It was years before I realised whose fault it was and it was too late to do anything about it then. I didn’t even know Lizzie’s name. But I know now, and I know what she did.
Now it’s time to get my revenge.
6
JUDITH
‘Oh, George, this is beautiful,’ I exclaim as my eyes rest on the table reserved for us in a quiet area of the pub restaurant. A round ivory lace tablecloth is covering the wooden table, and three sky-blue vases of ivory roses are placed along the centre. There are ivory napkins tied with sky-blue ribbon by every place setting. ‘I didn’t expect this.’
George beams and hugs me. ‘Sheila’s the one to thank, she slipped in before the ceremony and laid it out for us.’
I turn to my new sister-in-law. ‘Thank you so much, Sheila. That’s very thoughtful of you.’
‘My pleasure,’ she replies with a big smile.
It really has been a wonderful day, I think as we all sit down at the table. Kenny sits by George then Sheila then Alison. Nick is sitting the other side of Alison, then the children in the middle of him and Lizzie, who is next to me.
The waitress, a young woman in her early twenties, brings a bottle of champagne in a bucket of ice. George must have ordered it. She pops the cork and pours champagne in each glass, then takes a small bottle of apple juice out of the bucket and half fills two tumblers with it for Isaac and Grace.
Kenny stands up, holding out his glass. ‘I’d like to give a toast to my dad and Judith, Mr and Mrs Davies. I hope you both have many happy years together.’
Together, we all clink our glasses, Isaac and Grace joining in too, their tumblers chinking loudly. George stands up and holds out his glass. ‘To my beautiful wife, Judith.’ He smiles at me. ‘Thank you for making me the happiest man alive.’ I can feel my cheeks flush. Then Grace says loudly, ‘I’m hungry, can we eat now?’ And we all laugh.
It’s a delicious meal, prawn cocktail or breaded camembert starter followed by chicken in the basket, chips and salad. We decided not to go to a posh restaurant because of the children, and looking at Isaac and Grace tucking happily into their chicken and fries I’m pleased we chose a pub lunch.
George and Kenny are chatting away to Sheila. George told me that Sheila never married or had children of her own. She was a substitute mother for Alison and Kenny when his wife Carol died, which explains why they are so close.
‘I’m so happy for you, Mum,’ Lizzie says.
I switch my gaze to her. ‘Thank you, darling.’ Thankfully, she’s recovered from the dizzy episode she had in the church. The heat and no breakfast, she said. It is warm today but not that hot and I worried that she might be having one of her episodes again, but she looks perfectly fine now.
‘Sorry, Mummy!’ Grace apologises quickly, looking aghast at the drink she’s just knocked over.
Lizzie goes to reach for a serviette, but Alison has already grabbed one and is mopping it up.
‘Accidents happen, darling,’ she reassures Grace.
Lizzie thanks her, as does Nick, and they start chatting. Well, actually Nick and Alison do most of the chatting, it always takes Lizzie time to relax with people. Nick, on the other hand, is calm and at ease with everyone. He’s been an asset to the company,ever since Arthur took him on fresh out of college. Arthur always spoke so highly of him, and I think he would be delighted to know that he and Lizzie are married.
Arthur died so suddenly that we were shaken to the core. Lizzie was still living at home then, and we were a big support to each other in the dreadful months ahead. We were so devastated we could barely function. Nick checked in on us, always ready to help out. Gradually, he and Lizzie became close and I was thrilled when he proposed, a couple of years after Arthur’s death. Lizzie didn’t want to leave me on my own so she suggested that Nick move in with us, but I wouldn’t hear of it. They needed to make their own home, their own life.
To be honest, it was a relief to not have the daily worry of coping with Lizzie. I know that she can’t help suffering from anxiety, but it was so draining having to try and jolly her along all the while, it meant that I couldn’t really deal with my own grief because I had to try and be upbeat around her. It was good to have a bit of time and space to myself, and I knew Lizzie was in safe hands with Nick. That no matter how dark her moods got he could handle them.
I glance over as I hear Nick laugh at something Alison said. He’s so good with people, always interested in whatever they have to say. He rarely talks about himself, not like a lot of men who think they’re the most important people in the room.
George is the same. ‘Never mind me, let’s talk about you,’ George said at our first meeting. And he’s been like that ever since. Honestly, if it wasn’t for the odd remark that Sheila makes, I would know hardly anything about him.
7
LIZZIE
Alison is smiling, leaning across the table towards Nick as she chats away to him about her life in Spain, and he’s hanging on to her every word.
‘It sounds fantastic, so different from England. Is it a typical Spanish town you live in or are there a lot of expats there?’ he asks.
‘Mainly Spanish. Wherever I live I like to immerse myself in the local culture. Have you and Lizzie ever considered living abroad?’
Nick shakes his head. ‘It’s a lot with kids, you have to think about their education.’
