Chapter 26
26
‘So, are you ready for the big reveal?’
I made a very strange noise and blew air out of my cheeks.
‘You won’t do that on the day, now, will you? It’s not a good look.’ Aggie winked at me, taking away some of the tension I was feeling.
After a very deep breath, I nodded. Aggie grabbed the door handle.
‘OK, let’s go. Now remember the three t’s I taught you. Tummy in, tits out, and flash those teeth. Ladies, may I introduce you to the mother of the bride.’
I walked into the adjoining room with the widest of smiles, while Michelle and Emma stared back at me with the hugest of grins.
There were floor-to-ceiling mirrors on the opposite wall and as I looked at myself I gasped and clutched my chest. I looked round at Aggie. ‘Is that me?’
‘It is, my darling.’
‘Are you sure it’s me?’
She laughed.
‘I’m very sure. What do you think?’
I looked across at my friends, who were literally both holding their breath. Michelle took her hands away from her mouth first. ‘You look incredible, Jo.’ There were tears in her eyes.
Emma walked over to me and held my hand. ‘You, lady, are going to knock their socks off.’
‘You think so?’ I was nervous but as I twirled this way and that, checking out how I looked from all angles, I was starting to believe that it really was me.
‘I know so! God, if Seamus wasn’t gay he’d have trouble keeping his hands off you.’
‘Ah, who is this mysterious Seamus and is he gay?’ Aggie looked puzzled.
Michelle, Emma and I had discussed the situation with Seamus a lot over the last couple of weeks and we’d analysed and very probably overanalysed much of the situation. All three of us were still surprised to learn that he was gay. Michelle particularly, who said that her normally brilliantly accurate gaydar hadn’t been going off at all around him.
‘Well, we don’t really know, to be honest. But he and Jo hang around together a lot.’
‘Yeah, but only because he’s helping me with my house,’ I chipped in.
‘But you get on like a house on fire,’ Emma answered.
Aggie was frowning, lost in this conversation.
‘I’m confused? Why do you think he is?’
‘He said he had a boyfriend called Al,’ I explained.
‘Has he shown an interest in you, Jo? He could just be bisexual. How would you feel about that?’ Aggie was well into the discussion at this point.
I pulled an ‘I’m-not-really-sure’ face as I tried to think about whether he had or not recently. At first he had flirted with me, a lot, but it seemed to have stopped lately. Although I’d probably stopped flirting back since he’d mentioned Al to me. Relationships in this day and age were so very different to when I first got together with Michael. All those years ago, there weren’t that many people around who were gay. Or certainly not openly like now. It was lovely that people could truly be themselves, but I wasn’t sure whether I was as open-minded as I possibly should be. And now it puzzled me to think about how I would feel if he was bisexual. That was a new one on me.
‘Why don’t you just ask him?’
‘No! I couldn’t!’ I responded to Aggie. It was nice to get a new perspective but I wasn’t sure if this was the sort of conversation you had with a new friend. Would he be offended if I asked him? Did I even want to know the truth? Did me caring about this mean that I liked Seamus more than I was admitting to myself, let alone my friends?
‘Well then, you’ll always wonder, won’t you? If you ask, you’ll know. It’s just words. Just a few words put together to form a question. It’s not hard.’
Aggie was a wonderful soul. She made the impossible seem perfectly possible. I sighed out loud.
‘Maybe I will build up to it. One of these days.’
‘Don’t let an opportunity pass you by because you were too scared to ask a question. This is the new Jo, remember. Badass Jo who takes no shit from anyone. Mark my words, Jo. And be brave. One question could change your life.’
That certainly gave me a lot to ponder but for now, I just wanted to lap up my new look. Gone was my mousy-brown bobbed hair that I’d had for years. My new chestnut-brown hair with copper highlights was flicky and funky. My make-up was subtle yet elegant, dewy and glowy at the same time and the main wedding day outfit that Aggie had chosen fitted like a glove, despite me telling her that I was most definitely at least a size sixteen and she said I’d fit into a twelve. I was obviously delighted when it was not only fabulous but so different to what I’d usually choose for myself. I’d never envisaged myself in a trouser suit, but I had to admit that I loved the royal blue number. With a sequinned cerise camisole top to lift and contrast with the blue, the pink strappy sandals and a sparkly pink bag to match, it really was the perfect outfit and I felt like a million dollars.
