Midsummer Magic

by Julia Williams

  ‘Jenny Barrow, Tresgothen Gazette,’ she thrust her dictaphone in Tatiana’s face. ‘Is it true you are in talks with Mr Slowbotham about bringing A Midsummer Night’s Dream to our famous theatre?’

  Tatiana drew herself up regally, as if about to hold court. She looked around in some disappointment and said, ‘Only two of you?’ but then, consummate performer that she was, overcame her dismay and gave a charming account of the interesting conversation she’d had with Mike Slowbotham. ‘whom I’m sure can tell you more about it than I can.’ Then she got up and went to leave the café.

  As Tatiana walked past their table, Nicola pounced.

  ‘Miss Okeby, I’m a huge fan of yours. Please, may I have your autograph?’

  Tatiana was evidently in a hurry, but couldn’t resist the lure of an actual fan who actually wanted her autograph.

  ‘Delighted, I’m sure.’ Diana noticed that it was said with some reluctance, but she consented to have her picture taken with Nicola, who had descended into simpering schoolgirl levels of idiocy. Diana had never seen Nicola anything but unruffled and in control, and it was amusing to see her so overwhelmed.

  ‘So are we going to see you tread the boards in Tresgothen?’ gushed Nicola. ‘It would be so wonderful for the village if you could.’

  ‘We’ll see,’ said Tatiana. ‘If I have to talk to that odious little man about it any more, I might lose the will to live.’

  ‘Oh, please,’ said Nicola. ‘It’s a while since we’ve had a star in the village. It would be such an honour. Only, I’m not sure Mike –’

  ‘I’ll be delighted then,’ said Tatiana graciously. ‘I can’t let my fans down.’ And with that, she swept out.

  ‘I was going to warn her about Mike Slowbotham,’ said Nicola.

  ‘I think she’s got his measure,’ laughed Diana. ‘Look at him.’

  Mike was still deep in conversation with the journalist. Every other word seemed to be ‘Tatiana, said this, or Tatiana has promised that.’ Unbeknownst to him, the journalist was edging away, trying to wrap it up.

  ‘That has been the perfect end to the morning,’ sighed Nicola.

  ‘And the day’s not over yet,’ said Josie. ‘Time to look at some more dresses.’

  ‘Oh, God,’ groaned Diana.

  ‘Just kidding,’ said Josie, ‘we’re going back to the first shop, and I’m going to buy the first one I tried on, and you are going to choose whichever dress you really want to wear.’

  ‘Thank God for that,’ said Diana.

  Two hours later, Josie was feeling relieved that at least she’d got her wedding dress sorted, and Diana had chosen a sensational strapless turquoise gown, which showed her colouring off to perfection. God alone knew what kind of flowers would go with it – the pink and white theme was clearly going to have to go out – but Josie was past caring. At least they hadn’t come away empty-handed.

  They’d been so long, Josie was sure the boys would have been back by now. She hadn’t heard from Harry since a text a couple of hours earlier saying they were in the pub, and when she tried to ring him, his phone was off.

  ‘Tea, anyone?’ said Nicola, going into the kitchen, and then saying, ‘Oh.’

  Josie followed her in. The kitchen, which they had left neat and tidy, now looked like a bomb had hit it. The boys had clearly had breakfast and left everything for someone else to clear up.

  ‘I’ll kill Harry,’ said Josie. ‘I asked him specifically before we came to help out in the kitchen.’

  ‘It’s all right, dear, I’ll tidy up.’ Josie’s mum took on a martyred air which she knew too well, and was precisely why Dad never did anything round the house. And why Josie had sworn she wasn’t going to spend her married life running round after Harry the way her mum had after her dad. Mum always said she didn’t mind. ‘It gives me something to do,’ she’d say, but Josie was often frustrated by her lack of ambition. Surely there was more to life than keeping her house clean, especially when you had two cleaners who came in every week?

  Josie wanted to protest that Mum should leave it for the men to do when they came back, but cross and all as she was, it wasn’t her house, and they weren’t her rules. She was furious that Harry hadn’t at least tried to improve the situation, but resorted to slobby behaviour just because Ant and her dad did.

  ‘I can’t believe they’re not back from the pub yet,’ she said, starting to help Mum as she couldn’t bear the thought of her doing everything. It was another thing that was making her cross. Harry would be fit for nothing for the afternoon at this rate.

