‘This wasn’t in the plan,’ I whisper to Dan.
‘He’ll be alright,’ Dan whispers back.
‘He could barely get his dinner in his mouth, he’s so drunk.’
Dan shrugs, and turns to listen to the speech.
‘Quiet everyone!’ Dad shouts. ‘I’d like to say a few, er … words.’
Resisting the urge to order him back into his seat, I smile sweetly as Dad blunders on about his beautiful daughter, his wonderful new son-in-law, and his forthcoming grandchild. Finally, he begins to ramble incoherently about plans for the new conservatory, at which point Mum tugs him back onto his chair.
‘Bugger it.’ I let my head fall, feel Dan’s hand on mine, and look up again when Clive takes over.
‘Ladies and gentlemen,’ he begins, dropping his cards onto the table. ‘Shit. Oh.’
He spends a few moments attempting to slot the cards back into the right order, with no evident success, before he proceeds to meander through the best man’s speech entirely from memory, stumbling over a jumble of anecdotes and lame jokes, forgetting the punchline to every single one. At least he remembers to thank the maid of honour, rounding off the entire sorry episode with a toast to the bride and groom.
While Clive’s clearly mortified by the whole experience, Dan hardly seems bothered. Holding my hand under the table, he thanks his friend, and then leans in to me.
‘I’d say it’s time to rescue the situation.’
He gets to his feet, immediately taking command of the marquee with a simple, calm authority. I’m impressed. It’s a side of him I’ve never seen before, a side he must have used at Fosters time and time again.
‘Ladies and gentlemen …’ He surveys our guests. ‘I’d like to thank you all for being here with us to share our special day. And believe me, this is special. Thunder and lightning. There’s never a dull moment in my wife’s world.’ He pauses. ‘My wife. I’m so proud to be able to call her that.’ He gives me a full-on, no holds barred smile. ‘This beautiful, intelligent, talented, spirited woman is my wife.’ He turns back to the audience. ‘I am the luckiest man in the world. And I’m fully prepared to argue the toss over that one.’
There’s a babble of laughter. He becomes serious.
‘It’s a miracle we ever got to this point. You all know what’s happened over the last year, and that’s the only reference I’m going to make to it. What you may not know is that when I first met Maya, the very first time I ever laid eyes on her, I knew … I knew I’d be spending the rest of my life with her.’ He takes in a breath and blinks. ‘I was an idiot back then, didn’t exactly go about things the usual way, but Maya stuck by me … she saw the real me, she believed in me, and she had faith in us. I can’t thank her enough for that.’
A round of applause interrupts his flow. He waits for silence to resume.
‘We both grew up in the same town. In fact, we grew up on the same street. We hardly crossed paths back then, but years later, fate brought us together again.’ He rubs his chin, gazing at the tablecloth for a moment before he goes on. ‘The past is a difficult place for some of us, but if it weren’t for our shared past, we wouldn’t be here today. I needed to cope with my past, and Maya helped me to do that. I love this woman more than I can say. She’s given me a life. She’s given me love, hope, and a future. Ladies and gentlemen, I’d like you to raise a glass to the love of my life, my soul-mate, my other half.’ He picks up his glass and looks at me, his eyes dancing with complete and utter happiness. ‘Mrs Maya Foster.’
The last I saw Dan was about half an hour ago. I go in search of him, making my way through the orchard, no longer bothered that the bottom of my dress is splattered with mud. The sun’s finally showed its face and, with the chairs wiped down, guests have migrated outside. This is nearer to what I’d imagined. I head towards Clive who’s laughing with Gordon and his boyfriend. At the next table, Lucy and Lily are deep in a serious, drunken conversation with Sara, probably comparing notes on Boyd.
‘Anybody seen my old man?’ I ask.
‘He went inside,’ Clive grins. ‘Said he fancied a cup of tea.’
I look towards the house.
‘Tea?’
‘Tea,’ Clive confirms. ‘Seems he’s not into coffee these days.’
‘Well, he doesn’t have to make his own,’ I mutter, wandering off to the house. ‘We’ve got caterers.’
I head straight to the kitchen where I find him standing at the Aga, his back to me. He’s jacketless now, still wearing his waistcoat. It accentuates those gorgeous hips, and I pause to admire him.
‘What’s going on?’
He turns and gives me the broadest smile.
‘Making tea. I was just coming to find you.’
‘It’s your wedding day. You should be having a few beers.’
He lifts the lid on the Liberty teapot and checks the brew.
‘I don’t need beers.’ He replaces the lid. ‘My wife can’t drink, and I’d like to stay relatively sober for her. And besides, I need to have her to myself for a little while.’ He glances at me, his eyes twinkling and I’m wondering if he’s planning on whisking me off to the bedroom for an early honeymoon.
‘You can’t just abandon your guests,’ I remind him.
‘I know that. A little while. That’s all.’ Picking up the pot, he fills the sweet pea cups. ‘Right.’ He hands me a cup. ‘Let’s go.’
‘Where?’
‘You’ll see.’
I follow him back out into the orchard, stopping here and there while Dan tells our
