Finally arriving in the drenched car park, Nick spots Dan and Will’s cars parked together like kippers. Feeling a warm spread of comfort, he jumps from the car, flicks open an umbrella and opens his mum’s door. She slips out, neat and trim in her hat and tailored suit, and smiles reassuringly. Patrick does the same for their scowling father, but at a much slower pace. Harry’s hip replacement was a complete success according to the consultant, but he still struggles. ‘He’s got a new hip. He needs to use it,’ his mum says. But only in private.
The rain splattering his polished shoes, Nick walks briskly up the path towards the stone and cream church.
‘Are you nervous, love?’ his mum asks, tightly holding his arm. ‘Big day. Your big day. Exciting but nerve-wracking at the same time.’ At the door she pats the rain from his shoulders and kisses his cheek. ‘You look very handsome. You make me so proud.’
Similar to the words she used on his first day at school, he tries to answer with a mildly sardonic quip, but finds that he can’t. It’s as though the soft, steady smell of her perfume is stuck in his throat. Instead he focuses on the door, pushing it hard and almost colliding with the priest.
‘Sorry,’ he says. ‘Nearly knocked you over, Father.’
Father Garry turns. ‘Just wiping my feet.’ He shakes Nick’s hand and Patrick’s, then his mother and father’s. ‘Welcome … Welcome all,’ he says, his eyes pale and rheumy.
Glancing at his mum, he’s not sure what to say. Father Garry has clearly forgotten their names, though the tense wedding run-through was only last night.
‘Nicholas the groom; Harry, Patrick and Dora Quinn,’ she says clearly. Then another guest arrives, bringing a fresh burst of rain. ‘You go ahead, love,’ she says to him. ‘Your best men will be waiting.’
Dan and Will are standing at the front, chatting to Seb. Striding towards them, Nick feels the rush of release as they grin. Dan, black-haired and handsome in his cravat and his tails, makes a show of looking at his watch. Will puts his top hat on his broad chest, miming a dance.
When he reaches the transept, Dan cocks his head, his eyes dark and watchful. ‘Everything OK, Nick? Feeling ready?’
‘Yeah, apart from the monsoon, a divorce over Dad’s glasses and the priest having dementia, everything’s fine. Bloody hell, this is scary—’
‘Piece of piss,’ Will says, grabbing him firmly by the shoulders. ‘Saying the vows is the easy bit. Wait until you’re twelve months into the life sentence.’ He looks at Nick’s expression and laughs. ‘Only kidding, mate; everything will be fine and Lisa’s a smasher.’
Watching the priest light the candles, Nick tries to loosen the breath which feels jammed in his lungs. Coming back to the conversation, he turns to Seb Taylor. He’s studying Dan with a mild frown. After a few moments he speaks. ‘So, not just one best man, but two,’ he says, nodding to his older brother.
‘What I lack in hair, Dan makes up for in eyebrows,’ Will replies with a grin.
‘Had them blow-dried especially,’ Dan quips. ‘Thing is, Seb, everyone knows that I’m the best man. Batman’s Robin—’
Will pulls a droll face. ‘More like The Joker—’
Nick interrupts, the trapped air bursting out as he laughs. ‘I couldn’t choose. But with the grief that I’m getting from these two, I should’ve spread the net wider. In fact, seeing as you’re here, Seb—’
‘Hurtful,’ Dan says with a mock-sad face. ‘Don’t you think so, Will?’
‘Yeah, Dan.’ He puts his fist on his chest. ‘Gets me just here. Maybe we should leave.’
Listening to their wisecracks, Nick’s heart finally slows. His mum’s perfume has gone, replaced by a dank smell of old paper and wet clothes. He tunes into the low hum of conversation and turns to his guests. His parents and Patrick have settled in their places on the front right pew, Uncle Derek and Auntie Iris immediately behind them. Not actual family, but almost. His dad and Derek have been friends since school. Like him, Dan and Will, the ‘A Team’ as his mum always called them. Not forgetting Jen; honorary sister-cum-protector pal, all-round good egg.
Suddenly remembering it’s his day, he lifts his hand towards friends, mates from school and university and work, who wave back, giving thumbs-up and grins. Lisa’s Swansea contingent, he supposes, are the dozen or so chatty faces on the left, and there’s a choir of five grey parishioners in pews to one side. A row of differently coloured umbrellas are drying at the back of the church, making small pools of water on the floor. They slightly lift each time the door opens, as though they’re breathing.
