When Ian and I sat down to write the invitations the question of what to do about Amanda came up.
‘We have to invite her, Ian,’ I said. ‘She is your mother after all.’
He shook his head. ‘After the way she behaved last Christmas?’
I moved round the table to sit next to him. ‘Ian, I didn’t tell you but I went to see her.’
He looked at me in surprise. ‘When? You didn’t mention it.’
‘It was when I suspected I might be pregnant. It made me wonder how she felt when you were born. I felt I wanted to hear her side of the story.’ I took his hand. ‘I didn’t mean to go behind your back or Janet’s either. I just wanted to know if she was really was hard as she seemed.’
‘I see.’ His mouth hardened. ‘And what did you discover?’
‘That she has a vulnerable side,’ I told him. ‘On the day I went she was ill, suffering from flu. She was annoyed with me for calling unannounced and finding her not at her best, but she came round in the end and we had quite a heart-to-heart.’
He shook his head disbelievingly. ‘I’m sorry, Elaine, but you don’t know her like I do. She never really stops acting, flu or no flu. Whatever she said would be for your benefit – designed to get your sympathy.’
‘I don’t think so. I believe she told me the truth. She didn’t try to make herself look innocent; quite the reverse.’ I outlined what Amanda had told me that afternoon and was rewarded by the stunned expression on his face. ‘People are complicated animals, Ian,’ I went on. ‘None of us are ever quite what we seem on the surface. And, as Mary always says, there are two sides to every story.’
‘You can’t deny that she’s selfish,’ Ian put in. ‘She tried to get the best of both worlds after I was born. She didn’t give a damn how much it hurt Janet that she could never call me her son. Neither did she care that I never knew George was my father.’
‘Of course she was very wrong,’ I said. ‘She must have hurt a lot of people in her time, but it’s all in the past now. She’s not young any more, Ian. If you’d seen her as I did, feeling ill and alone….’
‘It’s no more than she deserves.’
‘I know. I know.’ I leaned forward and kissed him. ‘But I’d still like to invite her to our wedding.’
He raised an eyebrow at me. ‘Even if she misbehaves again and shows us all up?’
‘I don’t think that will happen again.’
He sighed. ‘All right, if you really want her there.’
I kissed him again. ‘Thank you, darling. I’m sure she’ll be good. I think she’s mellowed.’
He smiled ruefully. ‘Well, I wouldn’t hold my breath if I were you.’
I bit my lip as something occurred to me. ‘You don’t think Janet will be annoyed that we’ve invited her, do you?’
He gave me a long look. ‘You’ve talked me round so I’ll leave it to you to talk to Janet. Maybe it’ll be a lesson to you that you can’t please everyone!’
I decided that if Janet and Amanda were to be reconciled it was up to me so I invited each of them to meet me for lunch, carefully not mentioning it to the other. I knew it could easily blow up in my face but I decided I had to take that risk.
We met at a small restaurant on the seafront. The promenade was always pleasant at the end of the season when most of the visitors had gone home. It was a beautiful sunny morning with the sun turning the sand a rich gold and the sea a deep sparkling blue. I was early, determined to arrive first. As I sat waiting with a glass of wine I couldn’t help feeling nervous. Janet was the first to arrive. From the table in the window I caught sight of her walking down the promenade, her upright figure trim in a neat navy blue suit, a bright yellow and white scarf at the neck. She smiled as she came through the door and saw me already waiting.
‘Elaine! Good morning, dear. I’m not late, am I?’
‘No. I’m early. I wanted to be here first,’ I told her. ‘I took the liberty of ordering you a dry sherry. Is that all right?’
She smiled. ‘Thank you, dear, how delicious.’ She sat down opposite me and took off her jacket to reveal a crisp white shirt.
‘So – how are the wedding plans going?’ she asked, taking a sip of her drink.
‘Well, that’s partly why I asked you to meet me,’ I took a deep breath. ‘I’ve invited Amanda to join us.’ I held up my hand as I saw her face drop. ‘Please, Janet, Ian and I would be so grateful if you could put your differences aside just for once.’ I looked at her. ‘She did telephone Mary to apologize for the Christmas disaster. Did you hear from her?’
