Chapter 20 #3
‘Heather, I know my family aren’t perfect.
But they are my family. And even though they’re hard to get along with sometimes, I do respect my mother’s opinion.
And my father’s. I’m not entirely happy with the way things are, but my mother will come round, and we have a lovely wedding ahead of us.
I think we shouldn’t spiral and think the worst.’
‘It was pretty horrible being told that I would marry you over your mother’s dead body,’ Heather said quietly. ‘I just don’t think that you realise how upsetting that was.’
‘I do, Heather. It was a horrible thing to say.’ Matty sighed deeply.
It sounded as though he dredged up the sigh from the deepest parts of his being.
‘I want our marriage to bring everyone together. I want our children to have a close and supportive family too, and that includes you and my mother having a good relationship. As I said, I think what she said came from a place of stress and shock. I don’t think that’s what she really thinks. ’
‘Okay. I guess that’s reasonable… I want to have a good relationship with her too, Matty. But she’s made it so difficult so far. I really have tried.’
‘I know that you have. I love you for how sweet you’re being about all this.’ He kissed her hand.
‘I don’t want to fight,’ Heather said.
‘Neither do I. It’s the last thing I want to do.
I want the two most important women in my life to get along, and it’s killing me that you don’t yet.
’ Matty looked for some space to put his coffee cup down on the bedside table, picking up the anonymous letter that Heather had received about Elizabeth.
Heather had left it there when she’d taken it out of her pocket a couple of days ago. ‘Hey. What’s this?’
‘Oh. I wasn’t going to mention it, but I got a weird letter from someone about your mum.
Warning me that she’s evil, and keeping some secret.
And I saw her have some kind of secret assignation with a man in a car.
’ Heather watched him read the letter. ‘Annie said it was nothing and not to tell you. But it’s weird, Matty.
I think she threw an envelope of money at him, or something. It was all very dramatic.’
Matty reread the letter, turned it over to see if there was anything on the back, and then shook his head.
‘Heather, this is just a letter from a flake. It’s not unusual to get these when you’re in the public eye.
’ He handed it back to her. ‘I’m really sorry that it’s upset you; I realise that this is all new to you, and it’s going to take some adjustment.
All of this is why I was nervous about introducing you to my family.
I wish it wasn’t like this. Mum keeps a lot of people around her.
I imagine the man in the car was security. ’
‘He wasn’t security. I’ve seen your mum’s security detail. This was some normal guy in a normal car.’
‘Well, she’s got so many fingers in so many pies, it could honestly have been anyone.’ Matty sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. ‘But please believe me when I say, I am involved absolutely as little as I can be in them. I don’t care about the money and the fame.’
‘Then elope with me. Let’s just get married for us, and leave all of this in-fighting and politics behind.’ She held his face in her hands. ‘Please.’
‘I can’t do that, Heather. I love you, but I can’t cut off my whole family like that.
I just can’t. And I don’t think you should, either.
It would break your mother’s heart not to see you get married,’ Matty said, slowly.
‘I may not love the fame and all the machinations, but I love Mum, and I love my family. I want them to be there when we get married.’
‘I know. It’s all just a lot harder than I thought it would be.’ Heather let go of his face and leaned her head on his shoulder.
‘I know it is, honey. You’re doing a great job, and I know that we can get through it all, together. We’re a team now, right?’
‘Yes,’ she sighed. ‘We’re a team.’
‘Isn’t that what you told me off about, before? For not acting like we were?’
‘Yes,’ Heather admitted. ‘I see the irony.’
‘It’s not irony, babe, it’s just me stepping up.
I hope.’ He stroked her hair thoughtfully.
‘Listen. I know it’s not fair to ask you to be the bigger person here.
But unfortunately, that is what I need you to do,’ Matty said, gently.
‘I know Mum’s tough. I don’t want this wedding to split everything apart.
I’m going to talk to her again about being more reasonable, but I just need you to be patient with her too.
And I’ll try to make sure that I support you more, around her. Deal?’
‘Deal.’ Heather buried her face in Matty’s chest. ‘Look at us, being grown-ups.’
‘I know. You know that I’d much rather ride off into the sunset, just like one of your fairy tales, right?
I’m romantic too.’ He chuckled. ‘I just think that with the right combination of romance and resilience, we can still make this wedding – and our life after – as beautiful as we both want it to be.’