5. HAPPY FAMILIES
FIVE
HAPPY FAMILIES
It couldn’t be postponed any longer. She and Gerry had to discuss Amber’s wedding; who was paying for what, who had to be invited and who didn’t.
‘I’m not having him coming to my house,’ Tess informed Orla. ‘We need to meet on neutral territory. Probably Amber’s place. Trouble is, trying to get everyone free on the same day.’
They chose the following Thursday, although at the last minute Amber’s fiancé Peter was summoned to a conference in Marseilles. They decided to proceed without him: at least Gerry was back from his annual fortnight in Madeira, Amber had a rare day off, Matt had already agreed to pay for the wedding cars, and anyway, he’d be in Hong Kong that day, and Tess was greatly relieved to have a break from making a dress for the dreaded Mrs Byron-Sommers, who appeared to have a lot more money than taste. The woman wasn’t just obese, she was elephantine. And, with her insistence on a mauve synthetic fabric, she was a nightmare as far as Tess was concerned, and probably her greatest challenge yet .
Tess felt weary and wintry when they convened at Amber’s flat, which was a showpiece of open-plan minimalism with white leather sofas grouped on polished concrete floors, and adorned with a large abstract canvas which, Amber had admitted, had cost the equivalent of their annual holiday. Tess wondered how they’d cope with messy little children if they ever had any.
And that particular day she was also feeling a little depressed at her lack of compatibility with the first ‘heart’ she’d met. Amber, who’d been working long hours, was yawning even before the meeting began. Gerry, of course, was suntanned and smiling with what looked suspiciously like whitened or veneered teeth. And he’d brought Ursula along. She was also deeply tanned, with sun-kissed hair and a blindingly white smile, which Tess knew was due, in part anyway, to implants, because she’d apparently had problems with receding gums and wobbly teeth. Amber had gleefully reported this fact some years previously. And Ursula hadn’t put on an ounce from the last time Tess had seen her. She was wearing a cream cashmere roll-neck sweater and jeans that appeared to have been sprayed on. Tess wasn’t sure what she resented most: the hair, the clothes, the figure, or just Ursula in general.
‘I didn’t expect you to come, Ursula,’ Tess said through her gritted, rather imperfect teeth.
‘You don’t mind, I hope?’ Ursula said, plonking herself down on one of the leather settees and crossing one skinny leg over the other.
‘No, of course not,’ Tess lied, feeling more lumpy and colourless than usual, as Gerry dutifully pecked her on the cheek.
‘You look like you could do with a holiday yourself, Tess,’ he said. ‘We all need a break to get through the winter.’ He then sat down on the settee next to Ursula .
‘The fact is,’ Tess said, ‘I can’t afford any kind of break at the moment, not until I know exactly how much I’m going to be contributing towards the cost of this wedding.’
‘Well, she is your daughter,’ said Ursula with a tight smile.
‘And she isn’t yours ,’ Tess snapped, feeling her hackles rising.
‘Let’s not get off on the wrong foot,’ Gerry said calmly, withdrawing some paperwork from his briefcase. Tess wondered what lurked in there these days. ‘Let’s start with the venue for the reception,’ he continued. ‘Ashley Grange is not cheap, but so luxurious and with that terrific river frontage… I’m footing the bill for that, of course.’ He looked around with a smug expression. ‘Deposit already paid. Now, we must talk about the food and the booze. What’s the final guest total – anyone know?’
‘Definitely one hundred,’ Amber said, placing a cafetière of coffee and four mugs on the table. ‘And you know that Peter’s family are paying for the booze and we’re paying for the food.’
Tess sighed. A hundred! At the last count, when they’d sent out the ‘save the dates’, it had been eighty, which she reckoned was about thirty too many anyway. She knew that most of the ‘extras’ would be business colleagues of Gerry’s. He was never one to miss an opportunity to impress and do some networking.
