleur’s wrist. ‘Classic. This cannot be happening. We couldn’t just have a normal, breezy, perfect tropical wedding, could we?’
Fleur blinked at her. ‘Five minutes ago, there wasn’t a cloud in sight. How can this be happening?’
Cassy shook her head. ‘Now what do we do?’
Lucy stared at the sky in pure disbelief. ‘I specifically checked the forecast. It literally said no rain. What is this? It has come from nowhere.’ She pointed to the right. ‘That way is still blue…’
The wind picked up, a small white linen-draped table wobbled and a stack of candles toppled into the sand. Valerie, who had been comfortably sipping a mimosa under the canopy, let out a deep sigh, crossed her legs, and shook her head. ‘Typical. You spend all that money on a tropical paradise and still end up with British weather. It’s followed you. You see, that’s precisely why I left. That and the whole Brexit debacle.’
‘Not helping, Mum,’ Fleur bit out, blinking as rain landed on her face.
Valerie tutted. ‘Well, at least you’ll remember it.’
The wedding coordinator skidded up to them, clipboard held over her head although she was slightly breathless, she still appeared to be very in control. ‘Okay, okay, minor setback, but don’t panic, we’ve got an indoor contingency plan. We can move the ceremony inside the main terrace. This sometimes happens so we’re well set up for it.’
Fleur’s stomach sank at the thought of the wedding moving inside. She’d wanted the beach, sand beneath her bare feet, soft lanterns lining the shoreline, and the bay as a backdrop to their vows. ‘Nope,’ she said automatically. ‘No, we’re not moving inside.’
Cassy turned to her, hair already frizzing. ‘Erm, babe, but what exactly do you plan to do instead? Manifest the rain away?’
Fleur pressed her lips together. This was not what she had planned. She’d imagined walking down an aisle lined with frangipani and soft candlelight, her skin warm from the sun, her dress billowing slightly in a sea breeze. Not rain and in an indoor wedding in a function room; she’d had a gutful of function rooms in her day job. She wasn’t moving inside. She wasn’t giving up on the dream of the wedding. There had to be another way. She looked back towards the beach, where the staff were calmly securing whatever they could and moving things undercover.
Mia nodded. ‘You can wait if you like. It comes and goes very quickly here. It wasn’t forecast as you know.’ She looked up at the sky. ‘I think if we give it an hour you’ll be fine. I’ll talk to the celebrant, he’ll be fine with that. Up to you. You never know we might get a rainbow; those are the really special ceremonies. I’ll get a tray of food delivered and some drinks and you can sit it out. If not, we can go inside. Everything in there is set up. It’s not a problem.’
Fleur nodded. ‘Yes, I’d like to wait please.’
A n hour later, just as quickly as it had arrived the rain had eased, more drinks had been consumed, Valerie was quietly getting sozzled, and the outdoor ceremony area had again been set up. The air was different, stilled, heavy with warmth, and a thin veil of mist fluffed upwards from the sand, curling over the wooden chairs, wrapping itself through the lanterns, making everything sort of hazy. The sun was again back, the clouds burnt away here and there leaving a soft, fluffy light that made the entire area appear to glow.
Lucy whispered from beside her as she gripped the handle of a white umbrella. ‘Mum, look at it! It’s made everything misty. It’s so pretty.’
Fleur nodded. The entire wedding set-up was transformed, the rain appearing to have softened everything. Just as she was standing looking out in the direction of the bay a rainbow formed going from left to right, the bay underneath it. Fleur felt her chin drop. Utterly, completely, totally magical.
Cassy chortled. ‘You’re kidding me. A rainbow! I take back everything I said. Look at it! Fleur, it looks like some sort of enchanted island. The downpour has turned it into something out of a dream. Ahh, look at the sunshine peeking through. This is next level.’
