Chapter 44
Poor Marcus. Mimi could feel him mentally bracing himself. She was about to put him through an hours-long endurance test of the most agonising kind.
‘Thank you for doing this,’ she said. ‘We can leave as soon as the speeches are over. The moment the dancing gets started, we’ll sneak away, I promise.’
‘You don’t have to, though. I could disappear, but you can stay on if you’re having fun.’
‘Well, let’s see how things go.’ Mimi touched the sleeve of his immaculately tailored three-piece suit. ‘You look fantastic, by the way.’
He cracked a wry smile. ‘Flattery isn’t going to persuade me to hang around here any longer than I have to.’
She sympathised. They reached the riverside entrance of the Savoy. Behind them, beyond Embankment Gardens, the Thames glittered in the sunlight. Ahead, Marcus faced the prospect of having to make inconsequential chit-chat with a roomful of complete strangers . . . or, alternatively, lurking by the enormous windows pretending to be utterly enthralled by the way the . . . er, sunlight was glittering on the Thames.
He knew no one here other than CJ, whom he’d briefly met that one time and hadn’t much liked. He coped well enough in work situations, Mimi knew, because that involved meeting other accountants and at least they could make accountanty small talk. And he coped at home in Goosebrook because he knew everyone, which helped. But accompanying her here today . . . well, he’d done it out of the goodness of his heart, but no way was he going to find it enjoyable.
The decor in the River Room was sublime, the flower arrangements were spectacular and the exchange of vows went off without a hitch, which just went to show how much CJ had changed.
Willa was looking gorgeous in her stylish, understated way. CJ, puffed up with love and pride and wearing a multicoloured silk waistcoat, was visibly ecstatic. When the service was over and the bride and groom had kissed, he took baby Alice into his arms and triumphantly announced, ‘We’ve only gone and done it! And you can tell this is the best day of my life – it’s costing me a bloody fortune and I don’t even care!’
Everyone cheered and applauded. The MC announced that lunch would be served in thirty minutes. More trays of champagne began circulating, the rows of chairs were swiftly removed and an oversized woman in a tight café au lait dress and an enormous lace-trimmed hat tapped Mimi on the shoulder.
‘You’re Mimi! Hello, I’m Brenda! Helen’s sister?’
Helen’s sister, which made her Willa’s aunt. Mimi said, ‘Oh, hi,’ and went to shake her hand, but Brenda, who appeared to be in her late sixties, had already turned her attention to Marcus.
‘And you must be Marcus, how wonderful! We’ve heard so much about you!’
Bemused, Marcus found his own hand being seized and vigorously shaken. ‘You have?’
‘As soon as we found out Mimi was bringing you here today, we knew it was fate!’
Oh God. A sensation of impending doom began to unfurl inside Mimi’s chest. Surely not . . .
‘You must meet my son, Ewan. You have so much in common!’
Marcus grew visibly more tense. ‘Is he an accountant?’
‘No, he’s . . . you know, like you!’ Moving closer, Brenda enthusiastically mouthed the word gay. ‘Look, there he is over there, blonde hair and emerald-green tie. He’s forty-seven, keeps himself trim and—’
‘Please don’t do this,’ Marcus blurted out.
‘Oh but he’s such a lovely boy, if I do say so myself! Now come on, don’t be shy, why don’t I introduce you to him now? Just a quick hello, you won’t regret it!’
Mimi said hastily, ‘Maybe later, OK? Once the speeches are over and everyone’s a bit more relaxed.’ By which time Marcus would have had time to skip away, back to their hotel in Leicester Square, out of danger. Because if there was anything more horrifying than attending a wedding full of strangers, it was discovering you were the victim of a pushy mother intent on setting you up with possibly the only other single gay man in the room.
‘Did you know that was going to happen?’ Marcus murmured when they were alone once more.
‘God, no.’ Mimi was so mortified she couldn’t bring herself to look up in case she accidentally managed to catch Ewan’s eye.
‘This is even worse than when you set me up with that orthodontist in the Swan.’
