A chorus of affirmations rounded the table, as they all reassured her that of course they wanted to be bridesmaids.
‘Oh brilliant, thank you.’ Beth sighed and collapsed back against her chair. ‘And you’re all okay with picking your own outfits? You don’t mind?’
‘Why would we mind? Look, why don’t you tell us how the planning is going?’ Geri spoke from the far end of the table, her bracelets rattling as she poured herself a glass of water. ‘You seem a little…stressy about it.’
‘Oh. Okay. Yeah, I guess, I am kind of freaking out a bit now. The pair of us have just been so busy. Nick’s been getting those last miles so he can get his full pilot licence and I’ve been building up the music tutoring, as well as working at the hotel. And the lead-up to Christmas is always crazy. Even though we’ll be shutting for a few days, obviously we’ve had to make sure we’re fully booked to compensate for the lack of profit that’ll come in that week. Oh, that was the other thing. Did I say, you can come stay at the hotel for the two days? The night before and the night of the wedding. You know, if you want to.’
‘Okay, we need to get this woman some alcohol,’ Noelle muttered and turned in her seat to signal to a member of the waiting staff. Once some cocktails had been delivered to the table and the waiter took their orders for starters and mains, Noelle fished an A5 notebook out of her handbag. ‘Right. Drink. And then we’ll talk logistics. If we’re your bridesmaids, we are – in fact – your squad, whether you want us to wear uniforms or not. Tell us what needs doing and we’ll see if we can help.’
So, they began talking about the things that needed organising still. Geri, Rachel and Lisa providing suggestions about what things they’d had to deal with, and Beth saying whether she’d sorted it, discounted it or still needed to do it. Noelle took notes and Ash drank her lurid cocktail, feeling rather useless because of her lack of experience at being a grown-up. Romesh and James were married but they’d eloped to do it, to avoid all the drama with their families.
As Beth answered, it turned out that a lot of it was under control. They were getting married at the small church in the village, and then the wedding reception was back at the hotel. She’d invited all the guests. Her mother was going to give her away. Stephen – Nick’s brother – was going to be best man and was helping him organise suits and the stag do. They had a band booked for the reception already. Flowers were going to be done by Lydia, her mum’s best friend, and the food would be provided by her mother’s new boyfriend, who also happened to be one of the hotel chefs, so he knew his way around the kitchen.
‘What aboutyourdress?’ Rachel asked, as the waiter came over with their starters, moving swiftly around the table.
‘I don’t know.’ Beth threw her hands up. ‘I don’t have a clue what to wear. I can’t spend a ridiculous amount of money on something I’m going to wear once either. I just can’t…but I know I want to look nice, obviously.’
‘You don’t have to spend a lot,’ Ash told her, jabbing beansprouts and broccoli with her fork. ‘You could find something you like and customise it to give it that special tailored look. Or, even better, go vintage.’
‘Oh, that’s a good idea,’ Lisa agreed. ‘You’d look lovely in something lacy I bet.’
‘I don’t know.’ Beth poked at one of her tempura prawns. ‘That’s like double the work isn’t it? Finding somethingandmaking it work for me?’
‘I can alter it for you,’ Ash offered. ‘In fact…’ She hesitated.
‘In fact?’ Beth was watching her with patient dark eyes.
Ashleigh had been altering clothes, helping people out with costumes or repairs since she was a teenager. She even designed her own but…Beth’s wedding dress was a big deal. She wanted to offer to make it for her but if she messed it up, it would be terrible.
What if you don’t get it wrong though?a little voice whispered at the back of her head.Think of what you have to gain, instead of just about what you have to lose.
‘I could work with you to design something and make it up.’ Her lips moved before she could think it through anymore and change her mind.
‘Oh, that’d be amazing!’ Beth’s face erupted in a smile. ‘I’ve alwayslovedthe way you customise and make your own clothes. That would be really special…but are you sure you have time? It’s a lot of work for you isn’t it?’
Ash crunched her mouthful of salad and swallowed it quickly. ‘Think of it as my wedding present to you…although, I guess it’s not much of a gift for Nick?’
‘Nick gets to see her in it and appreciate how gorgeous she is,’ Rachel commented.
‘Nick gets to take it off her at the end of the night,’ Noelle added with a dirty laugh and Beth laughed too.
Ash grinned, pleased she’d alleviated one of Beth’s worries, and the ratio of food to cocktail was too unequal at this point to start freaking out herself about whether she could pull it off.
