Ghosted: Wicked Wedding Planners Series

by Alyssa Parsons

  Being a rare Saturday off, I indulge in my favourite treat, a relaxing steaming hot bath, a good novel and a cup of peppermint tea. Amazing!

  After luxuriating in my bath, I get dressed. I have bought a gorgeous pair of tan coloured suede ankle high boots. Thanks to the combination of consistent gym workouts and eating less since I heard Caspar was back, my skinny jeans look pretty good on me.

  I check my hair and makeup in my hallway mirror on my way out. I realise I had forgotten to check for any signs of Caspar before walking out of my house. Luckily the coast was clear and I jumped into my car and head over to the Fish and Cauldron pub. It is a cosy yet trendy pub that has recently refurbished. It looks great with polished oak beams, cream walls and white twinkly fairy lights. I walk into the main bar area and see Nic and Jodie at the bar ordering drinks.

  They wave over to me and Jodie asks me what I want to drink. As I have driven over here, I can only have one drink. I wasn’t in the mood for wine so I was decided to enjoy a nice refreshing gin and tonic. I choose a rhubarb flavoured gin which turns out to be delicious. I think I have found my new tipple.

  We clink our drinks together in celebration of a wedding free weekend. I haven’t been out with Nic and Jodie socially for a while so we spend some time catching up on old news. A few minutes later, the waiter came to show us to our table.

  We follow him out of the bar section through to another room which is big and airy. As its all open plan, we can see out to the bar from our table. We spend a while people watching and commenting on the pub’s clientele.

  Jodie makes us laugh at some of the stories of prospective brides ringing up Wedding Boss to book in appointments. Some of them are real divas and put the brides we’ve seen on Bridezillas to shame.

  The waiter comes over to take our order and we realise we had been too busy chatting to even look through the menus. The waiter does not seem too happy and he says he will come back in a few minutes.

  ‘The food looks fantastic here,’ I put the menu down. ‘Right, what’s everyone having?’

  We spend a few minutes reading through the menu and are ready to order when the waiter returns. The food is delicious and we are having a really good night. From where I was sitting at the table, I have the best view of the bar. I am just about to get up to go to the loo which is near the bar area, when I see a few guys walk in.

  Oh damn! I don’t believe it. Caspar Danes has just walked into the pub.

  I am completely caught off guard. All this time I have been avoiding the gym and scoping the estate before leaving my house. Then when I least expect it, he walks into the same bloody pub that I am in. Oh god, please don’t look over. I pray to my guardian angel that Caspar does not look over towards our table.

  I can’t help but stare. He still looks as hot as ever. He has come in with a couple of mates. I recognise one of them. It’s Mike, the guy he used to train with at the gym. This is so totally awkward. My heart is beating so fast and I can barely pay attention to the conversation around me.

  I can’t stop staring at him. Caspar buys a round of drinks and goes off to a table round the corner of the bar. I can’t see his table from where I am sitting. Maybe this won’t be too bad. We are leaving soon and if I just walk past the bar quickly without looking in his direction, he probably won’t even see me.

  Yes that will work. I will just walk straight out of the pub without looking at his table. There is nothing to worry about. The bar area is so busy, he’s hardly likely to even see us.

  ‘Isn’t that right Sammi?’ Jodie is talking to me.

  ‘Huhh?’ I look blankly over at Jodie. ‘Sorry I was daydreaming, what were you saying?’

  ‘I was just saying how creepy that Timothy was,’ says Jodie, ‘I mean Jasmine will see this is all for the best. Something wasn’t quite right with that guy.’

  ‘Yeah totally,’ I reply even though I am not really paying attention to the conversation.

  Nic jumps in with her opinion of the Timothy/Jasmine situation even though she had only met them the once when they first came in.

  20 minutes later we get the bill and we’re ready to leave. This is it, time to go. I give myself a little pep talk. Stay calm and whatever you do, don’t look around. It will be fine. We stand up from our table and walk over to the bar area to leave the pub.

