Luke and I grab a couple of sunbeds and take in the last session of sunbathing of the trip. I am going to miss this. We just don’t have the same heat in the UK. The sun has shed most of its power when it heads our way and we always get the dregs of it. Most of the time it misses us altogether and I wonder what it must be like to live in a country where sunshine on the daily menu is a given.
In the UK cloud and rain is a given. The green fields of home may be grateful for it but I would trade it for sunshine every time.
It isn’t long before Jenny and Flynn join us. I notice that Jenny is carrying some large shopping bags and look at her with curiosity.
“Did you find the Mall, Jenny? I didn’t know there was one here otherwise I would have been there like a bullet from a gun.”
Jenny grins. “I bought us all a little something for tonight.”
Rachel looks at me and we look at Jenny with interest. She laughs with excitement.
“Well, as it’s our last night, I thought we should do something special. After all, this trip has changed my life forever, and I wanted to mark the occasion.”
We watch her rummage around in one of the bags and she removes what appears to be an item of clothing from the bag with a flourish.
“Tada!”
Rachel looks at me with a stunned expression and I hear Luke snort beside me. Jenny looks at us with excitement. “So, what do you think? I thought we could all wear them out on the town. It will be fun.”
Rachel looks at me with horror and I stifle a giggle. Jenny is holding the most outrageous monstrosity of a dress that I have ever seen. It is made up of frills like a mini flamenco dancer’s dress. The material is green and covered in every tropical bird out there. Parrots, flamingos, and puffins. They all adorn the hideous creation and I think I am speechless. Jenny takes our silence as excitement and grins.
“I couldn’t resist them. My mum loved her birds, and it was as if it were a sign. There were only four dresses left, and it was buy one get one free. She would love the thought of us all wearing them on our final night and it will be a great memory to take home with us.”
Marcus looks up and laughs loudly.
“You maniac, Jenny. Those dresses are hilarious. When you’ve finished with them can I have one? I would be the envy of everyone in my local if I rocked up in one of those for Salsa night.”
Jenny grins and I try to wipe the horror from my face. This is a nightmare. There is no way on God's earth that I want to be seen dead in one of those dresses but how can I refuse? It would be like kicking a wounded puppy. Jenny is recovering well but I know she is still on edge. So, I just smile at her and nod, trying to muster up some enthusiasm.
“Sure, it will be fun.”
I try not to look at Luke and Mark who I sense are grinning at each other. Rachel shares my tortured looks but disguises it with a smile.
“Of course, your mum would love it. It’s a fitting tribute.”
Jenny flings us a bag each and turns to Flynn.
“Come on, let’s go and deliver Jo hers and then we can go and get ready.”
I look at her in surprise.
“We’ve got hours before dinner, why the rush?”
Flynn grins as Jenny giggles.
“Let’s just say, Flynn and I take a long time to get ready. We may ... um ... be in our room for quite some time.”
Rachel grins at me as I laugh softly.
“Of course, see you later guys. Oh, and thanks, Jenny. It’s a lovely idea.”
I watch them head off hand in hand and my heart melts. Good for Jenny. If one thing has come out of this trip, it’s the sight of her happiness. Mission accomplished.
“This is a bloody nightmare.”
I stifle a giggle as Rachel grins at me. Jo is furious. She looks ridiculous in her frilly creation and it’s only the sight of her that keeps me from crying. These dresses are hideous.
Rachel shakes her head. “We look like some sort of girl band from the seventies. Jenny seems happy though.”
We look over and see her flamenco dancing in front of Flynn, who is clapping wildly. She is laughing and looks so happy my heart melts.
“It’s only one night. We can put up with looking like this if it makes her happy. If she leaves then we must make the most of having her in our lives.”
Jo nods, looking a little ashamed. “You’re right. It’s only one night and I’m sure after a few tequilas it won’t seem so bad.”
Pete comes over and I watch her eyes light up. Ever since their reconciliation we have hardly seen the two of them. They have been seconded in their room for most of the time we had left. I’m glad to see they are back on track because they make the sweetest couple in the world. Jo can be abrupt and hard sometimes but she has a soft heart. We started at Jet Air together and a better friend I couldn’t have wished to find. You know where you are with Jo. She doesn’t pull any punches and tells it how it is. However, she is kind and generous and isn’t one to gossip. I trust her completely and know that she deserves her happy ever after with Pete. At first, I was sceptical when they got together. Pete was a hot new captain that was an instant hit with the crew. He is fun and good company and there were many girls, and guys I might add, that were after him. However, he only ever had eyes for Jo. They clicked on a stopover one night and have been inseparable ever since. It wasn’t long before she moved in with him and in pure Jo practical fashion, rented her flat out instead. This latest drama was out of character for them both and I hope that it’s smooth sailing from here on in.
