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I let my words hang in the air for a second or two. I knew Si and Alison must be desperate to look at each other, could almost feel their eyes bulging in their sockets.
‘What?’ said Si, seemingly incredulous. ‘What’s got into you, Hannah? Since when do you go snooping about in my stuff?’
In a different moment, I might have felt bad. But now I was only glad that I’d done it. Because there was an engagement ring in his bag, and there was the small matter of my future happiness at stake.
‘That’s beside the point,’ I said, looking at Alison. ‘I’m just wondering why my boyfriend was lying about going to the gym so that he could come and see you?’
Si was now not just pale, but a sickly shade of grey. ‘All right, Hannah, I think that’s enough. Why don’t we get back to the wedding, see if Cath’s all right? After all, it’s her day, isn’t it? Wouldn’t want to spoil it for her, would we?’ he said through gritted teeth. ‘Come on, let’s go. Let’s all go back to the terrace.’
A couple in their mid-thirties brushed past me, heading for the staircase. ‘Sorry guys, can we just squeeze past?’ the woman said in a plummy accent. And then, ‘Oh my God, Simon, is that you? It’s me, Joanna. Cath’s room-mate from Durham?’
Si, who had begun sprouting sweat from every pore, had turned into a stuttering wreck. ‘Hi! Um, blimey. Long time no see, Joanna. How are you?’
‘We’re good, we’re good,’ said Joanna, who was wearing a knee-length coral shift dress with a matching fascinator. ‘This is my husband, Daniel. And you must be …’ she said, extending her hand out to me.
‘Hannah,’ I said. I couldn’t quite bring myself to explain that I was Si’s girlfriend, because until someone told me what was going on, it didn’t feel as though I was.
‘Lovely to meet you, Hannah,’ said Joanna, shaking my hand warmly. ‘You’re Simon’s partner, aren’t you? I’ve heard lots about you from Cath. All good,’ she clarified, laughing.
Alison introduced herself and if the circumstances had been different, I would have been in awe of her self-assurance. She was cool as a cucumber, and seemingly not fazed by the fact I’d just all but accused her of having an affair with my boyfriend.
Joanna and Daniel, perhaps sensing an atmosphere, shifted awkwardly from one foot to another, then sidled past, heading up the stairs. ‘Just popping up to our room,’ called Joanna over her shoulder. ‘Catch up later yeah, Simon? And lovely to meet you both,’ she said, giving me a strange look.
I turned back to Alison. I thought I might as well finish what I’d started.
‘Catherine tells me you’re pregnant,’ I said, gauging her reaction.
She had the good grace to look embarrassed but also slightly smug, which I thought was very insensitive.
‘Yeah. A bit of a shock, but you know …’
‘I didn’t even know you had a boyfriend. You didn’t mention him on the hen weekend,’ I said.
‘No, no. It was a casual thing,’ she said, looking awkward.
I turned to Si, bracing myself. ‘I was wondering whether it was yours?’ I asked.
‘What?’
‘You heard me, Si.’
‘No!’ he said. ‘For fuck’s sake, Hannah, of course not.’
‘You’ll have to tell her, Si,’ said Alison, putting her hands on her hips. ‘I told you something like this would happen.’
‘Here we go. Tell me what?’
‘Look, let’s go up to our room, talk about it there,’ he said. He put his hand out to touch me. ‘Come upstairs. Please. I’ll explain everything.’
‘Fine. But don’t bother feeding me any more lies,’ I told him. ‘Oh, and I know about your job,’ I said, unable to stop myself now. ‘That you left. What have you been doing for the last few weeks, Si? Where have you been going every day, all dressed up in your shirt and tie?’
And then I pushed past him and stumbled up the stairs. My heart was beating everywhere, in my chest, in my temples; my mouth. And as though things couldn’t get any worse, when I looked up, I saw Joanna and Daniel standing on the floor above, watching me, Joanna’s hand flung dramatically across her mouth.
