Fourteen
Claire and Jonathan’s evening reception is amazing.
Not because of the disco – although the DJ does play some great tunes that we all dance to, including some from the eighties that really take me and the other mermaids back to our school days. Not because of the delicious buffet, either – that appears halfway through the night and we all hungrily help ourselves. And not even because of the bar – that is free for the first part of the evening, allowing us to get even more tipsy than we were after the champagne and wine from earlier in the day.
All of the above only adds to my enjoyment of Claire’s wedding day. But the main reason the evening is so amazing is because I get to spend so much of it in the arms of Rob.
After our tête-à-tête outside in the hotel gardens, I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt and, after another rather enjoyable interlude of our lips pressed together, we walked hand in hand back into the hotel, much to the amusement and delight of the other mermaids. We then spent the next few hours, with more drinking, more kissing and a new addition to the proceedings – bopping away with the others on the dance floor until late into the night.
At approximately 11 p.m., I’m in a hazy state of happiness and euphoria brought on by the events of the evening, the mostly free alcohol, and the joy of spending time with my old friends once more.
‘Quick, you two – Claire is going to leave soon!’ Eddie calls and I feel a tap on my shoulder. ‘Put him down for a minute, Frankie!’ Eddie says firmly, attempting to prise Rob and me apart. ‘Your friend is leaving for her honeymoon!’
Eddie, Rob and I hurry to join the others already gathered to see the happy couple off outside the front of the hotel. The guests have all formed a makeshift walkway for Claire and Jonathan to leave through, and we join it towards the end of the line near their car – with the traditional tin cans attached to the bumper and a JUST MARRIED
sign in the back window.
Claire and Jonathan, now changed into their going-away outfits, make their way happily through the middle of all their guests, stopping to hug the occasional person and to receive everyone’s good wishes.
When they reach us, Jonathan goes over to his own friends, some of whom are standing opposite us, while Claire comes over to see us.
‘Have you had the best day?’ I ask her happily as she hugs each one of us in turn and comes to me last.
‘I have, Frankie – it’s been amazing. The happiest day of my life! I know it’s a cliché, but it really has been.’
‘I’m so pleased for you, Claire. You look radiant and so happy.’
Claire glances at Rob. ‘And I see we’re not the only couple for whom love is in the air . . . I’m so pleased the two of you have got it together at last, and at my wedding too – it’s just the best end to my day!’
Jonathan comes over and takes his bride’s arm. ‘Time to go, Claire,’ he says gently.
‘Wait, I haven’t thrown my bouquet yet!’ she says, winking at me.
‘All the single girls come forward!’ she calls. ‘And we’ll see who’s going to be next . . . ’
More desperate women than I think I’ve ever seen suddenly surge forward, pushing me and the other mermaids back a little.
I don’t mind. The last thing I want to happen to me right now is getting married.
‘Ready?’ Claire turns her back on the group. ‘One, two, three!’
Claire’s bouquet flies through the air across the heads of all the women, some of whom jump in the air trying to intercept it as it passes them. It comes far too close to me for my liking, but has just enough oomph to pass me and land in the hands of the person standing next to me – who just happens to be Eddie.
Eddie glances with shock and a tinge of sadness at the flowers in his hands, and then quickly shoves them at me. ‘I don’t think I’ve much chance of getting married!’ he says bravely, winking at me. ‘You have them!’
Claire turns around to see me standing with her bouquet in my hands, about to argue with Eddie. But she blows me a kiss and looks so pleased that I have her bouquet, I don’t have the heart to do anything else but wave at her and hug the flowers close to me.
Then Claire and Jonathan climb into their car and we watch them drive away, waving through the back window to their guests, as they start their new life together.
‘Don’t worry,’ I say to Rob as the car disappears around the corner at the end of the hotel drive. ‘I’m not intending to get married anytime soon!’
‘It’s fine,’ Rob says. ‘I saw Eddie catch them and press them onto you.’
‘Good. So what now?’
‘Apparently the disco is carrying on and the bar is open until twelve. So I guess it’s back for some more of the same!’ He puts his arm around my shoulders and we walk back into the hotel with the others.
‘My round,’ Rob says as we get back to our table and I lay Claire’s bouquet carefully in the middle to protect it. ‘Same again, everyone? Where’s Mandy?’
‘I don’t know. She was with us when we were outside seeing Claire off,’ I say, looking around with the others.
‘She was talking to a woman outside,’ Eddie says. ‘Well dressed. American, I think. She had that big black hat on in the church.’
‘Oh, yeah, I know the one.’ I pipe up. ‘It looked like a flying saucer.’
‘Yeah, it did.’ Eddie giggles.
‘I’ll just get her the same as she usually has then,’ Rob says. ‘Back in a mo.’