Mimi winced. Eurgh, the dreaded Pierre from Cirencester. And to think she’d been so convinced he and Marcus were a match made in heaven.
Thirty minutes later, as they took their seats at their allocated table, a young waitress placed a folded note in front of Marcus. ‘I was asked to give you this,’ she said with a smile.
Marcus read the brief note before passing it to Mimi next to him.
A million apologies. My mother means well, but she’s the worst. I had no idea she was planning to do that. Be assured that I shall keep my distance. By the time the speeches are over, I’ll be gone.
Sorry again.
Ewan
It was a nice note, which meant he sounded like a nice person, but Mimi knew better than to point this out. She said, ‘Well thank goodness for that. At least you don’t have to worry now.’
Marcus nodded and gazed intently out of the window. He didn’t look as if he planned to stop worrying any time soon.
Just over an hour later, the three-course meal had been cleared away and Mimi could feel Marcus silently counting down the minutes. The speeches began, and she risked glancing across the room to the table at which Ewan and his mother were seated along with other members of Willa’s family. Ewan was facing in the opposite direction so Mimi could only see his back view. But he looked to have good shoulders.
The best man, a fellow thriller writer who’d flown over from Boston for the ceremony, gave a long speech and managed to lever in three separate mentions of his own books as well as a massive plug for the movie of his most recent novel, which was about to go into production starring Tom Cruise.
Then it was CJ’s turn to speak, because as he’d already explained, it made sense to leave the best till last. Eyeing his best man – and greatest rival in the publishing world – he announced, ‘And my next book has been optioned by Tom Hanks, who’s going to direct and star it in, so I guess I win.’
But when the laughter had subsided, CJ grew serious and made an affecting speech that quite clearly came from the heart. He explained how lucky he was to have found someone to transform his life, how wonderful Willa was, and how the arrival of Alice had made both their lives complete.
He paused, then continued, ‘Most of you know that I have my faults, although I generally prefer not to admit to them. Willa loves me despite them, and it’s my job now to become a better person, to be worthy of that love.’ His voice thickened with emotion. ‘And to be worthy of our daughter’s love, too. As you probably also know, Willa and I had a bit of a rocky start as a couple, but thanks to our friend Mimi, who basically sat me down and told me I was an idiot, I was able to be there at the hospital when Alice came into the world. Without Mimi, I doubt we’d be here now, celebrating the fact that I never knew it was possible to be as happy as I am today.’ This time he needed to reach for the white handkerchief in his breast pocket in order to wipe his eyes. ‘Look at me, what a wuss. Anyway, thank you all for coming, thank you to Mimi for making me see sense, thank you to Willa, the only woman I’ve ever loved . . . and if anyone takes a photo of me blubbing like a baby, you’ll end up in the Thames.’
Once the tumultuous applause had died down, music began to play and people rose from their seats in order to mingle, visit the loo, greet friends or make their way onto the dance floor.
Marcus, more relieved than most to get to his feet, said in a low voice, ‘I’m going to head off now, is that OK? Will you be all right on your own?’
‘I’ll be fine. Come on, I’ll see you out.’ Since he was keen to slip away without being noticed, Mimi didn’t want to give him a goodbye hug in front of everyone else. Leaving her jacket over the back of her chair, she followed him out of the room and down the staircase. Once they reached the stunning foyer on the ground floor, she wrapped her arms around him. ‘Thank you again. And you can relax now, it’s over. I’ll explain to CJ and Willa that you had to leave early—’
‘What are you doing?’
Mimi swung round and saw Ewan standing behind them. Viewing him for the first time at close quarters, she was struck by the openness of his face; he looked like a good person, an honest one.
‘I’m leaving,’ said Marcus, but Ewan shook his head vehemently.
‘No, no, you don’t have to. I told you I’d leave. I’m going now.’
‘But there’s no need,’ Marcus replied. ‘You can stay. I’m the one who’s leaving.’
‘I will,’ said Ewan. ‘Really, I insist.’
They stared at each other in dismay, until Marcus exclaimed, ‘But I want to go.’
