by Lacey London
‘Oh, Lianna!’ Running my fingers over the enormous sapphire ring, my stomach churns uncontrollably. The incredible blue gemstone is held in a classic gold setting and surrounded by delicate diamond clusters. ‘It’s stunning. It really is beautiful.’
Tearing himself away from the well-wishers, Vernon runs up behind Li and throws her into the air as though she is as light as a kitten. As people drift out of the bar to see what all the cheering is about, I spot Oliver at the entrance with Noah on his hip. Making my way over to him, I scoop up Madison as she rushes along the sand.
‘Did you know about this?’ I ask, as Madison climbs onto my back.
‘Only five minutes before you did!’ He laughs and moves to the side to make room for Owen and Eve.
‘What is going on out here?’ Eve giggles, hitching up her dress and tip toeing across the decking.
‘Lianna and Vernon are engaged!’ Gina screeches, pointing behind her as the two of them walk hand in hand along the shore.
‘Awwh!’ Eve exclaims, clapping her hands together and running over to them. ‘This is amazing!’
Feeling a little lost for words, I shoot Oliver a concerned glance and bite my lip. Engaged. Engaged to be married. Engaged to be married to someone she has spent approximately ten days with. Telling myself not to be pessimistic, I stretch my lips into a thin smile. Oliver throws an arm around my waist as Owen heads off after Eve. Watching my friends rejoice happily, I make a mental promise to myself keep my opinions on the subject hidden. Who am I to judge whether or not this is the right thing for Li? She’s a big girl and can make her own decisions. Reminding myself that I fell too hard, too fast for Oliver, I twirl my wedding band around my finger and exhale slowly. My mother once told me that you don’t find love, love finds you. There’s no logic to it and once it has a hold of you, there’s no going back. I guess love doesn’t have to be prefect, it just has to be true…
Heaven seems that little bit closer when you’re at the ocean…
Chapter 10
Devouring my second spicy fish burger, I lick a dollop of chilli sauce from my finger and kick off my sandals under the table. It has been a few hours since Vernon decided to pop the question and it has been the subject on everybody’s lips ever since. Between regular customers stopping by our booth to pass on their congratulations and Gina firing a million questions at the happy couple, no one else has managed to get a word in.
‘What made you go for a sapphire ring?’
‘When did you realise that you were going to propose?’
‘Will you get married here in Barbados?’
That last one catches my attention and I look up from my drink.
‘Well…’ Vernon starts, smiling down on his new fiancée. ‘We haven’t had the chance to speak about it, but I thought we could do it right here.’
‘Here?’ Lianna’s eyes light up as she looks around The Hangout.
Turning her head gently, Vernon points outside to the beach. ‘There.’
‘Awwh!’ Eve sighs, holding a tissue to her eyes. ‘That would be so romantic.’
‘When?’ Gina asks, watching the children play hide and seek around the bar.
‘That part is down to you.’ Vern whispers to Li.
Looking down at her shiny new ring, Lianna runs her fingers over the gold band and smiles. ‘How about right now?’
The entire table bursts into laughter as Vernon shakes his head. ‘I think the Ministry of Home Affairs might need a little more time than that.’
‘Tomorrow?’ She fires back. ‘The next day?’
‘What’s the rush?’ I ask, causing the rest of the group to flash me daggers. ‘What?’ I retort. ‘It takes months if not years to plan a wedding!’
‘Not necessarily…’ Vernon interrupts. ‘We often have weddings here and depending what it is you want; they can be arranged in a matter of days.’
‘I could help!’ Eve yells, raising her hand like a child in the classroom.
‘And me!’ Digging Gina in the ribs, I hold up my hands in protest.
‘Li, can I talk to you for a moment… privately?’ Handing over Noah to Oliver, I smile apologetically at Owen as I squeeze my big bum past him.
Motioning for Lianna to follow me, I slip outside and climb into a vacant hammock. Thankfully, the crowds have dispersed and all that remains are a final few couples enjoying the moonlight. Watching Lianna practically float across the sand, I hate myself for what I am about to say. Waiting until she is settled into the opposite hammock, I take a deep breath before I speak.
