by Melissa Hill
Nicola saw Helen arrange her features into something resembling a smile, and raised a silent prayer of thanks. She would eventually come round, and any fool alive could see that Laura had real talent. OK, Nicola too was worried about how someone as timid as Laura would survive in an often ruthless and unforgiving business world, but she was sure that with good advice and plenty of support, Laura would be fine. Either way, it was certainly worth taking the chance. Didn’t she know only too well that life was what you made it?
And in fairness, with all that Laura was about to undertake, if she couldn’t rely upon the support of the people closest to her, then who could she rely upon?
6
Frustrated, Dan Hunt snatched up the telephone receiver.
“What?” he barked down the line at yet another anonymous office junior. For feck’s sake, he thought. What was the bloody point of bringing in these school-leavers at the end of June to make things harder for everyone else? They weren’t running a bloody crèche here after all.
“Um,” Dan heard the girl swallow hard. “Mr Dooley from Dooley Interiors is on line two asking to speak to you.”
Bloody Lorcan Dooley again. The same Lorcan Dooley that had been tormenting Dan for the past two weeks, because his office had somehow lost the majority of their staff Tax Deduction cards, and couldn’t Dan have a word in the Revenue’s ear? As if the Revenue was a living breathing person, instead of a crowd of bored civil servants well used to hearing the same tired excuses over and over again . . . ? Well, Lorcan Dooley could go jump, if he thought that Dan was going to spend the next three hours on hold trying to sort it out. He could already feel a knot of tension form in his brain as he hit line two.
“Lorcan, how are you?” Dan said cordially, trying his best not to sound like he felt. Despite everything, Dooley Interiors were still very good customers, and in fairness Lorcan had recommended Dan’s accountancy practice to all and sundry in the Bray area.
“Dan, still no joy with those tax cards. Is there any chance you could sort it out for us?”
Dan bristled. “Lorcan, like I said already, there’s not a lot I can do about it. You must have some records available. I know there’s little point in saying it now, but as I’ve told you before, a company your size should really think about getting your wages system computerised.”
A long telephone conversation later, a highly pissed-off Dan hung up. He was just about to dial the Revenue’s number when his extension buzzed again.
“Yes?” he hissed through gritted teeth.
“That’s a nice way to greet your fiancé,” a female voice said huffily.
Dan sighed. The last thing he needed now was Chloe in one of her moods.
“Sorry, love, I’m just having a bummer of a day. How are you?”
“Fine. Listen, I need a favour.”
“Go on.” Dan groaned inwardly, while kneading his aching brain. Couldn’t anyone do anything for themselves these days?
“I know you’re up to your eyes, but I just got a call from Debbie.”
“Debbie?”
“About the wedding invites!” she exclaimed, knowing full well that he hadn’t the first clue as to who Debbie might be. “Dan, do you ever listen to a word I say?”
“Oh right, I forgot. What about them?”
“Well, they’re finally ready, and I hoped that you’d pop down to Lakeview later to collect them – you’re only about fifteen minutes from there.”
Dan groaned. “Do I have to, Chlo? I was really hoping to get in a game of golf with John this evening. Can’t you collect them yourself – or we could go down tomorrow?”
“I have a fitting for my wedding dress tomorrow, Dan, you know that,” Chloe was petulant, “and didn’t I already tell you that tonight I’m meeting Lynne for cocktails? I simply won’t have the time to go all that way and back, and we need to send them out soon.”
“OK, OK,” Dan conceded. Anything for a quiet life. “Where is this place, anyway?”
At five thirty, a weary Dan picked up his briefcase and walked out of the office. The last thing he wanted to do on a Friday evening was battle the traffic to the Wicklow tourist village and back to South Dublin. It would be a bloody nightmare. Still, he supposed he’d better do as he was told. He adored Chloe, but it really was amazing how preparations for a simple wedding could turn a normally reasonable woman into something resembling a rabid dog. And lately, as the big day drew ever closer, Chloe was behaving like the pit-bull variety.
