Page 16 of The Silent Bride
‘I’ll have a pint, too.’
‘Nice hair, by the way,’ Daisy comments.
A couple of minutes later, we’re all walking over to the table with our drinks. Martin shows up at the same time and slings an arm around Daisy, kissing her cheek as she passes him his beer.
‘Thanks, babe,’ he says. ‘Congrats, Alice.’
‘Thank you,’ I reply.
‘Sure you want to be tying the knot? Next thing you know it’ll be mortgages, kids, grey hairs ...’
‘Shut up, dickhead. Course she’s sure,’ Daisy replies, nudging him in the ribs with her elbow and almost spilling his drink.
‘Careful, Dais!’
I shake my head at Martin’s teasing, but Daisy isn’t too thrilled with his comments. She slides out from under his arm and goes over to sit with Janey and Madeline.
Martin shrugs and starts chatting to Laurence.
Once I reach the table, everyone offers their congratulations. It’s so nice to be surrounded by warmth and good wishes. Daisy makes me tell everyone how Seth proposed and I notice her watching Martin as I recount my story. I don’t think she’s happy with his reaction, because her expression is growing cloudier as everyone apart from Martin becomes caught up in the romance. He’s sipping his pint without comment.
I’m pleased how everyone seems really keen to meet Seth, especially as he’ll be moving down here next year and becoming part of our social circle.
My phone pings and I see it’s a voicemail from him. I guess he was calling to let me know his ETA. I hope he makes it down before we move on to the Indian restaurant. Actually, even if he’s a bit late, it won’t matter. I’m just dying to introduce him to everyone.
I stick a finger in my left ear to try to block out the pub noise, and listen to his message:
‘Alice, I’m so sorry, but the car’s playing up. I think it’s the starter motor. I can’t risk coming down ’cause I have to be at work by ten tomorrow morning. I’m really sorry. I feel terrible about missing it. Have a lovely evening and I’ll see you tomorrow night, okay? Love you.’
Disappointment drops into my stomach like a rock. I take a huge swig of my Martini and try not to let this feel like the end of the world. I guess it’s not Seth’s fault that his car’s playing up, but I can’t help feeling frustrated and a little angry. I’ve asked him to meet my friends so many times, but there’s always something stopping him. Mainly his job. I just hope his work–life balance will be better once he moves down here. I thought I was a workaholic, but his hours are crazy.
‘Everything okay?’ Laurence asks.
After a moment, I realise he’s talking to me. I feel a bit embarrassed at the thought of telling everyone my fiancé can’t make it to his own engagement party. I lean closer to Laurence and mumble that Seth’s car’s broken down and he won’t be coming. Stupidly, I realise I’m about to cry. I sniff back my tears and tell myself not to be so oversensitive.
‘Damn.’ Laurence puts his pint down and gives my arm a squeeze. ‘That’s a bit shit. Sorry, Porter.’
‘Oh well, what can you do?’ I reply, trying to put on a brave face. ‘Hey, guys,’ I say, raising my voice. ‘Seth’s car’s broken down so we’ll be celebrating my engagement without him.’
Everyone is quiet for a moment before making sympathetic noises.
‘Shall we reschedule for another night?’ Fran asks, concern in her eyes. ‘How about one night next week?’
‘No, that’s okay. Seth is just so busy at the moment. I’ll let you all know when he finally makes it down, and then we can try again.’
‘Sure. Okay. You must be disappointed though.’
‘I’m fine,’ I reply, taking in a deep breath through my nose, determined not to let this ruin the evening. After all, I’m still engaged. It’s not as if he didn’t want to come.
‘Why don’t you send him some photos of the night?’ Fran suggests. ‘That way, at least he’ll be able to kind of see you.’
‘That’s a great idea.’ I lean in towards Francesca and we blow kisses to my phone camera. I caption it: Two Hot Babes and send it to his WhatsApp with a kiss emoji.
‘There’s only one thing to do in these kinds of situations ...’ Danica says, shaking her head.
Everyone waits for her words of wisdom.
‘Get hammered!’ she cries, holding up her glass.