  I concentrate on walking through the bar as quickly as possible which is not easy as it is full of people. I need to get out of here. I look straight ahead as I follow Nic and Jodie out of the pub. Luckily they have never met Caspar so even if they see him, they wouldn’t know who he was.

  I can feel my pulse racing through my body as I walk past where he is sat. I avoid looking towards the direction of his table. He’s not going to see you, I reassure myself. The bar is packed with people and he is most likely too engrossed in his conversation to notice me. Wrong!!!

  I am almost at the door when I hear my name being called out.

  ‘Hey Sammi!’

  Yes that’s right. Just like that….. Caspar Danes shouts out my name in a busy pub. Now if I had my wits about me at this point in time, I would have ignored him and walked straight out of the pub.

  Why did I look round? I could have pretended that I hadn’t heard anything and walked out the door. But it’s an instinct to react when you hear your name being called out. So like an idiot, I turn to look over in his direction. There he is, smiling and waving at me like nothing had ever happened.

  Really??

  I am so shocked and dazed. My mind certainly isn’t thinking straight. I feebly wave back in his direction and walk out.

  God I am cringing. Luckily my friends are ahead of me and haven’t noticed what had just happened. I kiss them goodbye in the car park declining the offer to head back to Jodie’s house to have some more wine and watch a film.

  I feel furious on my drive back home. Raging mad, in fact.

  First of all, I am angry at my lame reaction to Caspar. I had envisioned myself being in control, if and when I ever bumped into him again. Instead, I had acted like a complete wet lettuce. The guy had treated me like a piece of rubbish 8 years ago and here I am meekly waving at him when he says hello. He has just acted like we were old buddies who hadn’t seen each other in a while.

  Second of all, how dare he behave like nothing had happened?

  How did he have the nerve to just shout out my name across a crowded pub?

  What was he even trying to gain out of doing that? Had he actually expected me to go over and start a conversation?

  It was nuts.

  He obviously thinks he has done nothing wrong. Or is he really that self-obsessed and arrogant that he thinks he can just snap his fingers and I’ll jump? I mean, surely he must realise that he has hurt me. Any decent person would have kept their distance. But to have the nerve to do what he just did. Well I have no idea who he thought that was.

  I get back home and throw myself on my bed. I’ve been doing a lot of that recently. I pick up my diary which is lying on my bedside table. I read through the part where Caspar has gone off to Australia and we lost contact.

  I really missed him when he went away and I had always held out hope that we would see each other when he got back. At the same time I had also been realistic. He was in Oz and he was probably hooking up with stunning beach babes. My college course was busy and luckily I had a great social life so the time passed quickly.

  About a year after Caspar had left, I bumped into Bethany, Caspar’s mother. I was still working at Sheridan’s and she had popped in to do some shopping. They had finally moved up to the Lake District a few months ago.

  I was working in the womenswear department at the time. Bethany was down that week as she had a family wedding to attend and was looking for a pair of shoes to go with her wedding outfit.

  I asked her how things were going in the Lake District.

  ‘We love it up there, it’s beautiful and so peaceful,’ Bethany had gushed as she picked up a pair of silver heels.
<
br />   We chatted for a bit and then she said ‘I must take your number, Casper is back from Australia and he would love to get back in touch with you.’

  Yes Yes Yes!!! I was fist pumping inside while keeping a calm exterior.

  ‘Sure, that would be great.’ I tried acting all casual as I gave her my mobile phone number.

  I was buzzing that day at work. I read a bit of the diary entry relating to that day.

  “…….Caspar must have mentioned me to his mother. Surely a boy would only do that if he really likes you. That must mean he didn’t meet anyone out in Oz and he can’t be seeing anyone here. This is fantastic news…..”

  It was a couple of weeks later when I finally heard from him. I can still recall the conversation in my head. I was chilling out at home in the flat I now shared with Leanna. We had decided to spend our last year of college living in our own place away from our families. It was a Thursday night, and Leanna was out with her boyfriend Nick. My mobile started ringing and a no caller Id came up on my screen.