‘Lianna, you can’t get married right now. You know that, don’t you?’ Twisting my hair up into a messy bun, I study her face as she smiles back at me. ‘Don’t get me wrong, I like Vernon. We all like him, but marriage? You have spent less than two weeks together. Don’t you think you should get to know each other a little better first?’
‘I am going to marry him, Clara.’ She leans back in her hammock and stretches out her legs, obviously not taking a word that I am saying seriously.
‘OK…’ I mumble, realising that I am going to have to try a different path here. ‘I just don’t understand why you have to marry him right away, that’s all. Let’s face it, we have been here before, remember?’
‘I do remember.’ She laughs heartily and rocks her hammock from side to side. ‘How could I forget?’
‘Then why are you rushing into this?’ I exclaim, throwing my hands into the air. ‘Haven’t you learnt anything from all of your other disasters?’ As soon as the words escape my lips, I wish I could take them back. ‘I’m sorry. I don’t want to ruin this for you. I’m just looking out for you. You’re my best friend and I would be doing you a major disservice if I were to let this happen and not voice my concerns.’
Hopping out of her hammock, Li shoves me over and climbs in next to me. Slightly concerned that she is going to make us capsize, I hold onto the rope for dear life. Reaching into her pocket, she pulls out a shiny grey pebble and places it into my hand. What the hell is this? I think to myself, turning it over in my hands.
‘It’s a proposal pebble.’ Li declares, as though reading my mind. ‘Isn’t it beautiful?’
‘Beautiful?’ I repeat, holding up the stone for a better look. ‘Lianna, it’s a stone.’
Rolling her eyes, she snatches the stone out of my hands and polishes it on her t-shirt. ‘You know how much I love penguins, right?’
‘Right…’ I mumble, worrying that she has completely lost her mind.
‘Well, penguins propose to each other with pebbles.’ She giggles like a baby and smiles brightly.
‘How much of that punch have you had?’ I lean over the hammock and realise that her glass is still full.
‘When a penguin falls in love with another penguin, he searches the entire beach to find the most perfect pebble. It has to be just right, like the perfect engagement ring.’ Her eyes gloss over as she tosses her hair over her shoulder. ‘It might take him days, it might take him weeks, but when he finally finds it, he waddles over to his beloved and places it right in front of her. Just like a proposal.’
Not wanting to admit that this is very possibly the cutest thing I have ever heard, I look down at my feet as my face involuntarily stretches into a smile.
‘So, what are you saying? That Vernon proposed to you with a pebble?’
‘That’s exactly what I’m saying.’ Popping the pebble back into her pocket, she twists her engagement ring around her finger and smiles. ‘And the fact that he backed it up with a three carat sapphire ring just makes him even more perfect.’
Letting out an exasperated sigh, I run my fingers through my hair and shake my head. ‘It sounds like you have already made your mind up on this.’
‘I have.’ She nods in agreement and holds out her little finger. ‘The only question left is… are you in or are you out?’
* * *
‘Did you manage to change the flights?’ Gina asks, as Marc comes into the living room with a handful of
papers.
‘Uh huh.’ He mumbles, sifting through the pile and placing it on the coffee table. ‘We now have another six days.’
‘Yay!’ Madison cries, jumping up and down. ‘Another six days!’
‘What date are we looking at again?’ Eve flips open a notepad starts scribbling away. ‘The thirteenth?’
‘Fourteenth.’ Lianna corrects from her position on the floor.
As it is almost forty degrees outside, we have decided to take a break from the sunshine to cool down in the villa. With the adults busy planning Lianna’s impromptu wedding, James took it upon himself to rustle up a quick lunch. Now that we are suitably fed and watered, we can fully concentrate on the task at hand, which isn’t as easy as it sounds with four hyper children running around the place. Rubbing my throbbing temples, I push myself to my feet and try to gather my thoughts. High on sugar, Madison fires through the living room and knocks the pile of paperwork onto the floor. Letting out an annoyed sigh, I bend down and attempt to put the many sheets of paper back in order.