‘I did,’ she said stiffly. ‘But I told her that I’ll never forgive her for the way she blurted out the truth to Ian about his father. Why hurt him for heaven’s sake? He’s always been the biggest victim in all this mess she created.’ She frowned at me. ‘I can’t believe he actually wants to invite her to his wedding.’
‘I have to confess that it was my idea,’ I told her. ‘I just want everyone to be happy for us and it doesn’t seem right to leave anyone out.’
She took another sip of her sherry then looked up at me. ‘I can understand how you feel, of course,’ she said. ‘And as far as I’m concerned I shall make sure that nothing untoward happens to spoil the day for you. Unfortunately, I can’t make any assurances on Amanda’s behalf. She could never resist making herself the centre of attention and—’
Her sentence was cut short as a gust of wind heralded the arrival of Amanda. She ‘made an entrance’ rather than merely arriving, holding the door open just long enough to allow the stiff sea breeze to billow the long red skirt she wore and lift the voluminous sequin scattered scarf that was draped about her shoulders.
‘Oh! What a simply divine morning!’ she enthused, closing the door with a flourish. Then she noticed Janet sitting at the table and her smile disappeared. ‘Oh, Janet! Elaine didn’t mention that you were coming.’
‘She didn’t tell me you’d be here either,’ Janet said.
Amanda settled herself at the table, spreading out her various bags of shopping on the floor and the spare chair. ‘Do I gather you’d have run a mile rather than come if you had known?’ she asked, patting her coiffeur. ‘Well it’s mutual I can—’
‘Please!’ I held up my hand. ‘I’d like the three of us to have a pleasant lunch together so can you two bury the hatchet – just for me?’ I looked from one to the other. ‘Please?’
Amanda gave me her sweetest smile. ‘Of course, darling.’ She looked across the table at her sister. ‘It’s the least we can do for darling Elaine, isn’t it?’
I could see that Janet was fuming but she gritted her teeth and said, ‘Naturally.’
Amanda summoned a waitress and ordered herself a double gin and tonic. ‘And how is that sweet little boy of yours?’ she asked me.
‘He’s fine, thank you.’
‘How wonderful.’ She looked at Janet. ‘And your dear little doggie – what’s his name – Bimbo?’
Janet swallowed hard. ‘You know perfectly well that his name is Brownie and the last time you saw him he was a “filthy animal”! There’s no need to go over the top, Amanda.’
Amanda turned large sad eyes on me. ‘You see, dear? I can’t do right for doing wrong.’
‘Then perhaps you should—’
‘Shall we order?’ I pushed a menu towards each of them. This was going to be trickier than I’d thought.
Janet ordered steak and chips and I decided on fish. The waitress looked at Amanda.
‘And for you, madam?’
‘I’ll have a plain mixed salad,’ she said. ‘On its own with no dressing, thank you.’ She handed the menu back. ‘Some of us watch our waistline,’ she muttered half under her breath. ‘We can’t all let ourselves go.’
Janet bristled but said nothing.
By the time the meal ended the atmosphere had eased a little. Janet had another sherry with her meal and Amanda drank two more double gins. While both were in a mellow mood I opened my bag and han
ded them each a wedding invitation.
‘We want everyone to be with us on the day,’ I told them. ‘We want it to be a happy occasion.’
Both sisters agreed that they wanted the same, tucking the invitations into their respective handbags. As we were leaving Janet turned to Amanda and said, ‘By the way, did you know that I’m working with Elaine and Mary in their catering business now?’
Clearly taken aback, Amanda stared at her. ‘Oh! So you’re part of the catering scene now, are you?’ She laughed. ‘What do you do, cut the sandwiches or put on a black dress and pinny and wait on the customers?’
‘Janet makes delicious cakes for us and ices them beautifully,’ I put in. ‘Actually she’s making our wedding cake.’ As soon as the words were out of my mouth I knew it was a mistake.
‘Well I hope you’ve taken out insurance against food poisoning.’ Amanda quipped with a tinkling laugh.
