Chapter Twenty #3
Maddie nudged him affectionately, standing and smoothing down her pyjamas.
Time was pressing on. She needed to finish her make-up, style her hair and slip into her bridesmaid’s dress.
She paused to admire James for a second, so handsome in his brown suit and paisley waistcoat, his hair tamed especially for the occasion.
He smiled up at her, his eyes crinkling in their corners, his lips strained, but trying.
“What did they want you to say to me?” she heard herself ask. “Marley and my dad, I mean?”
“Oh. They wanted me to ask you one more time to let me stay,” James said, shrugging gently.
“I tried to tell them I didn’t need to. You know I will always be waiting for you to change your mind, that I would come back in an instant if you asked me to — but they thought you might need to hear it again. ”
Maddie smiled sadly. She’d thought as much. “I’m sorry,” she said.
He shook his head. “Don’t apologise. It was valid input from two of the greatest men I’ve ever met. Two men who love the women in their lives in a way I’ve never seen before. I appreciated their input, Maddie, I really did. It’s just that I already knew it wouldn’t work.”
* * *
Two hours later, Autumn and Marley were officially married.
Maddie sat beside her family and watched the couple say their vows, holding the hand of a riveted Benjamin.
He was so excited to be dressed up that he had promised to be a very good boy and stay silent during the ceremony.
He succeeded except for when he had to hand Autumn and Marley their wedding rings, which he did while chattering away to them all about his ‘very important job’.
As the newly married couple made their way back up the aisle, hand in hand, the guests threw confetti cut from dried flower petals, their eyes sparkling with proud tears.
Autumn and Marley were halfway along when they gave up walking and stopped to bask in the affection of their families — hugging, kissing, squeezing hands.
Maddie watched Marley turn and gaze upon Autumn, shaking his head, his eyes wide, as though he couldn’t believe his luck.
She saw them mouth ‘I love you’ to each other, they kissed, then Marley’s eyes flitted to the bottom of the garden, where Bowie was buried.
Autumn’s and Maddie’s did the same. Maddie was quite suddenly overcome with emotion.
As her gaze travelled back to the happy couple, she caught Autumn’s eye without meaning to.
Autumn glanced between her and James, and a wordless communication passed between them, sister-in-law to sister-in-law.
If I can survive Bowie dying, you can live through James going travelling.
Maddie nodded her understanding, reaching for James’ hand and squeezing.
He stopped throwing confetti and pulled her to him, lifting her up a little bit and kissing her passionately.
For the first time in several weeks, Maddie felt her heart flutter happily.
Autumn was right, she could survive this. And she would.
* * *
They cut the cake right away because Benjamin wanted a slice.
It was a two-tiered Victoria sponge cake baked by Emma, complete with edible flowers.
Jennifer said it was the best cake she had ever eaten and implored Emma to give her the recipe before she flew to Venice next week.
Emma promised she would. Then Katherine asked if she could have it, too, so Emma said she would write up the recipe for anyone who wanted it.
They stood around on the porch and chatted in this manner until the sun began to set.
Emma pitched open the orangery doors for those who wanted to sit inside.
Ben lit the firepit, Marley retrieved blankets and Autumn asked the catering company if they’d mind making everyone a hot chocolate. The vibe was cosy and comfortable.
At seven o’clock, they sat down in the dining room to eat dinner, which was delicious and plentiful.
The waiters brought out plate after plate of some of the most flavoursome food Maddie had ever eaten — tomato soup with truffle oil, mushrooms in white wine sauce on sourdough bread, chickpea-and-cucumber salad, stuffed peppers, cauliflower fritters with mango chutney and spicy fried rice, then chocolate brownies, raspberry mousse and sticky toffee pudding for dessert.
“I have never been so satisfied,” James said, polishing off a second chocolate brownie. “I could sit here and eat for the rest of my life and I’d be happy, I reckon.”
“Hard agree,” Pip said, rubbing his stomach and groaning. “What an experience. Are you all ready for the speech of the century? Because I am not.”
The table tittered happily, nodding in mutual agreement.
They were ready for a speech or two. Why not?
Marley went first, expressing his thanks for their attendance, his delight at marrying Autumn — “the most beautiful, driven, smart and funny woman I have ever known” — and taking a moment to give thanks to Bowie, who was never far from his thoughts and always in his heart.
Ben went second. He called Autumn his third daughter and suggested she should call him ‘Dad’ from now on.
Autumn tearfully agreed, hugging Ben tightly to her before he retook his seat.
Bluebell gave a speech in which she encouraged Autumn to concede that destiny had brought her to the Whittles by laying out the ‘evidence’, which was mainly a series of spooky coincidences.
Maddie thought Autumn would roll her eyes and put it all down to luck and good fortune like she always did, but her friend surprised her by yielding with a teary nod, causing Emma to cheer heartily.
Last to go was Pip, who gave a long speech he’d littered with rude jokes and swear words.
Luckily, it contained just the right amount of sentimentality, which meant he made it all the way through without Emma admonishing him for it, though she did throw him a pointed glance at the end.
He winked at her and gestured to the rest of the table, who were all applauding long and loud, except for Benjamin.
He was oblivious, sitting with his headphones on watching a cartoon on Marley’s phone.
They took a break to have coffee and then the evening guests started to arrive.
Maddie’s shyness took over as she bid every new person a polite hello from the corner of the orangery, where she was sitting beside James, who was doing an excellent job of keeping her engaged in conversation, so she didn’t feel awkward about not socialising with people she didn’t know.
They talked about how wonderful the day had been, the deliciousness of the food, how incredible Autumn and Marley looked, and how heart-warming it was to see them together.
As they people-watched, they saw Marley catch Autumn’s eye from across the room, witnessed them each hone their gaze on the other, saw Marley wink, a happy smile fixed upon his face, and then Autumn grin like a fool in response.
“Fucking hell, they’re like something out of a romance novel,” James muttered.
Maddie laughed, because it was true.
* * *
Over the next few hours, as the group got merrier and the music got louder, people automatically migrated to what appeared to have been designated as the dance floor — the very centre of the orangery, beneath the same twinkling fairy lights that adorned their tree every Christmas.
Pip and Marley had suspended them from the orangery ceiling.
Maddie and James initially avoided dancing, but when the first slow song hit, James held his hand out for Maddie to take.
He nodded reassuringly when she faltered, suddenly convinced that absolutely everyone would watch them if they did this, that she would be the centre of attention.
“Nobody exists except us,” he said, staring straight into her eyes.
Maddie nodded reluctantly and let him pull her to a relatively empty part of the room.
Her mum and dad were already there, swaying in time to the music.
Before they could look at her, Maddie wrapped her arms around James’ neck and buried her head in the nook between his neck and shoulder, eager to shut the world out.
She drew in a deep breath, inhaling the scent of him, knowing it would calm her nerves.
James held her tightly to him, murmuring the words to the song just loud enough that only she could hear him.
She quickly forgot there were other people in the room, that real life existed.
Despite the weight of what they were doing, their first ever slow dance, and the last one they’d likely do for a long while, Maddie lost herself completely in the moment, so, when the music ended and she felt someone tugging gently at her elbow, it took her a moment to come back to reality.
“May I?” someone asked. Maddie felt James release his grip on her waist. Suddenly, he stepped back.
The room was not in focus, Maddie was still somewhere else, dancing on a cloud among the stars, but she saw James nod.
Maddie wanted to tell the interrupter to go away, to leave them alone, but when her brain joined her body back in the room, she realised that it was her very own little brother.
Pip stepped towards her, took her suspended hands in his own, and started swaying, encouraging Maddie to do the same.