‘Marc, could you take the children out for the afternoon? We aren’t going to get far with four kids under our feet.’ I flash him a hopefully smile and pray that he doesn’t refuse.
‘All of them?’ He groans, collapsing into an arm chair as Melrose crashes into his legs in her baby walker.
‘I’ll come with you.’ Oliver sighs. ‘To be honest, I’ve had enough of the wedding talk.’ Scooping up Noah, he slips on his flip flops and grabs his baseball cap from the floor.
‘Me too.’ Owen yawns, rolling off the couch. ‘Why don’t we leave you girls to do your thing and get the kids out of your hair?’
Not missing a beat, Eve and Gina immediately gather up the children and usher them towards the door. Obviously glad to be escaping the wedding club, Marc packs a bag with child friendly essentials as Owen searches for his car keys. Kissing Oliver and Noah goodbye, I pad across the warm tiles and watch them climb into Owen’s car. Waving them off, I watch the car do a three point turn on the driveway before pulling out into the road. The palm trees outside are completely still, meaning that there isn’t even a whiff of a breeze. Quickly closing the door, I retreat into the air conditioned room and breathe a sigh of relief.
Grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge, I prop myself up at the breakfast bar and peek at Eve’s notepad. Unlike Li’s previous wedding plans, this time she is going for casual and taking a more laid back approach to the whole affair. According to her very short list of demands, she wants to get married at sunset, in anything that’s white, with Melrose, Madison, Gina, Eve and myself as bridesmaids. Apart from those things, she really doesn’t seem to care about the rest.
‘And you’re sure that you don’t want to call your parents?’ Eve asks, tapping her pen on the marble counter top. ‘We could get them on the next flight out here?’
Shaking her head in response, Li runs her hands through her hair and lets it fall around her shoulders. ‘My mum is in New York with her friends and my dad would never be able to take time off work at such short notice. They would only give me a hard time about it anyway.’
A wave of worry flashes over Eve’s face before she shakes it off in favour of a smile. As worried as I am that Lianna is rushing into this marriage, I’m not concerned in the least about her not having her parents here. For those of you who don’t know, Vanessa Edwards or Vanessa Parker as she is known since the divorce, is not your typical cookie cutter mother and I think it’s safe to say that she wouldn’t be too bothered about missing Li’s impromptu nuptials. The same goes for her father, don’t get me wrong he’s lovely, but he would rather chop off his own legs than miss a business meeting. Confident that she won’t regret her decision, I indicate to Eve to move on to the next thing on her list.
‘What about catering? She asks, scribbling something in her notepad. ‘I could hire James for you as a wedding gift?’
‘Actually, I think Vernon has already asked Patricia.’ Li smiles apologetically at James and sticks out her bottom lip. ‘You’re more than welcome to come along to the wedding though, James. We would love to have you there.’
‘Really?’ James laughs, obviously touched at the invitation.
‘Really!’ Joining in with the laughter, she shields her eyes from the sun and rolls onto her stomach. ‘The more the merrier.’
James’ cheeks flush pink and he nods his head gratefully. He really is the cutest.
‘That brings me onto the guest-list.’ Eve sighs and chews her pen. ‘Who do you want to be there?’
‘You guys.’ Lianna fires back, as though the answer couldn’t be more obvious.
‘And what about Vernon’s side?’
‘Oh, don’t worry about Vernon’s side. He is going to deal with all that.’
Letting out an exasperated sigh, Eve puts down her pen and shakes her head. ‘Lianna, do you have any idea how difficult it is to plan a wedding when you don’t know how many people are attending?’
Pushing herself to her feet, Li squeezes between us and plucks the notepad out of Eve’s hands. After studying the paper for a moment, she takes a pen and crosses everything off the list, before circling just one bullet point. Handing Eve back the notepad she points to the last thing on the list.
‘Let me get this straight. You are getting married in six days and the only thing you need to us to do, is get you a dress?’ Eve’s brow furrows as she drops the notepad onto the countertop.