I tried to lighten the mood by shrugging the comment off. ‘I hope you’re not referring to the buffet. Mary is doing the rest of the reception food.’
‘And of course you don’t have to come if you’re afraid of getting poisoned,’ Janet said as she buttoned up her jacket. She picked up her handbag and kissed me on both cheeks. ‘Good luck, my dear,’ she whispered. ‘And don’t say I didn’t warn you.’ She turned to her sister. ‘Goodbye, Amanda. I’ll see you at the wedding – if you can bring yourself to take the risk.’
When she’d gone I looked reproachfully at Amanda. Her eyes slid away from mine guiltily.
‘Well – you should have told me she was coming,’ she muttered.
‘Couldn’t you try to be civil to her?’ I asked. ‘After all she is your sister and what happened was a very long time ago.’
She adjusted her scarf. ‘It’s partly habit,’ she said, ‘I can’t resist getting a rise out of her, if you really want to know. She’s so bloody tight-arsed.’
‘You will behave on the day, won’t you? We want you to be there but we don’t want any unpleasantness.’
She looked at me. ‘I promise to steer well clear of Janet – there, will that do?’
‘I suppose it will have to.’
I telephoned to tell Dad the date of the wedding. ‘Do you think you could get down for it?’ I asked. To my surprise he agreed.
‘I can’t promise your mother will come with me,’ he said. ‘She hasn’t been at all well, but I’ll see if I can persuade her.’
‘Mary said that if you were coming she’d be happy to put you up,’ I told him. ‘We’re having the reception at hers. She’s doing it all for me as a wedding present.’
‘Then we certainly won’t expect her to have us there,’ he said quickly. ‘I’ll book into a hotel. Don’t worry about it.’
To my utter amazement Mother came with him. They arrived on the day before the wedding and Ian, Jamie and I met them for dinner at their hotel. I was shocked by Mother’s appearance. I hadn’t seen her since Jamie was a baby. She was a shadow of what she had been then, frail and looking much older than her sixty-two years. We were like strangers, polite to one another, slightly uncomfortable. However she seemed to like Ian and she was nice to Jamie, asking him about his new school and showing great interest in his music. After the meal, when we were sitting in the hotel lounge with our coffee and Mother had gone upstairs to freshen up, Dad told me that she had had two heart attacks.
‘That’s why I wanted her to come down for your wedding,’ he said. ‘It’s high time she saw what a success you’ve made of your life.’
I nodded. If only she’d tell me herself that she’d been wrong about me. If only, just once, she could bring herself to show me some affection; but at least she was here and that was a step in the right direction.
I hadn’t expected to be nervous on my wedding day. After all Ian and I had been together for some time. We’d made a home and a family life together so why should a ceremony and a piece of paper make any difference? But on the day of the wedding I awoke in my old room at Mary’s house with a distinct churning inside. A knock on the door heralded Mary with my breakfast on a tray.
‘Good morning, the future Mrs Morton,’ she said, settling the tray in front of me as I sat up. I looked at the tray, Porridge, eggs and bacon, toast and marmalade plus a pot of coffee. I gasped.
‘Mary! Quite apart from the fact that you shouldn’t spoil me like this, I’ll never eat that lot. My stomach feels as though butterflies with hobnailed boots are doing a clog dance in there.’
She shook her head. ‘Nothing beats hob nailed butterflies better than a good breakfast,’ she said. ‘Besides, with the wedding being at one o’clock you won’t be eating for hours, so get that down you. And as for spoiling you, sure there’s no one deserves it more than you.’ In the doorway she turned. ‘Oh, and don’t you dare get up for at least another hour. I want to see you bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at that register office.’
She was right about the breakfast. I felt better after I had made myself eat some of it but I couldn’t lie in bed. On my way to the bathroom I glanced out of the window and saw the marquee which filled the top half of the garden. Janet had already arrived and she and Mary were busily popping in and out, for all the world like two nest-building birds. I smiled. I was so lucky to have good friends, a gorgeous future husband and a precious young son.
The ceremony was brief but beautiful. The woman registrar was sensitive and gracious. Neither of us had an attendant, but Jamie performed his ring bearer’s ceremony with a grave face, handing up the two rings on their velvet cushion at the given moment. Outside the register office we posed for photographs, Jamie standing proudly in front of us. Then it was back to Mary’s for the reception.
