Wedding Belles

by Sarah Webb

  Clover asks the driver to park down by the sea for a few minutes to wait for everyone to take their seats. Then she excuses herself and steps out of the limo to make a phone call, to Dave, I presume. I follow her.

  “Any luck?” I ask, when she takes the phone away from her ear without leaving a message.

  She shakes her head. “I’ll try Dan. Maybe he or one of the ushers knows something we don’t. Hi, Dan, it’s Clover . . .”

  That’s a relief. At least he’s answering his phone. Dan is Prue’s husband and Dave’s other best man — he’s a really nice guy; dark-haired and smiley. “Any sign of Dave or Russ?” Clover asks him. There’s a pause and then she sighs. “Roger that! We’ll stay in a holding pattern.” She clicks off her phone and frowns. “No sign of them, Beanie. I’m starting to get mega-, mega-anxious.”

  I check my watch. Five past three. Dave’s now over half an hour late — he was supposed to be at the town hall at two thirty. This isn’t looking good. I brush down the pink-chiffon ballerina-style skirt of my bridesmaid’s dress nervously and adjust my lime-green cropped jacket. Clover’s dress is mint-green, with a contrasting pink jacket, and Monique is wearing a full-length dark-green dress. They’re not exactly traditional bridesmaids’ dresses, but we all love them, Mum included, and that’s the most important thing. A Parisian friend of Monique’s designed them, and the trip to Paris to choose them was truly ooh-la-la!

  The car door opens and Monique steps out. Saffy gave us all natural-looking makeup to match Mum’s, but Monique insisted on her signature slash of poppy-red lipstick. She looks like the star she is.

  “Any sign of Dave?” she whispers. Clover pulled her aside earlier and filled her in.

  Clover shakes her head glumly.

  “Merde,” Monique says. “I think Sylvie’s starting to get suspicious. I’ll try to distract her.”

  As soon as Monique is back inside the car, Clover lets out an almighty moan. “Siúcra, Beanie, tell me this isn’t happening.”

  The passenger window buzzes down and Mum’s head appears. “Is everything all right, girls? What’s the delay?” She looks from me to Clover and then gasps. “Something’s wrong, isn’t it? Oh, God, please no! No! Tell me he hasn’t gotten cold feet.” Her eyes start to well up.

  “Mum, stop!” I say. “He’s on the way, he just got stuck in traffic. Don’t cry, you’ll ruin your makeup.”

  “From Killiney?” Mum asks.

  “He had to collect something in town,” I improvise. “A special surprise for you. A wedding day present.”

  “But we said we weren’t doing gifts for each other.”

  “You know guys,” Clover says, waving her hand in the air. “Never listen.”

  Mum sighs, but thankfully her tears seem to have stopped. I think she’s bought our story. “Men! So how much longer will he be?”

  “Five minutes,” I say at the exact same time that Clover says, “Ten minutes.” Oops.

  “I’ve known you both all your lives,” Mum says, “and I can tell when you’re lying. He’s not coming, is he? And you’re both trying to cover for him. I knew this was all too good to be true. Finally I find a nice man, someone kind and decent, and what happens? He can’t commit.” Her eyes go all blurry again. “I want to go home. I feel such a fool. How could he do this to me?”

  “He’s coming, Mum,” I say urgently. “He promised. Just give him five more minutes. Please, Mum? I’m begging you. Don’t give up on him.” I swallow and blink hard, trying not to cry.

  “Oh, Amy,” Mum says. “I’m so sorry. I know this must be hard for you too. But we have to face facts. Dave’s — ”

  My iPhone vibrates. It’s a text — from Dave! ON THE WAY. TELL SYLVIE SORRY AND NOT TO PANIC AND THAT I LOVE HER. I HAVE GOOD NEWS, FANTASTIC NEWS. I’LL BE AT THE TOWN HALL IN TEN MINUTES. RUSS ALREADY HAS ONE TICKET FOR DRIVING IN THE BUS LANE, BUT HE SAYS IT’S WORTH IT. MEET YOU THERE! DAVE XXX

  As I hand Mum the phone to read, I really do burst into tears — tears of relief.

  “I’m sorry for doubting you, Amy,” she says. “And for doubting Dave too. You must never, ever tell him what happened just now and what I said, girls. Do you understand? It has to be our secret. He’d be terribly upset. I was just really worried. . . .” She breaks off, sucking her breath in noisily and trying desperately not to cry again.

