by Ian Wilfred
Five hours later, and Rupert was due back. Everyone had run through everything they had to do, and Dulcie had told them all the order of play. The fun bit was when she gave them their costumes. Everyone thought they were hilarious; a whole villa full of copycat Ruperts. They would have a bright pink, purple, or baby blue T-shirt and shorts with a contrasting cravat. One by one Dulcie would call their name out and then when they were all standing in a semi-circle, they’d tell a funny story about Rupert’s past. There were so many to choose from, and some of the best were far too risqué to tell, but Dulcie had carefully selected suitable ones and organised an amusing surprise for him.
With Maya and Janice taking on the food preparation duties, and Mateo asleep so that he would be able to stay up later tonight, Gemma could now have the day to herself. Dario had again mentioned getting dressed up, and as she went into the bedroom she noticed that he had put out a nice shirt and shorts to wear, her favourites, in fact, and it prompted her to think that really she should make an effort too. It wasn’t a problem, but she just thought it would be fun for everyone to stay in their new bright clothes for the rest of the evening. First things first though, a shower.
As she was getting dressed, there was a knock on the front door. Gemma hurriedly put on her dressing gown and went down to find Janice on the step.
“So sorry to bother you, Gemma, but I can’t find the platters. I’ve looked in every cupboard. Do you know where they might be?”
“They’re in the dishwasher. I put them in after lunch, but it should be finished by now. Do you need a hand with anything, Janice?”
“No, all under control, thanks. It’s been so nice working with Maya. Although we do see a bit of each other back in England, this has been different.”
Gemma suggested they have a glass of wine on her terrace and Janice agreed. She was hoping Janice would open up more about her blossoming relationship with Pablo, and as luck would have it she didn’t have to wait long. Without any prompting, Janice told her the whole story. The last time she was visiting, she had bumped into him in the town and they had gone for a drink together. That had led to lunch, and since then they had been speaking on the phone, texting each other and enjoying one another’s company.
“The other thing is that he questioned my drinking habits, and where I’d fly off the handle if Jamie or Mum mentioned it, it’s different with Pablo. He’s far more supportive and I don’t want to mess things up with him. I know it’s all a bit strange, but I’m feeling really good now.”
“I’m delighted to hear that, Janice, I really am. It’ll be nice having you around more often, and it’ll also be good for Pablo.”
“Yes, but I have so much to make up to people for the way I used to behave, and particularly you, Mum and Jamie.”
“Janice, you don’t have to make it up to any of us. We just want to see you happy and contented, with no worries for the future.”
Janice was so happy to hear that and the two of them sat laughing and joking about the little charade that was planned for Rupert. What a lovely weekend it had been. With that, Dario returned with Rupert.
“Ah, well, I suppose I’d best get back to finish off the food. Thanks, Gemma, not just for being so understanding, but for all you do for Mum and Rupert. You make life so perfect for them. I certainly couldn’t do it twenty-four-seven like you do. Right, here’s Dario, so I’ll leave you two to it. By the way, are you dressing up tonight? It would be nice as it’s our last night.”
The third reference to dressing up! Why was everyone mentioning it?
“Hi, I’ve returned Rupert to the fold and am just off to get showered.”
“Dario is everything, alright? It’s just that you don’t seem quite your normal self. You’re not worried about anything, are you?”
“No, just a little tired, that’s all.”
Something was definitely worrying Dario, and Gemma’s money was on the Pablo and Janice situation. It had surprised her too, but he did want his grandfather to be happy, and he obviously seemed to be. Perhaps Janice would be the one to look after him as he got older, but there again, perhaps Dario could just be tired. It had been rather a full-on weekend. A glance at her watch told her it was time she went over to Dulcie’s to set things up. Rupert would have been instructed not to come out of his room until dead on half past seven.
“Hi, Dulcie. Still keeping Rupert under control? All the little monologues earlier were fine, weren’t they? It’s going to be such a great evening, I can’t wait. By the way, when I was in the store room I noticed a huge box in there, almost the size of a coffin. Do you know where that came from?”
“No idea, now there’s just one more thing, dear, and that’s after the little bit of fun and the food, I was thinking how nice it would be to have everyone on the side terrace to watch the sunset. We could have some champagne together and it would be a lovely way to round off a perfect weekend, and take some photographs of everyone in their smart clothes, don’t you think?”
