‘Oh, you’ll love it,’ Daisy says. ‘You won’t want to leave.’
‘I’m so excited!’ I squeal. Even the thought of Charlotte Emerson can’t dampen my mood.
After a late-afternoon massage and mani-pedi followed by a sauna and swim, the five of us gather in the hotel bar, wearing our fanciest cocktail attire. I was worried that Mum might have been out of her element, but she looks chic, relaxed and she’s sipping cocktails with the rest of us.
It’s just after 8 p.m. when Miriam walks into the bar with Charlotte by her side. Miriam does a subtle eye roll in her direction, followed by a huge smile for me and a warm hug.
‘Happy Hen Weekend!’ she cries, followed by a whispered, ‘I didn’t know she was coming too.’
‘Neither did I,’ I mouth back.
Charlotte is perfectly put together in a black cocktail dress, her chestnut hair arranged in a gordian knot at the nape of her neck.
‘Love the hair, Charlotte,’ Daisy says.
I dare not catch Daisy’s eye in case I laugh. But then I immediately feel like a bitch. I’ve never been a mean girl and I’m not about to start now. It’s just that Charlotte has a way of getting under my skin.
‘Hi, Alice,’ Charlotte says, leaning in to give me a brief kiss on the cheek. ‘Sorry we’re late, but Miriam and I didn’t feel we should leave work early too. Didn’t think it would have been fair to leave Paul in the lurch with you gone all afternoon.’
‘It’s fine, I took a half day’s leave,’ I reply. ‘There was no lurch-leaving.’
‘No, of course.’ She pats my arm then glances around, raising her voice a notch. ‘It’s nice here, isn’t it? But you should definitely try Milbury Hall in Dorset next time. My boyfriend surprised me for my thirtieth last year with a three-day spa-break there. It was absolutely amazing. We had the Ashiatsu Barefoot Massage.’ She stares at us all, gauging our reactions.
Everyone looks blank.
‘You must have heard of it,’ she says. ‘Where they use hanging parallel poles, working with gravity to walk on your back. Amazing for stress release. It’s the absolute best thing.’
‘Fancy doing that tomorrow, Alice?’ Miriam asks dryly.
‘Oh, no, sorry, they don’t do it here,’ Charlotte says with a head tilt. ‘That’s why I said we should go to Milbury next time.’
‘Sounds like a plan,’ Daisy replies.
‘I’m so sorry,’ my sister mouths at me.
‘Coincidentally,’ Daisy continues, ‘we’re all drinking Painkillers. What are you having, Charlotte?’
‘Aperol Spritz please.’ She turns to me. ‘It’s a bit soon for the hen party, isn’t it, Alice? I thought you weren’t getting married for a couple of months.’
‘We wanted a nice gap between the two,’ Elizabeth replies.
‘Where are you having the wedding?’ Charlotte asks.
‘We’re having the service at Ellingham Church, and then the reception at the Manor House Hotel,’ I reply. ‘Just outside Ringwood at—’
‘Oh yes, I know it,’ Charlotte interrupts and then goes on to detail a particularly sub-par meal she once had there with her boyfriend.
It would seem that Charlotte is not any different out of the office. In fact, she may indeed be worse. I tune her out and concentrate on my cocktail.
After my disagreement with Seth last year about holding our wedding reception at the Manor House, I eventually capitulated. After all, it’s the venue I originally had my heart set on so why should I let his ex, Sienna bloody Doyle, put me off my wedding plans? I’m sure she’ll do a good job as our wedding coordinator, if only to show Seth how amazing she is. I’ve pushed down my reservations about her being there because I don’t want to turn Seth off me by becoming this demanding, jealous, stress-filled bride-to-be. I want to be Zen, relaxed, desirable, confident and everything in between.
So, the church is booked, the reception is arranged, and the invitations have been sent out. Our wedding date is June 10th, just under two months away. Sadly, it now looks as though I’ll also have to invite Charlotte, but you can’t win them all.
The rest of the evening passes in a blur of drink, good food and lots of laughter. Mum and Francesca do a great job of keeping Charlotte away from my end of the table so, after a rocky start, I barely notice she’s here.
We’re all pretty tired after our treatments followed by the alcohol and rich food, so opt for a reasonably early night. We’ll let our hair down tomorrow evening when a few more of my friends will be arriving.
I just hope Charlotte isn’t going to annoy everyone too much. How can one person spread so much discomfort? If she ends up making partner at work instead of me, I don’t know what I’ll do.
