Chapter 24
24
Their time together on the improvised runway was over in a flash. After walking the length of the marquee to the raised stage area at the far end, where they turned and posed for applause and photographs before retracing their steps back along the runway, they joined the rest of the models for a group walk to the stage where they assembled for a last round of applause and then left the marquee.
Carole shook with nerves the whole time, and if it hadn’t been for Tom holding her steady and keeping her calm, she would’ve crumpled into a mortified heap on the floor.
She knew the emcee had announced them as they walked the runway, had described the outfits they wore and who had donated them, but none of it penetrated her brain. The crazy moment—modelling a vintage wedding dress in a fashion show, for crying out loud—combined with the noise of the audience and caused her mind to shut down all but the essential functions of walking and breathing.
When they left the marquee and returned to the history museum to change out of their vintage costumes, Carole sagged with relief.
“We did it,” Tom said as he led her back inside the building.
“I’m just glad I didn’t land on my face,” Carole said.
“I wouldn’t have let that happen.”
And Carole knew it was true. Whenever she’d felt herself stumbling on account of the tight bridal shoes and heavy gown, Tom’s strong presence at her side kept her upright and steady.
Inside the museum, they stopped walking—finally—and turned to one another. With the nerve-shredding fashion show over, Carole could enjoy the sight of Tom in his elegant groom’s suit, his amused smile lighting up his face and making him look even more handsome than ever.
Tom’s gaze drank her in as thirstily as she drank in him. The look in his eyes sent shivers down her spine, and for one mad moment she wanted to grab him and kiss him, the way she’d grabbed him and kissed him a week ago.
But before she could act on the crazy impulse, they were being steered towards the changing areas. With a last glance over her shoulder, she watched Tom disappear into the men’s changing area in the next room, laughing as he tipped his top hat towards her in goodbye.
With Olive’s help, Carole changed out of the beautiful wedding dress and back into her own clothes. The events of the last half hour were so incredible and bizarre, her mind was still racing to take it all in. Olive and the other museum volunteers thanked the models for their help and insisted that everyone join them for refreshments in the marquee, and Carole found herself being steered once more into the thick of things.
In the marquee, the chairs on which the audience had sat for the fashion show had been cleared away and people were now tucking into cakes and treats and mingling happily with each other. At Olive’s insistence, Carole accepted a plate of home-baked goodies and was soon caught in conversation with a tiny old lady who, it turned out, was the woman who’d donated the wedding dress she’d just worn.
The old lady’s name was Gwen Rogers, and her delight was impossible to miss. Gwen told Carole about her own wedding day in the late 1950s, when she’d been the one to wear the beautiful wedding dress as she married her husband, now sadly passed away, who’d worn the suit Tom had modelled for the show.
“He was very dashing, my late husband,” Gwen said with a sparkle in her eye. “I can still remember how handsome he looked when I walked down the aisle of the church to join him on our wedding day. It was the most wonderful day of my entire life.”
“I’m sure you must have looked beautiful in your wedding dress,” Carole said.
“I did look rather wonderful, if I do say so myself,” Gwen said, and gave a mischievous smile. “Oh, to be young again. Seeing you wearing my dress and seeing your young man wearing my late husband’s suit, well, it made me very happy. Those items have been packed away in storage boxes in the closet for far too long. Seeing them in the fashion show, and knowing they’ll be on display at the history museum for a while at least, has made this old lady very happy.”
“It was a pleasure and an honour to wear your wedding dress,” Carole said, and meant it.
“That’s kind of you to say so, dear. All the memories of my wedding day have come rushing back today, thanks to you and your excellent modelling job in the fashion show.”
“It makes me happy to hear that, Gwen.”
Seeing the sweet old woman’s happiness as she shared her story and expressed her pleasure at seeing the dress being worn by someone again after all these years, and for a good cause too, made Carole glad she’d allowed herself to be dragged into this mad set-up after all.
“We had a long and happy marriage, my husband and I,” Gwen continued. “But the funny thing is, we almost never got together as a couple in the first place. When we first met in 1957, Albert had just completed his national service. He was in the army alongside my brother, and when they were discharged, he came to stay with us for a few weeks. We lived in a little town just outside of Manchester, and as Albert had no family of his own—his parents had died during the war—my brother offered him a roof over his head while he worked out his next steps.”
A dazzling smile creased Gwen’s face. “The moment I set eyes on Albert, I was smitten. I was only nineteen at the time and Albert was four years older than me. He had big plans for his life, and wanted to go into showbusiness, which is what he’d been doing before he did his national service. He had a wonderful singing voice and loved to act, and his big dream was to become a star of the stage.”
The old woman’s eyes were dreamy as she remembered the old days.
“He was incredibly talented and planned to go to London and find work in the west end. Although I was quite taken with Albert, I told myself not to fall for him because I couldn’t bear the heartbreak when he left.”
Carole listened to Gwen’s story, rapt by the emotion in the old woman’s eyes.
