‘Oh! How lovely!’ Geoff said, and it seemed he was trying to play along with the notion that nobody could tell, when it was obvious to anyone who looked that she was expecting. ‘Have you got long?’
‘Another five months yet,’ Chantal said. ‘I can still fit into my dress, so hopefully I won’t grow too much before the big day. I don’t want to look like a whale in my photos.’
‘My love, you’ll look ravishing!’ Geoff said gallantly, making Chantal blush with pleasure.
‘Aww, thank you! You should come!’ She turned to Nigel. ‘They should, shouldn’t they? They should come to the wedding!’
Magnus looked as if he’d won the lottery, and Geoff’s expression wore a distinct sprinkle of mischief. Zoe wished she could sprinkle some fairy dust of her own to make them and this whole exchange disappear. She was very fond of Magnus and Geoff – they were fun and full of humour, and they’d been kind to her since her arrival in Thimblebury, but she didn’t want them at this wedding. Selfishly, she wanted the event to come and gowith as little fuss as possible because anything else would make it the talk of the village.
Alex would tell her, if he could read her thoughts, that she was only fooling herself to imagine it would go unnoticed, and that she oughtn’t to care because gossip was just gossip, and he’d be right. But knowing all that didn’t change Zoe’s feelings, though they were, even to her, seeming less and less charitable by the second.
‘How kind of you to ask!’ Magnus exclaimed.
‘But are you sure you wouldn’t rather keep it to close friends and family?’ Geoff asked, and Zoe could have leaped up and kissed him. She didn’t believe in superhuman skills like telepathy, but at that moment she could have been persuaded that Geoff had read her mind.
‘Why don’t you sit with us?’ Chantal asked. ‘By the time we’ve had lunch, we’ll all be friends I’m sure.’
This time, for once, Magnus looked at Geoff and seemed to get the brief too. ‘That is also very kind of you, but we wouldn’t want to…’ He glanced at Geoff again. ‘What’s the word I’m looking for?’
‘Impose?’ Geoff said.
‘Yes, that one.’
‘Besides,’ Geoff said, ‘it seems you have a lot to talk about, and we have an anniversary to celebrate. We have a table booked with some special trimmings…perhaps next time.’
‘Your anniversary?’ Zoe smiled, grateful for the signpost to a new topic of conversation. ‘You never said! Congratulations!’
Everyone at the table wished them well, and after a few minutes of polite enquiry about how long they’d been together and what they were doing to celebrate, Magnus and Geoff went to their own table.
Chantal let out a sigh. ‘Everyone we’ve met in Thimblebury is so nice!’
‘Mostly,’ Alex said wryly.
‘Don’t tease,’ Zoe replied, digging him playfully with her elbow. ‘Everyone wants to be your friend. Only sometimes they want to be your friend a bit too much!’
‘I’ve never been anywhere so welcoming,’ Chantal said. She looked at Nigel. ‘And they didn’t even mention that you’re older than me when we said we were getting married.’
‘It makes a change,’ he agreed.
Zoe decided not to say that Magnus and Geoff had likely been thinking about it and were probably now discussing it at their table.
‘It’s no wonder you’re so happy here,’ Chantal said to Zoe.
‘I’m glad to see you settled,’ Nigel said with such tenderness that Zoe almost had to do a double take. She’d always had the feeling he’d been too wrapped up in his own relationship upheavals to notice hers. When she’d been going through the divorce from Ritchie, her dad had barely commented on any of it. But perhaps that had never been true. Perhaps he’d only kept away from that part of her life out of respect, or because he’d been trying not to complicate things or offer opinions that weren’t helpful.
‘Thanks, Dad,’ she said.
It was a strange, significant moment, and yet they were hardly given time to recognise it because the waiter arrived at their table to take orders for drinks. By the time that was done, the conversation had taken a lighter tone – if plans for the most awkward wedding Zoe would ever go to could be considered light. But they at least managed to stick to the venue details, last-minute catering quests and the dress Chantal couldn’t wait for everyone to see.
Lunch arrived, and then everyone marvelled at how delicious it was. As they ate, they discussed Alex’s plans for the campingpods, how Billie was doing now she was so close to her due date, and more about Zoe’s friends and neighbours in the village.
As they waited for someone to bring the dessert menu to their table, Chantal got up.
‘I have to pop to the little girls’ room.’
‘I’ll come with you,’ Zoe said.
‘Oh, I’ll be all right,’ Chantal began, but Zoe smiled.
