Chapter 14
On the day of the wedding dress fitting, Jade had arranged to pick Sarah up so they could go to the shop which was in Salisbury together.
It had been six days since Hector had turned up at Duck Pond Rescue and Jade knew she was still processing it all.
Her emotions were a mix of jubilance, excitement, regret, anxiety, anger and hope.
It was a weird mix and all of them seemed to be prevalent at different times.
The anger was the hardest to deal with and Jade knew this was because it was the hardest to address.
The most burning question she had – and it was one that wouldn’t go away – was what had Elizabeth hoped to achieve by keeping Hector out of his daughter’s life?
Unfortunately, there was only one person who could answer that and she wasn’t here to do it.
Jade had spoken to Hector twice on the phone since his visit.
On both occasions they’d chatted for more than an hour.
He’d given her some more details about her grandmother, Charlotte, her Aunt Beatrice and her cousins, and with each piece of information, Jade had felt the picture she was building in her head become more complete.
The health issues Charlotte had turned out to be arthritis.
She walked with a stick, and couldn’t be on her feet too long, but she was fiercely independent and still lived alone and still drove her car.
Jade had taken loads of notes. Names, ages, dates of birth, addresses, jobs.
She’d discovered Hector had been in banking back in the day, like his father before him.
Apparently it was a family tradition. So that’s where the money had come from.
From what she could gather, stocks and shares had been in the picture too.
Goodness, she must have wealthy relatives.
Although that didn’t explain Hector’s ancient car.
‘You’ll have to ask him,’ Finn had said. ‘Maybe his Porsche is temporarily off the road.’
They had laughed about that.
It had helped to write things down and look at them with Finn.
It all felt slightly surreal, mulling over the details of these other people’s lives, and knowing she was related to them.
Hector had confessed he’d told his family – her family, she supposed too – about their meeting and they all wanted to meet her too.
But Jade knew she wasn’t up for that at the moment.
She relayed all this to Sarah as they drove to the wedding dress shop. ‘I just can’t face meeting anyone else yet. Do you think that’s really selfish?’
‘No, of course it’s not. And I’m sure Hector understands that too.’
‘Do you think he does? It wasn’t his fault that I wasn’t in his life. On the contrary. And it wasn’t any of their faults either.’
‘True, but I’m sure they can all understand it’s been a big shock to you. I’m guessing it was a big shock to them too. Or did they always know he had a daughter he didn’t see?’
‘Some of them knew. His parents knew obviously, and his sister, and his late wife. Hmm, I guess that’s all of them then, apart from my cousins.’
‘I guess it is. Where do they all live?’
‘Devon mostly, near Exeter. It sounds like they’re all quite close.’ She paused. ‘Geographically, as well as emotionally from what Hector’s said.’
‘I see.’ Sarah had picked up on her wistfulness and her voice grew more thoughtful. ‘So did you tell Hector you were getting married?’
Jade didn’t answer straightaway. She’d just found a parking space around the corner from the wedding shop and was busy focusing on reversing the Land Rover into it.
Once she’d switched off the ignition she turned to face her friend.
‘Yes, I did. But I haven’t invited him. That would be weird.’
‘Would it? Why?’
‘Because… I don’t know. It would just feel strange when I don’t even know him.’
‘Yeah, I suppose you’re right. But you’re only going to get married once. Well, hopefully you are.’ Sarah smiled encouragingly. ‘So maybe you should ask him. And your paternal grandmother. You’re definitely underrepresented on the relative front. Callum and Finn have got loads going.’
‘Yes, I know.’
She nudged Jade’s arm. ‘You’ve got nearly a month to think about it. They don’t have to be on the top table if you don’t want them there. They could sit in an unobtrusive corner somewhere. What do you reckon?’
‘I reckon you should stop asking me difficult questions. And we should concentrate on today.’ Jade knew that had come out sharper than she’d intended, but she could feel herself getting overwhelmed again.
‘Sorry.’ Sarah looked chastened and now Jade felt guilty.
‘I’m sorry too. It’s just a bit too much at the moment and I want to concentrate on trying on our dresses.’
‘Yep, I know. Of course we should concentrate on today. I’ve been quite worried about today actually.’ They’d reached the shop and Jade looked at her. ‘Why?’
‘I think I might have put on weight.’
‘You don’t look as though you have. Anyway, that’s why we’re here. So they can adjust our dresses if they need to.’
‘Yeah, I might need mine adjusting.’
‘But you’re not having second thoughts about the colour?’
‘No way. I’ve definitely got the perfect colour!’
They went inside, pulling the shop door closed behind them with a small chime that announced their presence, and Jade was relieved the conversation had got back on to safer ground.
The space smelled gorgeous, lime with a hint of orange, and she could see a fat white candle burning on the desk.
She must ask Katie, who was as top end as her shop, what it was.
Not that she minded the aroma of ‘animal sanctuary and country air’ at Duck Pond Cottage, but it would have been nice to have a change on special occasions.
It had actually crossed her mind that maybe she should ask Hector to the wedding. But that was a really unsettling thought too. On some days she wished she could turn back time. Her past might have been uneasy but she’d felt as though she’d shut the door on it and moved on.
Hector’s arrival had stirred everything up enormously.
Luckily there was no more time to think about estranged relatives because Katie herself was bustling across towards them, looking gorgeous as always in a silk floral dress.
‘Good morning, ladies. Lovely to see you. Bang on time as well. Your gowns are all ready for you. Please follow me.’
They followed Katie, who reminded Jade of a young Celia Imrie, so twinkly eyed and so full of optimism you couldn’t help liking her, out to the two big changing rooms at the back of the shop.
