by Tara Ford
“Thanks, I’m sure we will. And thank you again, for everything you’ve done.” Joe tutted and raised his eyebrows. “I have a lot of explaining to do when I get home.”
“No you don’t. It’s fine.” Tiff stood up, tugged her dress down and smiled. “Bye Georgie, and thanks again, for everything.”
Chapter 31
Two trips back and forth, from the taxis in the lay-by, and Joe and Tiff’s living room was filled with unopened gifts. They stood at the front door and waved the others off, before retreating to the comfort of their home. Their new home. It felt like a brand new home filled with a harmonious, cordial atmosphere.
Tiff kicked off her shoes, pulled Joe around, by his arm, and flung her own round his neck. “I can’t believe you’ve done all of this,” she said, gesturing to the assortment of sparkly boxes and packages, scattered around the floor. “And this…” She held her left hand up and admired her glimmering, diamond ring.
“How else could I have told you, I want you to be my wife?”
“Oh, Joe…” She kissed his lips softly, “I’m so sorry for doubting you. I’ve acted so terribly.”
“You did have a point babe, I was deceiving you and you nearly found out. At one point, I wanted to tell you everything. The worst time was when you left and went to your mum and dad’s. I had to practically chew my lip off, not to say anything to you on the phone.”
Tiff looked down at her ring again and splayed her fingers out, twisting her hand around one way, then the other. “I’ll never mistrust you again – I hope you’ll forgive me in time.”
“I’m over it babe, we’re going to get married and that’s all that matters now.” He squeezed her close and kissed her softly. “Shall we open those tomorrow?” he gestured at the presents.
She nodded her head and pulled away from him. “Shall we have a coffee?”
“Yes – then bed, my fiancée.”
Tiff slapped his behind and strolled, carefree, into the kitchen. “We’ll have to get some food for the barbecue, in the morning.”
“No we won’t.” Joe replied, following behind her. “It’s all sorted.”
“Really?”
“Yep – everyone’s bringing food and I hid some other bits in the back of the fridge and the cupboards.”
“Joe Frey – you are an endless source of astonishment.”
“Well how’s this for a surprise then? Would you do me the honour of getting married this year?”
“This year?” Tiff went giddy with excitement. “How can we affor…”
“I’ve got a couple of grand saved and our parents want to contribute hugely.”
“You’ve spoken to them?”
“Yes.” Joe raised his eyebrows and smirked. “You could have your dream, winter-themed wedding.”
Tiff slumped back against the kitchen work top. “We’d never get everything done in time. What about Battle Abbey School?” She had a passion for historical buildings and towns but Battle Abbey School, in Sussex held a particular interest in her heart. Her parents had both lived in the area, before they married at the old school. When Tiff was a child, she’d spent many holidays in Sussex and had many trips to the school. She’d fallen in love with the place and vowed to get married there, herself, one day.
Joe smirked and folded his arms as he leant back against the worktop. “I have a provisional booking in December.”
Pulling herself up straight, Tiff stared fixedly. “You… Joe… how?” she stuttered. Shaking her head, she continued to gaze, open-mouthed.
“If you want it – it’s ours.”
Tiff cupped her hands around her nose and mouth as tears welled in her eyes yet again. “I… I… can’t believe you’ve done this,” she spluttered, incredulously. “Oh, Joe.” Rushing across the kitchen, she flung her arms round his neck.
Scooping her up from the ground, Joe hugged her tightly. “Only because it’s you, babe.” He laughed into her hair as she cried and giggled and cried some more. “Wouldn’t have gone to these lengths for anyone else.”
Considering it had been their first night of being half way to Mr and Mrs Frey, both Joe and Tiff had fallen into bed exhausted from their long day and night.
