‘You make a beautiful bride, Mum,’ I say. ‘Love you.’
I move to the side while she stands facing Paul, who looks just as elated as she does. It’s perfect.
‘Family and friends. Thank you all for being here today to unite Pamela and Paul in marriage.’
On deck four, a section of the ship has been reserved for Mum’s wedding celebration. Balloons, flowers, our own dedicated bar, a buffet laid on for when the munchies hit and even a DJ. I’m impressed. Ellis, in full uniform, finally makes an appearance half an hour in. I sneak up behind him.
‘Excuse me, I’m looking for my boyfriend. Have you seen him? Tall, good-looking, sails ships.’
Ellis swoops in for a hug. ‘Hey, babe. I can’t stay too long, I need to be back at the bridge soon, but from the looks of things, it seems everything went well.’
‘It did,’ I reply as we grab some champagne. It’s mainly for me as Ellis isn’t allowed to be drunk and run the ship into an iceberg. ‘Really lovely ceremony.’
‘I’m pleased for them,’ he says, watching them dance. ‘They’re good people.’
‘Think you’d ever get married on a ship?’ I ask Ellis, as Naomi steals Paul from my mum. She’s already got her shoes off.
‘Why would I get married at my job?’ Ellis asks.
‘Well, you went on a holiday to your job.’
He smirks. ‘True, but I wasn’t in a good place. . . Anyway, I can think of a million other places I’d rather do it.’
Mum is now dancing with a short woman who isn’t even part of the wedding party.
‘Cruise ship weddings aren’t as common as engagements,’ Ellis informs me. ‘The cruise we took– eleven engagements in that one week.’
I giggle. ‘God, can you imagine proposing at sea and getting knocked back? You’d throw yourself overboard.’
‘It would be awkward as hell,’ he agrees. ‘But maybe if you were certain the other person would say yes. . .’
‘Then to some people that might be kind of romantic, I guess.’
He spins me around and I don’t lose my balance as I’m a tango expert now.
‘Oh God, my mum’s drunk and staring at us,’ I say, trying to avoid direct eye contact. Her white dress is starting to look a little manky. Ellis spins me the other way, bringing her into his line of sight. ‘Ah, yeah. So she is.’
‘Be prepared to be snatched away,’ I tell him. ‘She’ll be ready to pounce.’
‘I’m pretty sure that’s not why she’s staring,’ Ellis replies.
‘No? Oh God, have I sat on something?’
The song comes to an end and I hear Mum yell, ‘Did you ask her then?’
‘Is she shouting at us?’
Ellis reaches into his pocket and retrieves a small black box. He opens it to reveal what I think is a ring but right now my brain is too overwhelmed to be sure.
‘Sophie Smalls, will you marry me?’
I look again. It is a ring. It’s definitely a ring.
‘Excuse me?’ I glance over at Mum who has her fists clenched, visibly holding her breath. Naomi is also grinning like a lunatic. They knew this was going to happen. Oh God, he’s going down on one knee in his white trousers.
‘I love you,’ Ellis says. ‘Both romantically and in infinitely dirty ways I couldn’t possibly say out loud in front of all of these people.’
I hear Naomi whoop amongst the giggles from those who have gathered around. Where the hell did they all come from?