Surprised Jen hasn’t arrived yet, his attention returns to his best men. They’ve moved onto nurses’ uniforms and big breasts, the usual when they rib him about Lisa. ‘He was looking for nympho nurse porn but accidentally found a wife,’ Will is saying to his brother. Nick smiles, thankful for his friends, their steadiness and their laughter. At a sudden rush of sound, he turns again, but it’s another two pearly parishioners noisily removing their wet coats. The umbrellas relax, like a false start, before lifting their ribs again, but it isn’t his bride or her taciturn chunky brothers.
Catching his mum’s soft smile, he nods and looks away. The imperative is there, clenched in his jaw. As much as he loves her, he has to break free, has to do it today. Glancing again at the entrance, a thought suddenly hits him. Suppose Lisa doesn’t come? Bloody hell. Suppose she changes her mind? What then?
CHAPTER THREE
Jen
‘The sea, Daddy! The sea.’
Though the grey ocean merges with the dirty sky, Anna has spotted it from the back seat of the Kenning family car.
Ian glances at the clock, then takes a left turn towards the seafront. ‘Let’s take a quick look,’ he replies.
‘Oh God, we’re going to be late,’ Maria groans loudly.
Jen counts to five, then tries for her even voice. ‘No we’re not; and don’t say God, Maria, you’re only thirteen, not thirty.’
‘We’re always late and it’s so embarrassing. If it was me—’
‘Enough, Maria,’ Ian interrupts from the driver’s seat. ‘It’s Nick and Lisa’s wedding day. Mum’s school friends will be there, so let’s try to be happy and have fun. OK, love? We’re nearly there now. Just enough time to see the waves. See how they crash against the promenade.’
Jen glances at her husband. ‘Think someone came to Aberystwyth as a boy,’ she comments dryly. Maria is right; they will be late, but there’s no use arguing. Though mostly easy-going, when Ian’s mind is set, it’s best to follow his lead. And besides, Maria and Holly’s windows are already down, the wind buffeting their neat wedding hair.
‘Tastes of fish,’ Holly says, licking her lips. ‘Your go, Anna.’
Anna climbs onto Holly’s knee and hangs out of the window, returning after a few seconds with more than wet lips.
‘OK, enough now. Seat belts back on,’ Jen says, trying not to think of how long it took to plait, curl and straighten three sets of hair, but quietly pleased their diversion has thrown the smug satnav. When it finally rallies and they arrive at the church, the bridal limousine has just beaten them into the car park.
‘Don’t worry,’ Ian grins, looking at Jen. ‘You took ages to get out of the wedding car. You needed a crane, if I remember.’
‘Cheeky sod,’ she replies. ‘You weren’t even there. You were in the church longing for your beautiful bride to appear. It was the hoops at the bottom of the dress, actually. They took some manoeuvring. But you’re right; Lisa won’t be jumping out of the car and into this horrible weather without a million umbrellas. Park up and we’ll sneak in ahead.’
Finally settled in their pew, Jen lifts her hand to Penny and Geri across the aisle, conscious that her windswept girls have accidentally sat on the bride’s side.
‘Why is Penny staring and who is that fat woman sitting next to her?’ Anna asks from under the brim of her hat.
‘She’s not fat, she’s pregnant, Anna. That’s Geri, Dan’s gir
lfriend. You’ve met her before. And keep your voice down, love.’
Her eight-year-old studies Geri for a few moments before turning back. ‘She’s not as handsome as Dan, but I like her hat. What colour will the baby be?’ she whispers.
‘A beautiful colour,’ Jen replies. She leans forward to study Holly who’s predictably sitting next to her dad and peering at his mobile. ‘Are you all right now? Feeling better?’
Despite the fishy shower, she thinks her middle daughter looks pale. The girls had a puking virus which lasted two days, but Holly was sick again after breakfast, or so she said. Jen dashed up to the bathroom, but the toilet had been flushed, the only sign of vomit being a large wet patch on the front of the pretty satin dress Holly didn’t like. She didn’t quite get her wish to sport trousers, preferably jeans, but the dress she’s wearing is far from the floaty creation Jen had wanted all three to wear.
