The foyer of Café Royal sparkles, the grandeur impressive.
We enter the small ornate elevator, both of us quiet as it slowly carries us up. Ava peeks at me a few times, never releasing my hand. When the doors open, the rush of sound hits us – music, chatting, laughter. I step forward, but feel Ava’s resistance behind me. ‘Everyone is looking forward to seeing you,’ I say, trying to build her confidence. ‘And I’ll never leave your side.’
‘What if I need the ladies?’
‘Then I’ll come,’ I say matter-of-factly, because it is definitely a fact. She smiles, knowing I really will, and leaves the elevator. ‘If it’s too loud, you must tell me.’ I don’t want her getting a headache.
‘What will you do? Demand everyone be quiet and order Drew to turn off the music?’
I smile down at her, not needing to answer. She knows I’d do that as well.
‘Silly question,’ she says on a shake of her head. ‘Of course you would.’
We cross the threshold of the room, and I feel Ava’s hand squeeze mine, her other hand coming up and clinging onto my bicep. ‘Relax,’ I tell her gently, taking a glass of fizz from an offered tray and peeling her hand off my arm. I give her the champagne. ‘Small sips.’
‘Right.’ She sinks the entire glass, stealthily moving back when I reach to seize it. ‘Too slow, Ward,’ she murmurs, placing the empty on the tray.
The woman is impossible. ‘You’ll pay for that.’
‘Can’t wait.’ Her hand raises in a wave, and we’re soon joined by Raya. ‘Congratulations, Raya. You look gorgeous,’ Ava tells her, taking both her hands and holding them out to admire Raya’s dress in all its glory.
‘This old thing?’ She rolls her eyes and moves in to kiss Ava on the cheek. ‘Thank you for coming. It means a lot to me and Drew.’
‘Wouldn’t miss it for the world.’ Ava peeks up at me and jerks her head a little, her way of telling me to give some attention to the lady of the moment.
‘Really stunning,’ I all but grunt, peeling my eyes away from my devious wife just as Drew joins us. His suit is pristine, as expected. He gives his fiancée a loving kiss on her cheek, before moving in on Ava. I will him not to make a big deal of her presence. Everyone commenting on her actually being here won’t help.
‘Ava, you look sublime.’ Drew drops a gentle kiss on her cheek before rejoining Raya. ‘Thank you for coming. Now, if you wouldn’t mind me stealing my beautiful bride-to-be.’
‘Of course, you go.’ Ava shoos them away and takes advantage of the passing waiter as I shake Drew’s hand.
‘Easy,’ I warn as she takes the glass to her lips.
It rests on her bottom lip for a few moments as she regards my increasingly bristly form. Then she makes a show of taking the smallest, slowest sip she possibly could.
‘Don’t push me, lady.’ I collect her hand and push through the crowd, making sure I clear the way first as I pull Ava along with me.
‘There’s John,’ Ava says, pointing towards the bar. ‘And Elsie.’
He’s brought a date? I change course quickly, heading their way. The big guy is smiling, probably wider than I’ve ever seen before, and he’s made a real effort. His black suit is new for sure, his white shirt stark, and his bald head is supershiny, undoubtedly freshly polished. As soon as he spots me, his bright smile turns into a filthy glare. One that could shrink every muscle I have, and I have a lot. But, of course, I completely ignore his suddenly threatening stance, my body becoming taller.
‘Don’t tease him,’ Ava warns.
I scoff. I’ve waited for ever for this. ‘John.’ I slap a firm hand on his solid shoulder. He doesn’t move an inch. ‘You look like you’re here to impress.’ His eyes darken, only making my grin widen. I turn it onto Elsie and blind her with it. ‘And you look ravishing. I hope John has told you so.’ I can’t imagine him paying a compliment.
‘Oh, he has.’ Elsie’s hand reaches for John’s. ‘Quite a few times, in fact.’
