Chapter 21 #2
While Ethan ordered our beers, I took the opportunity to inspect my appearance in selfie mode. Anneka’s make-up was still perfectly intact thanks to her miraculous setting spray, though I took a mental note to reapply some lip gloss the next time I went to the loo.
‘How was the ceremony?’ I asked, taking a sip of my drink, which fast turned into a needy gulp.
‘Surprisingly emo. I think that might have been the first time I’ve seen my brother cry.’
‘Has he ever seen you cry?’
‘Yeah, fucking loads, haha.’
Had I ever seen Anneka cry? She’d looked like she’d come close to tears during our argument, but I’d never seen her as anything other than my outgoing, optimistic big sister who could handle anything that life threw at her.
Yet the nuggets of vulnerability she’d begun to show me over the last few days were beginning to make me re-evaluate everything I thought I knew about her.
Once I’d hung my coat on a hook, we took our beers and made our way to the edge of the nearest group of people. I looked around, confused; apart from a few booths in the bar area, there didn’t appear to be any tables where we’d be sitting for the meal.
‘I thought you said there was a table plan?’
‘Oh, there is. They’re just setting up the dining space now the ceremony’s over. Wait ’til you see it.’
Huh, perhaps there was another room upstairs, although I couldn’t spot a staircase.
Ethan placed a hand in the small of my back, perilously close to my bum, and guided me into the gaggle of beautiful people.
A man turned to face us just as we approached, who looked remarkably like Ethan, albeit with shorter, darker hair.
It was quite obviously the groom – Ethan’s brother, Rickrichard.
Whatever you do, don’t call him that by mistake.
‘Hey, you must be Flora!’
‘Rick?’ I asked.
He nodded, pulling me in for a massive bear hug. I got the impression he was several beers in.
‘Congratulations!’ I said, once he released me.
‘Aww, thanks! We were so stoked when Ethan said he was bringing someone. Hang on, lemme just…’ Rick turned back towards the group he’d just been chatting to. ‘Sinead! Come and meet Flora.’
A stunning redhead in a floor-length silk gown that looked like it was made of molten gold turned to us, her face lighting up when she clapped eyes on me.
‘Congratulations!’ I said for the second time, hoping I wasn’t coming across as awkwardly as I felt.
‘Flora! We’ve heard so much about you!’ Sinead said, as she also pressed her body to mine.
‘Really?’ I asked, suddenly concerned I’d still have to pretend I was Ethan’s British colleague – we definitely should have worked out these details before now.
‘Yeah, really.’ She winked at me. ‘And we’re so excited to hear this speech you’ve written for him.’
‘Oh, gosh, no, I haven’t written it – it all came from Ethan. I just helped him with some structural stuff and a couple of ideas.’
‘Ha, Ethan said you were modest. Wait – I need to find someone for you to meet. She’s British! Wait right here!’
Ethan’s hand found mine and he squeezed it.
‘Ethan says you’re flying home tomorrow?’ Rick asked.
‘Yeah, that’s right.’
‘What a whirlwind, huh? Hey, I’ll be right back, just spotted someone I haven’t spoken to yet.’
‘A whirlwind,’ I repeated, taking a sip of my beer.
‘I mean, he’s not wrong,’ Ethan mused, taking a sip of his.
‘I don’t want tomorrow to come.’
Ethan pulled me towards him by my waist. ‘Same.’
Before we could wallow further, Sinead came back, arm-in-arm with yet another gorgeous human being, albeit a slightly older one.
‘Flora, this is Elle – Rick’s boss. She’s from England too!’ Sinead’s words faded out as she was dragged into another conversation.
‘Umm… hello fellow English person?’ Elle said, understandably embarrassed to be thrust in my face simply because we shared a nationality.
‘Hey, I’m Flora. You must work at The Helix?’
‘Yeah, moved over here with my family earlier this year.’
Rick suddenly emerged from the mass of people. ‘Sorry, need to borrow my bro for a second!’ He tugged Ethan by the nape of his suit jacket towards a door at the very back of the room.
‘I’ll be right back!’ Ethan called.
I turned back to Elle, who looked like she wanted to be anywhere else but talking to me.
‘So, you’re quite new to the city, then?’ I asked.
‘Yeah, feels like home, though.’
‘You’d… recommend living here?’
What was I even asking?
‘Oh, totally. I mean, I loved living in London. But New York is next level, you know? Why? Thinking about a move here yourself?’
‘Oh, no – I mean, I’d love to but… no.’
She cocked her head to one side. ‘What’s stopping you?’
‘I mean, probably a whole load of immigration laws to begin with.’
She shrugged. ‘Anything’s possible with the right employer. Or wedding certificate, ha! Speaking of which, I need to go and find my husband, but I’m sure I’ll see you again before the end of the night!’
