The Guest List

by Melissa Hill

  ‘Sounds like you’ve all been very busy,’ she said, injecting some enthusiasm into her tone. She supposed she should feel upset about her disintegrated relationship with her family, and the fact that she was clearly the black sheep of the bunch, barely even deserving of a phone call these days, but in all honesty, she wasn’t upset at all. In a way, she was relieved. Happy even. If they couldn’t be bothered to tell her this kind of news then surely no one would expect her to be an active participant in what was happening. Which was why she felt confident about her next question. ‘So when’s the big day, your big day I mean?’

  ‘Actually, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about,’ Cara said, sounding excited. ‘We haven’t set a date or anything and actually you’re the first person I’ve spoken to about this, because I’m kinda nervous about how everyone will react when we tell them. You see, it hasn’t been easy lately. Not at all.’

  ‘Spoken to about what?’ Danielle asked, intrigued even as her instincts were urging her to back away and just stay out of it, whatever it was. However, she couldn’t help but wonder what role she could possibly play in all of this, and was even more curious as to why Cara would be turning to her, instead of Betty or indeed Kim. Over the years she’d always got the impression Ben’s wife and Cara were close.

  ‘Well, like you said, Mum is all set on the notion of a big traditional white wedding along the lines of Heidi’s; the church, humongous dress, a guest list in the hundreds, you know yourself. And really Shane and I aren’t interested in any of that. What’s more, his parents are barely speaking to us – strike that, they aren’t talking to us at all because when we told them about our engagement, they immediately offered to pay for the wedding because they wanted to invite all of their society friends and have their own version of a shindig.’ She sighed deeply. ‘So it’s all a bit mad really. But at the end of the day, Shane and I realise now that we just want a small wedding, something intimate with just family and close friends. You know, the people we love.’

  Danielle still wasn’t sure how any of this could possibly involve her. ‘So, if you want a small wedding just have a small wedding, sweetheart,’ she advised warmly. She quite liked the notion that Cara had sought her out for advice and that things weren’t always so rosy with Betty.

  ‘Well, that’s just the thing,’ Cara said. ‘We don’t know how we could possibly make that happen without loads more interference, and people trying to take control. So we’ve decided that we should look away from Ireland and just take off, preferably somewhere warm, and have a beach wedding.’

  Danielle paused, as she immediately began to see the pieces fall into place. She knew where people usually had beach weddings – on paradise islands like Barbados, St Lucia, Antigua, all of which were practically in her backyard.

  Cara continued. ‘So we’ve picked up some brochures and information on various locations that might be suitable, but I was wondering if maybe you could give me a little insight as we’ve never been to any of these places, and really, it seems like you’ve been everywhere.’

  Danielle breathed deeply. OK, that sounded harmless enough. Cara was just looking for travel advice. She could do travel advice.

  ‘Well,’ she said lightly, hoping that she could manipulate the conversation a little. ‘Where were you thinking? Barcelona? Sicily? Lake Garda? Maybe Capri?’ Best to try and keep them on that side of the pond, definitely.

  ‘Oh!’ Cara exclaimed, as if she hadn’t thought of those places before. ‘Well, actually, we were thinking somewhere tropical. For a real beach wedding—’

  ‘Yes, but there are beaches in France and Italy too.’

  ‘Yes, I suppose there are,’ Cara agreed. ‘But we’re thinking October, and the weather isn’t great in the Med round then. Actually, we have our hearts set on the Caribbean to be honest. White sands, turquoise waters . . . the whole paradise island thing; what do you think?’

  Danielle felt her heart race. The last thing she wanted was her entire family coming over in this direction. Most of the Caribbean islands were barely a couple of hours’ plane ride away. If they were all here, she would have to see them, Betty too. And that would be a recipe for disaster.

  She had to think fast.

