Chapter 37
When the doorbell goes, I ask Dot if she’s expecting anyone and she does a good job of pretending she’s not.
‘Can you get it?’ she asks.
So I go to the door and get the surprise of my life when I find them all on the doorstep. Erin, Julie, Patty, Kirsty. Kirsty’s bump looks like it’s doubled and Julie’s had a haircut and I want to gather them all up in my arms. ‘What are you doing here?’
‘Two words,’ Erin says. ‘Hen. Party.’
I laugh, gesturing for them to come in, and when I turn to look at Dot I see from the glint in her eye that she was in on it.
‘We’d better get our gladrags on, Mabel,’ she says.
I cross the room and kiss her, and Julie makes a whooping noise and then they’re all bustling about, going to the loo and checking their hair and Kirsty’s fussing Olly and Dot takes my hand and we go upstairs to get ready.
‘Thank you,’ I say when we’re in our bedroom with the door closed behind us.
‘Julie’s idea,’ she says.
‘Well, regardless, I’m just grateful that you’re so accepting of them.’
‘Of course. I know how much they mean to you. And besides, they’re wonderful women.’
‘Where are we going?’ I ask.
‘The fanciest hotel in Portsmouth. Afternoon tea.’
I choose a bright blue dress, and Dot says it brings out the colour of my eyes. She’s in emerald green. We go downstairs together, and the gang do a little cheer. Julie’s clasping her hands together and I can tell she’s going to cry.
‘Sod all those bloody fairytales I was fed as a child. Handsome princes and all that nonsense. This is what happy ever after looks like.’
And I think she’s right.
The hotel’s nothing much to look at from the outside but when we step in through the revolving doors it’s like we’re in a different world.
One with a delicate floral aroma and impeccably dressed staff.
We’re shown to a table with a pristine white tablecloth and fresh flowers, and it’s sort of separated off from the rest of the restaurant, like our own private room.
A waitress comes over with a little notepad.
‘Can I ask which of you ladies is Julie?’
Julie puts her hand up like she’s at school. ‘That’s me.’
‘Right. Well, welcome, all of you. We’re delighted to have you with us.
And I understand it’s a special occasion, with Mabel and Dot getting married in a few days.
I’m going to bring round some menus and get you some water but if there’s anything I can do to help make your visit special, please just let me know. ’
After she’s gone, Dot says: ‘I feel like the queen.’
‘And so you should. It’s not every day you get married,’ Julie says.
‘Second time’s a charm,’ I say.
‘Third time lucky for me,’ Dot says, and everyone laughs. ‘Did you all hear that my divorce came through? So now we don’t have to separate out the legal part and the party.’
‘Cheers to that,’ Julie says. ‘Now, are we having tea or champagne? Or both?’
‘If we’re having champagne, just one glass for me,’ I say. ‘But they can keep the tea coming.’
When the food arrives, it’s like a work of art. Tiny sandwiches and the most elaborate little cakes, along with scones with jam and cream. We all tuck in.
‘What’s the news from Broughton?’ I ask.
‘Harry’s taking Patty to Venice, and then he’s moving in with her!’ Kirsty seems like she’s been waiting for the opportunity to bring this up.
I turn to Patty and she nods confirmation. ‘And my daughter’s having another baby.’
Julie turns. ‘I didn’t know that!’
‘I thought I’d wait until we were all together to tell you,’ Patty says.
Julie narrows her eyes, as if to say that she doesn’t like things being kept from her.
‘Have you seen that Tony you went on a date with again?’ I ask Julie.
She smiles a little coyly. ‘I have, actually. A couple of times. It’s going well.’
‘He’s been round for dinner,’ Erin says. ‘You’d like him, Mabel.’
‘And what about you?’ I ask her.
‘I’m getting packed up,’ she says.
Julie leans over and puts an arm around her. ‘We went to IKEA for essentials. Pots and pans, plates and mugs, that sort of thing.’
‘Plant pots, framed pictures, a talking alarm clock,’ Erin says.
‘For you or for her?’ I ask.
‘A bit of both,’ Julie says. ‘I can’t resist the marketplace.’
‘I’ve seen the rooms in halls,’ Erin says, ‘and there’s no chance it’s all going in. But I’m very grateful.’
Julie bats her hand. ‘Least I could do.’
I make a mental note to offer Julie some money to cover these things. I don’t want her to be out of pocket.
‘Oh, and we finished the jigsaw!’ Erin says.
‘Well, almost,’ Julie says. ‘There was one piece missing. Isn’t that always the way?’
We all nod, and I think about that. About how you can’t line everything up perfectly in life, but you can get pretty close. I miss these women, but I’m making a life here in Portsmouth with Dot and I’m excited about that. A missing piece is nothing to worry about.
‘I have some news, actually,’ Kirsty says.
We all swivel around to look at her.
‘Ben and I thought we might follow in your footsteps,’ she says, looking at Dot and me.
‘A wedding?’ I ask.