She recalled their own modest nuptials in the austere little church in Strathcoy; she in a short day dress she’d made herself, Gerry in a rented Moss Bros suit. Her one and only bridesmaid was Jessie, her best friend (in the absence of her errant sister), who’d provided her own dress. Then lunch in the Strathcoy Hotel and a three-day honeymoon in York because Gerry had a contact there, after which he was keen to get back to ‘civilisation’, as he put it, because he said he wasn’t ‘designed’ to be north of Watford for too long. Tess sighed at the memory.
‘What about Barbara?’ Gerry turned to Tess. ‘Has anyone heard if she’s coming or not?’
Tess shrugged. ‘You know my sister. I’ll email her again to see if I can get a definite answer. But she hates coming back to the UK, as you know, so it’s anyone’s guess.’
‘And you, Tess, are you coming alone or bringing someone?’
Here was the million-dollar question. ‘Probably bringing someone,’ she said. Well, she could always change that, if she had to. Which she most likely would.
‘We’ll count that as another possible space at the top table then,’ Gerry said, looking at her quizzically.
‘Flowers!’ Ursula piped up. ‘What about flowers?’
‘Done and dusted!’ said Amber. ‘I’ve found a fantastic place in Chelsea!’
There followed some discussion about how much the church was going to cost, how much the vicar was going to cost, and whether they should offer to pay the bill for the bridesmaid’s dress.
‘Well, I certainly can’t make it,’ Tess said firmly, as all eyes swivelled in her direction. ‘I’m working round the clock at the moment.’
‘Well, at least you’ll have plenty of money coming in,’ said Ursula cattily.
Tess’s hackles had reached new heights. ‘Just about enough to cover my community tax, my electricity, my gas, my water, my share of renting the shop – but not quite enough for a couple of weeks in Madeira!’
‘Whoa, whoa! Easy, easy!’ said Gerry the arbiter .
Tess noticed he’d aged considerably in the few months since she’d last seen him, and he was definitely paunchier. There were folds of flesh over those blue eyes she’d once so adored.
Amber rolled her eyes at her mother and then turned to Ursula. ‘Er, Ursula, I think it might be best if you keep out of this. And, as regards to a bridesmaid, I’ve decided against that. I’ll just have Ellie as my flower girl.’
‘Well, I only said that because Gerry’s having to foot the lion’s share of the bill,’ said Ursula, smiling brightly.
Tess wondered if implants ever fell out. She hoped these would.
‘Anyway, I think we’ve covered pretty well everything,’ Amber said. ‘Mum is paying her share by making me a beautiful dress, copied from a designer model, saving me thousands.’
Ursula wasn’t finished yet. ‘Surely there’s a copyright on that?’ she asked.
Even Gerry had had enough at this point. ‘Will you keep out of this!’ he snapped at his paramour.
‘I was only trying to help ,’ she replied sulkily.
‘Well, you aren’t damn well helping!’ Gerry snapped. He turned his attention back to Tess. ‘That’s fine, Tess, and I think we’ve covered everything.’
‘I doubt it,’ Tess replied. ‘There’s bound to be something we haven’t thought of. Probably best if I email you.’
‘Probably,’ Gerry agreed, glancing at Ursula.
As they prepared to go their separate ways and Ursula was ‘paying a call to nature’, Gerry rested his hand on Tess’s arm. ‘Are you OK for money?’ he asked quietly.
Tess stared at him. ‘Yes, I’m fine. Why do you ask? ’
‘I just worry about you sometimes,’ he said.
‘Well, you’ve no need to,’ she said. ‘I’m managing quite well, thank you.’
‘I’m sure you are, but you look so tired, and you seem to be a bit short on holidays and your social life.’
As if he knew or cared! Tess was astounded. Why on earth was he suddenly so solicitous about her wellbeing?
She gave a little laugh. ‘Not at all,’ she said. ‘I belong to a very exclusive little social club, have met some wonderful men friends, and my social life is quite exhausting at times! And I’ll be doing a cruise round the Greek islands in a couple of months’ time.’
Gerry looked surprised. ‘Well, that’s all right then…’ And he was about to say something else when Ursula reappeared.
There was no way Tess was going to let him see how she was really feeling. And now she really did have to find someone.