So much had happened yesterday and so much had changed. Tiff lay in the bed, staring at the ceiling, while Joe continued to sleep peacefully next to her. Sunlight filtered through the cotton curtains, willing her to get up. She wanted to get up and start her first day as Joe’s fiancée but she also wanted to stay in bed and relive every single second of last night’s party. Once she was up, she knew that she would be distracted by all matter of jobs-to-do, before the family arrived for the barbecue this afternoon, and then that beautiful, morning-after moment would be gone. She closed her eyes, shutting out the brightness in the room, and reflected upon the past, the present and the wonderful future she had to look forward to.
“Can’t believe we’ve slept right through till eleven,” said Joe, picking his cup of tea up from the worktop and carrying it out to the garden.
Tiff followed behind and joined him at the new patio table. She grinned, contentedly, without saying a word.
“You’re quiet this morning babe.” Joe sipped his tea, then smiled.
“Oh, I’ve been reliving last night. That’s all. I’m still in a state of shock, I think.” She glanced down at the ring on her finger. “We’re engaged.”
“Now, do you believe me when I say I’m not interested in anyone else?”
Tiff nodded her head. “Yes, I do and I feel so foolish.”
“It’s all in the past – we’ll move on and start planning the wedding after this afternoon. What do you say?”
“Oh God, yes.”
“Good, and before you ask, the family will probably want to discuss it, in length, this afternoon as well.” Joe smirked before draining his mug of tea. “They’re all so eager to get things rolling – even my dad, can you believe it?”
“Wow – it’s all like a dream come true. You’re so amazing Joe Frey.”
Joe turned his mouth up, smugly. “Come on, drink up. We’ve got a lot of presents to open before three o’clock.”
Tiff had almost forgotten about opening the presents. She’d passed them earlier and thought how beautifully wrapped they all looked. For just a fleeting moment, she’d wondered what was inside them, but it hadn’t occurred to her that they would be opening them this morning. In her heightened state, she was quite content just to admire the wrapping paper – opening the goodies was something else entirely. Had she really deserved all of this?
Each and every gift was either something they needed, a replacement for something else, or something they’d both said they would like to have. After sitting on the floor together, unwrapping one after another and making a list of who gave them what, Joe confessed that he had given out a gift-list, or emailed one, to those who asked.
Yet another mind-blowing moment for Tiff.
“I’ve got so many thank-you cards to make.”
“Thought you’d want to make them. I’ll take over the housework if you want to get started this week.”
“Deal,” replied Tiff, admiring the new stainless-steel, wire fruit basket she had wanted for ages. It had a long arm rising up from the basket base, with a hook at the end, to hang bananas from. “I’ll start tomorrow evening.”
“Good. Right, let’s get all this upstairs, out of the way, then we can get ready for the barbecue.”
Joe hadn’t been kidding when he said that the family, from both sides, would want to discuss the possibility of an upcoming wedding. They were all ecstatic when he told them that Tiff had agreed to go for the provisional December booking.
The women sat around the patio table, discussing the finer details of the wedding, like themes and colours; flowers and dresses; and who would be paying for what. While Joe, Grant, Tiff’s dad, Andrew and Aaron stood around the barbecue, talking about rugby, football and golf. The men were unanimous in their decision to let the women deal wit
h the finer details of the wedding as they would do a much better job of it.
It seemed that there would be little left for Joe and Tiff to pay, after both parents had generously put forward an amount that they would like to contribute towards the wedding. Tiff was, once again, overwhelmed by their generosity and eagerness to help in any way they could.
“You could be a bridesmaid,” said Tiff, eyeing Emma, hopefully.
“Ooh – yes! I’d love to.” Emma grinned tightly, “Joe – I’m going to be a bridesmaid. How do you feel about that little bruv?”
Joe looked over and shrugged. “Thought you’d be the first to jump in there somewhere.”
“They love each other really,” said Alex. “They’ve always been the same.” She eyed Tiff’s mum and smiled in amusement. “Making out they hate each other, yet, when it comes down to it, they’d do anything for each other.”
“They are very alike,” Tiff’s mum smiled back, politely.
“Oh yes and very close too. Aaron’s a bit more of a loner and Jack, well, you haven’t met him yet – I do hope he’ll be able to come over with his family in December.”