There are a lot of us tonight so we are meeting in the bar. Our numbers have grown considerably over the length of this trip and my heart sinks as I spy Mark cosying up to Rachel. Oh well, only one more night of worry and then she will return to face her future. Vowing to keep a close eye on my friend, I head over to join them.
Luke is grabbing us some drinks and I sit down next to Rachel and roll my eyes.
“Well, this is different.”
Rachel laughs.
“I never thought I’d wear a dress like this in my life. There must be strictly no photographic evidence of it because I would never live it down.”
Laughing, I gesture towards Marcus who is snapping away on his phone.
“Too late, Marcus has already downloaded it to Facebook.”
Rachel looks annoyed.
“Typical Marcus. Nothing is sacred.”
Jenny dances over, pulling a smiling Flynn behind her.
“Hey, guys. Thanks for wearing the dresses. They’re amazing, aren’t they?”
I laugh softly. “You could say that.”
They squash in beside us as Luke returns with a bottle of tequila and some shot glasses.
He grins. “One for the road?”
Like giggling teenagers, we line up the shots and then raise our glasses simultaneously. Luke says loudly.
“To Mexico and the best damn honeymoon, a guy could get.”
Slamming our glasses down we take the hit and shake our heads as we feel the burn. Coughing, I look at Luke and squeak, “You forgot to add the lemonade.”
He laughs. “No, I didn’t. Tonight, there are no half measures. This is our last night and we must make it count.”
The others cheer as he refills the glasses and I laugh to myself. “Yes, lots of alcohol is needed to mend the hole in my heart at what tomorrow will bring.”
We head out to a nearby restaurant and I think the waiter pales considerably when he sees the huge party bearing down on him. Everyone is in high spirits and we draw many a curious look. I don’t care though because I have everything I need holding my hand. I laugh as I see Flynn running down the street with Jenny on his back and Jo and Pete holding hands and laughing together.
Once inside we are given a large table made up of several pushed together. The noise is off the scale as we all chatter excitedly. Elvis is laughing at something Marcus is saying and I know he will miss us when we have gone. They are two of a kind and their friendship has been one of the sweetest things to come out of this trip.
Luke puts his arm around me and whispers.
“I know you hate that dress but there is something incredibly sexy about it.”
He runs his fingers down my shoulder and I feel a delicious shiver inside. Way to go Becca. Bullseye, hole in one and Olympic gold. I feel as if I have won the jackpot in the love lottery with Luke. I want nothing more than to be alone with him for the time we have left. He appears unable to keep his hands off me even for a second and I absolutely love it.
We listen to Jo talking about the wedding - again. She chatters on as Pete just nods and smiles at her indulgently. She looks at us and smiles.
“We’re going to have so much fun planning this wedding together. I’ll arrange a planning session as soon as possible. I actually can’t wait to get started. There is so much to do and I will need one of those bride planning books that they sell in W H Smith. I’ve always wanted one and now I can, it’s a dream come true.”
She claps her hands. “This is going to be the best wedding in history.”
Rachel smiles but I see the sadness in her eyes.
I whisper, “Are you ok?”
She nods sadly.
“I was as excited as Jo once. My wedding was the best day of my life. Everything was perfect, and I had the rest of my life to enjoy my new husband. It certainly is a dream come true and I just hope that Jo doesn’t wake up from her dream as quickly as I have.”
I worry at her words. It’s as if she has given up on Lorenzo already. I smile reassuringly.
“It’s just an argument. You’ll get through it. It’s what tests marriages. You’ll see, Lorenzo will have missed you and you him. It’s my bet that as soon as you set eyes on him again you will wonder why you had doubts. Just you wait and see.”
She smiles thinly and I can tell she doesn’t believe a word I’ve said. As she turns to Mark, I see the spark ignite in her eyes again and sigh inside. Despite my optimism, I can tell that Rachel has given up on her marriage already. I will just have to be there for her when her world comes crashing down around her.
~*~*~*~*~