  ‘Boys will be boys,’ said Nicola indulgently. ‘And really, you don’t need to help. I’ll do it. You two sit by the pool, and enjoy the sunshine while it lasts. Heaven knows when we’ll get another weekend like this.’

  Reluctantly feeling like she was dumping on her mum, while simultaneously seething that the boys had got away with it, Josie joined Diana at the pool. It was shaping up to be a boiling hot afternoon, and Di was already slathering suntan lotion on and didn’t seem to share Josie’s irritation.

  ‘If your mum wants to be a martyr, let her,’ she said. ‘I bet she gets her own way with other things. I wouldn’t want to cross her too much if I were your dad. Come on. Your mum’s right. You need to take a break from all this frantic wedding planning and relax for five minutes. It won’t kill you.’

  Josie slid into place next to Di. She felt churned up and miserable and now Diana seemed to be saying …

  ‘You don’t think I’ve turned into the bride from hell, do you?’

  ‘No,’ said Diana, ‘but you could calm it down a bit. I think you’re terrifying poor Harry.’

  ‘Harry?’ Josie felt jumpy and suspicious again.

  ‘Yes, Harry, your fiancé, Harry,’ said Diana.

  ‘What’s he been saying to you?’ said Josie, really wanting to know and when had he been saying it?

  ‘Nothing. Just last night, he hinted. Well, he mentioned – he’s feeling a bit overwhelmed.’

  ‘What, when you had your nice little tête-à-tête in the garden?’ the words were out before Josie could stop herself.

  ‘Look, Josie, that wasn’t what you think –’ Diana started to say before the boys marched in, loud and leery. Just what Josie didn’t want.

  ‘I think I will go and help Mum after all,’ Josie said, and ignoring Diana’s hurt look, went indoors. Not trusting herself to go into the kitchen in case Mum asked if anything was wrong, she hurried into the lounge instead.

  ‘Oops,’ she thought she heard Ant say, ‘Think you’re in big trouble, mate.’

  Not as much as me, Josie thought, not as much as me.

  When they finally made it back to the house, Harry was like a cat on hot bricks.

  ‘Calm down, mate, you’ll give yourself a heart attack.’

  Peter seemed to have the right attitude, as far as Ant could tell. The girls would all have been chatting about the wedding and wouldn’t have missed them. Ant couldn’t see what the big deal was, and was dismayed that his best mate was so domesticated now he seemed to be unable to enjoy himself for five minutes without Josie’s company.

  But when they got in, and he saw the way Josie glared at Harry, even Ant felt a slight twinge of guilt. Bugger, he might have unwittingly caused a domestic, which meant this weekend could only get more unpleasant. Maybe he ought to help them out.

  Peter, who seemed oblivious to any awkward atmosphere that had built up, tried to fix Harry a drink, despite Harry half-heartedly saying he only wanted an orange juice.

  ‘You’ll have to do better than that on your stag night,’ Ant heard Peter say as he slipped into the house and went in search of Josie.

  He found her in the lounge, flicking through wedding magazines in a desultory manner. She looked pale, and he thought she might have been crying. Ant was good at telling the signs. Women seemed to cry a lot around him, for some reason. Even when he laid it on the line and did the whole consenting adults thing, they always seemed to cry.
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  ‘Oh, it’s you,’ she said with barely concealed distaste.

  ‘Er, is everything all right, Jose?’ he said.

  ‘Not really,’ said Josie, ‘No thanks to you.’

  Ant sat down, ‘I’m sorry, Josie. It’s not Harry’s fault we’re late, he’s been trying to come home for hours and it was your dad who was stopping him, mainly.’

  ‘And I expect you had nothing to do with it,’ said Josie, unbending a little.

  ‘Maybe a bit,’ he said. ‘But your dad is pretty determined when he gets going.’

  ‘That is true,’ said Josie, managing a small smile. That was better.

  ‘It’s not just that, though,’ said Josie. ‘I’m probably being silly …’

  ‘But …?’

  Josie shook her head. ‘I must be going mad. Why on earth am I talking to you, of all people?’

  ‘Because despite it all, you know you’re making a huge mistake and should marry me?’

  ‘Definitely not that,’ said Josie, giving him a shove.

  ‘Then, what?’

  ‘Then … It’s … last night,’ she burst out miserably. ‘I saw Harry and Di coming up the garden together. And I’m sure I caught him giving her a hug earlier. They looked so … secretive. I’m sure it’s nothing, but …’

  ‘You thought?’ Ant burst out laughing.

