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‘I didn’t force him, Ward. I merely mentioned it in passing.’
‘Plus there’s the matter of the forged signature on the marriage notice application form. Highly illegal. A prosecutable offence. As I pointed out—’
‘Oh do shut up, will you, Mr ruddy unimpeachable.’
Chris appeared at their side, red-faced from running around the building and also from a mix of emotions that ranged from confusion to fury.
‘Looks like she’s hopped in the limo. This is a frigging disaster.’
‘Maybe we should just go to the reception place and eat. She’ll probably turn up there,’ tried Ward.
‘Jesus wept, all that expense,’ said Chris, thinking about the meal now, as if his brain didn’t have enough to chew on.
‘You gave me carte blanche to arrange it for you. You said you wouldn’t know where to start,’ Camay fired back.
‘I said make it nice but,BUTdon’t spend too much,’ Chris said. ‘I used the wordmodest, as I remember.’
‘Ididn’tspend too much. Iwasmodest.’ Camay’s tone was an affronted one. ‘At my wedding, the starters alone were twenty pounds each and that was in the nineties. Your whole menu only cost eighty-three per head.’
Chris’s eyebrows nearly zoomed into orbit.
‘How much?’
‘That’s positively bargain-basement price by today’s standards.’
‘Fiddles and frigging cheeseboards are not modest, Camay,’ Chris cried.
‘Goodness, that’s an awful lot of money to waste. Plus the flowers and that awful dress,’ said Shauna, putting her arm around her father. She never had been one to miss fuelling a fire.
‘I beg your pardon, young lady,’ snapped Camay, ‘that dress was an Galina de Jong. You don’t even get an underskirt by her for less than two thousand pounds.’
‘I hope you’re joking,’ said Chris, before covering his facewith his hands. ‘God almighty, I have never been so humiliated in my life.’
‘In front of so many people too. It’ll probably end up in the paper…’
‘Okay, that’s enough, Shauna,’ said Will. He was thinking of Polly and the look on her face when she flew back down the aisle. He’d never thought this was the best idea. They all knew his dad had had a fling and he also knew that his dad wasn’t very good at owning blame. He wondered how much work he’d put into actually mending his relationship or if he’d just thrown some paint at the fence hoping it would disguise the damage. And Will was also cursing himself because the last time he’d seen Polly, he’d almost given her the heads-up on the quiet until, at the last minute, he’d thought better of it, but he really wished he had now.
‘She’ll have gone home and be waiting there,’ said Chris. ‘I know her inside out.’
‘We’ll drive you,’ said Camay. ‘In the BMW. Come on, Ward, bring the car round. Chop chop.’
Chop chop.
Ward sighed, thinking of that lamb. Shauna was thinking of how much her outfit had cost that now wouldn’t be in any photos; Chris was thinking of what people would be saying behind his back and how bankrupt he’d be when Camay handed over all the bills; and Camay was thinking that Polly was a stupid, ungrateful bitch and how dare she do this to her brother after all the trouble she’d gone to organising this for them. Only Will was thinking what state Polly must be in.
‘Why were you leaving him?’ asked Stanley, pulling up at the traffic lights. ‘You don’t have to tell me, but you can if it helps to talk.’
Polly blew her nose again. Thoughts were crowding behind a door in her head like zombies and once that door caved in, she dreaded to think what would happen.
‘I don’t love him any more,’ she said. ‘He had an affair.’
‘I see,’ said Stanley, nodding, then he let out a small, dry laugh. ‘Blimey, if this was an apology, I think he’d have been better off just saying sorry.’
Is that what it was? thought Polly. Was this all instead of not saying the word? Was he throwing a ring at her because it was easier than making the effort to actually love her? It wasn’t outside the realms of possibility, it really wasn’t.
Polly groaned and rubbed her forehead as if it could soothe the swirl of thoughts beneath it.
Her phone rang in her bag and she took it out.