‘Struggling with puberty, poor lamb,’ her mum says of Holly, but Jen wouldn’t know. When she was twelve, she’d just started at St Mark’s. She loved growing up and all that went with it, especially the attention from the A Team boys. ‘The honorary boy,’ Nick’s mum used to describe her. ‘Yeah, one with tits,’ Dan, Will or Nick would quietly snigger.
The sudden rich peal of Mendelssohn interrupts her fond memories. Ian rises and takes her hand. ‘Here we go, love. Got the tissues ready?’ he asks with a grin.
‘Cheeky sod,’ she replies, smiling. But she catches Holly’s slender arms as she stands. Not just the vomiting, she’s spider-thin too. The sick bug, of course, the virus.
Shaking her head, she turns to the doors. Nothing to worry about. Nothing at all. Just a routine illness.
Surely?
CHAPTER FOUR
Dan
Will throws back his champagne. ‘Rain’s stopped; everyone smiling. All’s well that ends well.’ He slaps Dan on the back. ‘I’ll get us a top-up. Not so bad, eh? This wedding malarkey. Mark my words, you’ll give in like the rest of us poor bloody …’ But abruptly he stops and turns around with a frown. ‘Was that …? Did you hear that?’
Dan turns too. Two women in work uniforms are pointing to the main hotel building, their faces aghast.
‘Oh my God, look! There’s someone at that window. Oh my God, quick, someone help! I think she’s going to jump!’ one of them shouts.
Snapping his head to the scene, Dan stares. What the fuck? What the hell? Dressed only in her underwear, Penny Taylor is standing on the window ledge, her pale body and buffeted blonde hair framed like Botticelli’s Venus. He gazes for a moment before adrenaline kicks in. Will is just gawping, clearly gobsmacked. Grabbing him by the shirtsleeve, Dan propels him towards the hotel door. ‘Will, move! Now, Will, go now. I’ll be right behind you.’
His body tingling with energy, but his mind strangely detached, Dan scans the scene. Lisa and Nick are turned away in a group with her dad and his parents, listening to the photographer’s instructions. Two of Jen’s kids are watching the newly-weds and not Penny, thank God. And Will’s jacket, he’s still holding it; the key card is there in the pocket. Grasping Geri on the way, he spins her to the window. ‘Look, it’s Penny,’ he says quietly. ‘Tell those bloody women to go in without making a fuss. Tell them everything’s in hand. I’m following Will.’
The grass squelchy under his feet, he sprints to the hotel, the thought of the A Team school relays stupidly popping into his head. As he bursts through the door, the lift closes on Will, so he opens the fire door and belts up the stairs two by two, the urgency pounding in his ears but his mind still clinical: the third floor, two doors down from theirs. He has the key. Catch up with Will. Tell him to be calm; warn Will not to lose it.
He fires through the exit, but Will is already there, thumping the door with his fist. ‘Penny? Answer the door. Answer the bloody door!’
Handing Will the key, Dan lifts his finger to his lips and shakes his head.
Will takes the card and with a trembling hand he swipes and swipes again. ‘It’s not working.’ He tries once more. ‘It’s not fucking working!’
Dan takes it from him. ‘Here, let me try.’
Fuck, Will is right. The key card doesn’t work. Time is the thing. He doesn’t want to alarm Penny, but she could jump. Fucking jump!
Staring at the woodwork, he remembers what his dad said about the sweet spot to bust open a door. Without thinking about it too deeply, he steps back, lifts his leg, and with as much momentum as he can muster, he drives the heel of his foot towards the lock. With a sickening noise the wood cracks and splinters. Kicking again, then again, the door ricochets open.
Time slows as he takes in the picture. The window is gaping, the curtains flapping in the breeze. But Penny is still there, thank God. Her narrow back towards them, she’s gazing at the trees, lightly swaying and humming a tune.
Dan lets out his breath. She’s sitting now; she’s sitting on the ledge. Though not looking at Will, he instinctively grabs his arm. ‘Easy, Will. Take it easy.’
Will clears his throat. ‘Penny? Pen? Are you coming in?’ he asks, moving slowly towards her.
Penny turns, surprise flashing on her face. ‘Oh, Will! I wanted to tell you something.’ Her forehead furrows, as though trying to remember.