‘Not as much as I do.’ Ewan grimaced slightly. ‘I’ve been counting down the minutes.’
Mimi said, ‘Trust me, so has Marcus.’
Was there ever such an utterly British situation? The next moment a loud Australian herding three enormous suitcases on wheels bellowed, ‘Outta the way, you guys, I gotta get these into a cab. Whoops, sorry about that, aaargh, and again. Sorry, mate, I’m a tirrible driver!’
The man and his cases were helped out of the hotel by two bellboys, leaving Marcus and Ewan to dust the wheel marks off their highly polished shoes before resuming their mutually uncomfortable conversation.
‘Social events are my worst nightmare,’ Ewan ventured.
Marcus nodded. ‘Mine too.’
‘I really am sorry about my mother.’
‘Don’t worry. She means well.’
‘I know. She wants me to be happy.’ Ewan smiled slightly. ‘Just goes about it the wrong way and ends up giving me palpitations when I find out what she’s been up to.’
Mimi said, ‘I did the same thing to Marcus not long ago. It’s a wonder he’s even speaking to me after what I put him through . . . Oh, sorry.’ She stepped aside as a porter trundled past pushing a loaded brass luggage cart.
Ewan looked at Marcus. ‘What did she put you through?’
And now it was Marcus’s turn to smile, because at least it was behind him now. ‘Only the worst blind date in the world. I made her promise never to do it again, otherwise she’d be out on the streets.’
‘Look,’ said Mimi, ‘we’re getting in people’s way. Tell you what, why don’t we get out of here? There’s a nice place just across the road . . . right now I could really do with a cup of coffee. Then you can tell Ewan all about the disastrous date I forced you to go on.’
Amazingly, incredibly, it worked. The relaxed atmosphere of the family-run Mediterranean restaurant opposite the Savoy wove its magic too, and because it was mid afternoon, they were able to get a table by the window. Once their coffees had arrived and the conversation was safely flowing, Mimi rubbed her bare arms and said, ‘Brrr, this air con’s efficient! I’m going to nip back and pick up my jacket. Won’t be two minutes.’ Pushing back her chair, she amended, ‘If I am longer than two minutes, it means CJ has forced me to dance with him. OK, if I’m not back in fifteen minutes, you need to give me a call and rescue me. I’ll pretend it’s a client with some kind of PR emergency. Don’t forget!’
She left them in the restaurant and made her way back to the wedding reception. CJ was too busy showing off his beloved daughter to ask her to dance, but Mimi wasn’t distraught. Having helped herself to another glass of champagne, she spent a happy half-hour chatting to Willa’s mum Helen and various other friends and relatives.
No call had come through from Marcus. Just as well she hadn’t needed rescuing.
After another hour, Mimi retraced her steps and, lurking like a secret agent, surveyed the restaurant from across the road. But there was no need to be furtive; frankly, the chances were that Marcus and Ewan wouldn’t have noticed if a squawking pterodactyl had been circling above their heads.
Mimi felt her heart expand with love for shy, gentle Marcus, who so deserved to be happy again. And of course – of course – it was far too soon to be getting her hopes up, but at least the first tricky hurdle had been overcome. He and Ewan were talking non-stop, utterly engrossed in each other’s company. All she could do now was leave them to it and keep everything crossed, because wouldn’t it be wonderful if something could blossom as a result of this most serendipitous of meetings, and after such an unpromising start?
A text pinged up on Mimi’s phone at midnight. Her pulse began to race when she saw that it was from Cal.
Hi, just wondered how the wedding went. All OK? Did you have a good time? (How about Marcus??) Sorry if you were asleep and this has woken you up x
He’d put a kiss. Well, an x. Mimi gazed at it and felt her stomach flip. She typed back: I’m not asleep! And today went brilliantly. I’m in my hotel room and guess who isn’t back here yet?!
She hesitated, savouring the moment, then added an x. As she did it, she realised she was imagining planting a fleeting flirty kiss on Cal’s mouth.
Just as well he couldn’t see her doing it. She pressed send.
As she’d hoped, her phone rang seconds later.
