With that, I turn on my heel and walk confidently toward the door, all eyes on me as I go, leaving him red-faced and staring at the floor.
Dear Sophie,
These flowers are just a little something to say THANK YOU! Our wedding day was the best day of my life. So much of that was down to you! Thank you for being there every step of the way. I hope it’s OK that I now consider you a true friend.
Lots of love, Scarlett xx
PS Let’s meet for drinks soon so you can tell me what really happened at the church. Apparently Adam fell into a grave???
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
I try to enjoy Christmas. I do everything you’re supposed to do at this joyful time of year. I ask Alexa to play Christmas songs while I do the washing-up. I buy cinnamon-spiced coffees any time I leave the house to go anywhere, even though they’re too sweet and ridiculously expensive. And I spend the evenings working in front ofLove ActuallyandThe Holidayand some annoyingly enjoyable Netflix Christmas film about an underpaid waitress who, by a strange twist of fate, looks identical to the first female American president, who could really use a few days off, so they secretly switch places and fall in love with each other’s colleagues.
I send all my clients a Merry Christmas email and receive a flurry of excited replies about the big year ahead as they prepare for their 2022 weddings. I make a list of everyone I need to contact in the first week of the New Year, people I need to chase, and companies that still need to confirm.
I drink prosecco and buy a box of Quality Street, telling myself I’ll take it to Mum and Dad’s. It remains unopened for a few hours before I dip in to help myself to all the toffee sticks.
Cara and I visit Jen and the baby, Harry, who has made his grand arrival. I hold him while Jen fills us in on the birth details, Ollie chipping in with his side of events every now and then, but I’m not really listening, because I’m mesmerized by this tinyperson. He has such tiny fingernails and a tiny little nose. How is he so small? And he makes little squeaks when he moves and I love holding him but I’m also terrified because he’s so small and delicate. Jen affectionately points out that I’m being very quiet today. I tell her it’s because I’m in awe of Harry. I leave out the part about feeling sad.
Cara can tell something’s up but doesn’t push it until we’re walking to the tube. We’ve already gone over how adorable Harry is, how Jen and Ollie are taking to it so well, and how it kind of sucks that he was born around this time because lots of people will give him only one present to cover his birthday and Christmas.
“How is everything?” she asks lightly, pretending it’s a casual question.
“Fine, thanks. You?” I reply, pretending to have a casual answer.
“I rang your mum the other day to ask her what she needed us to bring on Christmas Day. She told me you’ve been avoiding her calls.”
“Really? I haven’t meant to. I’ve been busy.”
“You look drained.”
I smile. “Is that another way of saying I look shit?”
“No, if you looked shit, I’d tell you,” she points out, and I have to agree. “You’ve been working too hard. Are you looking after yourself?”
“Hey, if anyone’s working too hard, it’s you. Your hours have been nuts recently.”
“I’m not the one who’s avoiding my mother’s phone calls,” she says, keeping to the point. “What’s going on?”
“Fine. I’ll tell you but I don’t want you to make it a big deal, OK?”
“OK.”
“I got fired by the Miranda Priestly bride.”
She tries to hide her shock. “What happened?”
“I won’t bore you with details,” I say, too tired and hurt to tell her everything just yet, “but they think I did something. I didn’t. But they didn’t believe me. So, I got fired.”
She blows out a stream of air, doing her best not to get riled on my behalf. “After everything you did for her.”
I pull down the sides of my beanie so that it covers the tops of my ears. My nose has started running from the cold. “I’m fine,” I say. “I’ll tell Mum tomorrow when I go home. I’ve just been a bit out of it.”
“All right,” Cara says, studying my expression. “I’m here if you need to talk.”
“Thanks, but I really am OK.”
“What about the brother? You liked the brother. Now that you don’t work for Miranda, can you at least ask him out on a date? Silver lining, perhaps?” she says hopefully.
