The Captain and the Best Man

by Catherine Curzon

  Noah and Teri had set up an impromptu bar, and Josh waved to them. Then he heard a voice he recognized.

  “I’m not trying to make it worse, Stella, don’t get on my back about it. It’s my best mate I’m losing,” Rey was saying. “It’s just…you weren’t there through it all. He broke Mum’s heart.”

  “Yes, you’re losing him,” Stella replied. “I can’t believe you came out of that room, your chest all puffed up like a pigeon, saying, I’ve given him an ultimatum! As if it’s somehow impressive. I heard Josh talk about his new man and he really, really likes Guy. Please don’t take that from him. Not when we’re getting married. Even if it’s awkward for you because Guy’s your dad.”

  Josh glanced in the direction of the voices and could now see Rey and Stella between Guy’s ornaments on the other side of a room divider, their backs to them.

  Unseen by the couple, Guy kissed Josh’s hair and whispered, “It’s going to be all right. I promise.”

  “I’ve made a massive mistake,” Rey told Stella. “I don’t want to lose my best mate. Do you think— Is there any point me telling him I’m sorry? He’s going to tell me to jog on, isn’t he?”

  “Not lovely, sensible Josh.” Stella kissed him. “He came all this way to be your best man—he’s not going to tell you to jog on if you say sorry. And funnily enough…he promised to help me find your dad. I’d say he did an exceptionally good job!”

  “You were looking for Dad?” Josh felt Guy tense at his side then relax when Rey said with a smile in his voice, “You and Josh’re up to all sorts, aren’t you? And you’re only here because he jumped into the sea after you.”

  “Exactly. So remember that. If it wasn’t for Josh, you wouldn’t have a fiancée. Anyway, I should admit… I found Guy on Facebook, but didn’t contact him. I did look at his photos, though!” Stella giggled.

  “Bloody hell,” Guy whispered good naturedly. “God knows what’s on there.”

  “His photos?” Rey asked. “Let me guess. Sports cars, sunshine, jumbo jets?”

  “Yes, and walking in Richmond Park, and petting a kitten.” Stella sighed. “The kitten one was so cute, and I just knew when I saw that, Rey’s dad’s adorable. I couldn’t imagine him turning his back on you if you tried to get in touch.”

  “I rang him a couple of months ago,” Rey admitted. “Well, put his number in and then I thought, what if he doesn’t answer? So I didn’t call. And now he definitely won’t answer, because I acted like a fucking moron and punched him.”

  Josh couldn’t help but meet Guy’s gaze then. Like father, like son, after all.

  “You don’t need a phone to talk to him now.” Stella’s tone was gently amused. “Please give it a try. If you want to talk to him, it’s up to you. Don’t let anyone else influence you. And you do know who I mean by that, don’t you?”

  “She’s still raw, all these years later,” Rey told her. “Maybe we should all try and be a bit less raw now, though? I just…I don’t want me and you to get married and one day he’s a grandad and he doesn’t even know. We need to sort it. I need to sort it.”

  “Exactly. If we had a child and they grew up and were told one day, Oh, you’ve got a grandad out there somewhere but Daddy told him to get stuffed—it wouldn’t be fair on the child, would it? Let’s go and find Guy and Josh.”

  “Maybe not Guy just yet,” was Rey’s reply, his words sending a fresh pang through Josh. “But Josh definitely. I haven’t even said thank you for saving you! When that wave caught you, I just about lost it. We are not braving that beach again until the sun’s out.”

  “I did say I wasn’t going for a swim until after the wedding. My hair’s ruined!” Stella tugged at a length of her blonde hair, now matted with sea salt.

  “And you’re alive,” Rey replied. “And alive hair looks way better on you than the alternative.”

  Josh cringed. He glanced at Guy. “Should I say hi to them?”

  “Yeah, go on.” He nodded. “I’ll be over with Teri, trying to be invisible.”

  “I s’pose this means Pris is here too?” Josh couldn’t see her, but the room was packed and the lights were low. She could be anywhere.

  “That’s why I’m keeping my head down.” Guy kissed Josh’s cheek. “Good luck.”

