Just the Two of Us

by Georgie Capron

  Before long a gong sounded and the MC’s voice echoed over the microphone, encouraging everyone to move over to the dining area for the wedding breakfast. Lucy would far rather have spent the evening cuddling Lola than anything else.

  Lucy took her seat on one of the round tables in front of Claudia and Dan who were sitting with their close family members on a trestle table overlooking the rest of the room. She surveyed the names on either side of her place setting, the mysterious Alexander (the supposedly eligible bachelor) to her right and Claudia’s Auntie Mabel to her left. Looking up, she spotted Mabel making surprisingly speedy progress towards the table for a ninety-year-old, still looking as youthful as the last time Lucy had seen her but with a slight stoop to her back and hunch to her shoulders.

  ‘Little Lucy Johnston, I don’t believe it!’ said Mabel, clasping her face with wrinkled hands and kissing her cheeks.

  ‘Auntie Mabel!’ smiled Lucy. ‘It’s been far too long! How are you?’ Lucy asked. She got up to help her into her seat and saw a plump, bald man making a beeline for her table. This will be the eligible bachelor, thought Lucy wryly, making a mental note to thank Claudia later.

  Having ensured Mabel was safely seated, Lucy turned to her right to confront the bride’s disastrous match-making skills face to face. With a deep breath, Lucy stuck out her hand to introduce herself. ‘I’m Lucy,’ she said. ‘Pleased to meet you!’

  ‘Alexander,’ said the hairless wonder as he took his seat with a grunt, doing his best to tuck his sizeable belly underneath the table. The broken red veins that smattered his cheeks and the yellowish tinge to his teeth reminded Lucy of a walrus.

  Gratefully, Lucy turned back to face Mabel who had begun reminiscing about Claudia and Lucy’s joint tenth birthday party. She did her best to focus on Auntie Mabel, leaning ever so slightly closer to hear her fragile voice across the din of the party, happy to put even a sliver of extra distance between herself and the gentleman to her right. Lucy was nearly too distracted to notice another man approaching the table, causing a bit of a kerfuffle as he apologetically suggested that perhaps Mr Walrus was in the wrong seat.

  Daring to believe her luck, she glanced up to see the handsome man that she had noticed earlier taking his seat to her right instead. Apparently both men were called Alexander, resulting in a case of mistaken identity on the seating plan. Much to Lucy’s relief Mr Walrus was currently beating a hasty retreat to his rightful place on the other side of the room. His replacement introduced himself briefly as Alex, leaning across to shake hands with both Mabel and Lucy.

  Taken aback by his good looks, she stammered, ‘I’m Lucy, nice to meet you.’

  Just as Alex looked ready to respond, Lucy received a pointed jab in the ribs from Auntie Mabel, obviously keen to pursue her journey down memory lane. Reluctantly, Lucy turned to face her, noticing disappointedly that Alex immediately struck up conversation with the vivacious Brazilian lady to his right. She found herself acutely aware of this handsome newcomer’s presence and she struggled to focus on Auntie Mabel telling her about her latest WI project, punctuating her speech with the odd ‘yes’ or ‘oh really?’ but straining with half an ear to tune into the conversation to her right.

  For their starter, they ate mozzarella wrapped in Parma ham, resting artfully on top of bundles of asparagus and washed down with sips of cold, velvety Chablis. Even the arrival of their food did nothing to stop Auntie Mabel’s nostalgic reminiscing. By the time the starters were taken away and having somewhat run out of small talk, Lucy was relieved when Auntie Mabel excused herself to nip outside to smoke a Silk Cut, muttering something about ‘old habits dying hard’ as she went. Lucy immediately turned to her right just, as luck would have it, as Alexander offered her a top-up of wine.

  ‘So, you must be the famous Lucy I’ve heard so much about!’ said Alex, his umber eyes twinkling mischievously under his perfectly groomed brow. She noticed a flicker of irritation from the Brazilian who reluctantly turned to strike up conversation with the less attractive man seated on her right.

  ‘Have you?’ asked Lucy, praying that Claudia had bigged her up hugely whilst playing down some of the more embarrassing anecdotes from her enormous thirty-year collection. ‘And what exactly have you heard?’