And then I was on my own. I instinctively checked my phone, but I had no Wi-Fi connection.
I wandered over to the bar to see if I could locate a code, but before I had a chance to ask the bartender, a man swivelled around on a bar stool to face me.
Actually, he swivelled one-hundred-and-eighty degrees too far, so he spun himself around again until he reached the intended position.
‘Flora! There you are! You came!’ It was Ethan’s dad, who seemed to be at the same level of drunkenness as his newly married eldest son.
‘Hey, Mr Carmichael.’
‘C’mon now, it’s Saul. And don’t you worry about keeping up the whole “we work together” charade; Ethan told us you only met each other on Friday, is that right?’
I had no way of knowing how much Ethan had told his parents, so I decided to stick with the safest possible version of the story.
‘Yeah, it’s been a really nice speech to work on.’
‘And we’re excited to hear it. But come on now. You’re not here with him because of the speech, are you?’
Shit. This man is hammered and I am way too sober for this interaction.
‘Ummm…’ I looked around, hoping Ethan would be on hand to interject, but he was nowhere to be seen. I pointed at my glass in the direction of the bartender, who acknowledged my silent order with a nod. Saul kept talking, his words blending into each other.
‘Ever since yesterday he’s been all “Flora this”, “Flora that”. He’s smitten.’
‘Oh! That’s nice.’
What else was I meant to say? ‘The feeling’s very much mutual’? Fuck, it was, wasn’t it?
‘Did you know that me and Chrissie got married after two weeks?’ Saul slurred, taking a swig from his beer and pouring a not-unsubstantial volume of liquid down the front of his shirt – not that he seemed to notice.
‘No! I didn’t. How did that happen?’
‘We just knew. Our parents were so pissed, ha!’
‘You were young?’
‘Young enough.’
‘There you are!’ Finally, it was Ethan. ‘Right, they said we can go through for dinner now if you’re ready?’
‘Absolutely,’ I said, thankful to be able to extract myself from what was fast becoming an intense conversation that I wasn’t even ready to have with myself, let alone with Ethan’s dad.
Ethan helped Saul down from the stool and we made our way towards the back of the space, where a set of double doors had now been opened to reveal a stunning covered outdoor courtyard, romantically lit with candles and warm white festoon bulbs.
A huge Christmas tree draped with copper streamers the exact shade of Sinead’s hair took centre stage at one end of the room, where the head table was located.
Around ten smaller circular tables filled the remainder of the space that was, thankfully, efficiently heated.
A group of guests huddled around the seating plan on an easel, but Ethan guided me to a table next to the head table at the front.
‘This is us,’ he said, pulling out a chair for me, which I slid into gratefully – my new Converse were proving to be less comfortable than I’d hoped thanks to the platform soles.
‘Thanks. How are you feeling about the speech?’
He swallowed, fiddling with a copper cufflink. ‘Nervous.’
‘I’ve got you.’
He swept a wisp of hair out of my eye, though he was staring at my mouth. ‘I know.’
Ethan’s speech – the last of the night after a low-key but delicious dinner of Mexican street food – went down an absolute storm, as I knew it would.
But what I wasn’t expecting was for Ethan to give me a shout-out at the end – and for all eyes to be on me as he effectively instructed everyone to procure my services whenever they needed a speechwriter.
Ethan presented Rick and Sinead with their book of cartoons, gave a toast, and returned to his seat next to me to the sound of rapturous applause and whooping.
‘You smashed it,’ I said, as he took his seat next to me.
‘I did, didn’t I? Your face is all red,’ he whispered.
I nudged him in the ribs as he scooched closer. ‘What did you expect? That bit at the end was way too much attention for my liking, mister.’
‘It could have been worse, because I got you a gift, too,’ Ethan said, reaching into the inside pocket of his suit jacket and handing me a long, narrow box. ‘But I figured you wouldn’t want me to give it to you in front of an audience.’
‘You figured correctly. And you really shouldn’t have got me anything, Ethan.’
Although, once I saw what was inside, I was incredibly thrilled he had – it was the fountain pen I’d fallen in love with at the stationery shop.
‘You remembered the exact pen!’
‘Of course! I went back for it this morning. Earned a whole load of ink blots.’
‘It’s… too much.’
‘It really isn’t. I’m loving this, by the way.’
He tapped one of my painted fingernails. My eyes flicked from my hand to his eyes, and I immediately wanted to fast-forward the rest of the evening so we could be in his apartment – this instant.
The moment was interrupted by Elle, the British woman, pulling up a chair next to me and speaking loudly into my ear. This woman could give my landlady’s voice box a run for its money.
‘You didn’t tell me you were a genius speechwriter!’ she said, now keen to talk to me rather than get away from me.