“Then of course, there’s Grandma…” Emma rolled her eyes upwards. “She couldn’t come this weekend. Thank God.” Emma mumbled the last two words under her breath.
“Emma!” Alex peered at her daughter with a critical eye. “Your grandma’s had a tough time of late, you should be more understanding.”
Emma sighed. “I am understanding Mum, but you have to admit, she is hard work – you have to agree with that.”
“Well, yes, OK. But I don’t think we should be giving Tiff’s parents…” Alex turned and smiled awkwardly, “the wrong impression. She’s just a muddled old lady, that’s all.”
“Please, don’t get me wrong,” said Emma. “I do love her to bits. She couldn’t come this weekend because she’s away for a couple of weeks – on one of these OAP cruise holidays.”
“Sounds very nice,” said Tiff’s mum.
“She’ll be well looked after, there’s a whole group of them.” Alex peered over to where Grant was standing with the others. “And it gives poor old Grant a bit of peace too,” she added, in a hushed voice.
“Oh?” Tiff’s mum enquired.
“They don’t quite see eye to eye.”
Emma giggled. “Not since the day he threw her into a lake, years ago – but that’s another story.”
“Oh dear,” whispered Tiff’s mum.
“Anyway,” said Alex, getting up from her chair, “shall we get the rest of the food ready? Looks like they’re nearly done with those skewers.”
The family barbecue had been a success, Tiff and Joe’s parents got on so well and everyone was now looking forward to a wedding in December. Tiff was still stunned by the transformation to her life, in just one weekend. Having said their goodbyes to both families, tidied up the last bits in the garden (both Tiff’s and Joe’s mum had insisted on doing most of the clearing up), and finding new homes for the countless gifts, Tiff climbed the stairs wearily.
Joe was already soaking away the smoky traces from the barbecue, in the bath. She smiled to herself as she passed the closed bathroom door, as she could hear him singing along, badly, to a song on the radio. She entered the craft room, with a fresh approach. It no longer seemed to matter about the view or the potentially disturbing goings-on in the distance. She was over it and the fact that she may well get an explanation, on Thursday, had put her mind at ease.
Checking that she had enough materials, and the right sort of embellishments that she would need to make all of the thank-you cards, Tiff ticked off a list in her mind as she searched through the drawers and boxes. She had enough of everything she needed. There was no need to go to the craft centre to stock up.
Looking up from the table, she naturally peered out across the fields. A flash of black caught her eye, on the left. Then again. Georgie’s dog was bounding up and down the lane, in and out of the trees. Instinctively, Tiff reached for the binoculars, in the opened drawer. She couldn’t stop herself. It was wrong but she had to see – to know. She stepped back, so as not to be seen, and slowly lifted them to her eyes.
Dreading what she might discover, she moved the binoculars and slowly scoured along the lane. Her heart jumped. There was Georgie, arms folded around her waist defensively and shaking her head from side to side as if she was angry. She was very slightly bent over and appeared to be shouting. And there he was. Alvin. Jeremy. Once again, wearing the same style Speedos, except these ones were black. He was nodding his head and pointing a finger, as if he was saying something like, yes, you will.
Tiff stepped back further in the room, holding her breath as she did. It felt even more wrong than it usually did, to be spying on Georgie and Alvin but she couldn’t tear herself away. There was definitely not anything sexual and crude going on with the pair today. They appeared to be arguing. Then Georgie gestured towards Tiff’s own house. Her craft room window.
Tiff froze.
Both Georgie and Alvin were looking straight at her window. Straight through it. Staring straight at her. Right through the binoculars.
Jerking the binoculars away from her face, Tiff felt a flush of heat redden her cheeks. She couldn’t move. Her breathing had turned shallow. Were they arguing about her? Why would Georgie point to her house? To the window, in particular. Quietly and calmly, she lowered herself to the floor and tried to peep over the top of the table. She pulled the binoculars up to the table top and rested them there. Did she dare look again? Would they be staring right at her? As if they were actually there, in the room with her? Her curiosity grappled with her conscience. She wanted to look but feared seeing two pairs of eyes peering back through the binoculars.
