Chapter 53
It wasn’t long now until the play, and excitement amongst the Puddleducks was rising to fever pitch.
‘Mrs Merryfield, Mrs Merryfield, are we doing the play today?’
The staff were on edge, too. Would Beth’s mum get those alterations to the star done in time? Would Joseph wet his pants again? And, oh dear, Bella’s broken a nail!
Johnnie, who kept getting his singulars and plurals muddled, thanks no doubt to his au pair who did the same, only had one line. But you never knew what it was going to be until it came out. Yesterday, during practice, he announced that he’d lost his ‘sheeps’, and then looked around with a delighted beam, as though knowing that might raise some laughs in the audience.
Clemmie was beside herself with excitement because she was playing Mary. ‘My daddy’s coming with his new girlfriend and their baby,’ she said, tugging at Gemma’s black New Look trousers to make her point. Poor Clemmie’s mum. Did she know? Edward the Second had been word-perfect until he’d come down with a cold and lost his voice. Still, as Bella pointed out, even if he wasn’t well enough for the big day, it shouldn’t be too difficult to coach someone else to go ‘Moo’.
Tatiana, who had dreams of going on Britain’s Best Talent when she was old enough, was hyper hyper because Miss Merryfield’s friend Kitty was coming down to play the part of the fairy queen. In order to take in other religious beliefs and accommodate non-believers, the nativity script which Gemma had written had become somewhat unorthodox.
‘Was that the same Kitty Macdonald whom I saw on television the other night?’ asked Tatiana’s stepdad. ‘She was singing like an angel and playing that recorder of hers like a flute.’
Yes, it was! Since the summer, when her first album had been released, Kitty’s career had soared off the ground. She was everywhere! Gemma couldn’t have been prouder of her friend. She deserved a break, she told her. ‘So do you,’ Kitty had replied sternly during their latest phone conversation. They both preferred phoning to texting or email, which were, they agreed, so impersonal. ‘Now what’s happened to that handsome paratrooper of yours?’
Gemma, who was sitting as usual with her back against the wall dividing her from Joe’s room, hoped, for some reason she couldn’t put her finger on, that he couldn’t hear. ‘We’re having dinner tonight,’ she said quietly.
‘Speak up, Gemmie. I can’t hear.’
‘We’re having dinner tonight,’ she said, wondering why she felt slightly awkward.
‘Anywhere posh?’
Gemma named a new restaurant in the town that had just opened.
‘Wow! That’s impressive. We’ve got one in Chelsea too. Have fun and don’t forget to tell me all about it tomorrow morning, providing you’re not snuggled up in bed together.’
Gemma tried to laugh this off, not entirely successfully. Since Sam, she hadn’t allowed herself to have a ‘proper’ relationship with anyone, partly because, deep down, she couldn’t help wondering if he might come back. But now, things had changed. Hadn’t they?
Two hours later, Barry knocked on her door to see if she was ready. Every time she saw him, she was struck by his height and piercing blue eyes. When he looked at her, he made her feel special, something she hadn’t experienced for a very long time.
‘You look gorgeous,’ he said, taking in the classic cut of her violet shift dress, which she’d found in the second-hand designer shop in town. The style suited her, the manageress had assured her, although it wasn’t easy walking in the heels which the woman had suggested she wore with them. As they went into the restaurant, Gemma felt slightly embarrassed when one, no two, men smiled at her.
‘It’s because you look stunning,’ whispered Barry, who’d noticed their reaction, quickly pulling out her chair before the waiter could get there first.
He looked very handsome in beige chinos and a brown checked shirt, which he wore open at the neck without a tie. A woman at a neighbouring table was sending him admiring glances. I’m a lucky girl, she told herself as the waiter whipped out a pink starched napkin, placing it in front of her.
After they ordered, they made small talk. At first, Gemma felt slightly nervous. This was a proper date, after all. She didn’t want to say anything that would put him off or make her appear boring.
‘How was your day?’ he asked.
Gemma let out a mock groan. ‘Let’s see! The front half of the ox performed an impromptu puddle in her excitement, and then the second wise woman refused to leave the messy corner to practise.’