John’s still glaring at me, and I’m still totally ignoring it. ‘How romantic of you.’ His eyes are telling me to fuck right off before he smashes me in my smug face, but he would never tell me so in front of his new lady friend. ‘So you two official?’
‘Jesse.’ Ava sighs, sounding tired by my game. Tired? I’ve only just begun. ‘Let’s go and find Kate and Sam.’
‘Good idea,’ John growls as Ava pulls me away. I just can’t wipe the grin off my face. ‘Have a nice evening.’ John sounds less than sincere.
‘You too,’ Ava calls, her yanks of my arm getting firmer. ‘Jesse, for the love of God, will you behave?’
‘This is monumental stuff, baby.’ I relent and turn, letting her pull me through the crowds. ‘I’ve only known him to be goo-goo over his bonsai trees.’
‘He has bonsai trees?’ Her wonder is warranted as she glances back to the colossal, mean-looking man who I adore with all my heart.
‘If he pays as much attention to Elsie as he does those trees, she’ll be feeling pretty special.’ I spot Sam with Kate, who’s shoving a canapé in her mouth. ‘Hungry, Kate?’ I ask, alarmed as she follows it up quickly with another.
‘Oh my God,’ she mumbles around her full mouth, closing her eyes like she’s tasting heaven. ‘I just can’t stop eating.’ She collects another and holds it while moving in to give Ava a hug. ‘Food. Just give me food and I’ll be happy.’
Ava laughs over her shoulder as Sam shakes his head in amusement. ‘Shall we get some seats?’ I ask, mindful of Kate’s huge belly, and of my wife’s dodgy leg.
‘No.’ Sam shakes his head, pointing his beer to a passing waiter. ‘She’s figured out the route to the kitchen. This is the prime spot to bag the good stuff before everyone else gets to it. We’ll be here all night.’
‘You need to sit down, Kate,’ Ava moans at her, reaching for her tummy and giving it a little rub. ‘How are you feeling?’
‘Hungry,’ she replies, seizing another canapé and stuffing the whole thing in her mouth.
Sam looks entirely exasperated as he takes one for himself. ‘And I’m coming out in sympathy. This baby needs to come soon before its mum and dad run out of food and eat each other.’
Ava laughs, looking relaxed as she observes our friends munching their way through canapé after canapé. I’m not standing here all night. Besides, Ava needs to sit down. I spot a waitress entering the room, heading this way, and as soon as she makes it to us, I take the tray from her hands. ‘It’s an emergency,’ I say to her startled face.
‘Oh God.’ Kate’s on me like she needs me to breathe, ramming food into her mouth.
‘Come on.’ I usher them all onto the balcony, following with the tray.
The traffic on Regent Street is clear, the lights glowing, the bustle of London a perfect backdrop. Stone columns close us in, prisms of fire warming the night air. It’s beautifully idyllic, this little private haven above the busy streets of London.
As soon as Kate’s sitting down, I put the tray in front of her, smiling at Sam when he rolls his eyes. ‘Sips,’ I whisper in Ava’s ear as she lowers to a chair, taking a water for myself. ‘You hungry?’
‘Even if I was, I don’t think I’d dare take one from her,’ she quips, making Kate’s chewing slow to a stop.
‘Oow . . . ohhh . . . usstt.’ Her hands wave at the tray as she splutters a load of nonsense at us. And then Ava reaches forward, taking one of the little flatbreads as Kate groans happily on. ‘I don’t know what it is about them, but I can’t get enough.’
I’m thrilled to see Ava pop one in her mouth without any pressing from me. But it isn’t in her mouth for long. She coughs, grabbing a napkin and holding it to her mouth. ‘Fucking hell,’ she splutters, emptying the contents of her mouth into the material.
‘Ava.’ My bark of her name makes her jump a little, though I get no apology for her foul mouth.
‘I know, right?’ Kate grabs another and rams it in. ‘Serious . . . eeee . . . est . . . ings.’
‘I need water!’ Ava starts fanning her mouth, frantically searching the vicinity. ‘Quickly! Oh my God, my mouth’s burning!’
