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Thirteen Months Before I Do
‘I can’t eat another thing,’ Audrey said.
‘No dessert, gracias,’ Josh said to the waiter. They were in a beachside café in Ibiza, enjoying a long lunch of seafood paella and fruity sangria. The waiter nodded and presented them with two shots of hierbas, on the house.
‘I’m not sure about aniseed flavoured alcohol,’ Josh said.
‘Well, you won’t know until you’ve tried it,’ she said, downing hers, nudging him with her foot to do the same.
Before meeting Audrey, Josh had planned his holidays like he planned his life – rigorously. He would book time off between projects at work, so as not to inconvenience his colleagues. He’d research all the deals, read all the reviews, and then make an informed decision about where to stay and what to do. He often returned to the same places because he liked knowing what to expect. He always wrote a Tripadvisor review for everywhere he stayed. Audrey, on the other hand, had a slightly more whimsical approach to holidays. She would narrow it down to a continent, depending on how far she could afford to travel, and then stick a pin in a map. She wouldn’t make any plans, or book anything except the first two nights’ accommodation. This approach had resulted in some complete disasters, and some unforgettable adventures.
This week they were in Ibiza, somewhere neither of them had ever been before. It had been Audrey’s turn to choose their summer holiday, so she had closed her eyes and stuck a pin in the map of Europe. Technically, the pin had landed in the Mediterranean Sea, but she’d decided this island was the closest landmass. She had planned everything her way, i.e., planned nothing, and Josh was trying to be okay with her unstructured approach.
‘Didn’t I tell you we’d find somewhere to eat?’ she said, reaching for his hand across the table. ‘Sometimes, winging it lets you find the real gems, the places that aren’t in the guidebook.’
Josh looked tense, but valiantly made no comment about the fact that they’d had to try two other restaurants before finding this one, and that they’d had to wait forty minutes for a table.
After lunch and another round of aniseedy alcohol (which Josh decided he did like after all), they took a stroll along Cala d’Hort beach, the majestic tower of Es Vedrà jutting out of the sea ahead of them. The sun was warm on their faces, and the soft sound of the sea lapped hypnotically at the shore. Audrey felt her stomach gurgle. She probably shouldn’t have had a large coffee and two shots of hierbas. She was about to suggest they go back so she could find the loo, when Josh dropped a few steps behind her. When she turned around, she found him down on one knee in the sand.
‘Audrey Lavery,’ Josh said, pulling a ring box from his pocket, ‘you make me laugh like nobody else. You push me to try new things, to visit new places. You’ve shaken up my world in the best possible way. When you look up at the night sky, I know you’re always searching for the North Star. Well, Audrey, you are my constant, my immovable Polaris. Whatever else shifts or moves around us, my feelings for you will not change. I love you, Audrey, body and soul, and I’m asking you to marry me.’
Wow. She should have seen it coming, but she hadn’t.
He opened the ring box, and a vintage emerald and gold engagement ring sparkled in the sunlight. Audrey was momentarily dumbstruck. Josh was proposing? Josh who believed in ‘pinning his colours to the mast’, wanted to pin his colours to hers? She didn’t think they were anywhere close to this; they’d never even discussed it. But my God, that was one hell of a proposal – ‘my immovable Polaris’. Who could say no to that?
As she looked down at Josh in the sand, at his warm, kind, handsome face, her surprise was replaced by something else – an overwhelming urge to say ‘yes’, which she did, with barely a moment’s hesitation. They both laughed in heady exhilaration as he slid the ring onto her finger. She noted briefly that it was not the sort of ring she would have chosen for herself, but then chastised herself for the thought, because it was undeniably beautiful.
‘Yes?’ Josh asked, sounding almost as surprised as she had felt a moment ago.
‘Yes! Of course yes!’ she cried.
She had just enough time to kiss him before she needed to run off down the beach, calling behind her, ‘I’m sorry, I’m not running away, I just really need the loo!’
That evening they went out to dinner to celebrate. Josh had booked a table at Priah, a trendy hotel on the west coast of the island. It was the place to be seen, with a Michelin-starred chef, a spectacular view of the sea, and a garden famous for containing almost every shade of bougainvillea in existence.
‘I had to book this three months ago,’ Josh told her.
‘You broke my “no planning” rule,’ she said with a friendly frown. ‘We’re supposed to be doing this holiday the Audrey way, remember?’
‘I know, I’m sorry. When you taste the food, you’ll forgive me.’
‘What would you have done if I’d said no?’ Audrey asked.
‘We’d be having a delicious, commiserations dinner.’ Josh put his arm around her waist and leaned in to kiss her. She was wearing a new midnight-blue silk dress, with her hair pinned up, while Josh wore a crisp white shirt and chinos. She noticed a few people turn to look at them as they walked in.
‘I should have said no, made you sweat, like they did in the old days.’
‘Would you rather I’d worn breeches and done my, “Miss Lavery, you must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you”?’ Josh said in a husky voice.
‘Don’t do the Darcy,’ Audrey said. ‘You know what that does to me.’
They were taken to the best table, right at the edge of the terrace, overlooking the sea. The manager sent over a bottle of champagne – Josh must have called ahead.
‘You know, I wasn’t sure what you were going to say,’ Josh said, sounding serious now. ‘I remember a conversation we had over coffee, before we got together. You said you didn’t know why anyone got married.’
‘Well, what did I know? I hadn’t fallen in love with you yet.’ She said it flippantly, but it was true.
‘And you’re sure you like the ring?’