As she styled my hair, she’d shown me exactly step by step how to do it myself and I felt totally confident that I could. Aggie’s demeanour changed as she’d talked a little about her husband and how difficult he was finding life since he’d retired from the game. It was clearly a huge issue of concern to her. I tried not to delve too deeply, after all, we’d only just met, but I was intrigued. She’d also talked about how she’d made sure she’d always kept herself and their children out of the public eye.
She also showed me how daytime make-up could be used to look natural and then apply more layer by layer for a more dramatic look. I’d chosen a couple of other outfits too. Two casual but elegant daytime looks, very similar to what Aggie herself was wearing, and another consisting of a pair of well-fitting, bum-lifting, tummy-tucking jeans, a smart cardigan and again a camisole top which showed off my favourite part of my body: my cleavage.
‘Honestly, Jo, you are going to knock them dead. They won’t recognise you.’
‘Thanks, I think, that’s the idea.’ I repeated back the words that Aggie had taught me to say to myself earlier. ‘I am a strong and confident woman. I’m not only surviving without them but thriving too.’
‘Woohoo! I feel like I’m in the female version of Braveheart .’ We all laughed at Michelle and her ability to always lighten the mood.
‘Right, are we all ready to go? I’m going to get out of this clobber, settle up with Aggie for what I owe her and then I’m taking you two to the pub for tea to say thanks.’
‘To be honest, after you’ve settled up with me, you might not be able to afford to take them to the pub.’ We laughed, but as Aggie told me how much I owed her and I tried not to let my eyes pop out of my head, I knew that the feeling I got from the day I’d spent with her was actually something that money couldn’t buy. She’d been kind enough to throw in the consultation as a favour to Emma, which was very generous and most welcome, as this was all going on my credit card. I knew it was extravagant considering my circumstances, but I’d worry about that another day. After all the hard work I’d been doing lately, I deserved a treat. And I was mother of the bride, after all.
When we arrived at the pub after dropping all the clothes off at my house, we caused quite a stir, laughing as we walked through the doors. Gone were the elegant clothes I would be saving for the wedding weekend and the jeans, T-shirt and fleece I’d left the house in this morning. In their place were the figure-shaping black jeans I’d bought, with a plain cream blouse and a cashmere cardigan in a similar tone with a gorgeous multi-coloured scarf that brought out the blue in my eyes. A pair of high boots finished off the outfit. Aggie really did have impeccable taste and even though this was quite a casual outfit, I felt all the same confidence that I’d felt earlier.
‘I told you you’d lost weight too. It’s all that hard work you’re doing at the house,’ Michelle said as we approached the bar. She ordered a bottle of wine and three glasses before noticing who was sitting with his back to us.
‘Oh, hello, Seamus. Have you met our new friend Jo?’
Seamus swivelled round on his bar stool. When he saw me, his jaw visibly dropped and his eyes widened.
He scratched his head. ‘Err… wow, Jo. You look…’ He seemed at a loss for words and there was an awkward silence while he tried to find something suitable.
Emma filled the gap in the conversation.
‘Come on, you two. You grab the table in the window. I’ll grab the drinks.’
I turned to walk away but Seamus grabbed my arm and gently pulled me back.
‘Stunning. Incredible. Amazing. Not that you didn’t… erm… already… you know…’
I laughed at him, knowing that I was blushing. I wasn’t sure why I still did this, knowing that I wasn’t his type.
‘You don’t have to say that but thank you. And thank you for helping the girls to trick me this morning. What an amazing bunch of friends I have. Thank goodness for the people I’ve met since I came to live in Sandpiper Shore. I’m a lucky girl.’
‘Maybe we’re the lucky ones,’ he whispered back.