‘It doesn’t have to be a dress.’ Lianna muses, twirling her ring around her finger. ‘As long as it’s white, I’m really not that bothered…’
* * *
A couple of hours and more than a few rum punches later, we seem to have all the arrangements in place. Unfortunately, Li had to dash off to The Hangout a few moments ago after a frantic phone call from Vernon. Apparently there has been some sort of mix up with the VIP guest list and one of their regular celebrity clients has kicked up a storm. Oh, the joys of dealing with the A-List. Gina and I did try to make a joke of it, but it seems that upsetting the superstar clientele is a big no no.
Despite Eve’s mammoth efforts, Li insisted that her plans for a low key, beach wedding will go without a hitch. When Eve and Owen got married, they had the wedding to top all weddings. Their no expense spared luxury affair took no less than three years to plan, so it’s understandable that Eve is perplexed at the thought of planning a wedding in just six short days. My only concern is how they’ll make a long distance marriage work, but as Gina rather rudely pointed out, it really isn’t any of our business.
Applying a quick slick of lipstick, I fasten Noah into his car seat and check my watch. After a few hours of fun at the turtle sanctuary earlier, it’s not just the children who are exhausted. If anything, Oliver, Marc and Owen returned even more worn out than the kids. Glancing over at Oliver who looks like he could drop off at any moment, I give him a gentle prod as a minibus pulls up outside. With everyone being so tired, Eve decided that she would liven us all up with a trip out to her friend’s restaurant. Admittedly, no one apart from Eve seemed up for leaving the villa, but now that I am dressed I’m actually looking forward to sampling some yummy local delicacies.
Stepping out into the warm evening air, I smile at the friendly cab driver and buckle in Noah. My full length jersey dress clings to my balmy skin as I slide into my seat. The intensity of the heat on the island is something that I didn’t expect. The strong midday sun is one thing, but when you open your door at night and feel as though you’re walking into an oven, it makes doing anything more than eating and sleeping near impossible. Wiping a bead of sweat from my forehead, I breathe a sigh of relief as the driver starts the engine and fires up the air conditioning.
‘Are we all hungry?’ Eve grins spinning around in her seat.
A tiny round of applause rings around the cab as Madison yawns loudly. It looks like Eve is going to have to come up with a little more than rice and peas if she wants to excite this miserable lot. Watching the m
any trees whizz past the car window, I listen to Madison as she fills us in on her amazing day with the turtles. Eve and Gina are yet to hear about their terrific turtle adventures, but since Oliver returned it is all that he has talked about. Who would have thought that a man of his age would be so impressed with an afternoon spent feeding turtles?
‘What did you do today?’ Madison asks, grabbing a handful of her black curls and twirling them around her little fingers.
‘We planned auntie Lianna’s wedding.’ I smile brightly at her as her eyes widen at the word wedding.
‘Can I be a bridesmaid?’ She squeals, clutching her hands to her face. ‘Please can I be a bridesmaid? Please! Please! Please!’
Gina laughs and ruffles Madison’s hair. ‘I think that is up to auntie Lianna.’
Madison’s face falls and I don’t know whether to tell her or not that Li has already confirmed Madison will indeed be a bridesmaid. Deciding to leave that special moment to the bride to be, I unbuckle my seat belt as the mini bus comes to a stop outside an open air restaurant. Leaving Oliver and Owen to settle the bill, I hop onto the pavement and glance around. Considering that it is so early in the evening the place is pretty busy. The pretty wood fronted property is right in the centre of a busy strip, with giant lanterns framing the entrance. Laughter floats out from the many happy customers who are merrily enjoying their evening meal.
Waiting for the rest of our group to sort themselves out, I pass Noah’s car seat to Oliver as we make our way inside. Adjusting her frankly fabulous Valentino dress, Eve sashays on ahead to find her friend. Squeezing our way through the cluster of tables, we follow her instructions and take a seat at the bar. Waitresses buzz past us with plates of delicious looking food and I bite my lip in anticipation.
‘Andrea!’ Eve squeals, throwing her arms around the neck of an elderly Bajan lady. ‘How are you?’