‘Don’t let Jennifer hear you say that.’
The Bollinger was fetched and the toast drunk and then there was the last-minute rushing backwards and forwards for purses and bags and trips to the loo.
‘Shay’s outside!’ Lu peered out of the window. ‘Time for us to go, Mum – oh my God! Doesn’t he scrub up well? I’m not going to be able to keep my hands off him! Look at him!’
They all looked. It was the first time any of them had seen him in a suit. The sombre formal clothes on his rangy body and with his tousled streaky hair, were an incredibly sexy contrast. He looked, Mitzi thought, good enough to eat.
‘We’re a very glamorous lot, aren’t we?’ Mitzi said, trying not to think how superb Joel would have looked in his suit too. ‘Okay then, we’ll leave you two to it.’ She hugged Lance and kissed Doll again. ‘Good luck, darling. You look incredible.’
There was another round of hugging and kissing.
‘Oh, by the way,’ Lance said, ‘just in case you’re late back tonight, I fed Richard and Judy while I was in the kitchen. And put down some extra food and clean water.’
‘So did I!’ Mitzi, Doll and Lulu chorused.
*
In the December darkness, the church, decorated for Christmas, had an air of age-old mystery. Candles, hundreds of fat white candles, flickered, casting dancing shadows up the worn stone walls and across the ceiling. Holly and ivy twined everywhere, and the ends of the pews were garlanded with deep-red rosebuds and sprigs of mistletoe.
Mitzi, having left Lulu shivering in the dark church porch while Shay returned to collect the Bandings and the Spraggs, hurried down the aisle and made a brief diversion to the right-hand side where Brett and his family were sitting.
‘All right? Not nervous?’
‘I’m okay – I think.’ Brett looked serious. ‘She is going to turn up, Mrs B, isn’t she?’
‘Of course she is. She’s on her way. And please, after today, could you call me Mum?’
Brett grinned. ‘Not a chance, Mrs B.’
Smiling, Mitzi sat alone in the left-hand front pew and felt almost as though she’d stepped back in time. The colours of the Epiphany were vibrant, and the nativity scene – all worn wooden figures, the far-too-big star and bundles of straw – in front of the altar, was exactly as it had been when she was a child.
There was something very comforting about the sameness.
Merle, the organist and one of the Baby Boomers, was playing a selection of carols very softly, and peered round from her seat and grinned. Mitzi grinned back then smiled across again at Brett’s family in the opposite pew. They looked as nervous as she felt.
The church began to fill very quickly. Mitzi kept turning round and mouthing greetings. Thanks to the vicar being a bit High Church, the air was rich with the scent of pine needles and incense, and the heating was going full bore. The velvet dress would have been a disaster with a more parsimonious parson.
Pews on both sides were now filled to bursting. It was like Hair all over again. Mitzi had a fleeting worry about whether there’d be enough food for this lot at The Faery Glen. She recognised nearly everyone, although some of Doll and Brett’s friends were unfamiliar. And goodness – had Tarnia and Snotty Mark actually been invited? Their outfits were pure Hollywood and Tarnia’s hat would have put Ascot to shame.
There was a rustling behind her as Flo and Clyde and Lav and Lob eased themselves into their seats. Mitzi swivelled round to greet them with mutual exclamations of ‘Don’t you look lovely’. Lav and Lob had, in deference to being in a place of worship, abandoned the cycle helmets and wore matching hats bedecked with glossy paste fruit and lots of feathers. The rest of their outfits were all limp lace, fingerless mittens and paisley layers – pure Hinge and Bracket.
Flo and Clyde, in drop-waisted suits with more than a slight aroma of mothball, looked as though they’d stepped from the pages of Good Housekeeping circa 1955.
Oh, and there was the dental surgery crowd: Viv with her short and stout husband who worked in the hardware shop in Winterbrook and who she always introduced at functions as ‘Derek, my tiger’, and Mr and Mrs Johnson looking very elegant, and Tammy in an unsuitable mini skirt and thigh boots holding hands with Gavin, Flo and Clyde’s adenoidal grandson from the Big Sava check-outs – but not Joel.
Of course, not Joel.
Mitzi had made her own second wish last night, silently, but that wasn’t going to work. Granny Westward said the wishes had to be spoken aloud – and she certainly hadn’t made any mention of more than one wish. So, happiness all round was what she’d wished for – and who could ask for more?
