Which was a change of tune for him. I gave a grunt and found my coat still on the back of a chair. I’d done just that tonight, fucked a girl I wasn’t going to see again, but when you’d married one and hadn’t seen her in the eight years since, it became a bit inconsequential.
“I’ll just say my goodbyes.” I went over to Jem, gave her a kiss and she hugged back. She hadn’t offered her number and I hadn’t asked. We’d both done each other a favour, no lose ends, no hard feelings, just a few good orgasms to remember this Christmas by.
Almost as much as I had to remember my wife with.
28
An interior design book - from Marie to Seph
Seph
The barn was decoratedto look like something from a magazine, or fairy tale. If you were Eliza, it was a princess’s garden, and she pretty much had it spot on.
Ava had gone to town with the fairy lights, festoon lighting twinkling from one side of the barn to the other; then lanterns dropping or standing in various spots. Blankets and throws were scattered over seating and there was a large square area that’d had flooring put down, ready for dancing.
Wren and Callum’s quiet celebration had turned into a New Year’s Eve party, with more guests than they were expecting. The team of vets that worked for their practice, plus some of their colleagues from the Zoo had arrived, most of them bunking down in one of the outhouses, that had been converted into a bunkhouse. There were family friends, Amelie’s brothers, and even Wren’s mum and step-brother, which she hadn’t expected.
Liam Rossi, a genuinely decent guy who happened to have been the singer with one of the biggest bands going, had offered to play, so what had been meant as a small intimate affair that would take up a couple of hours of people’s time, was now still intimate, just a little more fancy.
I picked up a glass of champagne from one of the staff members that somehow Vanessa had managed to arrange at short notice for New Year’s Eve. Wren and Callum were mingling with their guests, both dressed simply and like them, but it was more obvious than I’d expected that they were the bride and groom.
“Hey, big brother.” Ava’s arm draped around my shoulders. “What you thinking?”
I hugged her back. Since she and Eli had some sort of chat, she hadn’t stopped beaming. Wedding plans were being mentioned more frequently by them, carving them round the babies that were going to arrive in the next twelve months.
“How wedding-like Cal and Wren look.”
She laughed. “What else did you expect? I made Wren go dress shopping – she was going to wear something she already had, so we had to put a stop to that.”
Callum was in a suit, one that looked very designer and probably made to measure. Wren wasn’t wearing white – it was a cream colour, lacy and fitted so it didn’t drip onto the floor, which would not be the cleanest.
“Obviously.” I was in a suit, one with a shirt that wasn’t too formal underneath. “Their ceremony starts in a few minutes.”
“Nervous?”
I shook my head. “No.” It was a lie. I was. I hadn’t been best man before and although I didn’t have to get up there with the rings, I was still giving a speech pretty much straight after. Max was also giving one, which had meant we’d both agreed to keep it short. Callum was keen to move on to the party and let everyone celebrate seeing out the year.
“You’ll be fine. You can charm the broomstick off a witch.” She pressed a kiss to my bicep. “I best rescue Eli.”
I followed her gaze to where he was stuck, listening to Maven and Immy trying to get him to agree or disagree on something he probably had no interest in.
“You go. Looks like we’re getting ready to start soon anyway.”
The celebrant was non-denominational, there literally to guide everyone through the celebration for Wren and Callum’s marriage. It was timed to be no more than about thirty minutes, including all speeches.
Max had started to ask people to sit down, so I followed suit, knowing it was one of the things Cal had asked us to do. Some guests picked up glasses of champagne on the way, some picked up their children. Bales of hay were set out around what would become the dance floor, facing a makeshift stage that Ava had decorated with mistletoe and holly and lilies.
I went to my waiting place, Max next to me. The song Callum and Wren had chosen for Liam to sing came to a natural end and the celebrant, a woman who looked smiley like a primary school teacher, came forward, introducing herself and reminding us why we were here today. It was a blessing, of such, an event to mark the occasion, not just of a wedding, but of another part of their lives. And this made me feel as if I was reaching a crossroads.
I listened as my brother, and former wing man, gave his speech, not needing any paper to read from as he talked about Wren, how they’d met and promised her everything, except maybe another dog, but we all knew that was going to happen. The words he said to her had some guests – including Max – wiping their eyes. His feelings towards her were obvious through his words and the way he looked at her, as if she was where the world began and ended.
Then it was Wren’s turn. She talked about Callum and how they met, what he was like – a player – and then how she’d seen his heart. Her speech was shorter, more direct, but every word dripped with how much she adored him. She took his face in her hands as she told him in front of everyone how she loved him, and their kiss went from sweet to scandalous in nought point five seconds, causing a huge cheer and several whistles that did enough to bring Callum at least back to earth.
There was another cheer and then the celebrant called my name. I rubbed sweaty palms over my dress pants and walked the few feet onto the stage. White and gold lighting shone around; I could see some of the audience but not all, Ava and Vanessa doing their best to stop any nerves.
I coughed, looked at Callum and Wren who were smiling, holding each other’s hands. He pressed a kiss to her hair and then shot me a grin.
“Callum Callaghan. Middle child. Mad about animals, not always mad about people. Flirt, player and my wingman. When he announced just before Christmas that he and Wren had gotten married in Morocco, none of us were surprised because for the last year, Callum stopped being my wingman and became Wren’s. My brother is a lot of things: smart, hardworking – unless you read his school reports – and loyal. He’s also irritating because he never gets hangovers, never knows when to let a topic drop and has the memory of one of the elephants he’s saved over the years.