‘I see the two of you have been getting on very well this evening.’ Eddie is grinning at me as I watch Rob walk across the dance floor towards the bar.
‘Maybe?’ I try to say this as enigmatically as I can.
‘No maybe about it,’ Suzy says, smiling too. ‘It had to happen sometime. I just didn’t think it would take five years apart to ignite the flame of love!’
‘It’s hardly love, it’s only been a few hours tonight.’
Eddie laughs. ‘Lust, then! It’s very definitely that! Someone isn’t going home alone tonight . . . ’
‘It may have escaped your notice, but both Rob and I are staying with our parents. Hardly the ideal setting for an illicit night of passion.’
‘You could find a way if you wanted to, I’m sure.’ Eddie winks. ‘I bet that’s what you two wished for, didn’t you?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘That night on the beach, when we found the mermaid’s barrel. We all made a wish, didn’t we?’
‘Oh, yes,’ Suzy says. ‘I’d almost forgotten about that.’
‘I hadn’t,’ Eddie says. ‘I was down in Morvoren Cove this morning, and it all came back to me when I saw a fish jump in the water.’
‘You saw a fish jump?’ I ask carefully. ‘Did you see the whole fish, or just its tail?’
Eddie tries to remember. ‘Just its tail I think – why?’
‘Because that’s what we saw last time, wasn’t it, Frankie?’ Suzy asks. ‘Just the tail. A really big tail.’
I nod. ‘Rob and I saw it the other day too when we were sitting up on the cliffs overlooking the bay.’
‘The mermaid of Morvoren Cove is back!’ Eddie says, holding up his hands and wiggling his fingers. ‘Ooh, spooky!’
‘Or maybe she never left?’ Suzy says. ‘Perhaps it’s not only us that sees this tail?’
‘I think we’d have heard something about it if anyone else saw it,’ I say. ‘My mum is always full to the brim of the local gossip; if this was a regular occurrence, everyone would be talking about it.’
‘It’s like we’ve got our own Loch Ness monster, here in St Felix,’ Eddie says. ‘They’ll soon come from near and far just to spot the Morvoren Mermaid’s tail!’
‘Not if we keep quiet about it, they won’t,’ Suzy says. ‘Which I really think we should.’
‘Why?’ Eddie asks.
Suzy leans forward and speaks in hushed tones. ‘Because my wish has already come true.’
‘Ooh, really? What did you wish for?’ Eddie asks.
‘I can’t tell you that.’
‘But you said it’s already come true. It’s not like a wish that hasn’t been made yet and if you tell someone it won’t happen.’
‘True . . . ’
‘You don’t have to tell us if you don’t want to, Suzy,’ I say hurriedly. The last thing I want is to get into a discussion about what we wished for that night – not now.
‘Don’t have to tell us what?’ Mandy asks, appearing back at the table with a tray of drinks.
‘Oh, it doesn’t matter,’ I say, looking at the drinks. ‘Why have you got these? Where is Rob?’
‘He’s talking to Jenna – she’s a woman I met outside just now. Really interesting – she works in casting in LA.’
‘Like plaster casts?’ Eddie asks, lifting his drink from the tray. ‘Is she a doctor?’
We all laugh.
‘What?’ Eddie asks. ‘What did I say? My brain has had far too much alcohol. It’s not thinking straight.’
‘Not casting as in plaster casts, you numpty,’ Mandy explains. ‘Casting as in parts for movies and TV.’
‘Wow, really?’ Suzy says. ‘How exciting.’
‘But why is Rob talking to her?’ I ask.
‘He came up to the bar just now where I was waiting for drinks, and I introduced him. You’ll never guess, but Jenna had only seen him before, in some lights show in Cambridge or something.’
‘Footlights,’ I say. ‘It’s a theatre company for students there.’
‘Yeah, that’s the one. Anyway, now they’re talking acting and stuff – so I said I’d bring the drinks over.’
While Mandy dishes out everyone’s drinks, I can’t help but keep looking towards the bar to see if I can see Rob. But the bar is on the other side of the dance floor, so my view is always masked by people dancing.
Eventually, after about twenty minutes, Rob comes back to join us.
‘Sorry,’ he says, looking at me and then the others. ‘I got talking at the bar.’
‘Where’s Jenna?’ Mandy asks as Rob sits down next to me and grabs his beer.
‘Popped to the ladies, I think,’ Rob says. ‘Thanks for introducing me, Mandy. She’s an incredibly interesting woman.’
I try not to feel jealous as Rob talks about Jenna and what she does over in the States. Apparently she’s some sort of talent scout – which is why she was at the Cambridge Footlights review this year. She came over for her nephew Jonathan’s wedding early so she could see a few shows around the UK and hopefully spot some new talent.
‘So are you going to be the next big thing then, Rob?’ Eddie asks, with what sounds like a smidgen of jealousy in his voice.
