‘I… I don’t actually have…’
The young caterer swore under her breath, shifting her grip. ‘We can’t hold this,’ she said. ‘It’s not stable.’
It quickly became a fight between woman and arch, and the arch, which had the size advantage, started to win, lifting the young woman up, a gap of air between her feet and the ground. Eva ran forward and grabbed the woman by the arm. She saw Maddy reach forward to help. And then her wedding dress blew straight up, and she was totally blinded, and, less importantly but still notable, her knickers were on display.
The officiant looked between them, then out at the scattering remains of their ceremony. ‘I’m so sorry, but we can’t continue like this.’
Eva threw her a sharp look while she tried to keep the girl from flying away to Oz with one hand and drag poor Maddy’s dress back down with the other. ‘I think that’s pretty obvious!’
The catering girl finally seemed to realise she couldn’t win the fight and that the best thing to do was to let go, which she did. The archway took flight at last, the young caterer landing with a thump on her bum. Eva managed to get Maddy’s dress down just in time for them both to watch as the arch travelled up, up, and away.
A brief silence followed.
Then, somewhere in the back rows, someone said, ‘Well… third time’s the charm?’
Forty-One
Maddy didn’t mean to hide in the kitchen. She didn’t even really remember a decision to walk away from the wedding party. Suddenly, she was just among yelling and the smell of fried garlic.
‘Sorry, sorry, I’m not… I’ll just…’ she muttered, though no one had actually asked her anything yet, as she hid in the corner.
The kitchen was in motion. Trays slid in and out of ovens, knives hit chopping boards, and two people at the far end of the room were whisper-arguing.
‘We can’t plate yet.’
‘We were supposed to plate ten minutes ago.’
‘Well, we’re not plating for a wedding that hasn’t happened.’
‘Ithashappened. Twice, arguably.’
‘Not legally.’
‘Is that her? Stood over there? The bride?’
‘No, Brian, the woman in the massive white dress is the new sous chef. Now, stop asking stupid questions and sauté those mushrooms.’
Maddy edged sideways along the wall, trying to make herself smaller. Her dress rustled traitorously with every movement. If she’d hated the thing at the start of the day, she wanted to set the fucking thing on fire now. It had exposed her lower portions to all her friends, work colleagues and family. Not to mention Eva.
A woman carrying a stack of plates paused and took her in. ‘Bride,’ she said, as if identifying a species.
‘Hi,’ Maddy said weakly.
‘Any updates?’
‘They’re just trying to figure out a third location for the wedding,’ Maddy explained.
‘That doesn’t sound very soon.’
God willing, Maddy thought.
The woman called over her shoulder, ‘Hold fire on that soufflé, Carol!’
Maddy moved further down, hovering near a stainless-steel counter like she could disguise herself as a fridge if she tried hard enough.
‘You are spiralling,’ she told herself quietly.
A chef glanced up from veg prep. ‘Sorry?’