I hand over my glass as Sam falls apart across the table, and she grabs it, slurping it down ravenously.
‘Spicy?’ I take a wild guess, smiling as she nods over the glass.
‘Delicious,’ Kate corrects.
‘You hate hot food.’ Ava’s face is red, a mild sweat dampening her skin. She looks at the platter with disgust.
‘Oh, Kate’s developed a bit of a craving.’ Sam takes one of the canapés and holds it out to Kate, whose mouth falls open like she’s begging for a treat. ‘She’s draining the local Indian restaurant dry.’ He slips it past her lips and wipes a little bit of sauce from the corner of her mouth on a fond smile. ‘I won’t miss the midnight demands for a curry, but I will miss these.’ He cups one of her swelling boobs on a grin. Ava doesn’t know where to look, diving into her fizz, whereas I laugh. She got used to Sam’s cheeky nature over the years. Now she has to start all over again. ‘Drinks, anyone?’ Sam asks, releasing Kate’s boob and rising.
‘I’ll have a grapefruit juice.’ Kate waffles around her ever-full mouth. ‘With a dash of tomato juice and some Worcester sauce.’
‘Jesus, Kate,’ Ava breathes, grimacing. ‘Pregnancy is doing weird stuff to your appetite.’
‘Tell me about it,’ Sam says. ‘Jesse?’
‘Just a water for me.’
‘You go,’ Ava suggests, nodding when I look at her in question. What happened to never leaving her side? ‘It’s fine. Kate’s here.’
I sense she wants some alone time with her friend, and I’m honestly not sure how I feel about that. What will be said? I don’t know, and that’s a killer. But crowding her when she’s asked for a little space will do me no favours. ‘Five minutes,’ I agree reluctantly, leaning in and pushing my mouth to her cheek. ‘You’re going to talk about me, aren’t you?’
‘Don’t have such a big head.’ She smiles, and it’s fond. It doesn’t make me feel any better. I study her for a few moments, trying to read her mind. ‘Go,’ she orders, pulling on my sleeve. ‘And bring some canapés back that aren’t going to blow my head off.’
It’s like she knows the promise that she’ll eat will entice me to leave. And I hate that she’s right. ‘Fine.’
‘And some more of these,’ Kate adds, tossing another into her mouth. ‘I’m running low.’
I’m out of my chair fast, laughing as I walk away with a chuckling Sam. ‘Hey, look at that.’ I nudge his shoulder, and he looks across the bar with me where John’s romancing his lady friend.
‘He’s gonna plant that big knuckled fist on your nose if you don’t pack it in,’ Sam laughs, waving the barman over.
‘It would be worth it,’ I order some water. ‘And some grapefruit juice with . . . ’ I fade off, trying to remember the foul concoction Kate requested. I look at Sam, who takes over, reeling off his order.
‘Hey, boys.’ Drew joins us, a hand on each shoulder as he peeks his head through the middle of us. ‘What the fuck is that?’ He eyes up the glass of God-knows-what.
‘Don’t ask.’ I turn away from the bar, leaning against the wood. ‘So not long until you’re nailed down, too. Excited?’
‘Yes, actually. I know that surprises you.’
It doesn’t. From the moment he met the lovely Raya, he was smitten. It might have been a surprise at the time, but you only have to see them together to get it. Who would have thought back in the day that this is where we’d be? Sam preparing for the imminent arrival of his firstborn, Drew ready to walk down the aisle. And me with twins and a wife who doesn’t know me. I flinch, knocking myself out of my own depressing thoughts, and it doesn’t escape the boys’ notice. I swallow and shake off the melancholy.
‘Hey, how’s things?’ Sam asks, and I look past them both to see Ava has moved to the other side of the table to be next to Kate. She must sense my watchful eyes, because she looks up as she collects her glass, and then proceeds to take a cheeky, very measured sip. But the volume of alcohol she’s drinking isn’t foremost in my mind. What she’s saying to Kate is.