That makes two of us, Eddie
, I think. But for likely very different reasons.
‘Yeah, is she going to make you into the next Tom Hanks?’ Suzy asks.
‘More like the next Hugh Grant.’ Mandy grins.
‘No, don’t be daft,’ Rob says. ‘I’ve got another year at Cambridge yet. She’s simply given me her card and said to call her if I’m interested in acting when I complete my studies – that’s all. No big deal.’ He shrugs and takes a sip of his beer again. ‘Do you fancy a dance?’ he asks me, listening to the music just beginning to play over the big speakers underneath the DJ. ‘It’s a song I think we both like.’
Wet Wet Wet’s ‘Love is All Around’ was the previous song, so I have to listen carefully to the first few bars of the new song floating over the dance floor.
I nod.
Rob takes my hand and leads me onto the dance floor, then he wraps his arms around me and we begin to sway to Bon Jovi – ‘Always’.
‘Should we get out of here, do you think?’ Rob murmurs into my ear when we’ve been swaying in time to the music for a few minutes, our bodies getting closer as the song plays. ‘Find somewhere more private, perhaps?’
I look up at Rob. ‘Yes,’ I whisper. ‘Let’s do that.’
Rob takes my hand and begins to lead me away from the dance floor as Jon Bon Jovi finishes his ballad of love.
‘Wait!’ I say. ‘Are we leaving the wedding?’
‘Yes,’ Rob says, looking puzzled. ‘Why?’
‘I need to say my goodbyes, then.’ I look over towards the other mermaids.
‘They’ll understand.’ He tugs on my hand again.
‘Just give me a minute,’ I say, pulling my hand away from his and dashing back across the dance floor to our table. ‘Rob and I are going,’ I blurt out as I reach the table.
I look at my friends sitting around the table sipping drinks. ‘Oh, hello,’ I say to an unfamiliar face sitting next to Mandy. ‘You must be Jenna?’
‘Hey, nice to meet you,’ Jenna says in a Texan drawl, sounding like a cross between a character from Dallas
– an American soap opera I used to sit and watch with my mum – and Jerry Hall, the model. She actually looks a little like Jerry Hall too as she stands up and reaches over the table to shake my hand. ‘You must be Frankie?’
‘Er . . . yes,’ I say, taking her hand.
‘Rob was telling me all about you earlier.’
‘Was he?’
‘Yeah.’
Rob appears next to me at the table. ‘Hi again,’ he says to Jenna.
‘So, you two are getting out of here, are you?’ Eddie asks, grinning at us.
I glance at the others. They all smile knowingly back. ‘I didn’t want to go without saying goodbye,’ I say quickly. ‘In case you’re all heading off tomorrow?’
‘Not until later,’ Eddie says. ‘What about you guys?’ he asks Suzy and Mandy.
‘No plans to dash off early,’ Mandy says. ‘Suzy?’
Suzy shakes her head. ‘I’d like to get away in the afternoon if possible. Shall we have a coffee together in the morning?’
‘Yes, great idea,’ I say keenly. ‘Let’s do that. How about the café overlooking Morvoren? Say eleven . . . thirty,’ I add, realising we will all probably be a little hungover in the morning.
We all agree to meet up tomorrow before we go our separate ways again.
I feel Rob take my hand. ‘Right, see you all tomorrow, then,’ he says, tugging my hand again. ‘Nice to meet you, Jenna.’
‘Call me if you change your mind!’ Jenna says, smiling at him. ‘I’m serious.’
Rob just nods.
‘Don’t forget your flowers!’ Suzy says, and she lifts Claire’s bouquet from the table and hands it to me.
‘Thanks.’ I take it from her. ‘See you guys tomorrow.’
‘Have fun!’ Eddie winks.
Rob and I walk hand in hand across the dance floor towards the exit of the hotel.
‘What did Jenna mean just now?’ I ask as we emerge outside into the fresh night air once more. ‘When she said call me if you change your mind?’
‘Oh, nothing. Now, where should we go?’
‘It must have been something?’
Rob sighs. ‘She wants me to go across to the States and meet some casting directors and agents, that’s all.’
‘I know, you told me that before – after you finish your degree.’
Rob turns to me. ‘No, not when I finish my degree. Now. Immediately. She reckons she can get me work.’
‘As an actor?’
‘No, as a tour guide. Yes, of course as an actor.’
‘Wow – that’s amazing.’
‘It is a bit.’
‘But you told her no? You told her you had to finish uni first, right?’
‘Yeah . . . ’ Rob sounds a little hesitant.
‘You are going to finish your degree, aren’t you, Rob?
Rob looks confused as he gazes down into my eyes. ‘I don’t know, Frankie. It seems like such an opportunity.’
‘Yes, it sounds like that. But is it really? What do you even know about this Jenna?’