To Dan’s surprise, the traffic on the N11 was light, apart from a few caravan-pulling jeeps, no doubt on their way to the coast for the weekend. Lucky bastards, he thought. He could do with a few days off. He had been working like crazy these last few months, and all Chloe’s wedding preparations were driving him demented. You’d swear they were the only ones who were ever going to get married, with all her fussing and foostering about the flowers, the cake, the dress and these blasted invites. He supposed he should be a little more supportive, and maybe a little more enthusiastic about it all, but it just didn’t feel the same.
Not this time.
Stop it, he told himself. You’re getting married to a great girl in a couple of months’ time. No point in thinking about the past now. And Chloe was a stunner and a half. Dan just wished she’d lay off on the wedding talk.
He found the Amazing Days store amongst all the small but well appointed craft stores and local enterprises on Lakeview Main Street. Lots of thriving little businesses in this part of the world, he noted wondering if he should pass around a few cards and try and grab some more work for his accountancy firm.
“I’m here to collect the wedding invites – Hunt is the name,” he announced to the sales assistant, who looked no older than ten, but was wearing the most hideous make- up he had ever seen. She wore purple sparkly eye-shadow, deep red lipstick, and it seemed to Dan as though every piece of exposed skin had been covered with a thick coat of some new, and obviously trendy, fluorescent orange foundation. The girl’s jaws stopped chewing for a second, as she regarded Dan with an interested look. Dan was used to the attention. Over six foot tall, and often told he resembled a young Mel Gibson, he knew women found him attractive, despite the fact that he was heading for thirty-five and beginning to develop a bit of a beer-gut, which Chloe had been on at him to do something about before the wedding.
Having had a good look, the girl eventually bent down behind the counter, exposing a non-existent cleavage, ostensibly for Dan’s benefit. “When’s the weddin?”
“Sorry?”
“The weddin,” the girl repeated wearily, “when is it?”
“Oh – September 15th,” Dan answered, panicking as he realised he wasn’t quite sure. “No, no, it’s September 25th – yes, definitely September 25th. .” He puffed out his chest in an attempt to appear more assertive.
“Well, there’s no Hunt here for September,” she said, fiddling with a strand of her hair.
“Well, try Fallon then – my fiancé may have given her maiden name.”
“Righ’.” The girl disappeared beneath the counter again and seconds later produced an ivory cardboard box.
“Thanks, my fiancee advised that she’s already paid?” Dan put the box under his arm.
The girl nodded mutely, looking disappointed as her good-looking customer quickly disappeared out the door.
A relieved Dan unlocked his Saab, and tossed the heavy cardboard box onto the passenger seat. It was well after six and the traffic out of town was bound to be mental. Maybe he should detour down to Clancy’s hotel for a pint until the traffic cleared. One wouldn’t do him any harm, and he’d drink it slowly.
Better than having to sit in a two-mile-long tailback just to get out of Lakeview, and having nothing to entertain him but a bunch of fancy wedding invites.
7
Nicola was enjoying her Saturday off. She and Laura had spent most of the morning wandering around the local shops in Lakeview and even though the day was cloudy, it was very mild.<
br />
Now they were heading towards Ella’s cafe for lunch.
Inside, Laura looked enviously at Nicola’s plate and grimaced towards her own salad. “I can’t wait until I can get back to eating lasagne again,” she said ruefully.
“Keep imagining how gorgeous you’ll look in your wedding dress,” Nicola teased, tucking shamelessly into her food. “So tell me, how are your business plans going? Any news from the Enterprise Board?”
Laura’s eyes lit up instantly at this, and Nicola smiled.
“Not yet,” she said ruefully, “and I think it’ll be a long wait. Still, everything else is coming along very well. I’m going to use one of the downstairs bedrooms as a mini-office until Neil organises a proper workshop for me in the garage.”
“So you’re going to work from home until then?”
