Chapter Eleven
Wednesday 4th December
Ashleigh – The Ivy in the Lanes, Brighton
Ashleigh’s friend Beth was having a gathering at The Ivy in the Lanes, prior to the wedding. It sounded a little like an early hen do, since there wasn’t that much time between now and the wedding and Ash was hoping it would be mostly about food rather than drink because she was so hungry. She’d lost track of time sewing sequins onto a dance costume for her neighbour’s little girl and was now running late.
She left the house, moving quickly in a pair of heeled boots, and wearing a pair of dark trousers and a blue slash-neck top, which was pretty fancy for her and she hoped, decent enough for The Ivy.
After the darkness and biting wind pushing up from the sea as Ashleigh hurried down the hill and into the Lanes, The Ivy was like walking into a tropical rainforest. An art deco, tropical rainforest. There were bright paintings and the trailing vines of its namesake, along with colourful vases of flowers everywhere.
She was shown around the central bar, lights sparkling off rows of hanging wine glasses overhead, to the seating area arranged around it. There were orange upholstered booths, nearly the same colour as the room-length octopuses painted on the ceiling. It made her feel a little drunk if she was honest, before she’d even touched a drop.
In the far corner, three of the small tables had been pushed together and draped with white tablecloths for Beth’s dining party and everyone else had arrived. Three women sat on the booth side, with two others on chairs opposite. She could spot Beth’s dark, wavy hair braided in a fantastic Grecian style along the sides of her head and then joining in a thick tail down the back. As the waiter arrived, Beth jumped up to thank him and give Ash a big hug.
‘Ash.’ Beth smiled and stayed standing with her as all the other women watched. ‘Let me introduce you to these fabulous ladies. First, I think you’ve already met, a long time ago, but this is Rachel. We went to secondary school together.’ She pointed out a small blonde woman, who was sitting on the chair next to where Beth had been seated. ‘Then, there’s Geri and Lisa, the only good thing to come out of my time living in London.’ She indicated to a couple holding hands in the furthest corner of the booth, one small with short cropped afro hair and the other sporting a bob with pink streaks that almost blended in with the big sun print behind her. ‘And finally, Noelle, who was my friend first but will soon be kind of like my sister-in-law?’
The short red-headed woman who was closest to them laughed. ‘Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, honey.’ She was American and stood up, holding her hand out to Ash. ‘What she means is that I’m dating Nick’s brother.’
‘Hi.’ Ash gave her hand a shake and then stood awkwardly, wondering whether she should shake everyone else’s hand. No one else made a move to though. ‘I’m Ashleigh,’ she added, deciding to opt for a little wave. ‘Beth and I went to primary school together when we both lived in Eastbourne.’
‘Oh shit – I mean sugar.’ Beth threw a guilty glance around the room. ‘I didn’t introduce you. Sorry. Yes, this is Ashleigh.’ She gave Ash’s arm a squeeze and took her seat.
Ash took the chair next to her, opposite Noelle, and grabbed the menu.
‘How’s the veggie selection look?’ Noelle asked her, having noticed that Ash had discarded the rest of it.
‘Good.’ She nodded, having already decided on the Asian salad for her starter.
‘How long you been a vegetarian for?’
‘Oh. Erm. Since I was a kid.’ She tried to smile, but her stomach was sending distress signals to her brain and she wasn’t sure she could cope with being pleasantly social, while she was this hungry. ‘It’s a lot easier now. To eat out I mean.’ She glanced down at the menu again and then back up when she realised she’d sounded really short. ‘Sorry. I forgot to have lunch today and I’m famished. Can’t concentrate on…y’know.’ She waved a hand at the table in general with an apologetic shrug.
‘Peopling? Until you’ve eaten? Yeah, I get it. Totally.’ Noelle grinned in response, her grey eyes assessing Ash approvingly. ‘Good Lord. Don’t tell me I’ve finally met an English person who’s straight-up honest about what they’re thinking and feeling?’
Ashleigh found herself grinning in return. ‘They got my factory settings wrong I guess.’
Noelle was about to answer when her attention seemed to be diverted to Beth. She raised her eyebrow and Ash tilted her head to the side to look at her friend too. Beth was shuffling her chair in and fidgeting around with her napkin and the menu.
‘You okay there, honey?’ Noelle asked.
Beth nodded. Folded her arms on the edge of the table and leaned forward. ‘Yes. Fine. Sorry, before we all get started—’ she cleared her throat and looked along the row of her friends ‘—I just wanted to say it’s so great that you could all come. Thank you. You might’ve guessed why I’ve got you here?’ She cleared her throat again. ‘I’d like you to be my bridesmaids at the wedding. If you’d like to be of course.’ She pressed her lips together. ‘And you can wear whatever you like as long as it’s blue. There. That’s it. So, let me know if you fancy it.’ She smoothed her fingers along one of her braids and let out her breath. ‘Now let’s get some food.’
Ash and all four of the other women gathered stared at Beth, equally stunned by the strange way she’d asked them to be bridesmaids. When they didn’t say anything, Beth bit her lip. ‘What?’
‘Are you okay?’ Ash asked her.
‘Sure. I guess, I just feel a bit bad dropping the bridesmaid stuff on you all now. I know I’ve left it to the last minute, but I really don’t expect you to do loads. I mean I’m not having a maid of honour or anything.’
‘You’re really going to let us pick our own outfits?’ Lisa asked.
‘Well, sure. You want to be comfortable, and we’re keeping the wedding on a budget. And I want to see you in your own styles. You’re all my friends but you’re totally different people and I’d love to see that reflected in the photos when I look back at them – rather than like, an army squad in a uniform of my choosing. Not that I think it’s bad to do that.’ Beth widened her eyes as she looked between Rachel and Geri and Lisa who were all wearing wedding rings and who Ash was guessing might have had bridesmaids in matching outfits.
‘It’s fine, Beth.’ Rachel patted her hand. ‘This is your wedding. You get to have it however you want it. You don’t have to explain yourself.’
‘Yeah, I say this with all the best love intended,’ Noelle added, ‘but I really don’t think you’ve got this bridezilla role pinned down yet.’
Beth took a deep breath. ‘No. No I guess I haven’t. And I mean, if you don’t want to be a bridesmaid, you don’t have to be. I won’t be offended.’