Well, yes, she could and had, but she was a grown-up. She’d cope with the disappointment. And anyway, there was possibly something blasphemous thinking about herbal magic while in church. There’d probably be a thunderbolt.
‘You look really nice.’ Jennifer had slipped into the pew behind Mitzi. ‘I’m sorry I was rude about you wearing green. It’s gorgeous with your hair and colouring.’
‘Thanks,’ Mitzi turned round, ducked under the brim of Jennifer’s hat, and tried not to giggle. Jennifer was wearing old gold and dark red – exactly like Lance. They looked like Torville and Dean. ‘And thanks for all your help today. You’ve made such a difference to us all. Look – don’t sit there – come in here. There’s plenty of room.’
‘But the front pew?’
‘You’re Lance’s wife,’ Mitzi said without irony. ‘He’ll be in here when he’s done the giving away bit. You should be with him.’
‘Thank you ever so much.’ Jennifer swapped pews in a designer rustle and a waft of bank-breaking scent. ‘It’s ever so kind of you.’
Merle suddenly cranked the organ up from a sotto voce version of ‘Silent Night’ and harumphed into ‘The Entry of the Queen of Sheba’. Mitzi, turning with everyone else to watch Doll and Lance make their entrance, felt the tears gather and sniffed them back.
Doll, cool and controlled as always, looked radiant and beautiful; Lance was bursting with pride; and Lu was simply gorgeous.
Her family, Mitzi thought, as they reached the chancel steps beside her, was stunning.
She could smell the cold December air on them and feel their excitement. Brett’s eyes were glowing with love as he stepped forward with his best-man brother.
Mitzi stood up with the rest of the congregation. The candles sparkled on the zirconias in Doll’s tiara and on the sequins in her hair. Sequins? Had Pauline used sequins? On everyone? Including Lance?
Lu’s eyes were huge as she leaned towards Mitzi. ‘It’s snowing!’ she whispered. ‘Really snowing! See – dreams can come true …’
Chapter Twenty-six
The Faery Glen was going to be bursting at the seams. After the wedding service and the photographs, the convoy of cars had snaked round the village green and along Hazy Hassocks high street. The snow, huge fat flakes tumbling from the darkness and still settling, had impeded the journey.
The village was fast disappearing under a white eiderdown.
‘See!’ Lu said delightedly as she clambered from Shay’s car outside the pub, ‘I told Doll those Dreaming Creams would work! Isn’t this just brilliant?’
‘Amazing,’ Mitzi agreed, easing herself from the back seat where she’d been cheek by jowl with Lav and Lob. ‘Cold, but absolutely amazing …’
The Faery Glen was already crystalline-covered and the flakes were falling past the illuminated sign, faster and faster, huge goose feathers, swirling into a blur.
Doll had been ecstatic. The happy couple had been covered by snow as well as confetti outside the church, and the photographs had been taken in the nave.
‘I’m dreaming of a white Christmas …’ everyone had sung as they slipped and slithered merrily down the church path towards their cars.
Shay, making sure Lav and Lob had been safely installed inside the pub, grinned at Mitzi and Lu from the doorway. ‘Are you two coming in, or are you staying out there to make a snow
man?’
‘Tough call,’ Lu grinned back, before teetering through the snow on her unfamiliar high heels.
Shay caught her in the doorway and covered her icy face with kisses.
Mitzi, with snowflakes settling in her hair, swallowed the lump in her throat and made her way towards the pub. Doll and Brett, Lulu and Shay – happy, healthy, in love. What more could any woman want?
Otto and Boris had worked wonders. The Faery Glen, already looking festive for Christmas, was a mass of wedding decorations: bells, banners and balloons, hearts and flowers, cascades of twinkling lights, white cloths over all the tables, the log fire roaring.
‘We’ve put your food in with ours on the tables at the far end,’ Boris said, pouring champagne into Mitzi’s flute. ‘Sort of mix’n’match.’
‘Lovely,’ Mitzi nodded. ‘Thank you – this is wonderful.’
The wedding breakfast ebb and flow of laughter and dozens of splintered conversations rose around her. The entire congregation was there. The whole village and then some. She spoke to everyone. Doll and Brett, glowing with happiness, circulated. Shay and Lu didn’t. They’d retired to an inglenook and were sucking champagne from each other’s fingers.
