Page 20 of Wedding Games
‘The painting!’ Barbara cried.
Zoe looked in horror at the wall behind Arnold and Sam. The cork had torn a hole in one of the MacGinley family portraits, right between the eyes.
‘Good kill shot, Mary,’ murmured Charlie.
‘You…’ Barbara was white-faced with rage.
Zoe couldn’t breathe. It was like watching a car crash unfolding and being unable to stop it.
Brad put his hand on his wife’s arm. ‘Babe?’
Barbara’s chest heaved as she drew in air. ‘You’re—’
Valentina leapt onto her chair and sang ‘Simply the Best’ at the top of her voice.
‘Ill-bred, ill-mannered—’
Rory started towards his mother as Zoe dashed towards hers.
‘Simply the Best!’ Sam screeched, standing on her chair and dripping Scosecco as she joined Valentina.
Mary plonked the bottle on the table with a thump. ‘At least I’m not a vindictive, stuck-up—’
‘Mum!’ Zoe cried. ‘Stop it!’
Valentina and Sam’s singing had now increased in volume to screaming levels.
Mary’s face was bright red, her index finger pointed towards Barbara as curses flew from her faster than a witch in a spell-casting competition.
Zoe took one side of her mother, her father the other, and they turned her towards the door.
Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Rory and Brad dragging a shrieking Barbara in the opposite direction.
‘Don’t worry, Mary!’ Morag yelled. ‘I’m going to give her a piece of my mind!’
Zoe looked in desperation at Jamie. He was already moving, lifting his mother with Duncan. The two of them strode away from the table with Morag between them, her little legs cycling in thin air as Jim tried to keep up behind them.
They dashed through the castle, Zoe’s jaw set tight to hold in her emotions. Marriage was meant to be about the joining of families, but this evening had destroyed any possibility of that. Her mother and Morag were still shouting, but Zoe tuned it out, her heart breaking. This was beyond all her nightmares and she couldn’t bear it. There were still three days left before the wedding. How were they going to get through it without another disaster?
4
Thursday – Two days before the wedding – The stag do
Rory frowned at himself in the mirror, a muscle twitching in his jaw.
‘Looking good, mate,’ said Charlie. ‘I’d do you.’
The men were in a bespoke kilt shop in Inverness with Arnold, Jamie, and Duncan for the final fitting of the groomsmen’s outfits. It was quiet inside, any sound muffled by the deep pile carpets, the clothing around them, and the bolts of fabric on shelves that reached the ceiling. The front door had been locked and the sign told punters the shop was closed.
Rory wasn’t frowning at his outfit; his mind was elsewhere. Zoe’s parents had always been a balm to his soul. They were so nice. So bloody normal. Spending time with them was a glimpse into how his childhood might have looked had the stork placed him in another nest. But the animosity between Mary and his mother that had been simmering for the past thirty-five years had now boiled over and he didn’t know if the damage could ever be repaired.
His mother had been raging by the time she returned to her old flat in the castle. He knew there was little he could do to talk her down, so he’d left her with Brad and gone to Morag’s. There, he found Mary distraught with apologies and Arnold thrusting his wallet at him offering to pay for the painting or anything else broken. That was bad enough, but it wasn’t the worst part. That came after he returned to the cabin with Zoe, and she started crying. It had been like a knife in his guts.
‘Mate, if you grind your teeth any harder, they’ll turn to dust.’
He glanced at his best friend in the mirror. Charlie could read his moods better than he could.
‘I know it’s not ideal,’ Charlie sighed. ‘But at least it’s happened now, not on Saturday. Remember when Mack got married? The fight in the church before the bloody bride arrived, then two more at the reception? Families are stressful enough. Add in alcohol and a wedding, and you’ve got yourself a perfect storm.’
