Chapter 22 #2
Frankie places both her hands on my chest, and murmurs, ‘Method acting,’ as I wonder whether she can feel how fast my heart is now beating.
There’s music playing – I’m guessing it’s Rose’s choice because it’s very nineteen-fifties-like – and, I’m not sure who begins it, or whether we just do it at the same time, but we start swaying together to the beat.
It’s the single most beautiful almost-dance I’ve ever experienced in my whole life.
Just the two of us, my arms still round Frankie’s waist and hers on my chest, looking into each other’s eyes.
Oddly, it’s as though the effects of where we’re touching are spreading through my whole body.
I couldn’t move away from Frankie now if I tried.
‘I like this music,’ she says. ‘When I hear something like this, in a bar or on the radio, or in a taxi, it makes me think of Gran.’
‘That’s very nice. Also, the music itself is objectively good. I don’t recognise it at all but I do like it.’
‘Yeah.’ She smiles and then slides her hands up my chest a little. ‘What’s with all this modern crap that youngsters listen to nowadays.’
I laugh, and reach my hands a little further around her, to splay them against her back.
‘Method acting,’ I whisper to her.
‘Mmm,’ she whispers back.
This is an amazing dance. We do a lot of… method acting.
‘Awww.’ Simon’s voice penetrates our little bubble. ‘The adoring couple. Seriously, you two are doing an amazing job at looking like you’re together. Frankie, I think your gran would like to speak to you.’
Frankie has twisted round in my arms to face him and we both stand there for a moment, staring at him, as though we’re emerging from a strange spell.
For a few moments I’m shocked that he would interrupt us when we were clearly busy, but then I remember that we are not in fact a genuine couple, and Simon knows that.
‘Thank you,’ Frankie says. ‘I should go and see her.’
‘I think she wants to see you both,’ Simon says. ‘She was looking for you. She asked me to come and find you.’
‘Great.’
Accompanied by Simon, Frankie and I walk hand in hand over to where Rose and Roderick are seated. The hand-holding is what a couple would do in this situation, plus after that dance it would feel odd not to.
Rose addresses Simon: ‘Thank you so much. Now we have a secret to tell Frankie and Marcus. Which we will immediately tell you straight afterwards.’
‘Of course.’ Simon blows kisses at us all and disappears in the direction of the bar at the other end of the room.
‘Bring chairs,’ Rose requests.
She holds Frankie’s hand while I carry over two chairs that were against the nearest wall.
‘Sit,’ Rose commands.
We sit.
‘So,’ she says. She turns to Roderick and takes his hand and gives him what I can only describe as a saucy look.
My eyes swivel to Frankie’s. She’s looking at me too, jaw dropped. Clearly, the on-the-lips kiss they did earlier did mean something.
‘It’s sixty-three years since I left your grandfather at the altar,’ Rose tells me.
I nod. ‘The reason,’ she continues, ‘is that I was scared by how much I loved him. And also because he’s from a wealthy family and I thought if we had children they’d be taken away from me and wet-nursed by nannies.
But mainly because it was all too much.’
‘I see,’ I say. I take another look at Frankie. Her jaw is further dropped.
‘Obviously neither of us regret that, because we both went on to have happy marriages and of course none of our children and grandchildren would exist if we’d got married.’
‘True.’ Frankie’s voice sounds very strangled.
‘When I saw you together,’ Rose continues, ‘it reminded me of Roderick. Obviously. And I’m eighty-five and if there’s one thing I’ve learnt it’s that you should seize the day and also admit to mistakes. Well, that’s two things. Anyway. I telephoned Roderick.’
‘And I agreed immediately to meet for lunch,’ Roderick takes over the telling of the story. ‘And during that lunch I told Rose that I still love her. And she told me she still loves me.’
‘And that’s why I’ve been out more than usual,’ Rose says. ‘Also, we have news to announce this evening and we wanted to tell you two first.’
‘More news?’ Frankie clarifies.
‘Yes.’ Roderick says. ‘Your grandmother has done me the very great honour of becoming my wife.’
‘Has done?’ Frankie asks. ‘As in already done?’