‘Super, Mitzi!’ Tarnia shrieked, arm in arm with Jennifer. ‘Super!’
‘It is, isn’t it?’ Lance said, raising his champagne flute to her. ‘Just perfect.’
‘It is,’ Mitzi agreed. ‘And listen to that wind – if it’s still snowing we’ll have a whiteout by the end of the evening. This is better than I could ever have dreamed …’
Well, very nearly.
In an almost detached manner, Mitzi watched as the guests wolfed down the Green Gowns and the Dreaming Creams and the Mistletoe Kisses. She laughed to herself. Hazy Hassocks on the razzle hardly needed any herbal help – the evening would probably degenerate into an orgy.
‘Mind if we join you?’
Lu, lustfully immersed in licking Moët et Chandon from Shay’s index finger, looked up irritably.
Carmel, holding hands with Augusta who was clutching a massively piled plate, was beaming at them.
‘S’pose not,’ Lu muttered ungraciously, squeezing round even closer to Shay so that Augusta’s huge hips would fit into the inglenook. ‘Are you enjoying yourselves?’
‘Very much. It’s a really great party and you look stunning,’ Carmel said. ‘And we won’t – er – disturb you for long. We just wanted to ask you a question.’
‘Fire away,’ Shay beamed. ‘The building of particle accelerators is my specialist subject.’
‘Oh, ha-ha.’ Carmel reached for a Green Gown from the top of Augusta’s pile. ‘No, we wanted to know if you’d heard of any places to live. We—’ she smiled lovingly at Augusta ‘—want to be together. As you know we’re both lodging with families at the moment, and well – er – things can get a bit difficult. We’ve both handed in our notice at our present places, but the house we were going to share has fallen through, so come the New Year we’ll be homeless.’
Augusta managed to remove her face from the food for a moment. ‘We’ll take absolutely anything. Anything just so as we can be together. We just hate having to sleep apart.’
Shay and Lu nodded in sympathy.
‘Actually,’ Shay said, ‘there’s a cottage for rent on the village green and—’
‘Noooooo!!!!!’ Lu shrieked, clapping her hand over his mouth. ‘No, there isn’t! Look, wait here a minute! Don’t move!’
Dragging a perplexed Shay behind her, she barged through the scrum of guests, stumbling on the stiletto-heels. Where was the bloody vicar? Oh, God, surely he hadn’t stayed in the church to get on with the Carol Service had he? Surely he’d have joined them in the pub for an hour at least? Rumour had it he was pretty keen on the communion wine.
‘Ah! Got him!’
‘What?’ Shay blinked. ‘Lu, sweetheart, what the hell are you doing?’
‘Me? I’m not doing anything. My Mum’s magic is doing it! As always …’ She grabbed the vicar’s sleeve. ‘Excuse me, could I have a word?’
The vicar, twinkly eyed and ruddy cheeked, had clearly downed a copious amount of Merlot.
‘Would you like me to make it a double? Fit in a second Blessings wedding?’
‘No thank you. Or at least, not just yet.’ Lu smiled sweetly. ‘We wanted to ask, is Honeysuckle House still vacant?’
The vicar nodded. ‘Well, yes. As you know, I always look for suitable tenants and after the – er – problems with the Worthys I have to be very careful.’
‘Would a paramedic and an RSPCA officer be considered suitable?’
‘Eminently so,’ the vicar nodded. ‘Oh, absolutely – why? Do you know of such a couple?’
‘You’re looking at them.’
‘Really?’ The vicar’s dissolute blue eyes sparkled. ‘Oh, how perfectly wonderful. Yes, Lulu and – er—’
‘Shay Donovan.’ Shay held out his hand.
‘Mr Donovan,’ the vicar pumped his hand up and down. ‘Well, yes, of course. I’d be delighted to have you as tenants – and the sooner the better. Do you want to have a viewing?’
‘No, well, yes – but we’ll take it. Now. Oh, and we’ll have animals. Rescued puppies. Is that okay?’
‘Perfectly,’ the vicar beamed some more. ‘I love all God’s creatures. Not a sparrow falls and all that. Couldn’t be more pleased. And you could move in, when?’
‘Straight after Christmas,’ Lu rocked on her stilt heels and kissed the vicar. ‘You’re a star. Thanks a million.’