‘You’re on the left,’ she told Sarah, ‘and you, my darling,’ she smiled at Jade, ‘are through here on the right. Please do ring the bell if you need any help at all. I will not be far.’
Jade thanked her as she drew the curtain around the changing room.
She moved towards her dress, which was all ivory elegance, modern and minimalistic, with a sweetheart neckline and pearl-encrusted bodice.
As she ran her fingertips over the cool satin skirt, her heartbeat quickened.
In just under four weeks she and Finn would be married.
He was the love of her life, her soulmate, and she couldn’t wait.
Neither could she wait to share her day with Sarah.
They would be walking up the aisle, arm in arm, at least that’s what they planned to do.
They’d had a lot of discussions about whether they should go in one at a time and if so, who should go first, and in the end they’d decided they didn’t want that.
They wanted to go down the aisle together and that was possible at the Bluebell Cliff Hotel because there was plenty of space, even taking into account Sarah’s dress, which was the opposite to Jade’s fitted cream satin sheath, and was a 1950s swing dress, backless and the most vibrant scarlet colour that Sarah could find.
Their dresses definitely reflected their personalities, Jade thought.
Understated for her, and shout out loud for Sarah.
Sarah and Callum were going to Vietnam for their honeymoon and in the course of her research Sarah had discovered that wedding dresses were traditionally scarlet in Vietnam and wouldn’t that be an excellent colour for hers?
‘I’ve always fancied being a scarlet woman on my wedding day,’ she’d told Jade gleefully.
Another thing that had influenced their decision to walk down the aisle together was that neither of them had chosen anyone to give them away.
Sarah didn’t want anyone to give her away, she thought that particular tradition was old-fashioned and harked back to the old days when women were possessions and could be sold or given away, and Jade didn’t really have anyone she wanted to ask.
As Jade unzipped her dress ready to step into, and then quickly stripped off her jeans and tee-shirt in readiness, she wondered if Sarah had decided against asking anyone because she knew Jade didn’t have anyone to ask. Very likely, knowing Sarah.
Her thoughts flicked back to Hector. That was the tradition, wasn’t it.
Asking your father. Beneath her fiercely independent exterior, Jade was deeply traditional.
What would she have done if her mother was still alive?
What would she have done if her parents had stayed together all these years?
Would Hector be walking her down the aisle?
She shrugged away these unsettling thoughts as she stepped into the cream satin sheath and reached behind her for the zip. She could hear voices and laughter from the changing room next door. Sarah’s dress also had an elaborate bow at the back and was definitely a two-person fitting job.
Jade berated herself for still thinking about Hector as the dress clung to her slender curves.
It still fitted perfectly. If anything she’d lost a little weight, mostly thanks to the last week when she’d lost her appetite a bit.
Changes to her routine always had that effect on her, and they didn’t get much bigger than the ones that had happened lately.
Things would have been much simpler if Hector had left it another few weeks to turn up, she thought as she slipped on the cream pumps she’d brought with her in a bag. As she turned, she heard Sarah’s voice through the curtain. ‘Are you ready? Is it OK if I come in?’
‘Of course it is.’ She turned towards the curtain and there was a swish as Katie swept it back to reveal Sarah in her gorgeous scarlet dress with its skimpy black ribbon shoulder straps, a dress that shouted, ‘I have arrived, let’s get this party started’.
A dress that defied anyone not to gasp and stare.
Sarah stepped in and she and Jade both oohed and ahhed at each other and then giggled in unison.
It was still a novelty to see each other dressed as brides even though it wasn’t the first time.
Sarah came properly across the room to stand beside her and they both turned to look at their reflections in the mirror.
‘This is a bit different to dressing up when we were kids, isn’t it?’ Sarah said.
‘Isn’t it just. You look amazing.’
‘So do you.’
Katie walked around them both, patting and smoothing the dresses down with her hands.
‘Well, there’s no denying you both look gorgeous. How do you both feel?’ She glanced at Jade with a professional eye. ‘I’m guessing you’ve lost a pound or two, but I don’t think we need any alterations, do we? Just don’t lose any more before the day.’
‘That’s an excuse to eat chocolate if ever I heard one,’ Sarah said. ‘Lucky bugger. I’ve got to rein it in.’
‘I didn’t say that. I just said that your dress is a perfect fit,’ Katie contradicted. ‘And most brides lose weight in the last week or two before the day. Wedding nerves.’
‘I eat more when I’m nervous,’ Sarah said. ‘But I’ll try and make sure it’s not cake.’
‘Excellent, and if you’ve got any worries at all and you need another fitting, just let me know. I’m sure we can slot you in.’
‘Thanks.’ Sarah nodded and reached for Jade’s hand, and for a moment they both looked back in the mirror at their shared reflection.
They were near enough the same height, but the contrast of their different coloured dresses and Jade’s dark hair and dark eyes against Sarah’s blonde hair, blue eyes and freckles was striking.
‘I have to say I don’t think I’ve ever seen two such beautiful brides,’ Katie said from behind them, and although her voice was still brisk professionalism, there was genuine admiration in her stare.
‘Stop it, you’ll choke me up,’ Sarah said, sniffing.
Jade’s throat was aching too. She felt a tear run down her face and she was about to swipe it away when Katie darted forward with a box of tissues.
‘Don’t touch your faces with your hands, ladies. We don’t want any mascara on those dresses. Use a tissue.’
‘What are we like?’ Sarah said, taking one, and then glancing at Jade. ‘If we’re like this now, what are we going to be like on the day?’
‘It doesn’t matter what you do on the day,’ Katie said cheerfully. ‘But those dresses are not leaving my shop in anything other than pristine condition. Now then, let’s get your tiaras on too, and then I can give you a hand to take everything off again.’