As we walk to the entrance gate, I’m surprised to find the High Roller is so slow moving that it does not need to stop. People are being guided into the pods by staff and the doors locked. I show my tickets at the booth, and we are herded into a big queue. Tensions are gathering steam. Cherry is rubbing her belly and claiming to already feel motion sickness even though we are on solid ground. Maybe it is morning sickness and not the skip-full of sugar she has consumed. Before she has a chance to go to the toilets, the staff yell for the Cooper Party to come forward. ‘Happy Half Hour Cooper party this way, please.’
Cripes.I hope Cherry can hold it for thirty minutes.
‘This is Manny. He will be your bartender while on board. Drinks are free. Tips are welcome.’
The Dollz burst into laughter. ‘Manny!’ shrieks Tash, pointing at his badge.
‘Manny!’ howls Liberty. ‘You couldn’t make it up.’
Big Sue and Big Mand are creased up. They are also pointing to his badge. Manny holds up his badge. ‘It is my name. Manny. Manny Fagnet. Why is this funny?’
‘Ah, shite. I’ve wet myself,’ yelps Cherry, choking on her laughter. She really isn’t having a good day.
‘We’ll explain when we get in there,’ says Tash, catching her breath. ‘Come on, MannyFagnet.’ And off she goes, howling with laughter. At least the energy levels and raucous vibes have returned. Ged and Liam have also cracked up, which is nice to see. For a second, I thought this trip was going to be a disaster.
Poor Manny. He has no idea why we are laughing until Liberty whispers something in his ear. Manny gazes around the group before he shouts, ‘I love it! I love it because it is funny. But it is funny because I also love fanny!’
Silence. Manny has taken things too far. Also, we are confused. Does he mean American for bum, or does he mean the English version?
‘Who wants a drink?’ he says, trying to recover the vibe, and luckily everyone is now in the mood to drink even though it is only noon.
Matteo sidles up to me. ‘See? What did I say about you all being batshit crazy?’
He’s not wrong.
As the drinks and colourful cocktails are speedily served by Manny, who has managed to get himself back in the good books by serving sparklers, giant straws and umbrellas with the drinks, Matteo sidles up to me.
‘Nervous?’ he murmurs into my hair.
I chew my lip. ‘A bit. What if they don’t turn up?’ I say very quietly.
‘If they don’t, we can always ring them mid-vows and hurry them along.’ He chuckles, wrapping his arms around me as we gaze out at the spectacular view.
I feel a little pang that Matteo is not taking it as seriously as me.
‘OMG!’ yells Liberty. ‘The Eiffel Tower!’
Hank Junior corrects her. ‘No. That is the STRAT Tower. It has the world’s tallest rotating restaurant. I will take you there tonight for our… celebration.’
Liberty squeals with excitement and kisses him full on the mouth in response. They then exchange what I’m going to start calling a ‘secretive’ vibe.
Celebration? Not these two as well!
Matteo spots it too. ‘Do you think they’re… up to something?’
I dig him in the ribs. ‘And look at Big Sue and Big Mand.’ I nod discreetly to where they are standing whispering to one another and pointing downwards. Matteo and I glimpse out the window. We are directly over the Little Wedding Chapel. In fact, there are many wedding chapels. One on nearly every street corner. There are brides and grooms aplenty scurrying below us.
Tash points out the Bellagio fountain. ‘That’s where we’re thinking of…’ She stops mid-sentence.
‘Thinking of what?’ I ask, dreading the answer.Getting hitched? Conceiving a baby?
‘Thinking of doing a live for Tash’s followers,’ supplies Sister Kevin smoothly. ‘She wants me to be the sort of interviewer. Even though I’ve never done it before.’
Speaking of which. I whip out my phone. I keep forgetting the documentary I’m filming for Ged and Liam. I point the phone in their direction, but they are wearing disappointed expressions. ‘But we wanted to do a live from there for TikTok.’
This squabble proves popular. Everyone wants to do a ‘live’ from the Bellagio.
Hank Junior breaks from Liberty, who has much to say on the topic, to approach Matteo and me. ‘Hi,’ he says. ‘Can you delete any footage with me on, please?’
