‘Good evening, everyone,’ Jack said, ‘do you mind if I join you? And did you see the wedding parade earlier on?’
Marjorie nodded. ‘It was hard not to; I was very worried about that chap hanging out of the car waving that massive flag though. One slip and he could have been badly injured.’
‘I think that’s part of the fun,’ Evelyn said. ‘When one is young one doesn’t think about such things. Just enjoy the moment.’
I felt the lightest touch on my shoulder as Jack sat down next to me, and Harriet poured him a glass of champagne.
‘I expect they have all gone off to the wedding reception now. We were just toasting their future,’ she said.
Jack held up his glass and clinked it against mine.
‘To the future,’ he said.
Yes, I thought, to the future.
Whatever it might hold, it had to be different from the one I had envisioned. I wanted it to be brighter, clearer and more enjoyable. One where I could make positive choices and have fun, and this holiday had shown me that I was more than capable of that.
27
Don and Belinda came into dinner a few minutes later, Don throwing a hard look at Jack as he passed him, although as usual he made some comment about how lovely we all looked that evening.
‘A thorn between all the roses, Jack,’ he said. ‘You want to be careful. Deadlier than the male, some of these beautiful ladies.’
‘Oh, I think I will survive,’ Jack said good naturedly. ‘I hope you’ve all had a great day.’
‘Apart from all that wedding rumpus earlier on,’ Don replied.
‘You would think the police would have stopped them,’ Belinda added.
‘I thought it was rather lovely,’ Evelyn said, ‘to see the young couple so happy with all their friends, start off married life with a bang.’
‘Things that start with a bang usually end with a whimper,’ Don muttered, ‘in my experience anyway.’
‘What exactly do you mean by that?’ Belinda asked, tugging at her husband’s sleeve.
They went off, still bickering, to join Craig and Dawn at their usual table next to ours, and we could hear the four of them agreeing that the whole thing had been noisy, unnecessary and a threat to the ozone layer.
Bernardo came out from the kitchens and clapped his hands.
‘Dinner will be served momentarily,’ he said. ‘You might wish to know that the procession is returning.’
Even before he had finished talking we could hear the low rumble of dozens of cars outside, and we went to the side to look out of the windows. The cars and the wedding party were back and this time they were weaving across the road, back and forth in a slow line, still waving flags out of the windows and sounding their horns.
‘They are coming back from the reception,’ Jack said.
‘This is ludicrous,’ Don yelled over the noise. ‘Where are the police? The traffic wardens? Why isn’t someone doing something about this?’
Craig lifted his full wine glass and took a hefty slurp.
‘There’s going to be an accident, you mark my words. And I’ll bet a pound to a pinch of snuff they are all drunk this time.’
‘They are going very slowly,’ Marjorie said, ‘and they are just excited.’
Of course, we knew now that they would have to turn around at the end of the road and the wedding parade would undoubtedly be returning. Which they did. Lights flashing, horns blaring, and the same bridesmaids hanging even further out of the car windows. They were waving bouquets of pink roses and rosemary.
‘Ridiculous,’ Dawn said, ‘and so polluting too. So bad for people with allergies and sensitivity to airborne particles. I shall write to someone to complain. When Craig and I got married we had a small reception in the church hall and we left at five thirty and went straight to Minehead. None of this antisocial behaviour.’
Bernardo was watching too and he turned as the last car weaved away, tears in his eyes.