Laura nodded. “I’ve sent some press releases to the newspapers and magazines that might be interested so you’d never know . . .”
“And what about the website, did you get someone to organise that for you?”
Laura hoped to sell a selection of her designs online.
“Neil’s cousin. He’s only fifteen but he’s an absolute whiz-kid on the web. You should see the logos and animations he’s come up with. I’m sure he has a big future ahead of him in graphic design or something like that.”
“A website will be a big help starting out, particularly if people can order from you directly. When you’re settled there’s a guy I know Conor Dempsey, who does all our brochure and signage stuff. Octagon design, they’re just up the road. His assistant Cara is a dote.”
Laura smiled. “You’re really in with the local business crowd aren’t you? Between recommending them and Amazing days …you should be on commission.”
Nicola shrugged. “It’s good to support local business and is usually reciprocal; you’ll find that out yourself soon.”
Her friend sat forward, her eyes shining with excitement. “I still can’t quite get my head around the fact that I’m going out on my own. I’m almost afraid to say it out loud in case I jinx it, or something. Nicola, my very own business!” She bit her lip. “Let’s just hope I don’t fall flat on my face.”
“And what does it matter if you do?” Nicola replied reassuringly. “At least you’re willing to make a go of it. There aren’t many of us who would have the courage to do what you’re doing, and that’s an achievement in itself. Anyway, I can’t see that happening. Your jewellery is great and it’s a terrific idea. Ken was delighted when I told him.”
“Was he?” Laura smiled bashfully.
“Yep. And he said to tell you that if you need any help with finding a decent accountant or anything like that, you should give him a shout.”
“He’s such a sweetheart, Nicola. You’re really very lucky.”
“I am, aren’t I?” Nicola grinned. “Anyway, you’re not doing too badly yourself, with your big wedding and your big business, are you?”
“True.” Laura smiled and sat back. “It’s very exciting though, Nic. For the first time ever, I really feel like I know where I’m going with my life.” She giggled. “Sorry, I know I’m probably boring you to tears with all this talk, but sometimes I get so excited, I can hardly help myself.”
Nicola nodded sagely. “So you’ve noticed my eyes glazing over every time you open your mouth?” she teased.
Laura threw a napkin at her. “Shall we go? I need to collect my wedding invites, and I thought that afterwards we should drop in to Mount Usher Gardens in Ashford for a while – you said they’re really beautiful at this time of year?”
Nicola gathered her things, and followed her friend out towards the busy main street.
They were in and out of Amazing Day Designs within minutes, Laura eagerly clutching the white cardboard box she had collected from the sulky counter assistant – the same one, she informed Nicola, who had been blatantly eyeing Neil throughout their first visit to the store a few weeks earlier.
When the two girls had reached the lakeside carpark, and were inside Nicola’s Ford Focus, Laura excitedly opened the box. Nicola reached across to see, and as she did, she saw Laura’s expression wrinkle in confusion.
“These aren’t mine,” her friend said irritably. She pointed at the name on the lid. “Look, they’re labelled Fallon.”
“Oh dear, the kid obviously misheard your surname.” Nicola reached for the driver’s door. “Come on, we’d better go back.”
She was halfway out of the car but stopped short when she saw Laura staring fixedly at the contents of the open box, her eyes wide with alarm.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
Laura looked up, her expression uneasy.
“The groom ….” she said quietly. “It has to be … it’s Dan – your Dan. Nicola . . . he’s getting married again.”
8
Dan was not impressed.
“What do you mean, it was an ‘easy mistake’? How could it be ‘an easy mistake’? Don’t tell me the stupid girl can’t read?”
“Mr Hunt, I believe that you were in quite a hurry yesterday afternoon and –”
“That’s not the bloody point!” Dan was becoming more agitated by the second. “You gave me the wrong box, and you gave our invites to somebody else.”
That was the terrible part, he thought. It was bad enough finding out that he had taken the wrong box, but the fact that Laura Fanning had his, well … that was even worse.