‘I hope you’ll be very happy there.’
‘Oh, we will,’ Shay said dazedly as once again Lu dragged him through the partying crowd.
They found Lav and Lob lustily singing ‘Oliver’s Army’ by the food table.
‘Have you had loads to eat?’ Lulu squeezed in beside them. ‘And are you nice and warm?’
‘Yes to both,’ Lavender nodded. ‘This is super. And what about you two?’
‘We’re fine. Lovely wedding wasn’t it?’
‘Beautiful. We cried all through it,’ Lobelia sniffed happily.
‘What we wanted to tell you,’ Lu leaned towards them, ‘is that we might have solved some of your financial problems.’
‘Really!’ The Bandings clapped their mittens. ‘Oh, how wonderful that would be! But how?’
Quickly, Lulu explained that she and Shay would be renting Honeysuckle House from the vicar, but that they knew two paramedics – both girls – who’d love to share Shay’s old room.
‘So you see, you could have double the rent. Two people sharing the one room. And it would be all right because they’re both girls, wouldn’t it?’
‘Double the rent!’ the Bandings eyes widened in bliss at the thought of being able to afford food and heat. ‘And two young gels in the house! Oh, what fun! But we’ll miss you.’
‘We’ll only be on the village green,’ Shay said reassuringly. ‘You’ll still see us every day. And you can come for your tea all the time. So is it all right? Shall I send Carmel and Augusta over?’
‘Yes, please,’ the Bandings chorused. ‘Oh, this is the happiest day of our lives!’
‘And mine,’ Lulu grinned, as Shay’s fingers circled lasciviously on her wrist.
*
The evening roared on. Those with young children and Christmas Eve stockings to fill, had left. The remainder danced and sang and talked and laughed. It was, everyone said, the most magical night Hazy Hassocks had ever seen.
As all Granny Westward’s delicacies had disappeared, Mitzi proudly felt that she might be more than slightly responsible for that.
She watched everyone partying, and felt suddenly lonely. Stupid. How could she be lonely among all these people? All her friends and family? But everyone had someone.
Then Doll and Brett, seemingly unable to prise themselves apart, had hugged her, and Doll had whispered that maybe there was something in the Dreaming Creams and the Wishes Come True Pie after all; and Lulu had skippe
d up, her braids all tangled and her dress covered in snow, and said she and Shay had been celebrating outside.
‘The snow’s nearly a foot deep already and still coming down. It’s magical,’ she’d beamed from ear to ear. ‘Simply magical. And Doll’s wedding has been perfect, and me and Shay and the puppies have got Honeysuckle House. Oh, this is just the best day ever! Not that it’s any surprise. After all, we both know it’s really magic, don’t we? And as me and Doll have had our wishes come true, it’s your turn now.’
‘I’ve got mine, too,’ Mitzi had said. ‘I wished for this to be the happiest day of all our lives. And it is.’
Lulu had wrinkled her nose. ‘Nah. Not that one. The other one. Your special wish last night. The one you didn’t say out loud.’
Mitzi had watched Lu and Shay disappear through the gyrating crowd, and frowned slightly. How on earth had Lu known about that one? How could she possibly have known?
Nursing her champagne flute, Mitzi wandered to the window and gazed out through the leaded lights. The snow showed no sign of letting up. The wind had increased, whipping the storm into a cloud of white that swirled and eddied from every direction. There were already massive drifts in the car park and the cars themselves were all completely covered under several inches.
All except one.
Mitzi watched as the new arrival’s headlights dimmed and went out, and then as the door opened and the driver stepped out into the blizzard.
‘Brave,’ she said to herself, ‘coming out tonight in this … oh, my God!’
Joel stopped for a moment under The Faery Glen’s illuminated sign and looked at the pub. Mitzi was sure her heart had stopped beating. Was she dreaming? Had she conjured him up? She blinked. No, he was still there. The odd thing was, she realised, was that she was absolutely delighted to see him – but not entirely surprised.
Forcing her way through the manic crowd, including Trilby Man and all the Baby Boomers, who were now doing the ‘Time Warp’, Mitzi dragged open The Faery Glen’s door.
Joel, who had obviously had his hand on the latch, almost toppled on top of her.
Hubble Bubble Page 29