  ‘It’s not funny!’ said Josie.

  ‘You dozy cow,’ laughed Ant. ‘Harry didn’t tell you, then?’

  ‘Tell me what?’ said Josie, looking puzzled.

  ‘He was feeling so stressed about this weekend, he cadged a fag off Diana and the stupid twat didn’t tell you.’

  ‘Oh.’ Josie looked simultaneously relieved and annoyed. ‘Now I feel really stupid. God, I was thinking all sorts.’

  ‘You are daft, Josie,’ said Ant. ‘Harry adores you. You’re all he ever talks about.’

  ‘That’s as may be,’ said Josie, ‘but if he does it again, I am going to bloody kill him.’

  Chapter Nine

  ‘Surprise!’ Harry, who’d made his excuses and gone back to the annexe for a lie down and a think about how best to tackle Josie, woke up bleary-eyed as Ant came bounding in, followed by Josie, a sheepish look on her face.

  ‘What?’ said Harry.

  ‘I think it’s time you two had a little chat,’ said Ant.

  ‘Sorry?’ Harry still felt totally befuddled.

  Josie was looking a little awkward, so Ant pushed her towards Harry and said, ‘Go on, lovebirds. Do what lovebirds are meant to do – kiss and make up.’

  Feeling sick with misery, Harry tried to work out how to say sorry for making Josie suspicious, when all he was doing was having a fag, which sounded lamer than lame, and sorry for coming home drunk.

  Josie helped him out.

  ‘Why didn’t you just say you’d been smoking?’ she said.

  It sounded pretty stupid when she put it like that.

  ‘Because I’m an idiot?’ said Harry. ‘I knew you wouldn’t like me smoking, so I didn’t tell you. But that’s all I was doing. Honestly. I’m sorry.’

  ‘I know,’ said Josie, sitting down on the bed. ‘But since we’ve been here, you’ve been … so distant, like you’re not interested in the wedding … and you came to bed so late last night, I thought you were avoiding me … and then I thought … I thought …’

  Her composure faltered, and to Harry’s dismay, he saw she was about to cry. He couldn’t bear that he’d made her cry. She was his gorgeous Josie, and he wanted to spend every day of her life making her happy, not making her cry.

  ‘Oh, Jose,’ he said. ‘You mean everything to me. I could never ever let you down. Come here, you dope.’

  He pulled her close and held her tight.

  ‘My work here is done,’ said Ant and left the room, but Harry barely noticed. He drank in the smell of her, felt her respond to his touch. His gorgeous, gorgeous Josie. He only ever wanted to be with her.

  ‘Sorry about staying out so late,’ he said. ‘Your dad’s a hard man to resist.’

  ‘Tell me about it,’ said Josie laughing as she snuggled back up to him. ‘Years of Mum putting up with him, means he does more or less exactly as he pleases.’

  ‘I shall have to take a leaf out of his book, then,’ teased Harry.

  ‘You most certainly will not,’ said Josie. ‘I’m not going to spend the next twenty years playing the little wifey at home, or there’ll be trouble.’

  ‘Hmm, I like the sound of that,’ said Harry, and started tickling her. They romped around on the bed for a bit and then Josie stopped and sat up. She looked at him really seriously and said, ‘Harry, you are okay about all this, aren’t you?’

  ‘About this?’ said Harry snaking his arm up her back.

  ‘Not that,’ said Josie, smacking his hand, ‘though that of course is very nice. No, I mean about the wedding. Only you don’t seem to be as enthusiastic as you once were. I know I’ve been a bit OTT about it …’

  Harry smiled, ‘A bit?’ he said.

  ‘That bad?’ said Josie looking stricken.

  ‘Worse,’ said Harry.

  ‘I’m sorry. I just want everything to be right.’

  ‘And it will be,’ said Harry.

  ‘So you’re okay?’

  ‘Apart from being super intimidated by your dad,’ said Harry, ‘I’m fine. Don’t worry, it’s all going to be wonderful. Now, where were we?’

