Chapter 18
Outside, on the street, we look out for Sean. We almost miss him because he’s wearing a cowboy hat he definitely didn’t have on before.
‘Been shopping?’ I ask.
‘Of course.’ He holds up two bags, and I’m not sure how he’s bought so much in such a short time. ‘What about you two? Did you have a good time?’
‘We’re getting married!’ Dot exclaims.
Sean puts a hand to his throat and lets out a shriek. He stamps his feet up and down. ‘Nanna! Mabel! That’s brilliant news! I couldn’t be happier for you both.’ He hugs her and then me, and he smells delicious, like trees and grass and sunshine. ‘I’m so pleased. So, when’s the big day?’
‘We don’t know yet,’ Dot says. ‘We have to wait for the divorce to come through, and then we’ll set a date.’
‘I need to call Hayley!’ Sean claps his hands.
I don’t know who Hayley is, but I assume Dot does, so I’m not expecting it when she asks the question, ‘Hayley. Remind me?’
‘Hayley Hodgson. She used to have a shaved head,’ Sean says. ‘She’s big and loud and what some would consider “too much”.’
‘Got her. Didn’t she get you arrested once?’
Sean laughs. ‘We both got arrested, for getting a bit too carried away protesting against some homophobes who were against gay marriage. I wouldn’t say she got me arrested, per se. Anyway, that’s the one. She runs this business, gay wedding planning.’
Gay wedding planning. Of all the businesses that I would never have imagined existed.
‘What does that entail?’ I ask. ‘Are gay weddings necessarily very different from other weddings?’
‘Sometimes,’ Sean says. ‘It depends on the client. She’s done all sorts. Anyway, I could give her a call and see if she’s got time to talk to us when we get back. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind.’
Dot looks at me and I tip my head from side to side to say I don’t much mind either way, and I think she’s on the verge of saying no thank you, that we can handle this on our own, but then she surprises me.
‘Why not? Give her a call.’
Sean claps his hands again and I think about the way he expresses joy with his whole body.
He reminds me of Julie in that way. I think about how they’ll meet, at the wedding if not before.
I know Julie will think Sean is fabulous.
I can imagine them chatting away over a bottle of wine.
It makes me happy, to think of our worlds merging like that.
Sean suggests going for another cocktail to celebrate but Dot and I are both in need of a bit of a rest, so he escorts us back to the hotel, which thankfully isn’t far, and then says he’s going shopping again and he’ll see us in a while.
Dot sits on the edge of the bed and shakes her head. ‘Did we ever have that much energy?’
‘I don’t remember,’ I say. But I do, and we did.
There was a time when I could dance for hours without a thought of sitting down for a breather.
I think again about dancing with Dot at the wedding.
It won’t be like that, but it will be good enough.
Just to hold her hand, and tell her I love her, with everyone there to see and hear it.
It’s more than I ever dared to hope for.
‘There’s going to be a lot to do, isn’t there? For the wedding?’ I ask.
Dot furrows her brow. ‘I don’t think it will be too much. We just have to find a nice room somewhere, something we’d both like to wear, some rings, some flowers. It doesn’t have to be complicated.’
It strikes me that there are a lot of elements to a wedding, that there’s a reason why it’s a huge industry and people spend months or even years planning, but I don’t want to argue. I like the idea she has, of keeping things simple.
‘Shall we call Erin and tell her?’ I ask.
‘Why not?’ Dot goes to get her iPad.
‘Mabel! Dot!’ Erin sounds so pleased to hear from us. ‘How are you doing?’
I want to hear her news first, so I ask about the history exam I know she had this morning.
‘Three hours,’ she says, groaning. ‘I can hardly feel my hand.’
‘But how do you think it went?’ I ask.
I see the start of a smile. ‘Pretty well, I think. You don’t know, do you, but all the things I hoped would come up did, and I didn’t panic or forget any important dates.