‘Yes,’ Rose says. ‘We got married yesterday.’
‘A quiet wedding, just us,’ Roderick says. ‘I didn’t want to take the risk that she’d run off again.’
‘I will never leave you again, dearest,’ Rose says.
‘Wow,’ Frankie and I say at the same time. And then we simultaneously say, ‘Congratulations,’ before the four of us hug each other.
My mind’s racing. I’m strangely both astonished and not astonished. (Roderick has been very hard to get hold of recently and has also seemed somehow different.) I’m extremely pleased for them both; it’s wonderful to think that they can experience such happiness together at their stage of life.
After a few moments, Rose says, ‘You both look quite astounded. You should perhaps go away and haul your jaws off the floor and discuss our announcement between yourselves, as I’m sure you’d like to do.’
‘Okay,’ says Frankie, still looking shell-shocked. ‘I’m so happy for you.’
‘Me too,’ I agree.
Neither of us moves, and Rose laughs and shoos at us with her hands. ‘Go. Go and gather your thoughts and exclaim all you like with as much swearing as your generation enjoys. And then come back for another chat.’
‘Okay,’ says Frankie again, still looking as dumbfounded as I feel.
As we stand up, Roderick says, ‘This is all rather wonderful, isn’t it. We’re married, and you’re a couple too.’
‘Yes, wonderful.’ Frankie sounds a little faint.
We turn round and walk off in the opposite direction.
‘Back to the corner?’ I suggest. I think Rose is right. We do need to go somewhere just the two of us and exclaim. I’m so happy for Roderick. He’s been very lonely since my grandmother passed away.
‘Yes.’ Frankie still sounds as though she hasn’t quite gathered her wits. I hope she’s as pleased about this as I am.
We don’t speak until we’re in our corner again and there’s no-one within earshot, and then I say, ‘Bloody hell,’ just as Frankie says, ‘Fuuuuuuuck. In a good way.’
Then we stare at each other for a few moments, until Frankie says, ‘It’s mad. Just. Mad. Also, it’s an amazing love story. Sixty-three years.’
‘Yeah.’
‘Your poor grandfather. Imagine being jilted at the altar.’
I suddenly remember that Frankie’s boyfriend dumped her unceremoniously while she was looking at bridal magazines.
Not up there with actually being at the altar, but also not great.
I can’t believe I’ve thought so little about her past recently; I’ve just been focused on the here and now, and… well, us. Fake us, obviously.
‘I’m so sorry,’ I say. ‘About your…’
‘Hey, no, nothing to be sorry for. He was a dick, I almost never think about him now, and never in any kind of sad way. It was a very lucky escape. I’m sorry about your…’
‘No. No. My ex-wife? No. Nothing to be sorry for. I mean, obviously dreadful at the time but the biggest thing was that she left the kids. Not that she left me. And it’s a long time ago now.
Eleven years. And we were very young. If we hadn’t had Ruby, I’m not sure we would have stayed together at all. We weren’t that compatible.’
‘Maybe we’re both better off without them,’ Frankie says.
‘I think so.’ I smile at her and think that Rick must have been mad to let her go. She’s amazing in every way.
‘We should probably mingle a little bit. In a couple-like way.’ Frankie’s reference reminds me – again – that we are fake. Not fake friends, though. Definitely real friends I hope.
‘Let’s do it.’ I hold my hand out and she takes it and then we move out into the room.
We chat, we eat, we chat some more, with all sorts of people, and we do it all together, and it feels as though we are together. Partly, maybe, because everyone treats us as though we’re a couple, without blinking an eyelid, but also because we do just fit together.
We do get a few ‘so how did you two meet’ questions, which we are of course extremely well prepared for. We also end up in a chat with several others about films, and we of course have a lot to say about ones we’ve recently watched together.
‘You two are good,’ says Ellie (a little drunkenly) following the film conversation, in a too-loud whisper. ‘Honestly, you’re so convincing.’
‘Shhhh.’ Frankie pulls her away from the group and says, ‘Let’s get the dancing going.’ She leads Ellie towards the space in front of the band they hired, grabbing Miranda and a couple of other women on the way.