  “You can trust us, Sylvie,” Clover says. “Always.”

  “I know,” Mum says. “That’s why I love you both such a lot.” And then she gets so emotional that we have to rush back into the limo for the tissues to save Saffy’s beautiful makeup from running down her face.

  We get Mum safely to the doors of the assembly room in the town hall, where the service is being held, without a major hitch. There is one minor hitch. However, it’s nothing compared with all the drama-rama that’s already happened this morning. We’re halfway up the sweeping wooden staircase when there’s a banging and a kerfuffle behind us.

  “Don’t turn around, Sylvie!” Russ shouts up the stairs.

  Mum ignores him, spins around, and so do the rest of us. We stare down into the large tiled hallway. Russ scowls at her. “Please, Sylvie, it’s important.” He’s holding a large black suit carrier over his arm and he looks surprisingly good in his morning suit and without his normal shaggy beard. In fact, he looks very handsome, and from the way Monique is checking him out, she clearly thinks so too.

  “Is this something to do with my surprise?” Mum asks. “Is it in that suit carrier?”

  Russ is clearly confused by Sylvie’s question. He has no idea that we’ve told Mum about Dave being late because he was getting her a present. He recovers quickly, though. “Yes. Exactly. And no peeking, get it? Close your eyes, Sylvie, and keep them closed. OK?”

  “Fine,” Mum says huffily.

  “I’ll make sure she doesn’t cheat,” Monique says, batting her eyelashes at Russ. “And you look magnifique, Russ. So manly.”

  Russ blushes but looks delighted. “Thanks.”

  As soon as Mum’s eyes are closed, he pushes open the front door, and Dave rushes inside in his fluffy yellow Dinoduck costume. He bounds up the stairs toward us. His face is bright red, and there are beads of sweat on his temples. I know for a fact that the Dinoduck costume is boiling to wear. I tried it on once and danced around the house for Alex and Evie, and I nearly passed out with the heat.

  I have to press my hand against my mouth to stop myself from hooting with laugher, and Clover and Monique are just as bad.

  “Hi, girls,” Dave mouths at me and Clover as he rushes past us, as quickly as he can in his costume. “Sorry.”

  We both roll our eyes and grin, and Clover hisses, “Hurry up” at him. I think we’re all too relieved he’s here to be annoyed with him.

  “Say nothing,” Russ whispers to me and Clover as he passes. He dashes through the doorway at the top of the stairs after Dave. “Give us three minutes.”

  Clover and I look at each other, then quickly follow them up the stairs. “Back in a second, Sylvie,” Clover calls.

  “We have to know,” Clover says in a low voice when we catch up with Dave. “What did Rolf Grant say?”

  “We’re in,” he says, his voice a bit ragged from all the running. “Rolf’s going to take me on as long as I can persuade Russ and the other lads from the band to join me. Wants to change our name to Dino-Dad and the Evolutions. Says we could be the next big thing in kiddie rock.”

  “Seriously?” Clover asks.

  Dave nods. “As soon as I give Rolf the go-ahead, he’s going to start booking gigs at mother-and-toddler shows and stuff like that. He says we could be huge! Our money worries would be over and I’d get to play music for a living again.”

  “That’s brilliant, Dave,” I say, throwing my arms around him. I kiss his hot, sweaty cheek and wince. “But now you’d better wash your face and get changed.”

  “Thanks, Amy. Tell Sylvie I can’t wait to marry her.” With that he rushes off toward the toilets with
Russ.

  “I genuinely thought I was going to have a heart attack if Dave didn’t show,” Clover says. “I’ve never been more relieved to see someone in my whole life.”

  “Me too.” I blink away my tears. “Now let’s pray that Alex doesn’t strip during the vows.”

  I shed a few more tears walking up the aisle with Clover (although I’m not sure it’s exactly an aisle, as we’re in a town hall). Mum is in front, holding Gramps’s arm tightly. She rests her head gently against his shoulder from time to time. Dave’s band, the Colts, is playing Mum’s favorite song, “Songbird” by Fleetwood Mac, which is all about love. Brains has joined them to sing, and his low and husky voice makes the lyrics sound really heartfelt.