He hadn’t noticed anything himself, not giving the invites a second glance at the time.
In fact, they were still in the car until Chloe returned to the apartment this morning. She’d stayed the previous night at Lynne’s and had been out on the town the night before. She was in great form, today’s dress fitting having apparently “gone well”. Dan wondered how a simple fitting for a dress could go any other way but he didn’t bother to ask. Chloe would simply sigh, give him one of her withering looks, and tell him that he didn’t understand. And she was right. Dan didn’t understand, he couldn’t understand what all the fuss was about. It was strange, but he couldn’t quite get it into his head that he was actually marrying Chloe, and that she was no longer just his girlfriend, but his fiancée.
It had all happened so quickly, he supposed. They had only been together for eight months or so, before Dan had begun literally falling over the numerous hints that Chloe had dropped about marriage proposals and engagement rings. Most of the other women in her circle of friends were married, and he knew that Chloe was determined not to be the one left behind. Dan didn’t want to spend the rest of his life being single either, although it wasn’t just that – he did love Chloe. She was bright, gorgeous, great fun (when she wasn’t organising weddings) and Dan had to admit that the two of them were well matched.
But he just didn’t feel the same enthusiasm about this wedding as Chloe did. Still, he supposed it was because he had been through the whole thing already. Although back then, things had been different.
Shortly after her return from Lynne’s, Chloe had let out a screech that Dan thought would not only awaken the dead, but have them covering their ears in pain.
“These aren’t ours!” she yelled, waving the box lid frantically above her head.
“What? Of course they’re ours,” Dan didn’t bother to look away from the newspaper he was reading. “Who else’s would they be?”
Chloe’s shrill tones pierced his eardrums. “Well, unless you’ve suddenly changed your name to Neil Connolly, and you’re marrying someone called …” She read the invitation again, “Laura Fanning without telling me, then, yes, they might be ours after all.”
It was only then that Dan looked up from his newspaper.
“What did you say?” he asked, getting up from his armchair.
“I said, unless you’ve changed your name to –” Chloe trailed off surprised, as Dan abruptly grabbed the invite and read it intently from beginning to end.
He couldn’t believe this. Talk about a coincidence. So Laura
and Neil were finally tying the knot.
Dan swallowed hard. Nicola would almost certainly be one of the bridesmaids. She and Laura had been best friends for years. Then, a thought struck him, and heart pounding, he read the date of Laura and Neil’s wedding: September 26th. Only a day after his own. What if …?
He had driven the Saab back to Lakeview as if it was on fire, waving away Chloe’s protestations.
“It can wait until Monday, Dan. I’ll phone them now, give them a piece of my mind and make sure we get not only an apology, but a hefty discount.”
But Dan had insisted. He had to make sure that Laura wouldn’t find out about his wedding, not like that anyway. He had wanted to tell Nicola, had hoped to tell her that he had met someone else, but somehow he kept putting it off and putting it off. Anyway, he reassured himself, he had no way of contacting her, had he? As far as he knew, she was still in London. But she would definitely be back for Laura’s wedding.
And if Laura discovered he was getting married again, it wouldn’t be long before Nicola knew. He had to get it sorted.
But he had no sooner set foot in the stationery store than Debbie began to apologise profusely, and Dan knew that his worst fears were realised. It turned out that Laura had only earlier that day, collected his and Chloe’s invitations.
Debbie was soothing. “Mr Hunt, I appreciate your position – really I do. But these things happen. With the surnames being so similar, and the closeness of the wedding dates –”
“Oh for goodness sake!” Dan interjected. “If you people can’t be bothered to double- check names and dates, considering the business you’re in …” he trailed off and shook his head. “I don’t know.”
Debbie tried a different tactic. “Well, I could offer you a small discount on the invoiced amount – ”
“I don’t want a discount! I want an explanation as to how this could have happened. Do you have any idea how much trouble this could cause? Do you have any bloody idea?”