“Yes, I’d quite like that too, but we have got hundreds of photos of everyone dressed smartly.”
That was a bit out of the blue too. The whole weekend had been meticulously planned down to the last detail, so why, all of a sudden was the sunset so important? They watched it every evening as it was one of the highlights of the day. Again, Gemma thought she might just be overthinking things, too much on her mind.
“Right, then, Gemma, ten minutes and everyone should have their costumes on and be out of view of the kitchen for when Rupert emerges.”
Gemma ran back to the house to get the others. Dario was now wearing his T-shirt and shorts, and had dressed Mateo in his. Father and son together, they looked so cute. The three of them then went to the villa and hid behind the side with everyone else. They could hear Dulcie showing Rupert where to sit and then one by one they were called over. Rupert couldn’t stop laughing at everyone’s brightly coloured attire.
First up was Jamie, who told a story about a time when Rupert was babysitting him. They’d gone to a play park and Rupert had slipped over in the mud. Janice told how she and Rupert had been stuck in a lift and had to be rescued by the Fire Brigade, and then all the others talked about events which had happened years earlier when Dulcie and Rupert were young and living in London. Rupert couldn’t stop laughing. He couldn’t believe Dulcie had remembered all the incidents and put them all together for an entertaining evening. Although it appeared to be laughing at Rupert’s expense, these were all happy memories for him and Gemma could see that it meant a lot to him.
That had gone down well, everyone enjoyed listening to the stories and laughing along with Rupert. Janice announced that the food would be ready in another twenty minutes, so there’d be time for people to change out of their fun clothing. This was still playing on Gemma’s mind. Another reference to changing clothes! She would have thought it fun to have stayed mimicking Rupert for the evening, but she did as the others did and went to put on a nice dress for the occasion.
Janice and Maya had done a marvellous job with the catering. There was a lot more laughter and merriment. Stories encompassing the whole of Rupert’s 75 years was certainly both fun and an entertaining finale to a fabulous birthday celebration weekend. What a shame everyone had to leave tomorrow, but saying that Gemma could tell that Rupert and Dulcie were now quite exhausted. Even little Mateo was running out of energy, and a few early nights would definitely be on the cards for him.
In the next few weeks the hot summer temperatures would gradually drop and some of the tourist restaurants would be closing. Graingcia would then become a completely different town; far slower in its pace, friendlier perhaps with people having more time to stop and chat. Gemma helped to clear the plates and uneaten food away, while Dulcie appeared rather fidgety. Watching the sunset seemed particularly important to her tonight as she despatched Jamie and Craig off to bring the champagne and glasses for them all.
“Gemma, could I borrow you for a moment. I need your help.”<
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“Of course, Janice. What do you need?”
Strangely, Janice wanted Gemma’s help to pick out a different dress to wear, stating that she needed to change as the one she had on reeked of lingering cooking smells, and she wanted to look her best for Pablo. Gemma was now even more confused as her choice of dress wasn’t the one which Janice eventually wore. Why had she wanted Gemma’s input into it in the first place? Odd.
“Come on. We’d best get going before we miss the sunset. Something tells me this one’s certainly going to be one to remember.”
Gemma followed Janice out, and yes it would be special because it was Rupert’s birthday weekend. As they walked up to the top terrace she could see that the huge box had been placed on the grass in front of the terrace. What on earth was Dulcie up to or was this something which Rupert had come up with instead?
The sun was about to set, but where were Dario and Mateo? Typical, she thought to herself, Mateo’s probably needing the toilet right at the last minute. Jamie was pouring out the champagne and handing glasses out to everyone as they all got their phones out to take photos of the beautiful Spanish sunset.
Jamie seemed to ignore Gemma. He walked straight past her without handing her a glass of champagne, and Linda was wiping her eyes and holding Brian’s hand tightly. Suddenly Rupert clapped his hands and everyone counted down together. What a beautiful sunset. If only Dario was here, it would be perfect.
Five – Four – Three – Two – One, followed by such stony silence you could have heard a pin drop. Suddenly the lid of the box moved, fell backwards and the front dropped down to reveal Dario and Mateo. What was going on? Why was no one speaking?
Dario and Mateo got down on one knee and looked at each other. Dario whispered something to Mateo, and then together they said–
“Gemma, would you marry us?”
THE END