  Josie sank back onto the bed with a blissful expression on her face. Harry gently bent over her and stroked her face. ‘It’s all going to be brilliant,’ he said, ‘you wait and see.’ But as he took her in his arms, he wasn’t sure if he was convincing Josie or himself …

  Everyone seemed to have disappeared. Peter, ostensibly to his study to work, but Diana suspected he was having a little snooze. She’d spotted a recliner in there when Josie had shown them round. Nicola had disappeared into the kitchen again to prepare another huge meal, and Ant, Harry and Josie had all gone off to the annexe. Diana didn’t know whether to join them or not.

  She was just thinking about going in, when Ant came strolling back, dressed in the briefest of swimming briefs. His tanned torso was broad and rippled in all the right places. Clearly he still worked out. Diana watched him carefully from underneath her sunglasses, while pretending to read her magazine.

  He certainly still had it, she thought, what a bod. If she didn’t know him, it might have been fun to have a pre-wedding flirty fling with Ant. But she did know him, and despite her hormones betraying her horribly, she wouldn’t go there again.

  Being Ant, he was acting as if he had an audience anyway. His every move was slowly calculated. He walked up to the pool, dived in and swam several lengths of perfect crawl, scything his way through the water with impressive speed. Then he hauled himself lightly out of the pool. Diana had to smother a giggle. Any minute now he’d shake himself off like a springer spaniel.

  ‘Move over Michael Phelps,’ said Diana. ‘Is there no end to your talents?’

  Ant glared at her. He’d clearly been hoping she was impressed. She was impressed, but she certainly wasn’t going to let him see that.

  ‘You didn’t honestly think I was going to fall for that little piece of peacock behaviour, did you?’ said Diana.

  ‘No more than I’d fall for you baring yourself to the world, like some floozy,’ sneered Ant.

  ‘Floozy, am I?’ said Diana. ‘That’s rich, coming from the biggest male stud I know.’

  They glared at each other angrily, and then Ant burst out laughing.

  ‘What’s so funny?’ said Diana crossly.

  ‘Us,’ said Ant. ‘I told Freddie Puck it would never work.’

  ‘What would never work?’

  ‘He reckons he could hypnotise a couple and make them fall in love on Midsummer’s Eve at the Standing Stones, like in the legend. He’s invited us all over to Tresgothen Manor tomorrow to give it a go. He even thought he could make it happen for us.’

  �
�Ha, ha, ha,’ Diana nearly spilt her drink. ‘I don’t think so.’

  ‘That’s what I told him,’ said Ant. ‘In fact, I’ve got a bet on it.’

  ‘A bet I think you’ll win,’ said Diana. ‘Maybe we should get him to work on Josie and Harry, though. I’m a bit worried that Harry’s getting cold feet.’

  ‘It’s all right,’ said Ant. ‘I sorted it. Put Josie right about your little rendezvous in the garden with Harry last night.’

  ‘It wasn’t a rendezvous,’ snapped Diana, cross again. ‘Poor guy was feeling stressed and I gave him a fag.’

  ‘Which is what I told Josie,’ said Ant. ‘Anyway, they should be okay now.’

  ‘Why do you care?’ said Diana curiously. ‘You’ve hardly been the biggest fan of this wedding.’

  ‘Harry’s my best mate,’ said Ant, looking a little embarrassed. ‘I don’t like seeing him down.’

  Diana felt something unfamiliar squirm inside her. A small nasty part of her had been slightly enjoying Josie’s misery today, and here was Ant thinking about their friends, trying to put things right for them. It shamed her to think it, but since being here, she’d felt jealous of her friend and unexpectedly drawn to Harry. Shut up, she said to herself, shut up. You’re not to think that.

  ‘So what do you think?’ said Ant. ‘Shall we do this stupid experiment? We even get paid a bit for it.’

  ‘We get paid?’ Diana’s ears pricked up. She’d got some savings, but any little extra was a help till she found a new job.

  ‘Didn’t I say?’

  ‘Nope,’ said Diana. ‘As it happens, I could do with the money. We know it will never work, but it might be a laugh.’

  Ant was feeling quite pleased with himself. Josie and Harry had arrived together for dinner, looking pleasantly flushed and slightly coy. No prizes for guessing what they’d been up to. Maybe Josie would get off his case now. Despite Diana’s admiration of his actions, he hadn’t been entirely straight with her. If Josie thought he was on her side, maybe she wouldn’t be quite so hostile. It had alarmed him this weekend how much Harry seemed to take store by what Josie said, and how little time he was prepared to give his friend. Once they were married Josie could stop Harry seeing Ant altogether, and that would be a disaster.