‘Yes. Not for a year or so though. We’d like Dotty and this one’ – she pats her bump – ‘to walk down the aisle with us. But we’ll be taking notes at your do. It’s never too early to start planning, is it?’
‘Will your parents come?’ I ask.
Months ago, I invited Kirsty’s estranged parents to her birthday party and it didn’t go well. Luckily, she was gracious about it.
‘Yes,’ she says. ‘We’re talking more and more. They’re coming to look after Dotty when I have the baby, hopefully.’
‘That’s lovely news,’ I say.
Patty furrows her brow. ‘Remember that I can have Dotty if they don’t make it in time or it’s the middle of the night or something.’
‘I know,’ Kirsty says, ‘and I’m so grateful. And to be honest, even if they do make it in time they might need your assistance. It’s a long time since they looked after a child.’
Patty brightens up.
‘What about you, Julie?’ I ask. ‘Getting on all right in the house?’
‘Happiest I’ve been in years, other than missing you, Mabel. I’ll be so sorry to see Erin go, though.’
‘I’ll be back and forth all the time,’ Erin says.
Julie shakes her head. ‘Don’t come back for my sake. I want you to have the best time there. We all do.’
Dot smiles. ‘Well, we’ll be back sometimes too, Julie.’
‘I know you will. And I’ll be fine, honestly. I’ve lived alone for long enough. I just love company.’
‘There’ll always be plenty of company at my house,’ Kirsty says. ‘Dotty wants my attention all the time at the moment and I can’t begin to imagine how she’ll react to the new baby.’
‘I’ll be round,’ Julie says. ‘I’m a dab hand with stickers and colouring in, all that.’
Julie has a niece who’s away at university and I know she misses the days when she was little.
‘This is what’s so nice about this group,’ Erin says. ‘Someone always steps in.’
And she’s right. We do do that for one another.
We eat as many of the beautiful cakes and sandwiches as we can, washed down with buckets of tea, and when we ask for the bill, the waitress offers to box up everything we’ve left so we can enjoy it later, at home.
And I’m delighted, because I hate the thought of this incredible food going to waste.
When I reach for my handbag, Erin holds up a hand.
‘Your money’s no good here,’ she says.
‘What? Don’t be silly.’
‘Our treat,’ Patty says, her voice firm.
When I look across at Dot, there are tears welling in her eyes. We do as we’re told, though I dread to think what it must have cost them.
‘Are you rushing off?’ I ask Kirsty as she links my arm and we walk out of the restaurant.
She waves to the man at the door and he gives her a little bow. ‘I don’t think so. Ben took the day off so Dotty’s sorted. I’m sure we can come back to yours for a while if you’ll have us.’
So we all pile back to Dot’s and carry on catching up. After a while, Olly starts looking at us mournfully and I say I’d better take him for a walk.
‘I’ll come with you,’ Erin says, and I wouldn’t have asked but I’m delighted to get some time with her on her own.
Outside, it’s a lovely temperature. There’s a bit of a breeze, but the sun is bright.
Erin shades her eyes from the glare. ‘Does it look like you’ll get weather like this for the wedding? I haven’t checked it.’
‘I haven’t either,’ I say. ‘Sometimes you get a run of weather so good and so long that you can’t imagine it changing, don’t you? But of course it could. The truth is, I’m so delighted to be marrying Dot that I don’t much care about anything else.’
‘Good,’ she says. ‘That’s just how it should be.’
‘Is it something you want to do at some point?’ I ask. ‘Getting married, I mean.’
Erin looks thoughtful. ‘I don’t know, really.
I always thought that just being allowed to love who I love would be enough.
But then I see you and Dot, and it’s just the most beautiful thing.
I always thought of marriage as outdated and unnecessary, but there’s no reason why my generation can’t reclaim it. Give it new meaning.’
I love talking to her, love hearing her views, which are so often wildly different from mine, but always born of compassion and a keen eye for what’s right.
‘How’s Hannah?’ I ask.
Erin shrugs. ‘She’s okay. We’re not together, not properly. We decided it wouldn’t work, with us being in different cities for uni.’
‘Are you sad about it?’
‘A bit. But I’m all right. She wasn’t my great love. My Dot.’
‘You’ll find your Dot,’ I say.
‘I know.’
‘I’ve missed this.’
‘What? Chatting?’
‘Yes. It’s not quite the same on the telephone, somehow.’
‘We’ll have to make the most of visits, then.’
‘Yes.’
‘I sometimes think you’re a much older person in a young person’s body,’ I say.
It’s true, I do think that. She’s wise and thoughtful, often having considered opinions about topics I’ve never given a moment’s thought.
She shrugs, and we start walking again. We’re heading for home, now, and I picture the people who are waiting for us in Dot’s living room, laughing and sharing gossip, and I’m so happy.
Happy here, with Erin and Olly, and happy to be going back there, to the other people I love.
When I was young, I didn’t know this kind of happiness was possible.
Didn’t look for it, because you don’t look for what you aren’t aware of. But it’s found me, all the same.