‘You can’t text something like that and not tell me what’s going on.’ Cal sounded as if he was smiling, and the intimacy of his voice in her room – in her ear – sent a quiver down her spine.
‘The most amazing thing happened.’ From her bed, Mimi was able to gaze down at the bustle and lights of central London. As other people’s lives played out beyond the uncurtained window, she told Cal the whole story and was touched that he was as delighted for Marcus as she was.
‘I checked on them twice and they were still there in the restaurant. At six, Marcus gave me a call to let me know they were going for a walk along the Embankment before finding somewhere to eat. Then an hour ago he texted to say he’d be back here soon.’
‘And you’re still waiting.’
‘Like a stern Victorian father sitting in the parlour, checking my pocket watch for the millionth time.’
Cal laughed. ‘I’m home now, but Cora stayed at Lauren’s today while I was up in Lambourn. I gave her a call this afternoon and as a joke asked if she was missing me. She said, “Oh Dad, don’t be so needy.”’
‘She’s growing up.’ Through the window Mimi had been idly observing a scene unfold. ‘No, stop,’ she blurted out. ‘You’re ruining it!’
Startled, Cal said, ‘Ruining what?’
‘Sorry, not you. My room overlooks Leicester Square and I was watching a couple standing together under a street lamp. He was just plucking up the courage to kiss her when this group of lads went past and one of them yelled out something rude. And now they’ve run off but the guy’s too embarrassed to try again. Honestly, what a bunch of animals. Animals.’ Mimi raised her voice as the lads raced past beneath her window, then heard barking at the other end of the phone. ‘Oh sorry, did Otto hear me say that?’
‘No, he’s gone tearing upstairs; sounds like something’s woken Cora.’
In the background, Mimi made out a high-pitched wail and a loud crash, followed by Cora calling out Daaaaaad and the scrape of chair legs on the tiled floor. She heard Cal carry the phone up the stairs, push open the bedroom door and say, ‘What’s happened?’ followed by the sound of Cora yelling, ‘Get it out of here, Dad! Get it out.’
And now Cal had started to laugh. ‘It’s a bat,’ he told Mimi. ‘A pipistrelle. It’s flown in through the window and now it’s doing circuits of her bedroom, and Cora’s jumping up and down on her bed like a jack-in-the-box . . . Sweetie, calm down, you know it isn’t going to hurt you.’
‘But it’s flapping its wings so fast and . . . aaaargh, Dad, get it away from me, I don’t want it in here! MAKE IT STOP.’
Shortly after ending the call, Mimi heard the lift opening, followed by the sound of Marcus’s gentle throat-clearing as he paused in the corridor outside the room next to hers. She leapt up and opened her door as he was swiping his key card.
‘Oh, hi.’ He blinked at her from behind his spectacles. ‘Did CJ mind that we left early?’
‘Not one bit. He was delighted.’ Mimi smiled, because Marcus was looking – there was no other word for it – radiant. ‘Oh Marcus, this is the best thing . . .’
He said mildly, ‘You haven’t even asked me how we got on.’
‘Do you want to take a look at yourself in the mirror? I don’t need to ask.’ She hugged him. ‘And no one deserves this more than you.’
Once they were back in their respective rooms, Mimi sent Cal another text to keep him updated: Marcus is back, and so so happy. Just think, if you’d been my plus-one, he and Ewan would never have met. It’s all thanks to you x
Cal’s reply pinged onto her phone screen a minute later: I know, I’m brilliant. Also, managed to get rid of the bat. Go me. xx
Two kisses! Two!
Smiling to herself, Mimi sent: You see? Sometimes your little girl does still need you after all. xx
There, now she’d sent two back to him. What a wanton floozy! Oh, but it was so exciting, flirting by text. Would Cal reply with three kisses? And if he did, would she send three more back to him? How long could they keep it going?
Mimi held her breath, giddy with anticipation, waiting for the next ping to arrive.
Then she took a few more breaths and held them too.
But there were no more pings, or texts, or kisses. So much for getting her hopes up.
Oh well.