‘Shhhh!’ A fierce-looking lady turned her head and scowled at them both. Fin smiled weakly as Jack held his hands up apologetically.
‘Sorry,’ he half shouted, half whispered at the woman, who replied with an even more deadly stare.
Thankfully Jack managed to restrain himself for the rest of the ceremony, only using his voice to sing as loudly as humanly possible during the hymns. It was a beautiful ceremony, and there wasn’t a dry eye in the church as Kate and her new husband George walked out of the doors as man and wife. Fin watched eagerly as they passed, followed up by a trail of red-eyed family members. Soon it was their turn to leave and Jack seemed in a particular rush to go, almost pushing Fin out of the door.
‘Come on, if we get caught behind this lot we’ll be stuck for hours and I, for one, certainly want to make use of the free bar as soon as I can.’ He chuckled, anxiously looking behind him at the stream of people moving through the aisles.
For a January day the weather had been surprisingly kind, the bleary sun trying its hardest to shed its rays on the happy gathering below. Fin stood a little to the side as the photographer swarmed around the family, herding everyone into position. Jack hovered by Fin’s side, fumbling in his pocket for a crumpled pack of cigarettes.
‘You want one?’ he offered. Fin shook his head, eyes eagerly watching the congregation for any signs of familiar faces. ‘How are you getting to the reception, by the way?’
Fin grimaced. ‘Erm, no idea. Taxi?’ Even as the words came out of his mouth, he realized it was foolish. They were in a tiny rural village in the middle of nowhere.
Jack scoffed. ‘Oh yeah, all those Ubers just queuing up. I’m guessing you didn’t book a place on the coach then?’ His eyebrow arched gleefully.
‘Nope.’
‘No worries. I’ll drive you if you want? My car’s just over there.’ He waved his hand vaguely to the left. ‘The two renegades have to stick together – am I right?’ He smirked.
Fin returned the smile. ‘Thanks, mate.’
It seemed that their lateness was going to bond them for the entire wedding, not that he minded; Jack was now the third person aside from the couple that he knew. There was always safety in numbers.
‘No sweat.’ Suddenly Jack’s face dropped. He threw the half-smoked cigarette on the floor and stamped it out viciously. ‘But we have to go … right now.’ He grabbed Fin’s arm and started to pull him away from the church.
‘All right, calm down! What’s the rush?’ But before Jack could answer, Fin saw a small woman push her way through the throng of people and head directly towards them. She looked like a gift-wrapped pit bull clad in coral. Even thedelicate curls on her head seemed to suddenly stiffen in anger.
‘Jack Clements. Where thehellhave you been!’ she barked.
‘Oooh, someone really is in trouble,’ Fin teased.
‘Wouldn’t you be if you turned up late to your step-brother’s wedding?’ Jack was still trying to drag Fin away from the approaching woman, whose eyes seemed to grow narrower with every step she took.
Fin couldn’t hold back the laughter any longer. ‘Jack, I thought you were a renegade! Surely a daredevil like you isn’t afraid of your own mum?’
‘I don’t know what kind of woman gave birth to you, buddy, but mine is not one you want to cross,’ he hissed, stumbling over a clump of raised earth. ‘Now, go!’ he ordered, practically hurling Fin towards the car park.
*
After they’d arrived at the old barn, Jack had unceremoniously been whisked away and Fin hadn’t seen him since. Over the years, as he’d watched almost all of his friends pair off and get married, Fin had learnt that the best place to be at weddings was as close to the kitchen as humanly possible. It was loud and busy, which didn’t lend itself well to small talk. It also meant you were afforded first dibs on the canapes, which was always a bonus.
‘Ladies and gentlemen, if you would like to take your seats it’s time to eat!’ the master of ceremonies called out across the room. Fin joined the mass of guests wending their way into the dining hall, his eyes searching for his table amongst the crowd. He caught a sheepish-looking Jack being forced into a chair at the front, his mother staring athim with a less ferocious gaze but still with an intense air of dislike. He suddenly felt a solid body knock into his shoulder.
‘God, I’m so sorry.’ He turned around, feeling the sensation of warm liquid soaking into his jacket. ‘I wasn’t looking where I was going, totally my fa—’ But the rest of his words seemed to dissolve instantly at the sight of her.
‘Eleanor.’ Saying her name out loud felt strange after all this time.
‘Fin?’ she gasped, her eyes growing exponentially in size.
‘Hi.’ He lifted his hand in a lame attempt at a wave, as thousands of memories hit him at once. He blinked them away and forced himself to focus on the woman standing in front of him now. ‘Nothing spilt on you, did it? I’m so sorry, I didn’t even see you there. I can get you another glass if you want?’ He anxiously checked to see how much of her drink she had left.
‘No, no. It’s fine,’ she replied, her face still frozen in shock. ‘What are you doing here? I mean …’ She shook her head. ‘I didn’t know you were even in the country.’
‘I wasn’t. Until a couple of weeks ago.’
‘I see.’
Fin felt his face redden; he’d known if they ever saw each other again it might be awkward, but the sheer terror that seemed to be written across her face was quite the unexpected reaction. ‘I thought I’d show my face at the wedding while I was here, you know.’ He tried to sound casual and prayed that Eleanor didn’t decide to probe. She’d always had a way of getting him to confess the truth about things.
