Chapter Twenty-Six
The wedding flowed seamlessly and without a single hitch.
Tobias shed a tear. I managed to zoom in and capture the moment before he flicked it away with his cuff.
Throughout the ceremony, Terry gazed at her man as if he were the newly crowned Mr Universe.
Dylan looked on. His face was an open book to read – both choked and proud.
Halfway through the ceremony, a blonde woman appeared from nowhere and sat next to Dylan. She was very elegant. Attractive. She reminded me of Jemima Khan – albeit an older version.
She hadn’t been beside Dylan earlier, and I was puzzled as to why she’d moved seats. Previously, the chair had been empty. As if reserved for a guest. An absent guest. I’d deduced this to be deliberate. A nod to the bride’s mother. So, who was this woman? And why was she now sitting there?
I cast my mind back. I vaguely remembered her arriving. She’d blended seamlessly in with the small gathering. Had she been with anyone? Did she have a partner? If so, where was he?
The best man was now reading a poem. I’d already taken a picture of him on the podium, so took the opportunity of scanning the guests.
My eyes travelled along each row. Hat Lady was with Bow Tie Man. Bespectacled Man was with Bespectacled Woman. Stuffed Shirt was with Lady Aloof. Mr Uptight was with Mrs Uptight. Mrs Too Short was with Mr Too Tall. Mr Glam was with Mr Good-Looking. Miss Apologetic was with Mr Grumpy. My eyes kept travelling across the rows. He was with her. She was with him. De-da-de-da-de-da. Right, so except for the bride’s father, everyone was coupled up. Everyone, that was, apart from the blonde lady who was now firmly stationed next to Dylan.
As my eyes once again rested upon the blonde, I was unnerved to find her staring at me. She held my gaze. Without breaking eye contact, she linked her arm through Dylan’s.
It was a proprietorial gesture. I suspected it to be deliberate on her part. Her eyes remained firmly on mine. She’d wanted to make sure I’d noticed her claiming him. I reddened, and she smirked. Her expression said it all.
This man is mine. You can look, but you don’t touch. So, hands off.
With a sinking heart, I realised she must have spotted me winking at Dylan. Oh, how embarrassing. She wouldn’t have known that he’d been the first to wink.
And then I found myself doubting. Had Dylan meant to wink at me? Perhaps he’d had something in his eye. A stray lash. Or a bit of fluff from his suit. Or maybe he’d been having an emotional moment, and it had been his way of halting a tear. Perhaps he’d been trying to squeeze it back into its duct. Squeeze… squeeze… wink.
Oh, flipping cosmic. In which case I’d stood before everyone and delivered the bride’s father a come-hither look.
I wondered if anyone else had noticed. If so, what might they have thought?
Stuffed Shirt: Good heavens, did you see that?
Lady Aloof: Ay say, what-what?
Stuffed Shirt: That photographer winked at Terry’s father.
Lady Aloof: Crikey!
Stuffed Shirt: Let’s hope Jemima didn’t see.
Lady Aloof: Jemima is a possessive woman.
Stuffed Shirt: Uh-oh. Jemima is glaring at the photographer.
Lady Aloof: By Jove, golly gosh.
Stuffed Shirt: I predict handbags at dawn.
Lady Aloof: How thrilling!
I looked away. Fiddled with my camera. Made a show of being enraptured by the best man who was droning to a finish.
Finally, the bride and groom were pronounced man and wife.
I discreetly moved past the witnesses while Terry and Tobias signed their Marriage Certificate. I then snapped away as Tobias shook the officiant’s hand. Eventually, as guests surged forward to take their own pictures, I made sure that I’d blended into the wall.
The new husband and wife exited the ceremony room. The guests followed, showering the newlyweds with confetti. I quickly finished off with some official group photographs.
I wasn’t booked to stay to the end of the wedding, or to cover the speeches. That was usually the job of a videographer. However, this wedding was so lowkey no cameraman had been booked.
That said, I knew some of the guests had been discreetly filming with their mobiles. No doubt someone would capture Tobias as he stammered his way through a speech, thanking everyone for coming, and declaring he was so lucky to have Mrs Theresa Green as his wife.
I wondered what Dylan’s speech would be like. Polished for sure. He would mention Terry’s mother. How she’d watched the ceremony from Heaven. How angels would have tooted their trumpets by way of celebration. Then he would ask everyone to raise a glass to both the newlyweds and absent loved ones.
Or maybe he wouldn’t say that at all – because of Jemima. Perhaps it would make her feel awkward. Yes, of course. Dylan would be alive to Jemima’s feelings. Maybe he’d omit mentioning his dead wife all together. Perhaps he’d instead mention Jemima.
‘Jemima and I are both proud and delighted to see Terry now married to the man of her dreams. Can we all please toast Jemima who has been a second mother to Terry and a tower of strength to me.’
And everyone would raise their glasses and chorus, “To Jemima.”
My lip involuntarily curled. I pushed such thoughts away and swiftly collapsed my tripod, then zipped my camera into its protective case.
The best man, who I now knew to be called Simon, interrupted me. He handed me an envelope.
‘The balance,’ he said. ‘Cash. Is that okay?’
‘Absolutely,’ I nodded, slipping the packet inside my camera bag. ‘Thank you.’
‘Don’t you want to count it?’ Simon frowned.
I smiled and shook my head.
‘That won’t be necessary. Um, Simon? Listen, I can see that Terry and Tobias are busy with their guests, so I’m going to slip away. Can you give them my best wishes. Tell them to have a fabulous honeymoon, and to give me a tinkle when they’re back. Terry has my number.’
‘Of course,’ Simon nodded.
‘Thanks.’
I briefly scanned the crowd for Dylan. There he was. Oh, he had his back to me. Jemima was still clinging to him like a limpet.
I turned on my heel and quickly walked away.