  With his hands deep in his pockets while he tried to hide behind his fringe, Josh headed around the room divider. “Erm…hello, almost-bride-and-groom.”

  Rey’s head flicked round but his gaze dropped away from Josh even as Stella hugged him. “Thank you so much for rescuing me. I have no idea what happened, and I was so scared, then you were dragging me out of the sea!”

  “Don’t mention it,” Josh said. He smiled tentatively at Rey. “Erm…you all right, mate? Things have got a bit weird, haven’t they?”

  “I thought you’d have better taste than that,” Rey told him, just a little cool. Then he managed a smile. “Thank God you were there today. I nearly lost this amazing girl.”

  “It’s all right. I just went in…I didn’t stop to think! Other than, I’m the best man and I’ve got to make sure the wedding goes okay!” Josh glanced down at his bare feet, then back up at Rey and Stella. “What’s going to happen about that? Can they reschedule it?”

  “They reckon so, but that’s sort of up to the storm.” Rey hugged Stella’s shoulders.

  “Let’s hope the storm doesn’t last too long!” Josh tried to smile. He took a deep breath. Keeping all the warring parties apart was going to be impossible now that everyone was marooned in Guy’s house.

  “Okay, look, Rey…you’re my best mate, and I’m going to be honest with you. I had no idea Guy was your dad. Why would I? And he and I, I know it’s going to be a really weird thing for you to hear, but it feels right being with him. I really like him. With time, I reckon I could fall in love with him. Whatever happened in the past, Guy regrets it. You have to believe me. He’s so sorry, Rey. He really is. But I don’t think he’s ever had the chance to say so.”

  “You don’t know him. He’s a show-off, he’s selfish and he thinks chucking handfuls of cash at you makes up for basically never being around.” But Guy had been the first to admit that, Josh realized. Of course he knew. “He’s not sorry. If he was sorry, how come I haven’t heard from him in ten years apart from a check and a card for Christmas and birthdays? I didn’t want his checks, I just wanted a phone call!”

  Stella patted her fiancé’s arm and Rey closed his eyes. Then he said, “I just wanted him to knock on the door.”

  “He’s scared, Rey.” Josh put his arm around his friend’s shoulder. “You’ve both been apart for so long, there’s this huge gap between you—let’s be honest, there’s a chasm between you. He’s scared to cross it. He said to me, he wished you’d phone him, and when I said to him, why don’t you call your son? he told me he’s scared you wouldn’t want to talk to him.”

  “Imagine being married to someone though, having a kid with someone, then he just tells you he’s gay, packs his bags and goes? Goes off to be a pilot and swan around and—” He swallowed hard. “To be gay. And he left Mum to tell everyone. How could he do that us?”

  “Did he ever tell you why he married your mum?” Josh wondered if he should interfere, but he couldn’t see Rey listening to Guy. At least Rey trusted Josh. He hoped.

  “He didn’t need to. I’ll tell you why—because he wanted to, because it suited him at the time,” Rey said flatly. “And then he got tired of her.”

  Stella shook her head. “Just listen to Josh, come on.”

  Josh gave Stella a gentle smile. “He did it to please your grandad. Things have changed, Rey—it’s easier to be gay now than it was. I can’t imagine how difficult it must’ve been for Guy, to be the son of a pilot in the RAF, and to go into the RAF too, and…and he’s gay, and he wants to please his father, and he can’t be who he really is. And so he married Pris. He shouldn’t have—in an ideal world he wouldn’t have. But it didn’t turn out that badly, did it? You were born.”


  “He brought me here for a holiday after they divorced and we camped on the beach. I had the best time with him, and— I thought he’d be around more when he left the RAF, but he wasn’t.” He sighed and shook his head. “And one day, when I was about fourteen, I was in town with some mates and we saw him. He wasn’t doing anything, just holding hands with a bloke, and my mates ripped it out of me and I thought, why did he have to do that? I mean, you know I’m all right with anyone being gay, but he’s my dad. And if he never properly loved Mum, never wanted to be with her, then he probably never wanted me either, did he?”