  ‘Oh, all good things, don’t worry,’ Alex replied, oozing self-confidence and charm. ‘Interesting, in fact. You work in advertising, don’t you?’

  ‘Yes, for my sins. Though the unadulterated joy of selling Listerine mouthwash to the faceless masses has somewhat lost its appeal over the years! I’m thinking of sacking it all in to work for some far more worthy cause.’

  ‘And what might that be?’ Alex enquired, his voice rich and smooth, like treacle, deep and resonant.

  ‘Gosh, I don’t know, perhaps I’ll go and work for a charity one day… or travel the world and teach?’ said Lucy.

  ‘I love travelling,’ Alex said. ‘In fact, I once fancied myself as a sort of Robinson Crusoe type and drove around south-west France with a tent and a clapped out old car. But after about two weeks trying to cook my own food on a campfire, I rather lost the will to live and checked into the nearest hotel for a hot shower and a juicy steak!’

  Lucy laughed, he was proving to be rather an irresistible combination of good-looking, funny and modest. ‘I know the feeling. I did a lot of travelling in my twenties, but I’m not sure that I could face doing it on such a shoestring budget now. Some of the places we used to stay in don’t even bear thinking about!’

  ‘Whereabouts did you go?’ asked Alex.

  ‘South East Asia mostly. I backpacked for a year after I left uni with a friend who went on to teach. We were such good travelling companions that every summer I would save up my holidays and join her wherever she was travelling during her summer break… God how envious I am of teachers and their bloody holidays! Twelve weeks! Ridiculous, isn’t it?’ said Lucy.

  ‘Quite unbelievable!’ Alex replied. ‘Perhaps we should all retrain?’

  ‘Mmmm… not a bad idea. What do you do for a living?’ she asked.

  ‘I’m a lawyer, I’m afraid. Terribly unexciting,’ he said as he broke into a crusty brown roll and helped himself to butter.

  ‘What kind of lawyer?’ Lucy asked, watching him take a bite and feeling strangely envious of the crumbs that fell onto his blue shirt, nestling there.

  ‘Corporate stuff mainly. Though recently earning a living has taken me across the pond for a couple of years, so I can’t complain. It’s been amazing, but it’s good to be back, I must admit. I’ve missed it here more than I had realized,’ he said, looking at Lucy with such intensity that she felt herself blush. ‘Yes, I am glad to be back,’ he leant closer to Lucy and muttered, ‘very glad indeed!’

  Lucy was pleased to see that Mabel was now chatting merrily away to Claudia’s cousin who was sitting on her left, yet another relation of hers. She was clearly having a lovely time so there was no need for her to tear herself away from Alex quite yet. During the course of dinner, the conversation between them flowed easily. They found that they had lots in common – they both loved travelling, food and literature, as well as a shared hatred of pretentious foreign films. Lucy felt herself glow like the embers of a fire under the warmth of his attention. A tide of nerve-jingling anticipation rose up from the pit of her stomach and she found a joyous grin spreading across her face as she laughed along with him. She was entranced by his dashing good looks, the knowing twinkle in his eye as he looked at her. She admired his strong, determined jawline, resisting a crazy urge to trace her finger along the angular lines of his face. He ran his fingers through his wavy brown hair, brushing it off his forehead as he laughed raucously at the tales she told from her travels around Laos. Lucy felt the fluttering of a thousand fireflies stirring deep within her. For once, she couldn’t believe her luck… this man, this incredibly gorgeous man was flirting with her!

  She took another sip of rich Chablis, savouring the sharp tang of liquid on her tongue and leant cl
oser to Alex, squeezing her arms together to emphasize her ample cleavage. His eyes flickered towards the seductive shadow of her breasts and, for a moment, their eyes locked. Lucy felt an electric current pass between them and she was sure that he could feel it too. A thrill of excitement and hope rushed through her as a tiny voice asked, Could it finally be my turn?