The bathroom door opened.
Tiff slid the binoculars under a pile of cardstock on the table.
Thudding footsteps.
She bent over and shuffled under the table, on hands and knees. This had to stop. She was engaged now. She was turning out to be the liar, the secretive one in their relationship.
“Babe,” Joe’s voice spoke calmly, behind her. “What are you doing under there?”
“Oh, I…” Tiff reversed back out and sat back on her heels. “I was err… just looking. I dropped something.”
“Looking?” Joe eyed her amusedly. “For what?”
“Dropped a… sorry, I mean I was looking for the binoculars actually. Can’t seem to find them anywhere.”
Joe laughed and stepped further into the room. “You mean those ones?” He pointed to the table top. “Under that pile of card?”
“Oh yes – there they are.”
“I don’t think they will help you find anything under the table babe. Wouldn’t a magnifying glass be better?” He reached across the table and picked up her tabletop magnifier.
“Oh yes, thanks.” Tiff took the magnifier and placed it against her eye as she scanned the carpet under the table.”
“What have you lost?”
“It’s only a pin. I didn’t want to get it stuck in my foot at a later date. Silly me – can’t imagine why I’d want to search for it using the silly binoculars.”
“Because you’re a nutcase?”
“Yes, something like that.”
“OK, well there’s a bath ready, when you’ve found it.”
“Thanks,” said Tiff, feigning interest in an elusive, make-believe pin.
“Looks like Georgie’s out the back with her dog,” Joe remarked, casually. “I’m sure that’s her, two fields back.” He peered through the window, squinting his eyes.
“Oh, really? Nice evening for a dog walk.” She didn’t know why, but Tiff could feel her heart galloping. Was he about to become embroiled in the clandestine affairs of the neighbours too?
“Yeah, maybe we should get a dog in the future. Found it yet?” He moved away from the window, towards the door.
“No,” she replied, brushing a hand across the carpet. “Oh well, hopefully it won’t
end up inside my foot.”
Joe smiled. “Come on, jump in the bath. I’ll find a good film for us to watch. I’m thinking we should chill-out tonight and then start the wedding arrangements tomorrow. Don’t know about you but I’m shattered after this weekend.” He left the room and padded down the stairs.
Tiff stood up and peered out of the window again. How could she be so deceitful to her fiancé? How could she have ever condemned him in the past? She was worse than he was. She could just see Alvin darting out from the trees, across the back fields. He’d obviously left Georgie and by the length of his stride, he looked like he was in a rush to get somewhere. Or had he done something to her? Had they argued and he’d lashed out at her? Was Georgie all right? Tiff slid her hand under the cardstock and reached for the binoculars. Just one last time. She had to check. Make sure that Georgie was all right…
She was OK. Striding back along the path with her dog. She looked all right, if not a little disgruntled. Hopefully, all would be revealed on Thursday. It had to be – for Tiff’s sake. For Joe’s sake – unknowingly. Maybe even for Georgie’s sake.
Chapter 32
Thursday couldn’t come around quick enough. Tiff had worked solidly all week, to ensure that she would have time to escape the studio today. Dearest Joe had also kept to his word and done the cooking and clearing-up every evening so that she could get on with making the thank-you cards. One of the cards, would be Tiff’s perfect excuse to call round to Georgie’s house today.
She had been worrying during the week whether Georgie would still be so forthcoming as she seemed to be on Saturday night. Did she still want to have the meeting? Tiff had no idea and only hoped that they would still be able to chat about everything, rather than leaving it all up in the air, which was tormenting the life out of her. She’d struggled to stay focused in her craft room this week, as her binoculars kept calling out to her to pick them up. Just one peep. One little peep. Thankfully, she had managed to resist and get on with the task in hand – making thank-you cards for just about everyone she could think of.