harsh, but that’s families for you. She’s grown
close to her sister, Anita, again but I know Nadia’s worried it
will all end over another disagreement. It’s a big thing for her,
I realise, but are families all that they’re cracked up to be? If
you don’t get a good one, they can cause you more grief than
j o y.
In my own case, I hardly ever see my folks, who are too busy
chasing their own salacious relationships. My dad is still with
the much younger Pilates instructor. My mother is now in the
New Forest with a retired grocer called Greg whom she met
online. It won’t last. It never does. My mother will be off and
he’ll be left by himself with his cabbages and carrots. I hope
that when Crush and I say ‘I do’ that we both mean it with all
our hearts. Marcus might drop in and out of my life, he might
profess love for me and he certainly likes to make mischief, but
there is only one man for me: Mr Aiden Holby, love of my life,
soon to be my husband.
‘Back in the room, Lucy,’ Chantal says.
I snap back to the present.
‘Your face had gone all dreamy.’
‘Just thinking about my wedding. I’ve booked the venue now.’
I think I’m in danger of going all goo-goo ga-ga again. ‘It’s a
beautiful temple in Golders Hill Park. We can have the ceremony
there and then a picnic afterwards.’
‘What if it rains?’
‘It won’t rain,’ I assure them. ‘It will be great.’ ‘This is England in the summer, Lucy,’ Chantal points out.
‘Not Southern California. It might rain.’
‘No,’ I say. ‘It won’t.’
‘Umbrellas,’ the girls agree in unison.
‘Nothing will spoil my wedding day,’ I assure them. And no
one. If Crush doesn’t want me to go back to Chocolate Heaven
and work for Marcus, then I simply won’t. Even though every
fibre of my being is telling me that I should, that it would be
different this time.
‘You’ll still be my bridesmaids?’
‘Of course!’ they all say.
‘What happened to the dresses from last time?’ Chantal asks. ‘Sold them on eBay.’ For a lot less than we paid for them, I
can tell you. Perhaps I shouldn’t have been so hasty – that word
again. But then I want to do everything differently with Crush. I
want no shadow of my wedding with Marcus. This will be small,
informal, al fresco. No big frock or big church or big venue. ‘What do you want us to wear this time?’ Nadia asks. ‘I was thinking tea dresses. Floral. Nothing too fancy.’ Or
expensive. Particularly if I’m not working. ‘Would that suit?’ ‘Sounds great,’ Autumn says and the others nod in agreement. ‘Could James come down for the wedding?’ I ask Nadia. ‘I don’t know. We’ll have to see how we get on at Easter.’ I grin. ‘So you are going to see him?’
She wrings her hands and looks anxiously at us. ‘You think
I should?’
‘Yes!’ We are unanimous in our decision.
‘He’s a great guy,’ Autumn says. ‘You should at least give it
a chance to see how things go.’
‘Now I’m really terrified,’ Nadia says.
Lana grizzles from her buggy. ‘Looks like Madam is ready
for her lunch.’ Chantal picks her up and cuddles her. The grizzling stops.
‘Let me have a snuggle while you get her lunch ready,’ I say.
‘She hasn’t seen her Auntie Lucy for days.’
Chantal reaches to hand her over, but gasps in pain as she
does. I grab Lana from her and her hand goes to the top of
her breast.
I frown at my friend. ‘What was that?’
‘Nothing,’ Chantal says. But the colour has drained from
her face. ‘I keep getting these twinges at the top of my ribs.’ ‘I hope you’re going to the doctor,’ Autumn says. ‘I did. I finally managed to get an appointment this morning.
Jacob bullied me into it. The doctor didn’t seem too concerned.
She gave me a good check over and said that she couldn’t feel
a lump or anything. She said it was probably muscular or maybe
a blocked duct. I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about.’ ‘Better to get it checked, though,’ I
close to her sister, Anita, again but I know Nadia’s worried it
will all end over another disagreement. It’s a big thing for her,
I realise, but are families all that they’re cracked up to be? If
you don’t get a good one, they can cause you more grief than
j o y.
In my own case, I hardly ever see my folks, who are too busy
chasing their own salacious relationships. My dad is still with
the much younger Pilates instructor. My mother is now in the
New Forest with a retired grocer called Greg whom she met
online. It won’t last. It never does. My mother will be off and
he’ll be left by himself with his cabbages and carrots. I hope
that when Crush and I say ‘I do’ that we both mean it with all
our hearts. Marcus might drop in and out of my life, he might
profess love for me and he certainly likes to make mischief, but
there is only one man for me: Mr Aiden Holby, love of my life,
soon to be my husband.
‘Back in the room, Lucy,’ Chantal says.
I snap back to the present.
‘Your face had gone all dreamy.’
‘Just thinking about my wedding. I’ve booked the venue now.’
I think I’m in danger of going all goo-goo ga-ga again. ‘It’s a
beautiful temple in Golders Hill Park. We can have the ceremony
there and then a picnic afterwards.’
‘What if it rains?’
‘It won’t rain,’ I assure them. ‘It will be great.’ ‘This is England in the summer, Lucy,’ Chantal points out.
‘Not Southern California. It might rain.’
‘No,’ I say. ‘It won’t.’
‘Umbrellas,’ the girls agree in unison.
‘Nothing will spoil my wedding day,’ I assure them. And no
one. If Crush doesn’t want me to go back to Chocolate Heaven
and work for Marcus, then I simply won’t. Even though every
fibre of my being is telling me that I should, that it would be
different this time.
‘You’ll still be my bridesmaids?’
‘Of course!’ they all say.
‘What happened to the dresses from last time?’ Chantal asks. ‘Sold them on eBay.’ For a lot less than we paid for them, I
can tell you. Perhaps I shouldn’t have been so hasty – that word
again. But then I want to do everything differently with Crush. I
want no shadow of my wedding with Marcus. This will be small,
informal, al fresco. No big frock or big church or big venue. ‘What do you want us to wear this time?’ Nadia asks. ‘I was thinking tea dresses. Floral. Nothing too fancy.’ Or
expensive. Particularly if I’m not working. ‘Would that suit?’ ‘Sounds great,’ Autumn says and the others nod in agreement. ‘Could James come down for the wedding?’ I ask Nadia. ‘I don’t know. We’ll have to see how we get on at Easter.’ I grin. ‘So you are going to see him?’
She wrings her hands and looks anxiously at us. ‘You think
I should?’
‘Yes!’ We are unanimous in our decision.
‘He’s a great guy,’ Autumn says. ‘You should at least give it
a chance to see how things go.’
‘Now I’m really terrified,’ Nadia says.
Lana grizzles from her buggy. ‘Looks like Madam is ready
for her lunch.’ Chantal picks her up and cuddles her. The grizzling stops.
‘Let me have a snuggle while you get her lunch ready,’ I say.
‘She hasn’t seen her Auntie Lucy for days.’
Chantal reaches to hand her over, but gasps in pain as she
does. I grab Lana from her and her hand goes to the top of
her breast.
I frown at my friend. ‘What was that?’
‘Nothing,’ Chantal says. But the colour has drained from
her face. ‘I keep getting these twinges at the top of my ribs.’ ‘I hope you’re going to the doctor,’ Autumn says. ‘I did. I finally managed to get an appointment this morning.
Jacob bullied me into it. The doctor didn’t seem too concerned.
She gave me a good check over and said that she couldn’t feel
a lump or anything. She said it was probably muscular or maybe
a blocked duct. I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about.’ ‘Better to get it checked, though,’ I
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