  A tinkle of glass caught their attention. Lucy wrenched her gaze away from Alex and turned to face the Master of Ceremonies, Claudia’s best friend from work Louis. He announced the speeches and Lucy leant back in her seat, giddy with happiness for Claudia and Dan, filled with excitement from this new, unshakeable feeling that something momentous was happening to her.

  Her leg was pressed firmly against Alex’s thigh. She was acutely aware of his presence next to her. Neither moved away as they laughed at the speeches, raising their glasses to the bride and groom, cheering and clapping as each speech ended.

  Taking the microphone for one last time, Louis announced Mr and Mrs Brightman’s first dance and the wedding guests all raced over to the dance floor to watch. Lucy pushed her way to the very front of the crowd, determined to get a good view.

  Lucy was so thrilled for her best friend, watching as Dan spun her around like a white bird of paradise. Claudia’s feet barely touched the floor and her face beamed with happiness. It was definitely true love, Lucy thought. As the newly-weds beckoned for their guests to join them, Lucy looked around. Unfortunately her dinner companion was nowhere to be seen but even this realisation couldn’t bring her down from the buzz of happiness she was currently experiencing,. She grabbed Auntie Mabel instead and they danced the fox trot, Mabel’s favourite from when she used to frequent the dance halls during the war. Lucy found herself twirling into a group of university friends and they jived to ‘Let’s Twist Again’, giddy with laughter as they snaked their hips up and down.

  Suddenly, the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end as she realized someone was standing directly behind her. A male voice bent down and muttered in her ear, ‘May I have this dance?’

  Lucy found herself spinning around and pressing into Alex’s chest. As they moved in time to the music she was only too aware of his hard torso just millimetres away from her body, the peppery smell of his aftershave made her feel dizzy with longing.

  The rest of the evening passed in a blur of dancing, drinking and laughter. Lucy and Alex were inseparable and at one point the ethereal bride grabbed her and said, ‘So, do you like him?!’

  ‘Are you kidding?’ replied Lucy, grinning. ‘He’s divine!’

  Claudia smirked, ‘I told you so! If only he hadn’t been bloody working in Chicago, I would have introduced you years ago!’ she said as she twirled around to find Dan. True, Lucy thought, but she didn’t even care, because there was Alex, down on his knees, strumming an imaginary air guitar, the life and soul of the party, with a crowd surrounding him, cheering him on.

  Seeing her looking at him, he stumbled over to her, threw his arms around her and flung her backwards in a dramatic Hollywood-style embrace. He looked into her eyes, ‘You’re beautiful, Lucy,’ he whispered. ‘I am so glad I met you.’ Then, putting on a good show for their audience, he kissed her. The dance floor erupted into hysterical cheers and claps. Lucy’s head spun with joy and her body fizzed and tingled as he kissed her, her knees going weak beneath her.

  Chapter Four

  ‘Beep, Beep, BEEP,’ shrieked the alarm rudely. The shrill tone pierced Lucy’s skull and reverberated a thousand times around her head like a hammer to the brain. She reached over to the bedside table to silence it, cursing herself for being so efficient yesterday in setting it. She had planned to get up in time for a hangover-destroying fry-up, but there was no way given her current head spin that she would be making it down to breakfast. She looked at her phone to check the time, ten o’clock; she had an hour to be out of her room. Lucy groaned. She tried to swallow but her tongue felt alien, swollen and heavy, stuck to the roof of her mouth. She brushed her fringe from her eyes and groped for a glass of water, gratefully gulping it down as she pieced together the reason for her hangover. With a few too many years of practice, she began at the church service, searching through her memories, reordering them and joining them together like a jigsaw puzzle.

  ‘Oh my god! Alex! Alexander Hayes!’ Her heart leapt sky-high and an enormous grin spread across her face as the memories of last night came flooding back. A bubble of laughter rose through her, erupting in a manic giggle. She grabbed her phone to check for messages, nothing yet.

  Lucy and Alex had spent the whole night dancing, flirting and swapping stories, revelling in their mutual attraction. She had been dizzy from the delicious smell of him, combined with vast quantities of champagne and wine. She remembered Alex’s taxi coming to pick him up, to take him to his friend’s house nearby where he was staying for the weekend. They had parted exchanging numbers and lingering kisses with promises of dinner soon.