Rob reaches into his pocket and removes a white card. ‘It looks all above board, and she is a relation of Jonathan’s, isn’t she?’
I take the card from him.
Jenna Morgan
, it reads. Talent Scout
. Then there’s a New York address and a US phone number and, oddly, the little logo at the bottom of her business card is a row of little pink shells.
‘This means nothing,’ I say, handing him back the card. ‘It could all be a ruse.’
‘A ruse for what?’ Rob looks slightly irked now.
‘I don’t know. But you hear of these things . . . in the papers. People being lured overseas for all sorts.’
Rob smiles now. ‘Are you saying you think this Jenna is going to lure me over to New York and sell me as a sex slave?’
‘No, now you’re just mocking me.’
‘I’m not! I just don’t see why this can’t be above board, that’s all. This conversation shouldn’t be about if the offer is genuine, it should be about if I should do it or not. Or maybe you don’t think I’m good enough to be a professional actor?’
‘I’ve never seen you perform – I don’t know how good you are?’
‘Ain’t that the truth,’ Rob murmurs. ‘And the way this is going right now, you probably never will.’
‘Is that all you can think about?’ I demand. ‘I thought we were discussing your future, not whether you’re going to get your leg over tonight!’
‘Clearly you don’t want me to have a future,’ Rob says, also getting riled now. ‘Or are you just jealous that I’ve been given this chance . . . hmm? What are you going to do after university, Frankie? Live in some squat trying to eke a living from being a tortured artist?’
I stare at Rob.
‘I’m sorry!’ he says with an anguished expression. ‘I didn’t mean that. I’m just really confused right now.’
‘You and me both.’
Rob sighs. ‘Look, I came here to Claire’s wedding not expecting anything, only a fun time with my old friends. But now . . . ’ His voice trails off.
‘Now?’ I ask.
‘Now, I’ve got a talent scout offering me work as an actor in America, and you, Frankie, my first love, here in my arms again. It’s like all my Christmases have come at once. All the things I’ve ever wanted.’
I stare at Rob again. But this time it’s not a stare of anger, but one of astonishment.
‘Really?’ I ask quietly.
‘To which one?’ Rob gives me a quizzical look.
‘I think you know.’
Rob nods. ‘Frankie, I’ve thought about you so much over the last five years. Yes, I’ve had other girlfriends, but none of them were ever you. They just couldn’t be. Have you thought about me?’ he asks, almost hesitantly.
I nod.
‘Then what are we waiting for?’ he says, clutching my arms and pulling me to him so Claire’s bouquet is almost crushed between us.
‘Are you going to America?’ I ask, in a voice that sounds like it’s completely removed from me.
‘I don’t know – why does that matter right now?’
Why does it matter? I’m still so confused.
‘Because it would be hard enough for us to have a relationship if I’m in Glasgow and you’re in Cambridge,’ I hear myself saying. ‘Let alone if you’re halfway across the world.’ I pull away a little from Rob as I speak.
But my small movement seems to take on a greater meaning.
‘I see,’ Rob says. ‘We’re using that as an excuse, are we?’
‘No. I just want to know.’
‘What if I said I was? Does that mean we don’t get a chance?’
‘I . . . I don’t know.’
‘I think you do know. I think you’re using Jenna as an excuse to push me away again. Just like you used Marnie as an excuse when we were at school.’
‘I did not. That was – according to you, anyway – a genuine mistake.’
‘What do you mean, according to me? That’s the truth.’ Rob lets out an exasperated sigh and steps back a little. ‘Why are you doing this again, Frankie? Why are you scared of relationships? Do you push all your boyfriends away like this? Or do you save this particular treatment for me alone?’
I don’t know how to respond. Mum said something very similar to me only a few days ago. Do I always do this? Are all my break-ups actually my fault? Or is it only Rob I’m scared to commit to, because even though I try really hard not to care about him . . . the truth is I care about him very much?
‘I’m going to go now,’ I hear myself saying in a clear voice, that is totally unlike the tangled, confused thoughts in my head. ‘Perhaps when you’ve made your decision we can talk again. But if you want my opinion on whether you should give up everything you’ve worked so hard for at Cambridge to go to America on a whim . . . then I think you already know my answer.’
I turn swiftly away from Rob, so my shoes make a satisfying scrunching sound in the gravel, and as I do something drops out of Claire’s bouquet.
Rob and I both go to pick the item up, but I get there first.
How did a shell get into Claire’s bouquet?
I briefly think as I quickly shove it into my bag to look at later. Maybe it was hidden in there as a lucky charm or something?
‘Frankie . . . ’ Rob calls out behind me as I begin to march purposefully down the driveway. ‘Let’s talk about this.’
But I don’t turn back; I continue to walk away from the hotel, and away from Rob. And as I do, I think I can actually feel my heart breaking.