  ‘I get your thinking but I doubt there’s any way Mum will go for that. I take it she’s still never been abroad? Actually, are you sure she even has a passport?’ she added jokingly. She bit her lip, hating having to play on Cara’s insecurities, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

  She heard Cara sigh heavily. ‘To be honest, I never really considered that . . .’ The poor thing’s voice was barely above a whisper, and Danielle knew that whether she liked it or not, she was being sucked further into this. She knew she needed to change Cara’s mind, and try and prevent her from getting married in this part of the world, but she couldn’t bring herself to hurt her feelings either. Cara had never done anything wrong and she wouldn’t remember all that had gone on between Danielle and Betty back then.

  Still Danielle’s fight or flight response was winning out.

  ‘And what about Heidi?’ she pointed out. ‘As she’s pregnant, she might not want to fly, nor Kim for that matter. And if they didn’t want to go all the way to the Caribbean, then have you considered that you and . . . Shane might have nobody at all at your wedding?’

  ‘Well, you’d come, surely?’ Cara said in a small voice.

  Oh shit. How to answer that?

  Danielle tried to dodge the point-blank question. ‘That’s not really the point I’m trying to make, Cara. You said that it was important that the people who matter most are there to share the day with you – Mum and Dad and the rest of the family of course. So, at least if you get married back home, they would definitely be there, no questions asked.’

  She hoped that alluding to the fact that herself and Cara were not all that close might hit home a little.

  ‘Besides, how do you even begin to plan a wedding from an ocean away? Oh, I’m sure all the brochures look great and they say they have wedding planners on site, and all of that stuff, but have either of you actually ever been to the Caribbean, Cara? Really, it’s horrible. Humid as hell, bugs everywhere . . . plus too many damn tourists.’

  ‘But you go there all the time, don’t you? I think the last time we spoke, you and Zack had just come back from St Lucia and you said it was amazing. That you couldn’t wait to go back, and that you were even considering buying property there. We have a brochure here for St Lucia . . . we could maybe do it there?’ Cara suggested hopefully.

  It was true, Danielle did love St Lucia. But she loved it with Zack, or on her own. Not with the Irish crew in tow. She couldn’t even begin to imagine that brood in her vacation paradise.

  ‘Well, St Lucia is one of the more expensive islands. I mean, yes, it’s lovely, but it is very expensive. I’m not sure if you could afford it if you are trying to keep prices reasonable. Dominican Republic is cheap, so is Jamaica, but unfortunately you can’t leave the resorts without seeing armed soldiers everywhere. Not the most romantic backdrop for a wedding.’

  Cara sighed again, and when she finally spoke her voice was thick, as if she was trying to hold back tears. ‘I’m sorry, maybe you’re right. I just thought . . . I just hoped that maybe I could get some advice from someone who wasn’t so invested in all of this – someone objective – but this is just turning into a nightmare.’ She breathed heavily. ‘I’m just trying to do something that will be good for me and Shane, while also involving the people I love most, my family. But I don’t want to disappoint Mum and Dad either. I just don’t see how I’m going to make anyone happy. There are so many roadblocks. And it just seems that every possible solution I consider turns out to be a dead end and now I feel like an idiot for considering this too. Sorry to rant by the way, I’ll let you go.’

  Danielle felt terrible. She was being a complete cow in her attempt at self-preservation, and completely discounting poor Cara’s feelings. ‘Cara, I’m sorry.
I probably shouldn’t have been so blunt. St Lucia is really lovely, it’s a beautiful place and you know, maybe it might be affordable after all. Now, I can’t make any promises, but I know some people who run resorts on the island, and maybe I could, you know, maybe put you in touch with a couple of them, see if you can’t get some specials? I mean, again, no promises.’

  At this, Cara’s mood changed immediately and Danielle could almost feel her excitement surge through the phone. ‘Oh Danielle, would you really? Oh that would be wonderful! I would so appreciate it. As I said, we really just want something simple for our wedding, it doesn’t have to be anything crazy. Just somewhere warm, some white sand and a pretty spot on the beach.’ She laughed. ‘I honestly think everyone will be excited once they hear about what we have planned – it’ll be like a big family holiday after all!’

  Danielle nodded and looked towards her patio windows. The hot Florida sun was high over the ocean – her ocean. That’s how she had thought of it since buying this wonderful beachfront property in Fort Lauderdale almost fifteen years ago.

