Mary took a deep breath and cocked her head to one side as if trying to buy time while constructing an answer. “Very proud, yes. And a bit surprised too, I have to say,” she replied, taking a sip of champagne. “That son of mine has been in love with those bikes for so long, I never thought a woman would be able to hold his attention.”
Rachel happened to look up then too and waved at Mary. She tugged on Gary’s arm and motioned him toward her. Quickly finishing his conversation, he excused himself and went over.
“Mam,” he greeted. “I didn’t think you were going to come.”
“Why wouldn’t I?” Mary reached across and hugged Rachel and then her son. “Congratulations, love.”
“Thanks, Mary,” Rachel said, beaming and extending her hand, and Terri watched with interest as Gary’s mum did an actual double take on catching sight of the ring.
“Stunning, isn’t it?” Terri gushed.
Mary just nodded, apparently dumbstruck. She looked curiously at her son, as if trying to work out when Gary had become Mr. Generous all of a sudden. “I’d say you spent a fair few quid on that.”
He didn’t meet his mum’s gaze, and Terri sensed that something unspoken was hanging between them. Did Mary seem…annoyed?
“Ah well, you know yourself…”
Then Mary smiled at Rachel. “It’s beautiful. Congratulations.”
“Thanks. I must admit it was a surprise but a lovely one. Your lovely son really is an old romantic at heart,” she added, looking lovingly at Gary. Then she clapped her hands together. “So now that everyone’s here…”
Terri watched her dash up to the DJ, and seconds later, the music dropped to background volume while Rachel stood by the buffet tables and asked for everyone’s attention.
“Thanks.” She smiled as people hushed their conversations. “First of all, Gary and I both want to thank you for spending your New Year’s Eve with us and helping us celebrate our engagement.” She looked at her fiancé, who just shrugged and looked back at her.
Out of sight of Mrs. Knowles, Justin rolled his eyes at Gary’s offhand response while Terri bit her lip and stifled a smile.
“Second,” Rachel went on, and her voice caught a little, “as you know, my family is part Sicilian, and I’d like to continue a tradition we Sicilians have in honor of my parents, who I know would be so proud to see this. And also in honor of you all, who’ve practically become family to me too.” Eyes shining, she leaned down and took out a basket of bread from beneath the linen-covered table. “Many of you will have already tried my olive bread or some variation of it. Well, this,” she said with a sway of her hips and dramatic wave of her hand, “is the authentic Sicilian recipe. For those of you who don’t know, it comes from my great-great-grandmother’s recipe. In Sicilian tradition, this particular recipe is made only for special celebrations and is symbolic of sharing wholeheartedly in the occasion and its fruition. So if I could ask my husband-to-be to come up and join me in taking a piece,” she said, entreating Gary with a smile. “And then we’ll pass around some for you all.”
Everyone clapped as Gary sauntered up to Rachel. She took one piece of bread in her own hand and gave another to him, entwining their arms together in the traditional wedding pose used for a toast. She took a bite and then continued to eat the entire slice, smiling as she did so.
Gary nibbled a little on his before setting it back down on the table.
“One of the downsides of marrying a chef—bad for the old waistline,” he joked, laughing and patting his chest, and his mates joined in the joke, jeering and raising their glasses.
“Oh…dear…God,” Justin said, coming up alongside Terri. “And I thought gay people were vain.”
“But there is something I would like to do,” Gary continued then, and Rachel’s face brightened. “As you probably heard, I was in a terrible accident recently, and believe me, if there’s any justice in life, the gobshite responsible will get what’s coming to him,” he said, jaw tightening. “Anyway, I was pretty battered and beaten by the time I got out of the hospital, but that didn’t stop me.” He winked at his fiancée. “If anything, it made the surprise even better. Poor Rachel probably felt a bit like I did when that cab hit me, although of course, she didn’t have to suffer a few torn ribs.” Everyone laughed as he paused and made a great show of rubbing his midsection. “So,” he said, turning to her, “since I didn’t get the chance to do this properly the first time…” He cocked his head toward her, and after a beat, she figured out his train of thought and took off the ring, handing it to him. With that and first ensuring everyone managed to get a good look at the diamond, Gary dropped to one knee. “Rachel, wanna get hitched?” he asked, and all the guests cheered.
“Of course I do.” There were tears in her eyes as Gary slipped the ring back into place.
“How romantic.” Justin tut-tutted.
Terri was trying her utmost to be devil’s advocate. “Look, I know we’ve always thought that Gary was a prat of the highest order, but maybe we should give him a break? Seems like he’s really into this.”
The chef sighed. “Well, think what you like, but if you ask me, there’s something very wrong with this picture. The guy has the emotional development of a sea urchin, and I for one can’t believe he’d planned a big New York proposal, let alone shell out for a rock that size.”
Terri’s gaze returned to the happy couple, and she looked sideways at Justin. “You’re not jealous, are you?” she teased, nudging him. “That Rachel is going to be first to do the big white wedding thing?”
He snorted. “Nah. I suppose I just can’t believe that our Rachel is actually going to marry this amoeba. Why? What the hell does she see in him? I know she says he makes her laugh, but is it intentional?”
Terri shrugged. “Each to their own, I suppose. Just because you and I are hopeless with relationships doesn’t mean we should be cynical about everyone else.”
“Speak for yourself, sunshine. Bernard’s planning something special for our day off tomorrow, and while I think of it…” Justin’s sentence trailed off. He reached into his pocket. “These two messages came in while you two were getting ready earlier. One from the accountant—he was rambling something about an end-of-year VAT return.” He shook his head. “Don’t ask. You know all that business stuff is gobbledygook to me. And another call from a guy that I forgot to give to Rachel. Phoning from London,verysexy accent, and seemed a bit frantic actually…something about a mix-up in New York with Gary.” He made a face. “Said he got this number from her voicemail. Can you pass it on?”
“Of course.” Terri read the piece of paper with the caller’s name inscribed on it.
She looked again at her best friend’s betrothed, who having played the part of the dutiful fiancé was now right back in the middle of his mates, handing out beer as if it were going out of style, while Rachel did the polite thing and circulated among the guests.
