Jen left, and Eva began refolding the napkins herself. Her muscle memory kicked in quickly as she considered her tearfulemployee. Her tears would soon turn to relieved laughter of a woman with an ally in a war against the big bad boss.
Eva didn’t mind that. She did not need to be liked. She needed the day to run on time.
***
At two o’clock, Eva was at the church, minutes ahead of the bride.
As her car pulled up, Eva switched the vibe down to something a bit less Napoleonic, shoulders relaxed, voice warm enough to be reassuring but not so warm that anyone mistook her for soft. They didn’t want soft. Soft didn’t get things done.
The bride carefully pulled herself and her huge dress out of the car.
‘Hi, Jane,’ Eva greeted the bride. ‘Everything’s ready for you.’
The bride exhaled like she’d been expecting some last disaster to derail everything. ‘Yeah?’
‘Tiptop. All you need to do is enjoy your day.’
‘You’re amazing,’ the bride said.
‘I’m organised,’ Eva corrected gently.
Three
Maddy learned very quickly that people had a lot of questions about her upcoming nuptials. Family members, friends, fellow librarians—everyone was absolutely full of them:Do you have a theme? Are you doing a hen do abroad or keeping it local? Church or civil ceremony? Big guest list or something small and intimate? Open or cash bar? (People asked that last one a lot.)
It felt like she’d been shoved ontoMastermindwith someone else’s specialist subject.
Now, sitting at her mother’s kitchen table, hands around a mug of tea that had gone stone cold, she prepared herself for another round of interrogation about what she was starting to think of as an expensive and unfun party.
‘So,’ her mother, Kelly, said, drawing the word out. ‘Have you thought about dates?’
Maddy blinked. ‘Dates?’
‘For the wedding,’ Kelly said, smiling. ‘Spring would be lovely. Or early autumn. Not summer. People get too hot.’
Maddy nodded. ‘Spring sounds fine.’
Kelly’s smile widened. ‘I knew you’d say that. You were always a spring person.’
Maddy had no memory of ever expressing that preference.
Kelly reached for a notebook on the table, already open to a page filled with neat bullet points.
‘I’ve been thinking,’ Kelly continued, tapping the pen against the paper, ‘that we should start looking at venues sooner rather than later. Things book up so fast now.’
Maddy swallowed. She’d been proposed to two weeks ago, and somehow, she was already behind.
Kelly glanced up at her. ‘Are you okay, sweetheart? You look tired.’
‘I’m fine,’ Maddy said automatically. ‘Maybe Adam should be asked these questions? He’ll be there too.’
‘Yes, but… Well, it’s not really a man thing, is it?’
‘No?’
‘No. Your dad basically just showed up on the day,’ Kelly said with a light chuckle.
Maddy smiled, nodding, but secretly she thought that was terrible. She couldn’t say that aloud. You weren’t supposed to say bad things about dead people.
