to get married. All the arrangements are in place. We just need to iron out this one little glitch and then we can get back on track and put it all behind us.’
‘I agree, and that’s why I’m meeting Martha here today,’ Tom said, with some relief, finally able to take Anna’s limp hand in his, oblivious to the turmoil raging under the surface of her bone-china complexion. ‘To find this out. To sort it out, so that you and I can get married, just like we planned. Just like I want to.’
‘I’m afraid it’s not going to be quite that easy, darling,’ Martha said, wincing with more relish than regret.
‘What do you mean?’ Tom asked her. ‘You said you’d sort it.’
‘I know, and I will.’ Martha smiled. ‘But it’s going to take a lot longer than a week to get you out of this mess, sweetie. Look, I’m sorry, guys, I really am, but you have to face up to the facts. Your fairy-tale Christmas wedding? It’s off.’
Chapter Three
Liv peered through the inch-wide gap in the door for about the tenth time in fifteen minutes. Anna was still sitting on the edge of her bed, her palms flat on the immaculately made bed, staring at the wall, which was where she had been since they’d gotten in through the door an hour ago. Anxiously, Liv paced up and down the hall, uncertain of what to do next. What were the usual steps when one’s best friend found out that her fiancé (who one was secretly in love with) was still married to a long lost Vegas showgirl? There wasn’t exactly anyone that Liv could ask, and she didn’t think NHS Direct would have much to offer. Reluctantly, she took her phone out of her bag and called the only person in the world that she could think of, and who was very much a last resort. Liv called her mother.
‘Goodness,’ was the first thing Angela Walker had to say, when, sitting on the bottom of the stairs just outside the flat’s front door, Liv relayed the whole sorry sordid tale to her. ‘That
is
a pickle, isn’t it?’
‘Yes, Mum,’ Liv said, admiring her mother’s unerring talent for understatement. Like when her elder brother Simon had declared at the age of fourteen that he was gay, and Liv’s mum had looked him in the eye and said, ‘Well, you’re going to need new shoes, for starters.’ ‘It is a
bit
of a pickle.’
‘Poor Anna,’ Angela said, thoughtfully. ‘That Tom seems so nice too, exactly the sort of young man
you
need in your life – have you had any, by the way? Young men? Anything at all on the horizon, any interest, slightest sniff, passing glance?’
‘Yes, Mum.’ Liv sighed heavily. ‘Yes, because what I really need in my life right now is a man who is secretly married to a stripper.’
‘I think it might be your hair, you know,’ Angela went on regardless. ‘I think if you grew your hair just a little bit you’d look so much more womanly, unless of course you don’t want to look womanly, and that’s fine too. No need to hide in the closet with me and your father, darling. We are excellent parents to gays, just ask Simon and Greg – Greg thinks of me as his second mother you know. Ooh, you should ask Greg about your hair, he said light gold highlights for me and it’s taken years off—’
‘Mum,’ Liv interrupted her firmly. ‘Please can we just stick to Anna. She’s completely distraught, like I’ve never seen before, not even when we were kids and everything that happened with her mum was still new. It’s like she’s catatonic, sitting there staring at the wall. You know how important her plan is to her, how she goes haywire if things go off schedule. And this is her wedding, her Christmas wedding. She’s been planning it since we were ten, before probably. I think she’s completely lost it and I don’t know what to do with her. Slap her? Pour cold water over her, maybe?’
‘I could be wrong,’ Angela said, slowly, ‘but I
think
that’s what they prescribe for mating dogs that can’t be parted. That or a sharp
‘I agree, and that’s why I’m meeting Martha here today,’ Tom said, with some relief, finally able to take Anna’s limp hand in his, oblivious to the turmoil raging under the surface of her bone-china complexion. ‘To find this out. To sort it out, so that you and I can get married, just like we planned. Just like I want to.’
‘I’m afraid it’s not going to be quite that easy, darling,’ Martha said, wincing with more relish than regret.
‘What do you mean?’ Tom asked her. ‘You said you’d sort it.’
‘I know, and I will.’ Martha smiled. ‘But it’s going to take a lot longer than a week to get you out of this mess, sweetie. Look, I’m sorry, guys, I really am, but you have to face up to the facts. Your fairy-tale Christmas wedding? It’s off.’
Chapter Three
Liv peered through the inch-wide gap in the door for about the tenth time in fifteen minutes. Anna was still sitting on the edge of her bed, her palms flat on the immaculately made bed, staring at the wall, which was where she had been since they’d gotten in through the door an hour ago. Anxiously, Liv paced up and down the hall, uncertain of what to do next. What were the usual steps when one’s best friend found out that her fiancé (who one was secretly in love with) was still married to a long lost Vegas showgirl? There wasn’t exactly anyone that Liv could ask, and she didn’t think NHS Direct would have much to offer. Reluctantly, she took her phone out of her bag and called the only person in the world that she could think of, and who was very much a last resort. Liv called her mother.
‘Goodness,’ was the first thing Angela Walker had to say, when, sitting on the bottom of the stairs just outside the flat’s front door, Liv relayed the whole sorry sordid tale to her. ‘That
is
a pickle, isn’t it?’
‘Yes, Mum,’ Liv said, admiring her mother’s unerring talent for understatement. Like when her elder brother Simon had declared at the age of fourteen that he was gay, and Liv’s mum had looked him in the eye and said, ‘Well, you’re going to need new shoes, for starters.’ ‘It is a
bit
of a pickle.’
‘Poor Anna,’ Angela said, thoughtfully. ‘That Tom seems so nice too, exactly the sort of young man
you
need in your life – have you had any, by the way? Young men? Anything at all on the horizon, any interest, slightest sniff, passing glance?’
‘Yes, Mum.’ Liv sighed heavily. ‘Yes, because what I really need in my life right now is a man who is secretly married to a stripper.’
‘I think it might be your hair, you know,’ Angela went on regardless. ‘I think if you grew your hair just a little bit you’d look so much more womanly, unless of course you don’t want to look womanly, and that’s fine too. No need to hide in the closet with me and your father, darling. We are excellent parents to gays, just ask Simon and Greg – Greg thinks of me as his second mother you know. Ooh, you should ask Greg about your hair, he said light gold highlights for me and it’s taken years off—’
‘Mum,’ Liv interrupted her firmly. ‘Please can we just stick to Anna. She’s completely distraught, like I’ve never seen before, not even when we were kids and everything that happened with her mum was still new. It’s like she’s catatonic, sitting there staring at the wall. You know how important her plan is to her, how she goes haywire if things go off schedule. And this is her wedding, her Christmas wedding. She’s been planning it since we were ten, before probably. I think she’s completely lost it and I don’t know what to do with her. Slap her? Pour cold water over her, maybe?’
‘I could be wrong,’ Angela said, slowly, ‘but I
think
that’s what they prescribe for mating dogs that can’t be parted. That or a sharp
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