  Josh blinked back tears. What a horrible situation. But he thought back to their first few days at uni when he had managed to let it slip that he was gay—Josh’s choice of It’s Raining Men at the karaoke had been a particularly large clue—and Rey hadn’t minded. Had even sounded interested in what Josh’s life was like. And it made sense now—maybe Rey was trying to understand his father’s sexuality through Josh. “He loves you, Rey. You know it’s possible for gay men to want to be fathers—even if they’re with another bloke! I’m sure he wanted you.”

  “But even if I wanted to patch it up, think what that’d do to Mum.” He patted Josh’s shoulder. “But I wanted to get married here, because we’d had an amazing time, me and Dad. And then I bloody hit him, because I thought he’d done it on purpose. I know he hadn’t, but I wasn’t thinking straight… And I don’t want to lose my best mate, either. I’m really sorry, Josh, I’ve been way out of order tonight.”

  “That’s why he’s here, Rey. Because of those happy memories with you.” Josh wrapped his arms around his friend. “He loves it so much, he built this bloody house! Come on, I don’t want to lose my best friend either. I’m sorry I shouted at you and told you to sod off—I didn’t mean it.”

  “I hope you didn’t lose those rings, I’d hate to have to set Mum on you.” Rey smiled weakly. “She’s been there every day that he hasn’t. She’s a bit showy, a bit blinging, but she’s a good mum, Josh.”

  “I know…I know.” Josh let Rey go. “I know you don’t want to hurt her. But…even if you’re not a Collingwood anymore, you wouldn’t be here without Guy.”

  “Mum and Martin didn’t want me to change my name,” he admitted quietly. “But I wanted to be Martin’s son and I wanted him to know that. That’s the last time we talked, Dad and me. He was so hurt and I wanted to hurt him. Dad—Martin—he told me, you shouldn’t do this, but I was eighteen, mate, just a stupid kid.”

  Josh glanced over his shoulder. Martin was here, somewhere. He smiled. “That’s because Martin’s a really good guy. I mean…bloke!” Josh chuckled. “Sorry. But that’s really something, for him to try to stop you taking his name.”

  “He’s the best,” Rey murmured. “So…this is Dad’s place? Still throwing money around, then?”

  “Come on, Rey…” Stella said. “He’s a BA pilot, he can afford more than just a beach hut at Clacton.”

  Josh tried not to laugh at Stella’s remark. “He’s invited everyone over from the hotel because it’s safer here. Didn’t ask for names, just threw the doors open. If that’s chucking money around, he’s doing it in the best way.”

  Even Rey had to grudgingly nod in agreement. His eyes widened then as he realized, “When Mum finds out, she’s going to make that storm look like a summer breeze!”

  Josh grinned. “The sharks won’t be going hungry, at least! Speaking of which, d’you want to grab some food? Una from the beach bar is cooking, and I promise you it’ll be amazing.”

  “That’s the minister’s wife,” Rey told Stella. “Fancy something to eat?”

  “Yes! It smells amazing!” Stella looped her arm through Rey’s.

  “Come on…” Josh gestured to them to follow, and they headed over to Una, who loaded their plates with food. He glanced toward Guy, who was deep in conversation with Teri and Noah. The bruise didn’t look too bad thanks to the lamplight but Guy, Josh thought, looked wonderful. My boyfriend.

  He wondered if Guy had seen him talking to Rey. Maybe he had…but would he have guessed what they had spoken about?

  “If you two want a drink, the bar’s over there.” Josh pointed with his fork across the room. “Erm…Guy’s there, just so you know.”

  “Maybe later,” Rey told him. “That’s not no, it’s just not yet.”

  “That’s okay,” Josh assured him. “Shall I go over and get you two something? What’d you like?”

  “Whatever Stella fancies, she’s the bride!”

  “White wine,” Stella decided.

  Josh had predicted that. “I’ll see if I can grab a bottle.”

  He squeezed between the guests, a truly international gathering that included a couple from Alaska and a French family, Argentinians and several British groups. He went behind the bar and slipped his arm around Guy’s waist.

  “White wine for the would-be bride, please.”

  “Right away, sir!” Teri teased, turning to gather glasses as Guy kissed Josh’s hair. “Just so you know, Josh, it looks like all the parents are in a bedroom somewhere with Noah’s pop talking about how to rescue the wedding.”