She had prepared a sumptuous buffet for us; the table groaning with good things in the centre of which was Janet’s cake, beautifully iced with our initials entwined on the top. The speeches were minimal. Ian and I both thanked everyone who had contributed to our special day and my dad said a few words about us both, which brought a lump to my throat. Then to my surprise Jamie stood up.
‘I want to say something,’ he announced.
I was a little apprehensive, wondering what he might come out with but Ian smiled and squeezed my hand, winking assurance at me.
‘I want to say thank you to Ian for being my music teacher and for marrying my mum,’ he said in his clear, childish voice. Everyone laughed. He cleared his throat and went on, ‘And in case any of you don’t know, he’s soon going to be my dad – my real dad with a certificate to prove it and everything.’ He turned to Ian. ‘I just wanted to ask – now that you and Mum are married can I start calling you Dad now, please?’ Ian reached out to pat his shoulder and when he said, ‘Yes, of course you can.’ The two of them received a round of applause.
After the buffet Ian and I circulated the guests whilst a trio of Ian’s musician friends played. Throughout the reception I’d been keeping an eye on Amanda. Ever since my first glimpse of her, resplendent in a floating pink dress and white fox fur, a feathered fascinator perched on top of her elaborate hairdo, I hadn’t seen her. Ian caught me raking the marquee with anxious eyes and touched my arm.
‘I think there’s a surprise coming,’ he said.
I was about to reply when I spotted Amanda in a corner talking animatedly to one of the double bass players from the Greencliffe Symphony Orchestra. The next moment Ian’s friend Harry Turner who was in charge of the music stood up.
‘I’d like to introduce you all to Miss Janet Trent,’ he said. ‘She happens to be the bridegroom’s aunt and as well as making that wonderful wedding cake which we’ve all enjoyed she also happens to be a retired professional singer. Now, with a fond dedication to the happy couple she’s going to sing for us.’ He nodded to Janet who stepped up onto the dais.
She sang This is My Lovely Day, a song from an old musical show called Bless the Bride. Her mezzo soprano voice was as clear and beautiful as that of a younger woman and I could see that Ian was deeply moved by her gesture. M
ary sidled up beside me.
‘She’s been rehearsing it for weeks,’ she whispered. ‘Isn’t she the greatest?’
The song was enjoyed by everyone and received rapturous applause but across the marquee I caught a glimpse of Amanda’s face, a smile firmly glued to it. She was clapping as heartily as anyone, but her eyes glittered with pure resentment. For once in her life her sister was stealing the limelight.
When Janet’s song came to an end Ian slipped an arm around me. ‘I’ve got another surprise,’ he said. ‘I’m taking you home now.’
I stared at him. ‘But all this is going on till midnight,’ I told him. ‘We have to stay.’
‘No, we don’t, and you have to pack.’ He slipped his hand into an inside pocket and drew out an envelope, handing it to me. Inside it were two Eurostar tickets and a hotel reservation. I looked at the destination, then at him.
‘Paris?’
He grinned. ‘Only for three days but we’ll pack everything we can in.’
‘Ian! It must have cost a bomb.’
He bent and kissed me. ‘It’s not every day I get to marry the girl of my dreams, is it?’
Stunned, I looked round at the assembled guests. ‘Won’t it look odd, our leaving so soon?’
‘Not a bit. They all know,’ he told me. ‘And to their credit they’ve kept the secret well.’
‘What about Jamie?’
‘He knows too. Don’t worry about him He’s going to stay with Janet and Brownie and he can’t wait.’
Seven
Paris was wonderful, everything I had always imagined it to be – and more. Our hotel was close to the Arc de Triomphe and in our three days we packed in as much as we could: We window-shopped on the Champs Elysées; ate a delicious lunch on a glamorous boat going down the Seine to marvel at the beautiful bridges. We travelled to the top of the Eiffel Tower and spent a memorable last evening at the Moulin Rouge before travelling home the next day with two more days to get Jamie ready for his new school.
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