  Dave is waiting for Mum at the top of the room with his best men, Dan and Russ, beside him, and he looks so happy. His eyes are shining, and his grin stretches from ear to ear. His face is still a little flushed, but it doesn’t matter. He still looks perfect in his morning suit.

  Mum’s eyes are glued to Dave’s, as if they’re the only two people in the whole room. Clover looks over at me and smiles. “We did good, Beanie,” she whispers.

  I nod back, too overcome to say anything.

  After dinner in the beautiful wedding tent, I sit back in my chair and look around the room. Mills catches my eye and smiles and waves at me. Her table is just beside ours — she’s sitting with Dad, Shelly, and Gracie, Finn, Polly, and Bailey. As Seth never replied to say he wasn’t coming, there’s an empty seat beside Polly where he should be sitting.

  I’m at the head table with Mum and Dave, Clover, Monique, Russ, Dan, Gramps, Dave’s parents, and Brains. Mum arranged a babysitter for Alex and Evie, and she took them back to Gramps’s house straight after the ceremony. During the last song, Alex tried to strip his little suit off and run around naked. I knew his angel act was too good to last.

  I’m really full after dinner. The food was amazing. Finn outdid himself and now he’s taking a well-deserved rest, sitting beside Polly, chatting away to her and laughing a lot. I wonder if Mills is right? Maybe love really is in the air.

  Clover nudges me. “Speeches, Beanie. Stop checking out Finn Hunter.”

  I laugh. “As if.”

  But she’s right about the speeches being about to start. Russ stands up and taps his knife against his glass. “Pray silence for the bride. Sylvie would like to say a few words.”

  Everyone claps and cheers as Mum stands up. She looks around the tent for a long moment and then takes a deep breath. “Forgive me if I’m a little emotional,” she begins. “It’s been quite a day. Dave’s not one for making speeches, so this is for both of us. First of all I have a few thank-yous. I want to start with Amy, Clover, and Monique, my beautiful bridesmaids. Amy and Clover also organized the entire wedding, and I’m really grateful to them and so proud of my little sister and my amazing daughter.” Mum’s eyes well up. I’m not far off crying myself. Clover takes my hand in hers and squeezes gently. I smile at her. “I’m incredibly proud of you both,” Mum continues. “And I love you very much. Now I have some other people to thank. Firstly to Dan and Russ, Dave’s best men . . .”

  As Mum lists the rest of her thank-yous, I feel someone looking at me from the doorway of the tent, and I turn my head.

  It’s Seth. Clover’s noticed him too.

  “I told you he’d be here, Beanie,” she says. “He still loves you, babes. I just know it.”

  Seth is staring straight at me. My heart starts to race, and I feel horribly nervous and sick. Could Clover be right? I raise my hand to wave and he waves back. I point at the empty seat at Mills’s table and he nods. My head is so full of questions that I don’t hear another word of Mum’s speech, and Clover has to nudge me at the end so that I start clapping.

  The applause rings out when Mum has finished, and Seth picks his way through the tables and sits down. He obviously didn’t want to risk interrupting Mum by moving before. How sweet! He says something to Polly and then to Mills and Bailey. I catch Mills’s eye and she smiles gently at me and gives a tiny nod in Seth’s direction. “You OK?” she mouths at me.

  I nod at her. But I’m not OK, not at all. Seth is here, at Mum’s wedding. What does that mean? Is he here to hang out with Bailey? Has he taken pity on me and decided to show his face for a little while? Or could Clover possibly be right?

  Next, Gramps says a few words about Sylvie, telling funny stories about the things she and Clover got up to when they were little. Then Clover proposes a toast. “To my beautiful sister on her wedding day. I wish you all the happiness in the world, Sylvie. You deserve it.” Everyone ahhs.

  And then Russ and Dan give a final toast to Mr. and Mrs. Marcus-Wildgust (they’ve decided to have a double-barreled name, even though it is rather long), and everyone clinks glasses.

  “That’s the speeches over,” Clover says. “Now starts the fun bit — the dancing. Ready to shake a few tail feathers, Beanie?”

  Brains and his band are already setting up on the wooden dance floor at the far end of the tent.

  I nod. “Absolutely.” But all I really want to do is talk to Seth.

  Clover sees right through me. “Go and find him,” she says. “I know you’re dying to.”