Anyway, I’ll drive myself mad if I focus too much on what grades I might get.
For now, it’s all about ticking them off, and that’s another one down. ’
‘Amen to that,’ Dot says.
‘Julie’s here,’ Erin says. ‘Come and say hello, Julie.’
‘Hello, Julie,’ I say. ‘How are you?’
‘I’ve been staying here, like you suggested,’ she says. ‘Keeping Erin company.’
‘Feeding me,’ Erin says.
‘Well, you’ve got enough on your plate without worrying about food, haven’t you? Anyway, enough about us, how’s your trip been?’
‘Oh, it’s been wonderful,’ I say. ‘I don’t really have the words. I’ll be boring you about it for years, I’m sure. But we do have something to tell you, don’t we, Dot?’
‘You’re not pregnant, are you?’ Erin asks, and we all laugh.
We tell them about the plans, the divorce and then the wedding, about getting engaged at the top of the Empire State Building.
‘Wow,’ Erin says. ‘That’s awesome.’
‘I’ll say,’ Julie says. ‘What a lovely piece of news.’
‘Where will you do it? Broughton or Portsmouth, or somewhere else entirely?’ Erin asks.
I look at Dot. We haven’t discussed this. But in my mind, it was always going to be in Broughton. Where we met and became friends, where we loved one another in secret, and now out in the open.
‘I think Broughton,’ Dot says. ‘Let’s give everyone something to talk about.’
Erin beams and then Olly comes into view and does a little half bark, as if he’s saying he approves.
‘Hello, Olly,’ I say.
‘We keep him here for a few hours after we walk him sometimes, don’t we, Julie?’ Erin explains.
It’s nice to see him there, in my home. Nice to see them there too.
‘You’ll be back soon, won’t you?’ Julie asks, although I know she knows our schedule, that we’re flying back tomorrow. ‘I suppose I should get my things packed up and head home.’ She looks a bit forlorn, and I expect she’s not looking forward to going back to an empty house.
‘Thanks for everything you’ve done,’ I say. ‘If there was another bedroom, I’d ask you to stay.’
‘But there isn’t,’ Julie says. ‘I’ll nip up in a minute and change the bed for you.’
‘Tell them,’ Erin says, and Dot and I look at each other, waiting for Julie to speak.
‘We’ve put the house on the market. My house, I mean. Martin said he needed his share of the money, with the baby coming soon.’
I’ve been waiting for something like this to happen. ‘Where will you go?’
Julie shrugs. ‘I’ll find somewhere smaller, I suppose. See how much we get for it and go from there.’
‘Let’s talk about it when we’re home,’ I say, and a minute or so after that, we end the call.
‘She doesn’t sound happy,’ Dot says.
‘No. It’s so final, I suppose. Selling up. And who knows what she’ll be able to get with the money she’s left with.’
‘Are you happy, Mabel?’ Dot asks.
‘I’m so happy,’ I say. ‘I don’t think I could be happier.’
There’s a bittersweet expression on her face.
‘What about you?’ I ask.
‘I just wish…’ she says.
‘What? We’ll make it happen, Dot.’
She shakes her head. ‘I just wish all three of my sons could be there, when we get married, but it feels hopeless. I don’t know where Peter is, what sort of life he’s living. And I’m sure they’ll never get on, the three of them.’
I mull this over. ‘We should find him and then you should talk to William and John, make them see how important this is to you.’
‘It’s harder than I thought,’ she says, ‘being so far away from them.’
I’m glad she’s acknowledged it. She was so adamant, when we first talked about being together, that she would happily move to Broughton, and I was so pleased that I just went along with it.
But I’ve seen, lately, that it’s a complicated thing, finding where you belong.
It’s something we need to work out together.
I take her hand. ‘Nothing’s fixed, nothing stays the same. We’ll be where we need to be, okay?’
‘Together,’ she says.
And I nod, because that’s the most important thing, to me. To both of us.