Chapter 14 #2
‘I suppose, but now that I’m here, I’m trying not to. I feel weirdly nervous for my dad, actually. I know it matters to him that it goes well, so it matters to me.’
‘I wouldn’t have expected anything else. If it helps, I feel weirdly nervous too.’
‘You?’
‘Well, I’ve got a lot of people to impress, haven’t I?’
‘Have you?’
‘Your family, for a start. I mean, the ones I haven’t met.’
Zoe’s gaze swept over the gathering. Clusters of people were chatting, some who knew one another well, some meeting for the first time, some who clearly hadn’t seen each other for many years.
‘There aren’t that many of them, to be honest.’ She paused.
‘It’s a shame. I thought they might have made more of an effort for my dad. ’
‘Is your brother here yet?’
‘I don’t see him.’ She looked up with a smile. ‘Don’t worry about Tom – he’s going to love you.’
‘He’s still good friends with your ex, though. You don’t think that will have any bearing on what he thinks of me?’
‘Not for a minute. He still sees Ritchie, but it’s only because they go to the same places, and sometimes they catch up over a drink. As Billie would say, it’s really not that deep.’
His tight expression transformed into a grin. ‘Yes, one of her more annoying phrases.’
‘Aww…’ Zoe prodded him. ‘Does it make you feel old when she says it?’
He laughed. ‘Yes! It does, and I don’t like it!’
‘Zoe!’
She spun towards the sound of her brother’s voice and saw him getting out of a taxi, a broad smile on his face.
He was in a crisp suit, hair as dark as hers cut in a trendy mullet.
With only two years separating them, Zoe had been close to her younger brother when they were kids, but as adults they’d drifted apart, especially since her break-up with Ritchie.
She’d responded to Alex’s question by playing down Tom’s friendship with her ex, but the truth was it had felt like a betrayal when her only sibling had continued to meet up with Ritchie as if nothing had happened, while he hadn’t made the effort to visit her since she’d moved to Thimblebury.
It had tempered the way she’d felt about Tom, though she’d done her best to hide it.
Suddenly, it struck her that, in nursing a grievance, she wasn’t so different to her mum.
Her spirits lifting at the sight of him, she rushed over and reached up to hug him. ‘Look at you! You look great – very smart!’
‘As opposed to looking like a used bin liner, as I usually do?’
‘Don’t be daft! I’m trying to give you a compliment!’
‘That’ll be it then,’ he replied with a wry smile. ‘It’s easy to get confused when you’re not used to getting them. Still a short-arse, I see.’
‘Hey!’ She slapped him playfully on the arm. ‘Still lanky, I see.’
‘You’d have thought one of us could have turned out a nice average size, wouldn’t you? How long have you been here?’
‘Not long.’
‘So you haven’t seen Dad yet?’
‘No.’
‘Or anyone else?’
‘Not really,’ Zoe replied, her nose screwing up in puzzlement.
Tom laughed lightly as he leaned in and dropped his voice. ‘For once, I’m glad not to be one of the major players.’
‘What’s that mean?’
‘It’s a lot less stressful to be a guest than someone with a role to play.
I don’t mind admitting I was pissed off at first when Dad didn’t ask me to be his best man.
Especially when I found out he’d asked Chantal’s brother.
But I got over it when I realised I could rock up with seconds to spare instead of having to be on duty all morning.
Lennon can have it, and he’s welcome to it. ’
‘OK…’ Zoe said slowly, unsure whether to fully believe her brother or not. It must have stung not to have been asked by his dad, no matter what he said, but he didn’t seem concerned now.
She felt Alex’s presence by her side. He always wore the same cologne.
She’d forget what the brand was whenever she thought about buying him a replacement bottle, but she was quickly beginning to lock the scent into her core memories, so that the slightly sweet sea-air and beach-forest notes would bring him to mind whenever she smelled them.
They were there now, and she felt calmer and safer knowing he was there. She smiled up at him.
‘I assume you must be Alex,’ Tom said.
‘I am.’ Alex stuck out his hand, and Tom shook it. ‘Good to meet you.’
‘You too. I’ve heard a lot about you.’
‘Have you?’
‘Nah, not really.’ Tom grinned. ‘She doesn’t call, you know. Probably thinks I might ask to come and stay if she does.’
Zoe prodded him. ‘Oi! Stop it! I’ve been busy, that’s all. And you know you’re just as capable of picking up the phone as I am. I’ll fill you in later on what you’ve missed.’