His face pale and sweaty, Will’s voice is hoarse. His fear is palpable; Dan can feel it. ‘Just come in, Penny.’
‘In a minute, let me show you …’ Pushing down her skinny arms on the sill, she draws up her legs to stand.
Will steps forward, raising his arms. ‘For God’s sake, Penny, please just …’
But she’s already standing. Then suddenly she’s wobbling, her arms flailing like small propellers.
Dan dives. Like a rugby tackle, he lunges forward, holding out his hands to grab Penny’s legs, or her waist, anything, please God, other than thin air.
CHAPTER FIVE
Nick
The first test, for better or for worse.
Nick gazes at the polite polished faces of his guests. A plastic bubble, he thinks. That’s how it feels; he can still smell the tang of roast beef and hear his new father-in-law’s heavily accented voice, but they’re muffled by his thoughts.
He tries to shake himself back to his wedding dinner. The dessert bowls have been cleared and the champagne flutes refilled. Friends and family have turned their chairs, they’re listening and smiling. He knows there’s eight tables, but he counts them, rehearsing each label: ‘St Mark’s’ for the school crowd, ‘Leeds’ for uni, ‘Swansea’ for the noisy Welsh, or ‘the coven’ as Lisa calls them …
His mind drifts to her prolific wedding lists and he smiles a small shaky smile. The handwritten plaques were her idea, pretty much everything else too. She was their clever wedding planner; centring every table with a potted flowering plant, rather than cut flowers, so that they’d last; lovingly decorating each invitation, each envelope; choosing the menu, the hymns and the flowers. Even the men’s suits, their patterned waistcoats and plain cravats.
But no one can plan everything.
A blip. That’s what Dan called it. ‘It’s only a blip, mate,’ he said when he came back from Will’s room. ‘Will has to go home with Penny, but don’t worry, leave everything with me.’
His heart thrashes. Dan caught Penny just in time. Only just in time! Moments later and she could’ve been dead. Bloody hell! A fucking vast blip in his regular safe life.
Feeling for Lisa’s fingers under the stiff tablecloth, he tunes into her father’s words. His hair is black and oiled and he speaks for some time: his birthplace of Swansea, which raises a loud cheer from his plethora of sisters; his meeting with Lisa’s mum at a church dance; moving to her home town of Prestatyn; having two burly boys before his beautiful baby daughter. He says Nick will find out, if he hasn’t already, that his girl is ‘a bossy little Miss, a bossy little Mrs now, but only in a good way, men need to be told’.
As the coven make another whoop, he squeezes his new wife’s hand. She turns towar
ds him and her green eyes are shiny. He’s only known her for thirteen months, but he knows without a doubt she’s still grieving for her mum. He hopes Lisa and his own mum will become close, but senses a frostiness between them. ‘Your mum only had boys,’ Lisa says. ‘Of course she’s indulgent with you and Patrick, but I don’t think she knows how to relax. It’s different between mothers and daughters.’
He didn’t recognise Lisa’s description, but looking at his mum now, he can understand her mistake. Straight-backed and small, she looks timid and tense, but underneath she’s quite steely. Once Will and Penny had left, she took him aside. ‘It’s your day, love, yours and Lisa’s. No point dwelling on it, you need to put it behind you. Most people didn’t notice. Forget it and enjoy yourselves.’
Though he knew his mum’s words were partially a white lie, he found Lisa hiding in the ladies’ and repeated them. ‘It’s our day, Lisa. Hardly anyone saw. We’re going to put this behind us. Yes?’ Looking into her tearful face, willing her to agree.
It felt like the first test, for better or for worse.
The guests bang the tables as Dan stands for his speech. He takes off his jacket, rolls up his shirtsleeves and loosens his cravat. Pausing for a moment, he looks around the room, then lifts his dark eyebrows and clears his throat. ‘Mr and Mrs Quinn,’ he says. ‘… Senior. A few words to the wise before I start. Perhaps now would be a good time to leave …’
There’s laughter and a loud cheer. ‘Dish the dirt, Dan,’ a pal from university shouts.
That’s it, Nick thinks, trauma over. Please God, let that be it. Please put my regular and safe life back on track.
Yet still his heart races.
CHAPTER SIX
My Husband's Lies Page 2