  ‘Hello?’ I asked wondering who it could be.

  ‘Hi Sammi, it’s Caspar.’ I smiled as I heard his sexy voice. Instantly my heart started beating hard.

  ‘Caspar, hi,’ I tried to sound cool and calm.

  ‘It’s great to hear your voice again,’ he said. This was exactly what I had wanted to hear.

  ‘I’m back in town now and just wondering if you were free to meet up for a drink,’ Caspar had asked.

  ‘Yes’, was what I wanted to shout out. But instead I tried to play cool and I even hesitated for a bit before accepting. But of course I was going to go and meet up with him. We made plans to meet at my local pub for a drink later that night.

  The Sept 29th diary entry is bombarded with stars and smiley faces.

  Sept 29th

  Caspar rung me yesterday. I haven’t heard from him for over a year and he suddenly just called me out of the blue. He asked if we could meet up at for a drink. I probably shouldn’t have been so keen and played hard to get. But as soon as I hear his voice, I am putty in his hands.

  He wanted to meet for a drink that night so of course I said yes. But I did play it kind of cool. I spent ages on my hair and makeup. We met at The Burnt Oak which is just round the corner from my flat. He was already there when I arrived and he had found this cosy little table for two all tucked away in a little corner of the pub.

  He’s so romantic. He looks awesome. He’s still tanned from Australia and his hair is cut a bit shorter. His green eyes are just so green. He already ordered drinks, bottle of Bud for him and a Bacardi and Coke for me – he remembered.

  It’s like he never went away. We just started chatting like we had never been apart. He told me all about his trip. How great the kids were at the tennis coaching camp. The weather is always amazing out there. He told me all about these boat trips he used to go on, where they swam in the sea. He went scuba diving and had barbecues on different islands. It sounded fantastic. He said that we should go on a trip one day.

  My news felt really dull compared to his. But I told him about how my course at college was going. That I had one year left and then I was going to look for a business management scheme to get into when I finished. I told him that ultimately I wanted to set up my own business.

  Then it happened …… at the end of the night he looked at me and said how much I had changed over the last year. He said I was amazing and looked so beautiful. He asked me to be his girlfriend.

  So this is it, on Sept 28th….. I officially became Caspar Danes girlfriend. We went back to my flat and he spent the night. I have also officially lost my virginity. I am so glad I waited for him. Even though I am older than most of my friends when they lost theirs, it was so worth the wait.

  It was fantastic and glorious and everything I had imagined it to be. In the morning when we woke up, he just cuddled and kissed me for ages. We spent the morning watching trashy tv and eating breakfast in bed. Slices and slices of hot buttery toast and lots of cups of tea. He’s just left now to sort something out for work but he is coming back here later to watch a film. I can’t wait to see him later.

  Over the next few months Caspar and I would usually see each other a few times a week. Then he started a job in a marketing firm in London so he decided to move out of Roseford. He found a flat in North London which was a 40 minute drive away. We didn’t get to see each other as often but we still managed to see each other at least once or twice a week. Despite the distance our relationship worked.

  I never worried though as he always called or text me every single day. We would go out for drinks or have takeaways in, watch films or go for walks when we did get together. I was truly happy and content in every way. I had my college work to be getting on with and I still loved to go out with my friends. There were loads of really fun college parties and events to go to. And I had an amazing boyfriend. Life was pretty great.

  Caspar’s mum was over the moon that we were together. I totally thought and felt in my deepest being that we would end up married and being together for ever.

  Chapter 5

  T he next morning I am woken up by my mobile ringing. It’s my Auntie Jo. She wants to meet up at our favourite coffee shop, Coco’s for a catch-up. It was perfect timing for me. Usually I treasured my Sundays as they were my one guaranteed day off in the week. I loved having my duvet days where I spent pretty much the whole day tucked up in bed.

