‘Ey up, calm your jets, missus,’ said Maggie, giving Jasmine a friendly nudge. ‘Whatever it is Dawn Harte’s up to, we’ll do all we can to make sure the woman doesn’t take over or interfere with Florrie and Ed’s wedding plans.’
‘You’re not kidding. We’ve all got your back, flower,’ said Stella, to which all of the friends agreed.
Florrie’s heart squeezed at their show of loyalty. ‘Thanks, lasses. Mind, I haven’t told you everything.’ Her eyes momentarily shifted to the server Immy who was negotiating her way to a nearby table, two plates piled high with steaming food in her hands, the delicious aroma wafting their way. Usually such a sight – and smell – would make Florrie’s stomach rumble hungrily, but tonight, she appeared to have lost her appetite.
‘Uh-oh, there’s more?’ said Jasmine, following Florrie’s line of sight, her eyes widening as the plates were set down. ‘I’ll order our fish and chips soon.’
‘About an hour after she’d left the bookshop to check in at her guesthouse, Dawn returned saying that she’d been misled by the B&B’s website and that the room she’d been given was inferior and had no en-suite – she actually said it wasn’t fit to stay in.’
Stella rolled her eyes and shook her head. ‘Why doesn’t that surprise me?’
‘What’s the name of the B&B?’ asked Maggie.
‘She just said it was down Resolution Row; didn’t give a name.’ In typical Dawn style she’d avoided giving any information she wasn’t willing to share which only served to heighten Florrie’s concerns.
Lark scrunched her nose up. ‘I thought all the guesthouses down there were okay.’
‘Apparently not. And worse, she started hinting heavily about moving in with us for the duration of her stay.’ In fact, the hints had been so heavy, anyone would be forgiven for thinkingthey were made of lead! The prospect of Dawn staying with them at Samphire Cottage didn’t bear thinking about.
‘If I were you, I wouldn’t let her over your doorstep.’ The warning tone in Stella’s voice sent a chill running through Florrie.
‘That’s going to be easier said than done,’ she replied. Before Dawn had left the bookshop for the second time, she’d announced she intended to call in on Ed that evening, no doubt because she knew she’d find him alone at the cottage; it was common knowledge that Florrie joined her friends at the Jolly every Friday night. She only hoped he’d be firm and not let his mother browbeat him into agreeing to anything, or at least that he’d run any of Dawn’s ‘suggestions’ by her beforehand. Florrie had enough experience of Dawn and her husband to know they were masters of wearing people down.
‘I’m sure Ed’ll be firm with her,’ Maggie said, giving Florrie a reassuring smile.
‘Aye, me too,’ Jasmine said, her tone softening, though the look in her eyes told Florrie her friend wasn’t totally convinced.
Lark reached over and rubbed Florrie’s arm, her bracelets chiming as she did so. ‘What a day you’ve had. I think now we’ve got that out of the way, it’d be a good time to go back to our hen party plans for you,’ she said in her familiar gentle way.
‘Good thinking,’ Jasmine agreed, her cheeks still flushed.
‘We’ll let you do the honours, Stells, since it’s you who suggested we do it,’ said Maggie.
‘Righto.’ Stella fixed her gaze on Florrie, affection shining in her pale-blue eyes. ‘So, we had a get-together to discuss what we should do to celebrate your upcoming marriage. And, since we all had lots of suggestions and struggled to settle on just one of them, we decided it would be a rather fine idea to go with each of our favourites.’
A crease appeared between Florrie’s dark eyebrows. ‘But?—’
‘Don’t worry, they’re all something you’ll love; some very simple,’ added Maggie, leaning in to their friend, evidently readingher thoughts. ‘And there’s nothing that could even remotely be construed as “making a fuss”, I promise.’
‘Mags is right. There’s going to be four separate, totally wonderful, hen celebrations.’ Lark beamed over at her, light from the wall lamp illuminating her blonde hair and creating a halo effect.
‘Four?’ said Florrie.
‘Yep, all with belly laughs guaranteed – as is the norm when us lot get together,’ said Jasmine. ‘We’ve got some great stuff planned, and I swear there won’t be a strippagram in sight. And none of them have owt to do with Ando Taylor or Lobster Harry, for that matter. I promise, cross my heart.’ She mimed drawing a cross over her chest with her fingers.
‘You all right, flower?’ Maggie gave Florrie a gentle nudge with her elbow.
‘Uh? Oh, yeah, I’m fine.’ Florrie smiled. ‘Just letting the relief sink in; enjoying a moment to savour it after my afternoon of utter panic.’ Her reply made her friends chuckle. Taking in their smiling faces and the light-hearted atmosphere around the table, she switched off all thoughts of Dawn and focused her full attention on the conversation. She listened, her heart growing lighter as Stella shared – with much butting in from the others – that they’d already meticulously planned the days for the hen party celebration events. It made Florrie wonder when they’d managed to organise everything without her getting so much as a whisper of it.
‘You’ll only find out what we’re doing on the actual morning – or maybe even the night before if we’re feeling generous – but we’ll share important details, like what to wear, anything you might need to bring with you, that sort of thing, well beforehand.’
‘But what if I’m at work, I’ll need notice to organise cover?’’
‘Like we said, it’s all been taken care of.’ Stella gave her a reassuring smile, her eyes twinkling.
Florrie blinked, absorbing it all. They’d really thought of everything.
‘You’re going to love what we’ve got planned.’ Lark beamedover at her, radiating her familiar air of calm. Florrie couldn’t help but smile back. If Lark said she was going to love their plans, then Florrie was in no doubt that she would.