Fleur exhaled again, letting herself really take it all in. The beach glowed under the bursts of sunlight, the sky shimmered as if it had been painted in glittery blues and golds and the rainbow stretched behind the floral arch as if someone somewhere had quietly placed it there just so. She giggled it couldn’t have been better. The rainbow sealed every single deal she’d ever had in her head.
The wedding coordinator signalled for people to take their seats until it was just Fleur and Lucy left on the decking area looking out in the direction of the archway.
Lucy whispered and pointed to the rainbow. ‘Mum, you look like an actual princess in a dream.’
‘Do I? So do you. Right, well let’s get to it then. It’s now or never.’
As Fleur walked along beside Lucy, she could feel warm, rain-dampened sand shift beneath her feet, the rainbow framed the bay and mist curled gently at her ankles. She breathed it in as she slowly stepped along the lantern-lined aisle in the direction of Patrick. Inhaling the scent of tropical flowers, sea air, and the last traces of warm rain, she tried to bottle the smell so she’d remember it forever. With the guitar music strumming, Patrick stood waiting, his linen shirt slightly damp, a look in his eyes she’d never seen on top of a beaming smile.
As she reached the arch, Lucy stepped to the side, Patrick reached out and took both her hands. ‘Hey.’
Fleur tilted her head, smiled and whispered. ‘Bit of a dramatic twist, wasn’t it?’
Patrick chuckled, his grip tightening slightly. ‘Champo, I’d expect nothing less. You look stunning. Just so beautiful. I love you.’
Fleur smiled. ‘Right back at you.’
The wedding celebrant, an older Hawaiian man with kind eyes and a gentle smile, stepped forward, nodding towards them. ‘I think we can all agree—this is already a wedding none of us will forget.’ He turned around, peered up at the rainbow and smiled. ‘We haven’t had one with one of our rainbows for a while. That always means it’s very special.’
A little ripple of laughter passed through the handful of guests and Fleur relaxed, her shoulders dropping slightly as she chuckled. It didn’t matter that it had rained because standing with Patrick’s hands around hers, with the sun glowing over the bay, her daughter beside her, and her best friend watching, she smiled as she felt as if something tapped the side of her head, telling her she was more than okay. All of it, from the moment she’d met Patrick had been wonderful and messy, unexpected and crazy, up, down, busy, and most of all just right . She looked up into Patrick’s eyes and felt hers fill with a few tears. Way to go Champo, you’ll be okay.
She lost herself for a bit as the celebrant proceeded, not really hearing him until she again found herself standing on the beach. She smiled as she heard the celebrant. ‘And now, your words.’
Fleur swallowed, feeling a tiny flutter of nerves. Not because she wasn’t sure, she’d never been more sure of anything in her life but because suddenly, the moment felt so big, so much bigger than she’d expected. Emotion rolled over her like a wave.
Patrick went first. He sounded happy, sure, confident, full of life. ‘I wasn’t expecting you to arrive in my life and definitely not when you did. You turned my world inside out, Champo, and I wouldn’t change a second of it. I can’t imagine a life that doesn’t have you in it, and I wouldn’t want to. So today, standing here in the place you’ve always dreamed of, in front of the people we love, I promise you this: I will stand by your side, always. I will love you, even on the days when life feels messy and hard. I will never, ever take you for granted. And most of all, Fleur Champion, I will love you forever .’
Fleur felt as if she was the only person in the world. She took a breath. ‘I don’t think I really believed in the idea of forever before you. Then I met you and it turns out, with you, forever is easy. It’s the easiest thing in the world. Who even knew? You have made me laugh when I wanted to cry, held me together when I felt like falling apart, and shown me what it means to be loved in a way that I didn’t even know was a thing. Like actual love and you love me for me and just me. I love you, too.’
As the rainbow stretched across the sky, the last traces of mist curled around their feet and Fleur felt tears plop out of the corners of her eyes and slide in a warm trail down the side of her cheeks. As she looked up at the rainbow, she pursed her lips together and closed her eyes for a second. She felt as if something tapped the side of her head. This was her moment. Her forever had finally begun.