But then again, hadn’t Amy done essentially that? Minus the part about wanting to be with me, of course, but the grand gesture part? She’d spent days working on a plan, had come here with everyone who loved me, and had put herself out there. As far as she’d known, the cold way I’d spoken to her was what had been waiting for her here. As far as she’d known, I would roll my eyes and lob a “Thanks but no thanks” at her before kicking her out. But she’d come anyway, and told me she loved me, and made me promise to let them all help.
So the least I could do was put myself out there for her just in case… right?
Except I had no idea how to do that, and I couldn’t just ignore the reality of my life. I had Ethel with me, and Anil wasn’t here, and Amy was in Manchester.
In Manchester, in a perfect dress, in a literal castle. If I’d been looking for the perfect ingredients for a romantic gesture…
I shook my head. I was clearly getting carried away sat in the sun. I stood up to go inside and get some water, but Ethel grabbed my hand.
“So?” she asked, looking up at me expectantly. “Are you really not going to do anything?”
I looked down at my wonderful, generous, hilarious grandmother. My life had revolved around her for so long, and I didn’t regret that even one bit. She’d done the absolute best she could to take me in after the worst had happened, and I’d had an amazing life. No part of me resented her for what I’d had to give up to take care of her in return. Did I hate the disease eating away at her mind? Of course I did. But Ethel herself? She was still my world.
But she was right. She wouldn’t be here forever. And if I thought about what my world looked like– maybe notafterEthel, because I still couldn’t fully picture that, butoutsideof Ethel perhaps– the only thing that mattered to me was Amy, and showing up for her the way she’d showed up for me.
Something focused inside me, and resolve settled over me. I’d have to be fast, but if we left now, we could make it happen.
“Let’s do it,” I said, and Ethel squeezed my hand and squealed. I’d never seen her so giddy.
“What can I do?”
“Start packing,” I said as I helped her up the ramp and inside. “We’re gonna need to stay away overnight.”
I pulled the door shut behind us and picked up my phone off the hall table where I’d left it, googling the number for the animal rescue. “You’ve got twenty minutes,” I said as Ethel wheeled herself down the hall, suddenly more spry than I’d seen her in months. “I have some phone calls to make.”
Chapter37
Amy
Once we were all dressed and ready, we headed out for the evening. First we stopped at a gaming supply store Morgan had apparently designed the logo for– they were closed, but Morgan and Fatima knew the owner Greg, so he let us inside for a bit– and between us we left many sets of dice richer and many pounds poorer. Then we made a pit stop for a fine dining experience at McDonald’s, which involved tucking napkins into our gowns to avoid getting Big Mac Sauce all over Phil’s handiwork.
Four hours, a tram ride, and multiple Chicken McNugget Shareboxes later, Chloe placed my crown of stars on my head, and the six of us finally arrived at the castle where the ball was being held. There was a huge queue of people waiting to get inside, everyone dressed beautifully in gowns, suits, tunics, and more, including a group dressed as the gargoyles on the actual castle. Everyone was stopping everyone else to compliment their outfits and ask where they were from, and it felt bittersweet every time I responded with “My friend made it”.
I’d been to the castle before– it was usually open as amuseum– but they’d completely transformed it for the ball. Most of the light in the entrance hall came from LED candles suspended from the two-storey ceiling, or from uplighting showing off full suits of armour and banners with fantasy insignia on them. We were offered champagne as we stepped inside, the bubbles in our glasses catching the flickering light from above. It was like walking through the night sky.
The lights were brighter in the dance hall, where a sweeping staircase on one side led to a gallery overlooking the room. A stage stood at the far end of the space holding a small ensemble. As we entered, they played what sounded like a strings-only version of Taylor Swift’s “Wildest Dreams”.
We made our way to the bar where Chloe made us all order mead, then stood on the periphery watching people arrive. After a few minutes, the speakers lining the walls began to thump with a beat, and the dance floor immediately filled up. I looked up to see a DJ on the gallery level wearing a wizard hat. Morgan pulled me onto the dance floor, and for the next several songs, all six of us danced together until I was dizzy from joy.
At one point Jack seemed to flag very suddenly, walking off to the side of the dance floor. I followed him to find him staring down at his phone.
“You okay?” I asked, and he looked up at me, looking slightly alarmed at first before smiling.
“Yeah, just tired,” he said. “I can hike a Munro no problem, but a few tracks in and my legs feel like they’re about to fall off.”
I narrowed my eyes at him– he looked rather too upright for someone supposedly so exhausted.
“Let’s go check out upstairs,” he said, pointing at the grand staircase. People stood at the bottom taking photos, but it was plenty wide enough for us to get past. So I followed him up and along the gallery, overlooking the entrance, where they’d shut the doors we’d come through. They were huge wooden doors, at least fifteen feet tall, and it was comical watching latecomers squeeze through the gap between them as if they were tiny faeries instead of full-sized humans.
The people-watching was sensational. There were couples who were clearly living their romantasy dreams, making out on the dance floor; there were people who were clearly just there for the social media content, posing in front of every possible backdrop and queueing for the 360-degree camera; and there were people who had clearly been dragged along, or not known what they were getting into.
“I’m really glad you came,” Jack said as we watched the revelry. “I was worried you’d bail on us a for a second there.”
“You kidding? I’d already paid for the ticket and the holiday let. I wasn’t gonna let that go to waste.”
He shook his head. “I mean in general.”
I frowned. “Why would you think that?”
