Chapter 9
9
Danni hadn’t expected to dance as much as she had at the party, but the decision to hire a nineties band had been a stroke of genius, even if she did say so herself. When Esther had announced that she and Joe didn’t want traditional stag and hen dos, but a far more casual get-together, Danni had been determined to organise it, to take the load off Esther’s shoulders. Charlie had offered to help too and Connie and Richard had insisted that the party be held in their barn on Trengothern Farm, which had been strung with thousands of fairy lights, instantly transforming it into a magical place. The idea of hiring a nineties-themed band had come from discussions with Esther and Joe, about the music the four of them had always loved. That era had been the soundtrack to Esther’s childhood, and to the teenage years for the other three, all of whom were at least five years older than the bride-to-be. Danni and Esther had barely been off the dancefloor all evening, but it was the Spice Girls medley that that pushed Danni over the edge in the end. Even Amy and Isla, who were both still in their twenties looked done in. Unsurprisingly to everyone who knew her, it was left to Gwen to maintain a St Piran’s presence on the dancefloor, while all of the others sat a few songs out and tried to recover.
‘I’ll tell you what I want, what I really, really want… somewhere comfortable to sit down.’ Danni put her hands against the small of her back, arching it to stretch against the weight of the baby.
‘Me too and I haven’t even got an excuse.’ Esther grinned. ‘Gwen seems determined not to sit down until the band has a break and forces her to.’
‘It shouldn’t be long now; they’ll stop when the food arrives and he said he’ll put some background music on then.’ Danni had considered continuing the nineties theme with the food, but when she’d googled party foods of the decade, the indigestion that had been ever present since the early part of her pregnancy went into overdrive, just from looking at the suggestions. Instead, she’d copied what Connie and Richard had done for one of their previous parties at the farm, and booked a couple of food trucks to give everyone more of a choice.
‘Will the background music be from the nineties, too?’ Isla raised her eyebrows as she asked the question. Danni couldn’t help wondering if her friend found the decision to play the music of her youth all night as baffling as she had when her dad had insisted on playing his favourite records from the sixties at every get-together her parents had hosted when she was a child.
‘He might change it up and play some modern stuff. I love Lijah Byrne’s new song.’ Esther had a dreamy look on her face. ‘I think it’s perfect for our first dance, but I don’t know if Joe is quite so keen.’
‘He’s brilliant, isn’t he? I think I read somewhere that he grew up around here.’ As Danni turned to the others, she didn’t miss the look that Amy and Isla exchanged.
‘Can I tell them?’ Isla directed the question at Amy, who pulled a face for a moment before nodding.
‘I don’t suppose it matters. It’s hardly a secret, is it?’
‘No, but it is a claim to fame most of us will never even get close to.’ Isla leant forward conspiratorially. ‘Guess who Lijah Byrne’s first love was?’
Even before Danni could open her mouth, Amy interjected. ‘I didn’t say I was his first love, I said I was his first girlfriend.’
‘Really!’ Esther’s eyes shot open in surprise. ‘So does that mean some of his songs are about you?’
‘I highly doubt it.’ Amy shrugged. ‘He’s probably forgotten I even existed. After all, he has thousands of people throwing themselves at him now. When I knew him, he was cute in a geeky way, obsessed with music and always making up melodies. I never dreamt he’d make it big, and I don’t think he did either.’
‘Is he as lovely as he seems to be on TV? None of the fame appears to have gone to his head.’ Danni found it fascinating that Amy had never mentioned knowing Lijah, given that he was one of the most famous musicians around, but the younger woman just shrugged again.
‘He was always really genuine and down-to-earth when I knew him, but he didn’t have any cause not to be, given that his career back then consisted of busking and delivering the Three Ports News on his weekly paper round.’ Amy laughed. ‘He was a nice guy, though, and I like to think fame wouldn’t have changed him that much, but I haven’t spoken to him in years.’
‘I keep telling her she should get in touch.’ Isla gave Amy a pointed look. ‘What’s the worst that could happen?’
‘A restraining order?’ Amy laughed again and stood up, signalling the end of the conversation. ‘I’m going to get a drink; what does everyone else want?’
By the time Amy had got back with the drinks, the conversation had moved on, and she seemed relieved at the change of topic. Maybe Danni wasn’t the only one who’d decided to focus on looking forward, in order to move on from the past.
‘Here you go.’ Esther’s dad set down two Belgian waffles piled high with cream, strawberries and chocolate sauce in front of Danni and his daughter.
‘You shouldn’t be waiting on us, Patrick, you should be letting us look after you.’ Danni’s admonishment was gentle and the truth was it was lovely to see him looking so well. It had been a tough twelve months for him and Esther’s mother, Caroline, but he was now in remission from the prostate cancer which he’d tried to keep secret, and which had pushed their marriage to the edge as a result.
‘You two ran around after me and Caroline non-stop during the treatment. The least we can do is repay the favour now that I’m almost back to my old self.’
‘Yes, and our girls are the ones who need looking after now.’ Caroline’s eyes met Danni’s for a moment. It was a term she’d used to describe the two of them almost from the start of their friendship. Esther’s parents and grandparents had welcomed her into their family, as if she really was part of it, and she loved them for it. ‘You’re both so busy with work, Esther’s got so much on with planning the wedding, and you need to be taken care of even more, with the baby so close to arriving. I just can’t wait until he’s here!’
‘Charlie and I were talking about it, and we wondered if you and Patrick would be willing to be the baby’s godparents, alongside Esther and Joe?’
‘Willing to? We’d be honoured, wouldn’t we, Patrick?’ Caroline was beaming.
‘We really would.’ Patrick wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. Like Danni, his emotions were much closer to the surface these days.
‘The only trouble is, we’re not sure what that will look like yet and whether we’ll do the whole church thing, so in the meantime I wondered if you’d mind filling in for the vacant Nana and Grandpa position on my side. Charlie’s got two sets of parents, but the first thing my mother said when I told her I was pregnant was not to expect her to babysit. The second was that she wanted the baby to call her Nikki. Although I don’t suppose he’ll call her anything much, given how infrequently he’s likely to see her.’ Danni tried to smile, but it came out a bit wonky, and Caroline wrapped her arms around her.
‘You’ve got no idea how much we’d love that, and we really do see you as our second daughter. We always wanted another child, not least so that Esther would grow up with a built-in best friend, but it didn’t work out that way. At least we thought it hadn’t, but then you came into our lives and it was as if it was always meant to be. Esther finally had the best friend we’d always wanted for her, and you filled the vacant position in our family, like you were made to be there.’
‘This baby is going to feel so lucky to have you; I know I do.’ Danni rested her head against Caroline’s shoulder for a moment and Esther reached out and squeezed her hand. She could have been jealous of the relationship Danni had built with her parents, but she’d always said how happy it made her. Danni might not have been born into their family, or have been fortunate enough to have a mother like Caroline, but her life was filled with people who chose to love her and she knew how lucky that made her.