“But no matter how hard I tried, I fell for him anyway,” Gwen said with a soft sigh. “Then one night, Albert confessed that he had fallen in love with me. He pulled a ring from his pocket and asked me to marry him and go with him when he set off for London to chase after his dreams.”
“Gosh, that’s so romantic, Gwen,” Carole said, her voice catching.
“I told him no,” Gwen said with a short laugh. “My life was with my family, I had a nice little job in a nice little office, and I’d never been further than Manchester, never mind London. I didn’t want to marry a man I’d only just met and go traipsing off to the big city with him to chase after some silly dream. What nonsense!”
Gwen sighed and shook her head. “When I turned him down, I thought I was doing the right thing, the sensible thing. But the night before he was supposed to leave us, I imagined what it would be like when Albert was gone, and all I felt was emptiness and a sense of terrible, terrible loss.”
The look on the old lady’s face was wistful now as she recounted her story.
“That’s when I knew we were meant to be together. So, I summoned the courage to tell him how I truly felt, but I was terrified! Terrified of upending my life and my plans, terrified of upsetting my family, who would surely find it mad that I’d decided to marry this strange lad and run off with him. But that’s exactly what I did—and it was the best decision I ever made.”
Carole stood speechless, amazed by this startling love story.
“Albert delayed his plans, and we got married three weeks later and set off the next day for our big adventure,” Gwen said, her eyes dancing at the memories. “We arrived in London and found a place to stay, and Albert threw himself into auditions and mingling with the right sort of people who could help him. Eventually he got some small parts in stage shows, and those led to bigger parts, and soon he was making a name for himself. He loved every minute of his time on stage, acting and singing, and I found some work in the back offices of one of the theatres where he appeared regularly.”
“That’s an amazing story, Gwen,” Carole said.
“Albert eventually moved into the business side of things and set up his own talent agency, and I joined him, running the office. We had two wonderful children, and grandchildren too eventually, and lived a happy life together. We were very lucky.”
The old lady sighed happily, her gaze distant before she spoke again. “But sometimes I can’t help thinking about how I almost missed out on all that happiness because I was too scared to take a chance on a man I’d only just met.”
Carole listened to Gwen’s words, amazed at how much they resonated with her.
“Anyway,” Gwen said, “I just want you to know how thrilling it was to see you in my old wedding dress today, dear. It feels like only yesterday that I put it on and married my Albert, and it made me very happy to see my dress and Albert’s suit being shown off by such a lovely young couple as yourself and your young boyfriend.”
Before Carole could correct Gwen and tell her that she and Tom weren’t a couple, the old lady was nabbed by her friends who wanted her to go and look at one of the history museum exhibits with them. Carole bade her farewell, Gwen’s amazing story still spinning inside her head.
I almost missed out on all that happiness because I was too scared to take a chance on a man I’d only just met.
Gwen’s words drilled into Carole’s mind, making her wonder if she was risking the same happiness because she was also too scared to take a chance on a man she’d only just met.
Carole shook her head at the idea. The beautiful love story Gwen had shared had got to her, that’s all. The beautiful love story, the stunning wedding dress, her crazy conscription into the vintage fashion show… all of it had simply sent her off balance.
Right?
She ate her cake and mingled, receiving thanks from the museum volunteers from her help and compliments from the members of the audience who’d enjoyed the fashion show.
Amid all this activity, she kept her eye out for Tom, wondering where he was.
She saw no sign of him in the marquee, and although the place was packed with people and it was possible she just couldn’t see him, it also occurred to her that maybe he’d left already.
Spending an entire Saturday afternoon with the elderly volunteers and supporters of the local history museum probably wasn’t Tom’s idea of a great way to use his free time. He’d done his bit and made his contribution, and perhaps he’d now gone home.
Carole felt a flicker of regret that he must’ve left without her.
But if he had left without her, it was hardly surprising. She was the one who’d sent all those mixed signals last weekend, grabbing him and kissing him… and then pushing him away and saying it had all been a terrible mistake.
Considering her behaviour, it was a wonder he’d agreed to take part in today’s events at all. That he’d gamely agreed to let Olive Nimmo rope him into this madness, and then walk the runway dressed as a groom while Carole walked beside him in full bridal mode, only proved to her that he was a good man.
A sigh of regret made her wish things could’ve been different—and wonder if it was too late to make them different.
Carole finished her cake, bade farewell to Olive and the other museum volunteers and left the open day. On her way out, she slipped some money into the donation box and glanced around one last time in the hope that Tom was still there.
But there was no sign of him anywhere.
The sweet and crazy moment they’d shared while dressed as bride and groom lingered in her thoughts as she made her way across the market square.
She was almost at the corner where the lane led towards the high street when she heard someone calling her name.
Turning, she saw Tom, hurrying out of the marquee and across the market square.
Hurrying towards her .
“Carole, wait!” he called out.
Her heart thumped inside her chest as he drew closer, thrilled that he hadn’t left without her after all.
And her nerves raced as she contemplated the words she’d thought about only a moment ago… and wondering whether she had the courage to actually say them out loud.