  I would end up watching a marathon of those cheesy romantic films they show in the afternoon on tv. I usually recorded them over the week to save up for days like these. This was usually followed by a luxurious hot bath, naughty food and my herbal teas. I was in heaven. This Sunday morning, I was too frazzled to relax and sit in on my own. Auntie Jo was the perfect person to speak to.

  I jump in the shower and throw my hair up into a messy ponytail. This hairdo is a definitely a Sammi special. I have really fine wavy brown hair. It takes ages to straighten it and I definitely can’t be bothered to deal with it today. Luckily, I have the knack of getting into a messy ponytail in a few seconds.

  Then, a quick application of concealer and foundation, a flick of mascara and I am good to go. I have very pale skin and I am also cursed with dark circles under my eyes which make me look ill. I always need to slap on a bit foundation so that people don’t think I am suffering from a bout of flu. Believe me, on the few occasions I have not applied foundation, I am always asked if I’m ill.

  Coco’s is a great place to lounge around and have drinks, especially on a Sunday morning. They make the most delicious hot chocolate. None of this watery tasteless brown water that a lot of coffee chains like to serve up. I try not to think about the calories in a Coco’s hot chocolate. It is pretty much made from melted chocolate and cream. But it’s too good to even worry about the calories.

  I nab us a table on the second floor of the café right by the window where we can people watch. Auntie Jo comes in a few minutes later looking effortlessly trendy in a vintage blouse, jeans and heels.

  I am really close to my aunt and we have grown even closer since my parents moved away to the South of France, 4 years ago. She is nine years younger than my mum and much more laid back. I can tell her anything without her judging me and she always gives really good advice. My friends also love her too. She has been concerned about me ever since I told her that Caspar was back.

  ‘Hey Auntie Jo.’ I lean over and give her a hug as she walks over to the table.

  ‘How are you doing sweetie?’ She gives me a little squeeze back.

  ‘Not great,’ I admit as I hand her a menu.

  I already know what I am going to have. Coco’s special hot chocolate with cream and a Cherry Bombe. Coco’s does this amazing little cake bite called a Cherry Bombe. It’s like a load of juicy cherries have literally just exploded in your mouth. Auntie Jo orders a coffee and their moist ginger cake with lemon icing.

  ‘Are you writing things down in a diary?’ Auntie Jo asks me.

 
‘I haven’t had time yet but I am definitely going to start,’ I tell her. ‘I am in the process of reading through the diary I kept when I first met Caspar.’

  ‘Well make sure you do. It’s a great form of therapy and gives you a constructive way to vent and deal with your feelings.’ She used to work as a counsellor so she knows all about this things.

  ‘Don’t worry, I will. Reading through my old diary is helping me process my thoughts.’

  ‘What happened last night then?’ Auntie Jo puts down her menu and looks at me.

  I had only briefly filled her in on what happened last night at the pub when she called me this morning.

  ‘I went out for dinner last night with the girls from work, you know Nic and Jodie,’ I start telling her the full story.

  ‘Sounds like a perfect Saturday night out.’

  ‘Yeah, we had a really good time and the food was delicious. We were having loads of fun,’ I pause for a bit as I am cringing at the whole seeing Caspar situation. The waitress brings over our cakes and drinks.

  ‘And….,’ Auntie Jo prompts me.

  ‘Caspar walked in and completely blindsided me,’ I decide to just spill it out.

  ‘No way, did he see you?’ Auntie Jo’s mouth drops open.

  ‘Not at first, he was in the bar area with friends.’

  ‘That must have been awkward,’ Auntie Jo says as she pulls a face.

  ‘I started panicking but he stayed in the bar area and they found a table round the back. I thought it would be okay because he would only see me if he happened to look up when we left the pub.’

  ‘I take it that didn’t happen,’ Auntie Jo takes a bite of her ginger cake. ‘Mmm this is so good.’

  ‘No, I walked by making sure not to look in his direction so I wouldn’t make eye contact.’

  ‘Good thinking,’ agrees Auntie Jo as she takes another bite of cake.

  ‘I thought that even if he did happen to see me, I would be still be able to escape the pub without having to interact with him,’ I explain.