‘I’m planning on getting plastered as soon as humanly possible, so don’t hang around with the update. Got to get through this somehow, eh? How’s Mum?’
‘Haven’t you bothered phoning her either?’
‘Yeah, actually, I have. But she’s not going to talk to me about any of this, is she? It’s women’s business.’
Zoe rolled her eyes. ‘That’s the most sexist thing I’ve ever heard!’
‘Is it? And you lived with Ritchie too… must be bad. Consider me told.’
Zoe frowned. It hadn’t taken him long to mention her ex, and she really wished he’d realised that it might not be the time or place for it, especially considering Alex was right there.
She quickly angled her head at the church.
‘People seem to be making their way in already. I was going to see who I could catch for a quick chat, but I suppose it will have to wait until after the service.’
At that moment, Zoe’s dad emerged from the church with another man at his side. Zoe had never seen Chantal’s brother, but there was no mistaking that it was him. If she hadn’t known there was an age gap, she’d have assumed they were twins.
The two men were wearing matching grey suits, though her dad’s hung slightly from his slender figure, while Chantal’s brother had a muscular frame that made his look as if it was too small.
Zoe wondered if they’d both been purchased last minute and without much of a choice because neither seemed to fit well.
Given that the wedding as a whole had been planned in a hurry, it wasn’t a massive leap to come to such a conclusion.
Her dad sent a smile and a wave their way, and looked as if he was about to come over when he was led back inside by the other man.
‘That’s Lennon?’ Zoe asked.
‘Yep.’ Tom lowered his voice again, and for the first time since he’d arrived, he seemed less than jocular.
‘I don’t know what sort of chokehold that family has over him, but they’ve got more influence than we’ve ever had.
You know, his actual kids. And there’s something about her brother that I just don’t like – and it’s not sour grapes, before you say anything…
Sorry,’ he added, seeming to suddenly remember Alex was there.
‘I don’t mean to launch into family politics the minute we meet. ’
Alex waved a vague hand. ‘Don’t worry about it. Aren’t these things always the same? Catching up on who’s been doing what and trying to work out why.’
Tom turned to Zoe. ‘He knows how the game is played. Well, done, Titch, I like him.’
Like a shoal of fish suddenly switching direction to escape some unseen predator, the guests began to head for the doors of the church. It was then that Zoe noticed a car arrive.
‘This’ll be Chantal,’ she said. ‘We’d better go and find our seats.’
As they turned towards the church, Zoe glanced back and could just make out the heads of each of the three women – Chantal and her bridesmaids. She almost tripped on a loose stone on the path in her effort to see more.
‘You’ll get a good look in a minute,’ Alex said, laughing and catching her by the arm before she could fall.
Zoe blushed as she switched her attention to her apparently distracted motor skills. ‘I’ll always love looking at a wedding dress. There’s something to love in them all, even if they’re not what I’d wear.’
‘Well, Titch, you won’t have to wait much longer.’
‘Oi!’ Zoe pretended to slap his arm. ‘Not you as well now!’
She was pleased to see her brother look back with a grin of approval at Alex. At least some members of her family could still manage harmony from time to time.
As Alex had promised, Zoe didn’t have to wait long to see what Chantal was wearing, and just as she’d said, though it wasn’t what she would have chosen, she couldn’t deny that her dad’s bride looked beautiful.
Her dress was white satin, sleek and long, and the bias-cut fabric pooled around her feet.
It skimmed her bump, the sleeves were long and flared, and the look was finished with her chestnut hair worn long and curled and a pretty tiara fixed into it.
If Chantal had been forced to shop for this last minute, she’d done a great job.
It suited her perfectly, and the look on Nigel’s face as he turned to watch her walk down the aisle told Zoe he thought so too.
It was interesting that Chantal’s mum was giving her away because though Zoe had never met him, she knew Chantal’s dad was still alive. Perhaps he hadn’t approved of the match, like so many others, though Chantal hadn’t mentioned it.
‘You’re not going to cry, are you?’ Tom leaned in and whispered.
Zoe frowned, though she was tempted to laugh because the mischief in his expression hadn’t changed since they were kids.
‘Shut up!’ she whispered back and then noticed that Alex was watching them both, trying not to laugh too.
Chantal finally reached the altar and joined Nigel, then the vicar began.
‘Welcome to you, Nigel and Chantal, and welcome to all your friends and family. We’re gathered here for the happiest of occasions, the joining of a man and woman who have declared their love for one another by making the ultimate commitment…’