  “I’m scared, Clover,” I admit. “I miss him so much. I don’t want to get upset on Mum’s big day. Maybe he’s just here to wish her good luck. He likes Mum.”

  Clover rolls her eyes. “He’s not here for Sylvie. He’s here to see you.” She abruptly changes the subject. “Weren’t they great speeches, Beanie? Sylvie’s was lovely.” Then adds casually, “Oh, hi, Seth. Didn’t see you there.”

  He’s here, standing so close I can almost reach out and touch him.

  “Hi, Clover,” he says.

  “Nice to see you, Seth. I have to talk to Sylvie, I’m afraid, but I’ll catch you later. Take care of my best friend, OK?”

  “Amy,” he says, after saying good-bye to Clover. His eyes are soft and gentle, just like the old Seth’s.

  “You came,” I say.

  “Yes. Can we talk?”

  I nod silently. I follow Seth outside and we walk toward the front of Gramps’s house. I point at the steps leading up to the front door. “Should we sit down?”

  “Sure,” he says. He sounds nervous. “Will your dress be OK?”

  “It’ll be fine.” We sit beside each other, almost shoulder to shoulder. I stay quiet.

  “You look beautiful,” he says, breaking the silence.

  “Thanks. You look nice too.” He’s wearing his school trousers, a freshly ironed white shirt, and a light-blue tie that matches his eyes.

  He laughs. “Mum told me I had to dress up. She’s annoyed with me for being late, but I had to go into town first. I have something for you, a birthday present.”

  “You remembered?”

  “Yes.” He hands me a small package wrapped in white tissue paper. I open it carefully. Inside is a black box, the size of a matchbox. I open it. And inside that is a silver heart pendant on a delicate silver chain. I take it out.

  “Turn it over,” he says.

  Engraved on the back is my name, the date of my birth, and then, underneath, the words, WITH LOVE ALWAYS, SETH.

  I’m so overwhelmed I can barely breathe, and I have to suck air in, gasping loudly.

  “Sorry, sorry,” I murmur, putting my hands over my face in embarrassment.

  “No, Amy, I’m the one who should be sorry. I was scared and I pushed you away. The truth is I miss you. I hate being without you. I thought coping with Polly’s illness on my own would be easier, but I was wrong. I know I’ve hurt you and I have no right to expect anything, but can we start again?”

  I lift my head and look at him. My mixed-up, annoying, gorgeous, kind boyfriend. And before I know what I’m doing I say, “Yes!”

  Then I throw my arms around him and give him an almighty hug.

  When Seth and I get back to the tent a little later — after talking for a while and, yes, kissin
g — loads of people are up and dancing to the Golden Lions’s version of “Dancing Queen,” including Mum and Clover, who are waving their arms in the air and singing along loudly. The sight makes me smile.

  “There you are,” Mills says when she sees us. She’s holding Bailey’s hand. “We’ve been looking everywhere for you two. Come and dance.”

  Monique has joined Mum and Clover now, and Russ is cheering her on. They wave over at me.

  “Join us, Amy,” Mum shouts over the music. “And Mills. All the girls.”

  “Sorry, Seth,” I say to him. “Do you mind?”

  “Not at all. I’ll be right here, waiting for you. Have fun.”

  We head for the dance floor, and Mills whispers, “Is it back on? You and Seth, I mean?”

  “Yes.”

  “Oh, Amy, that’s brilliant,” she squeals. “I’m so happy for you.”

  As soon as we reach the dance floor, the music starts to change. I realize what’s happening only when Mum and Clover start belting out “Happy Birthday.” Within seconds the whole tent has joined in. Then Finn walks toward me, holding a huge cake iced with pretty pink roses. It’s blazing with fourteen sparkler candles. I’m so happy, I’m dancing inside.

  Clover puts her arm around me. “Happy birthday, Beanie. Make a wish.”

  “I wish things could stay exactly as they are right this second forever and ever,” I say.

  “Me too, Beanie,” she says. Her face is lit up by the candles and her eyes are sparkling, but they look sad too.

  “What is it?”

  “Later,” she tells me. “We have cake to eat first, babes.”

  I’ve stepped outside the tent to get some air. The Golden Lions are taking a break, and Seth is talking to Polly. I spot Clover sitting under one of Gramps’s big old oak trees, her back leaning against the trunk. Brains is by her side.