  Sure, she could put Cara in touch with some people on the island, people who might know the best resort in which to host a wedding. No big deal, right? It didn’t mean it was a done deal. Plus, she was banking on the fact that her mother would explode in a fit of rage at the prospect of her favourite daughter, her precious Cara, getting married on some beach in a foreign country.

  ‘Oh Danielle, it would just be perfect,’ Cara enthused. ‘And it would be so close for you too. And the perfect excuse for us all get to meet Zack too!’

  Danielle’s eyes widened. Zack, meeting her family? That was so not gonna happen. No, absolutely not.

  ‘Let’s take it one step at a time, shall we?’ she said, trying to keep her voice even.

  ‘Oh yes, yes, of course. Danielle, thank you so much for your help. I can’t even tell you how much I appreciate you putting me in touch with the people you know.’

  ‘I’ll email you the information later, OK?’

  ‘Today?’

  ‘Sure.’

  ‘Oh, fantastic,’ Cara gushed happily. ‘Thank you so much. I feel so positive now that things will just all work out – and as soon as I know anything, I’ll be sure to let you know. And I can’t wait to see you either! It’s been way too long.’

  ‘Erm . . . yes, of course.’

  The two said their goodbyes, and afterwards Danielle put the phone down gently, as if it was a time bomb.

  Holy crap, what can of worms had that just opened?

  Chapter 14

  Cara and Shane were sifting through the pile of brochures for St Lucia. The island looked truly magnificent, and she could easily picture her wedding day, on soft smooth sand looking towards the perfect horizon, while palm trees lined the still shores, the sea breeze blowing and the movement of the waves as they said ‘I do’. All on a paradise tropical island with the soaring volcanic Pitons and rainforest as background.

  ‘It looks incredible doesn’t it?’ Shane said excitedly as he shuffled through the brochure for the Paradise Oasis resort, their preferred venue out of the options Danielle had sent them. ‘So should we just go ahead and book it all? Put our deposit down and then tell everyone? Or tell everyone and then put our deposit down afterwards?’

  It looked so wonderful and seemed so perfect in theory, but at the same time Cara couldn’t help but feel nervous about the prospect of telling her mum and dad, her mother in particular, that this was what she and Shane were planning on doing. She knew how desperate Betty was for a traditional ceremony, and so far had been successful in her attempts at dodging any talk about the wedding, and coming up with excuses to avoid discussions surrounding potential churches and timings.

  But Cara still couldn’t believe how straightforward it all seemed once, as promised, Danielle sent through her contacts for resorts on the island.

  She was beginning to worry that Danielle truly did think that her and Shane’s plans for a beach wedding were a big mistake, when all of a sudden the email arrived in her inbox.

  She had to admit that while she wasn’t especially close to her older sister, she sort of looked up to her in any case. Her life in Florida always sounded so glamorous and she admired her free-thinking spirit, maturity and independence as well as envying the fact that Danielle remained largely oblivious to day-to-day Clancy family drama; from Heidi’s tantrums to Mick’s aches and pains, not to mention Betty’s interference.

  Cara had few childhood memories of Danielle before she moved out. And if she was being honest, most of the mem-ories she did have were based on pictures from photo albums kept at home at her parents’ house. She had perused these mainly on her own, as Betty always seemed hesitant to talk about her. There was no denying that there had been some big falling-out between those two, but Cara had never been able to figure out the reason for it.

  While Danielle did come home for visits every few years, it wasn’t as if there was a big homecoming celebration. But given that there was undeniable tension between her mother and Danielle, Cara now wondered what it would be like at the wedding.

  Surely Betty and Danielle could put aside whatever long-held differences they might have for her special day?

  No, she couldn’t go down that road, couldn’t start wondering about things she just couldn’t control. Cara looked at her fiancé sitting across the dining room table from her and decided that they should just take the bull by the horns and get it done. Once they’d drawn up the guest list and broken the news to the few people on it, it would be time to plan the trip as well as the ceremony. Even though a beach wedding would make things simpler, there was lots to be done and she knew that she’d better get cracking.