  Lucy wished and hoped that he would text her, sending up fervent prayers to whoever might be listening that this wouldn’t be yet another first encounter that never developed. But this time Lucy just knew he would get in touch. It had been different, she couldn’t explain why but she knew that it had.

  She phoned Claudia but predictably got her voicemail, the first morning of newly wedded bliss was not to be interrupted. So she left her a rambling voicemail telling her how she was dying of a hangover, how it had been the best wedding ever, how she had been the most stunning bride and Dan the most handsome groom and how she wished them the best honeymoon ever and could she text her the minute she arrived?

  Heaving herself out of bed, Lucy showered and packed before calling a taxi to take her back to the train station.

  She bought a bacon bap and a cup of tea at the station kiosk, found an empty seat and collapsed heavily into it. The journey passed in a blur of sleepy daydreams, mostly about Alex. Unable to resist, Lucy let her imagination run riot. She raced through a string of indescribably perfect dates, a whirlwind romance followed by heartfelt declarations of love. She imagined their first home together, allowing herself to relive her daydream from the church but this time it was Alex standing there waiting for her, exchanging their vows in front of all their family and friends, including Jack. She even saw them strolling through the park on a summer’s day, pushing a pram with their first child giggling up at them from inside. As the train rolled into London Paddington, she drifted out of her reverie, opened her eyes and glanced at her phone. A message! Her heart leapt into her mouth. She frantically clicked on the open button and her heart plummeted back to its resting place as she saw Claudia’s name appear on the screen. She opened the message:

  Darling Luce, best MoH ever. D + I on cloud 9. On way to Maldives! OMG! Will call when I land xx P.S. Alex??! He was def keen. You were all over each other! Keep me posted! C x

  Lucy chuckled as she gathered her stuff before heading for the tube. She swiped her Oyster card and braced herself as she was sucked into the momentum of the underground network, eventually being propelled back into the daylight at Baron’s Court. She walked slowly home, looking forward to the rest of the day. She was going to spend it under her feather duvet on the sofa, watching reruns of Friends and Sex and the City. She decided to treat herself to a curry from the local Indian and felt her tummy begin to rumble at the thought. She remembered her mother Ginny’s much-used expression ‘a watched pot never boils’, but she knew that she would be checking her phone every five minutes for a text from Alex nonetheless.

  Chapter Five

  ‘Rough weekend?’ asked Caitlin, the pierced and punky secretary at J&L Communications, as Lucy pushed through the revolving door on Monday morning, sunglasses firmly in place despite the grey clouds outside.

  ‘Wedding,’ Lucy grimaced, pushing her glasses on top of her head.

  ‘Ouch!’ Caitlin grinned sympathetically.

  Lucy walked up the stairs and pushed open the door to her office, approaching her pod unenthusiasti
cally as she surveyed the pile of work she had left in her ‘To Do’ tray on Friday. She felt sure that today was going to be more than a little bit painful, marvelling at how much longer a hangover took to disappear in your thirties than it had in the previous decade. Her spirits were flagging; she still hadn’t heard from Alex and was mentally preparing to add him to her long list of failed first encounters and disappointments. She had spent the whole weekend constantly checking her messages to no avail. It almost felt worse this time because she had had such high hopes for him. To add insult to injury, Jack walked past at that very moment. Her stomach lurched at the sight of him.

  ‘Lucy,’ he said as he strode past her desk. ‘Good weekend?’

  ‘Lovely thanks,’ she said, simpering like a nervous schoolgirl.

  ‘Get up to much?’ he asked with a flirtatious smile.

  ‘It was my best friend’s wedding actually. I was her maid of honour.’

  Jack moved slightly closer so as not to be overheard and muttered ‘Any fumbles with the best man?’

  ‘None of your business!’ she laughed. She found his sheer arrogance alarmingly attractive, the way he raised an eyebrow and smiled knowingly when she spoke to him as though mentally undressing her. She was sure that he never listened to a word she said. He gave her a wink and made his way across the room to his office.