Barry did a double take. ‘What’s the messy corner?’ She was just about to explain when their food arrived. Barry had perfect manners, waiting for her to pick up her knife and fork before he did. But there was a reticence about him this evening that didn’t seem quite right. Years of uncertainty about Sam had taught her that she needed to know the score in a relationship: she had to find out what was on his mind.
‘Is something wrong?’ she asked nervously. ‘Am I boring you?’
He put down his cutlery and dabbed his mouth. Gemma’s heart plummeted. He doesn’t care for me any more, she thought. He’s going to say we’re not right for each other after all.
‘The truth of it is, Gemma, that I’ve got to go back earlier than I had thought. I’ve got a posting in … well, I can’t say where at the moment. But it’s a long way away, I’m afraid.’
Really? She hadn’t been expecting that. In one way, his announcement made her feel hugely relieved, because it meant he hadn’t been about to dump her. Then the implications of what he’d just said sank in.
He was being sent abroad again. Where would that leave her?
‘I’ve got to report back on Christmas Eve,’ he added gently, reaching out for her hand.
She felt tears prick her eyes. It was so unfair! Just as she’d found a man who seemed to care for her and who made her tingle whenever she saw him, he was leaving. He wouldn’t be here for Christmas Day when most couples were together. What was wrong with her? Why did she always attract men who didn’t stay? Barry squeezed her hand. ‘I feel the same as you, Gemma. I can’t bear the idea of being apart.’
She hadn’t actually said those words, even though her face might have indicated as much. Yet it was proof that he knew what she was thinking. Did that mean they were soulmates? She felt confused, and only took in snatches of what Barry was now saying. ‘Understand that it would be unfair to expect you to wait without any kind of commitment … The sort of girl I’ve always been looking for … My mother thinks you’re wonderful … So would you do me the honour of being my wife?’
His wife! He was proposing to her? Stunned, Gemma looked at the man kneeling beside her, holding a ring in an open box. The woman at the next table was staring with undisguised envy. Barry is actually asking me to marry him, thought Gemma, thrilled and amazed. She’d found him at last! The perfect husband. Was this really happening?
But you’re married, said a small voice inside her.
Rubbish, she told herself. It’s only on paper and besides, I’m virtually divorced, aren’t I?
Barry’s right knee was still firmly on the ground as he held the ring up to her. He was beginning to look concerned. ‘Gemma,’ he said in a steady voice, ‘I understand this might be a bit of a surprise and believe me, it’s a revelation to me as well. But I love you and I want to share the rest of my life with you. Will you accept?’
She lowered her voice. ‘Do you want to have children, one day?’
He gave a decisive nod. ‘Of course.’
That was all right then! The handsome Barry who turned heads and made her tingle and who wanted to marry her also wanted her babies! How amazing was that?
‘Yes,’ she heard herself saying excitedly. ‘Yes please. I do want to marry you!’
‘She’s said yes,’ someone yelled, and then the whole restaurant was filled with the sound of clapping.
They had to tell Joyce first, of course, even though it was gone midnight when they got back. She whooped with excitement, hugging Gemma.
‘I knew you’d be a perfect match,’ she crowed. ‘I just knew it from the minute I met you, sweetie!’
‘Hey, Mum,’ Barry had joked. ‘Gemma will think you’ve set us up.’
Then Joyce made the kind of face that suggested she felt she might well have had a hand in it, and insisted they all toasted the engagement with a bottle of champagne that she’d been saving for her grandson’s christening but which could always be replaced. Later, when Barry walked Gemma upstairs to her room, she stopped at the door. The light under Joe’s door, she noticed, was out. He was probably asleep or maybe away for the night, as he had been the other evening.
‘Would you like to come in?’ she heard herself say quietly.
Barry looked surprised, and for a minute she wondered if she should have waited for him to take the initiative. If it hadn’t been for the shock proposal and the champagne she wouldn’t have been so forward, but they were engaged now, weren’t they? Besides, she wanted him to hold her close and run his tongue down her neck as he had started to do the other evening. Since then, she’d spent several nights on her own, wondering what it would have been like if he had continued.
‘I would love to come in,’ said Barry firmly. Before she could say any more he picked her up in his arms, just like a romantic hero in a black and white film. ‘Gemma Merryfield,’ he said, looking down at her, ‘I am going to make you the happiest girl in the world.’
Then, still holding her, he somehow opened the door and went inside, kicking it shut behind them.