  ‘I think we just go ahead and book it,’ she said confidently. ‘Then it’s done and we can’t be swayed by anyone else. Yes, let’s do it.’

  ‘Great. And definitely September then?’ Shane queried. September was one of the most affordable months in the brochure, and it also gave them a good four months to plan everything.

  ‘I think it sounds perfect. You don’t think we will have any issues, with the weather or anything?’ September was apparently smack bang in the middle of the Atlantic hurricane season and possibly one of the reasons they were being offered such a fantastic deal on the package.

  ‘I don’t think that any of us can predict that. Unless you’d feel better waiting until after the season is over?’ Shane asked. ‘Trouble is, we’re working with a tight enough window as it is, because of Heidi and Kim.’

  Cara shook her head determinedly. ‘No, you’re right, I’m not going to worry about it. Like you said, you can’t control everything. Besides, I definitely don’t want to drag everything all out to next year,’ she said resolutely.

  ‘Good. Shall we go ahead with the booking then?’ Shane asked.

  Cara clapped her hands together excitedly. ‘Yes, let’s do it.’

  Moments later, Shane got off the phone with the resort. He’d given his credit card number for the deposit, and then dutifully faxed the signed booking contract, promising to put the hard copy in the post later.

  When it was all done, Cara let out a huge sigh of relief.

  It was all confirmed. She and Shane were officially going to be married on the island of St Lucia in four months and counting!

  Cara threw her arms around her husband-to-be, who was equally jubilant.

  The plans were set in motion, and there was no going back. It would be smooth sailing from now on, she just knew it.

  Now all she had to do was tell the guests.

  However, the following Monday evening Cara was not feeling so positive. In fact, she was downright nervous as she and Shane climbed the front steps to her parents’ home. Having finalised the booking over the weekend, they were going to tell Betty and Mick the news today. They had come prepared with a selection of information on St Lucia, leaflets and brochures with pictures of the resort where the wedding would be held, and finally the booking confirm
ation for their flights, which Cara and Shane had also booked recently.

  ‘Cara just breathe, everything is going to be fine,’ said Shane encouragingly. ‘What’s not to like about this? Everyone’s getting a holiday to somewhere exotic, somewhere they have never been. It will be fine.’

  But Cara wasn’t so sure. Shane came from a worldly family after all, and while Lauren and Gene were still acting like silly children at the moment, they were bound to be much more open to travelling to exotic destinations. Whereas the furthest Betty and Mick had been was across the Irish Sea to visit family in the UK.

  ‘Cara, I’m serious, relax. Everything will be fine.’

  She nodded and took a deep breath as she went through the front door, to be immediately met with the smell of her mother’s shepherd’s pie. Of course. She smiled at how wonderfully predictable Betty was. It was a Monday and Monday had been shepherd’s pie night for as long as Cara could remember.

  ‘Hello?’ she called out. ‘Mum, Dad?’

  Shane followed Cara into the house and Betty appeared in the doorway of the kitchen, wiping her hands with a dishtowel.

  ‘Oh. Cara love. And Shane. What are you two doing here?’ She rushed forward to kiss her daughter on the cheek. ‘I’m a mess. Just in the middle of making dinner. Why didn’t you tell me you were coming over, I’d have made more – although of course I’ll be able to stretch it out, put on a few more vegetables,’ she babbled. ‘I hope you haven’t eaten yet.’

  Cara smiled at the warm familiarity. No, she and Shane hadn’t eaten, and even if they had, her mother would still have encouraged them to have at least two helpings.

  ‘Where’s Dad?’ Cara asked as she followed her mother into the kitchen.

  ‘Oh he’s out the back somewhere – skulking around in the shed and trying to avoid any housework as usual. Shane, will you run out and get him? Cara, grab that spoon for me, will you?’

  Cara dutifully did as she was told, giving the brochures and tickets a tentative glance as she placed all the documents in a neat stack on the countertop. Shane gave her a little wink as he retreated to the backyard to find Mick.