  “How’s Freddie?” Guy asked him. “All right?”

  Where to start?

  “I think he’s just glad that Stella’s all in one piece,” Josh replied. “And…I think he wants to come over and talk to you. And he’s sorry for punching you.”

  “Let him get wired into that.” Teri put the bottle and glasses down in front of Josh. “And let St Seb work its magic.”

  Josh picked them up. He kissed Guy’s cheek, then said, “Just be honest with him, Guy. Tell him the truth. Tell him what you told me. And make sure he knows that you wanted to be a dad.”

  He turned.

  And collided headfirst with Martin.

  “Bet you wish you’d said no to best man duties, eh?” Martin smiled, his eyes crinkling behind the lenses of his spectacles. “I’ve got a wife spitting feathers in there so I’ve escaped to get her a glass of vino. Now, I’m no pilot and I’ve never been in the RAF, but you don’t live with Pris as long as I have without learning a thing or two, and what I’ve learned is that she can bear a grudge longer than Al Capone.”

  “That is true,” Guy admitted.

  “So I might be about to blow the roof off this place, but I propose peace talks.” He looked to Josh for his agreement. “A lad should have his parents at his wedding—all of them—this has gone on too long, let’s get the lot of us in a room and get this thrashed out once and for all.”

  Josh nodded slowly. Martin was right, but the thought of Pris blowing her stack loomed largely in his mind. “Okay…I’ve done mediation at work, and I need to say now—if we do this, Martin, and I do think it’s a good idea, we have to have ground rules. No swearing, no raised voices, everyone doing their best to stay nice and calm. And…people have got to have space to be honest. Even if it’s painful.”

  “No raised voices?” Guy took a deep breath. “That’s Pris out then!”

  “And that’s not going to help,” Martin warned. “It’s now or never—you might not get another chance, Guy.”

  Josh rested his head for a moment against Guy’s arm. “Martin’s right. We’ve got to do this, Guy.”

  Guy nodded and said, “Okay. We can use our room.”

  Ours.

  Chapter Twelve

  Pris perched on the edge of a chaise longue by the window. Her hair looked perfect and unruffled and she seemed to be trying to give the impression that she was placid, but something was simmering. Her lips tightened as if she was trying to rein in her scorn. But at least she’d agreed to give it a go. That surely meant something.

  Josh had explained the ground rules to everyone, emphasizing that this conversation was to be solution-focused, not problem-focused, and he sat down beside Guy and held his hand.

  Guy couldn’t be farther from his former wife if he tried, sitting as he was on the bed across the room. Martin and Rey, to their cre
dit, seemed to at least be making an effort to be casual, having taken up positions leaning against a large chest of drawers, leaving Stella to sit with her future mother-in-law. It was Martin who took up the baton first, in that same no-nonsense way he brought to every situation.

  “So, this was my idea because I’m pig sick of this family being at war,” he told them. “And I don’t want Fred to look back later and wish this wedding had been different. We’re here for the duration, and we’re going to get this sorted.”

  “Yeah, I’m ready to try and get…I don’t know…something sorted out.” Rey nodded, looking to his mother. “I don’t know what, but something.”

  Pris finally blinked, having stared open-eyed for some time, and plucked at the cushion next to her. “Yes…yes, I suppose…I suppose so.”

  “Great,” Josh said, trying to sound encouraging. “We’ve all had a bit of a surprise today. Well…four, actually, if you include a violent storm and two near-drownings.”

  Nobody replied, but every eye in the room was on him.

  Waiting.

  “Erm…erm…” Josh tried to remember all the times he’d had to do this at work, calming the turbulent waters between warring colleagues. But none of the people in the room with him at that moment were wearing business suits. None of them had fallen out because someone hadn’t hit their targets or had been misusing the photocopier or had been making private phone calls on work time. Josh opened his mouth to speak, but he didn’t have a clue what to say.

  “Priscilla and I were best friends,” Guy said out of nowhere, filling the storm-lashed silence. “Military brats who grew up together because our dads were always getting posted to the same places. I remember at my tenth birthday party in Germany, our pas decided that we’d get married one day. Do you remember that?”