Chapter 35
NINE AND A HALF MONTHS LATER
‘Oh, wow, darling. You look absolutely stunning,’ my mother says as I join the rest of my family and our guests in the bar at the Elixir.
‘She’s right,’ my father agrees. ‘It will be an honour to walk down the aisle next to you.’
Technically, I’m already Mrs Campbell, as Gabriel and I tied the knot at a registry office with Priya, Martin, Rosie and Robert as witnesses just before we flew out here.
We figured that, as we’re UK based, it would be easier from an admin perspective for us to have a UK wedding certificate.
It isn’t as completely unromantic as it sounds though, because we’re having a massive service of blessing at the Church of God instead, which Constance in particular was delighted about.
I think the idea of coming back to the UK for a wedding filled her with dread.
In a particularly neat twist, Gabriel persuaded Pastor Andrew to let us have the service on New Year’s Day, thus ensuring that it would now have to be my favourite day of the year.
‘Would you like a glass of champagne to ease the nerves?’ Dad asks me, and I nod happily. One of the other things that has changed since we were here last is that the bars at the Elixir now stock a comprehensive range of alcoholic drinks alongside the healthy alternatives.
I glance around the room at my guests. As well as Mum and Dad, my sister Georgina is here, looking lovely in her dark blue bridesmaid’s dress.
My other bridesmaids are, unsurprisingly, Priya and Rosie.
Gabriel’s proposal, barely four months after our reunion in the Coxsmith office, may have taken me by surprise, but that was nothing compared to the effect it had on Priya.
Poor Martin was left in no doubt that he needed to do the right thing as a matter of urgency, and she’s now sporting a very impressive engagement ring ahead of their wedding in a month’s time.
Despite my whirlwind romance with Gabriel, I still found time for project Ro-Ro, and I’m delighted to report that it was a complete success, even if it’s taken an unexpected turn.
After a few months together, Robert mentioned to her one night that he was thinking of selling his sports car to raise money towards a house deposit but, in a twist that absolutely delighted him, Rosie expressly forbade it.
It seems she loves the thing every bit as much as he does and she’s thrown herself into classic car ownership with gusto, to the point that they even have matching overalls.
Although I’m sure it will come as no surprise when I tell you that Amy and Stuart didn’t make it onto the Campbell wedding/Jamaica reunion invitation list, I was hoping that Lily and Dan would be able to come but, after chatting it through with them, we agreed that long-haul travel with newborn twins was probably not a great idea, so we’re going to take lots of pictures to share with them when we get back.
About a week after firing Harvey, Gabriel came up with the crazy idea that I should be his manager.
Thankfully, I managed to head that one off and he ended up hiring the lovely Ian, who was recommended by one of the record labels and is the total opposite of Harvey in almost every way.
In fact, Gabriel has been known to complain jokingly that Ian is more interested in my happiness than his.
Although I still very much have my own life, and Coxsmith Careers is even busier since Lily went on maternity leave, I have absorbed a huge amount of Gabriel’s world through some form of musical osmosis.
His scales and arpeggios have become the backing track to our home life, and I love listening to him learning a new piece, going over and over a phrase with different expressions until he’s satisfied.
I’m particularly excited about the concert he’s putting on with Lady Gaga at Madison Square Gardens in a couple of months.
It’s a huge venue, and Gabriel was initially fretting that we wouldn’t fill it, but the draw of two such famous names coming together to do something unique has made it a sell-out.
They’re doing a mixture of all sorts of genres, even including a couple of jazz numbers.
Despite lovely Ian’s protestations to the contrary, I swear Gabriel put those in just to wind me up.
‘The cars are here,’ Georgina calls before I’ve had a chance to take more than a couple of sips of champagne. Dad and I hang back as the others file out.
‘This is usually the moment where I believe I’m supposed to tell you it’s not too late to change your mind,’ he says with a smile. ‘But in your case, it is. So all I can say instead is that he’s a good man and I hope you’ll be very happy together.’
‘Thank you, Dad,’ I say. ‘I hope so too.’
About five minutes after the others have left, the peace is shattered by the roar of an unsilenced engine, and I laugh as Dad’s eyebrows practically shoot all the way up to his hairline.
‘Did I forgot to mention that our transport to the church was a little out of the ordinary?’ I tell him with a smile as he takes in Raphael’s bright orange Jeep, which is once again doing a fine job of emptying the birds from the trees.
‘Dis yah ting way too loud,’ I yell at Raphael in my best Jamaican Patois. ‘Mek it shut up!’
Raphael laughs as he presses the button to restore some semblance of peace. ‘Wah yuh seh, mi wi dwit, boss.’
‘What was that?’ Dad asks, completely bemused.
‘Gabriel’s been teaching me a few phrases,’ I tell him. ‘I was just trying one of them out.’
‘You did good,’ Raphael tells me as he folds forward the passenger seat and holds open the door for me to climb in. ‘We’ll make a Jamaican of you yet.’
I’m not sure the Jeep was a brilliant idea, in retrospect.
We chose it because it was a key element in Gabriel’s and my early relationship, but getting a bride in full wedding dress into it proves tricky, to say the least. When we get to the church, it takes even longer to get me out, but eventually we’re all formed up.
As I walk into the church on Dad’s arm, the first person I spot is Gabriel.
He’s cast aside the normal Jamaican getup of a light-coloured suit or tuxedo in favour of a very British morning coat and, frankly, he looks edible in it.
The Campbell clan have turned out in force, and Constance pats me encouragingly on the arm as I pass.
Even Mrs Brown is here, I notice, sitting with Aaron and Jada, who will be doing the barbecue for the wedding breakfast later.
According to Constance, they’ve been practising milder versions of their famous jerk chicken, with variable levels of success, so she’s ensured there will be plenty of milk on hand for any English guests that need it.
The one thing that Gabriel has been incredibly secretive about is the music that I’d be walking down the aisle to.
He’d insisted that it would be something he’d write, as he wanted it to have a special meaning.
I’m listening carefully to the pianist as I pass the final rows of pews, but it takes me a few moments to spot it because the arrangement is so gentle and lyrical.
When I recognise it, it’s all I can do not to laugh out loud, as the underlying theme is unmistakeably the riff from ‘Disturbia’.
Of course it is. He’s obviously spotted that I’ve worked it out, as he’s beaming at me.
‘I hope you don’t mind,’ he murmurs when I reach the front. ‘It seemed appropriate, somehow.’
I smile back at him. ‘It’s perfect.’