‘Not before I got this job, on account of me not being engaged or planning a wedding,’ I feel like I’m pointing out the obvious.
‘Seriously? I read wedding mags all the time. It’s good to keep abreast of the situation, you know?’
‘No I do not know. You buy wedding mags?’
‘Shhhh! Keep your voice down! I don’t want Mike to think I’m crazy.’
‘Yeah,because it would be him overhearing this conversation that would make you crazy. Buying wedding magazines when you’re not actually engaged is totally normal.’
Mila wafts her hands around in another attempt to shut me up. ‘It’s called wedding porn, okay? Once you’ve started you can’t stop. Don’t judge me?’
I smile at my best friend, still full of surprises after all these years. She looks so relaxed and happy today in a pair of faded jeans and a cute shirt.
‘Mila? How are you feeling now, I mean about you and Mike?’ I drop my voice.
‘Oh, so much better. I was getting all het up about what I might be missing out on and seeing you getting out there made me a bit jealous, if I’m honest. But I’ve realised that I’m incredibly lucky to have Mike in my life and to be in this position. He is pretty great,’ She grins just thinking about him.
‘Yes he is. And you know, there are still so many amazing firsts to come for you guys. Like maybe he’ll propose, or you’ll propose, and maybe you’ll decide to get a pet, or have kids, or go on an incredible journey together. Just because you’ve found a guy who you think you might like to spend the rest of your life with doesn’t mean you’ll be missing out.’
Mila laughs. ‘You are absolutely right, Jasmine from approximately ten years ago.’
‘Huh?’
‘Just listen to you, dishing out advice and making me feel confident in my decisions, just from being around you. You may have lost your way a little bit since we were at school but holy shitballs, Jas, you’ve only gone and found your confidence again.’
‘I guess I do feel like I’ve got my mojo back.’
‘That’s my girl. And besides, if I need my first date fix, you can tell me your stories.’
‘Totally. And if I need my long-term relationship fix, I’ll be coming round with my toothbrush and you guys can make me a chilli.’
‘Youknow you do that already, right?’
‘Yes I do! How’s the chilli coming along, Mike?’ I call into the kitchen.
‘Oh fine, you guys just relax, leave all the cooking to me,’ he shouts back sarcastically.
‘Thanks Mike!’ we call out in unison.
‘Though, do you think we should actually help?’ I suggest to Mila, suddenly feeling sheepish.
‘Nah. He loves it really. Plus, we’ve got all this work to do,’ she motions at the place names in front of us.
‘Thank you for being such a great help. The brief for the shoot is “wedding after party” so I’m thinking these could be scattered across the floor. I bought wine as a thank you! And a second bottle of wine which I put in the wine rack of your fridge because I’m the perfect best friend who even cares about your weird fridge stacking thing.’
‘It’s not weird. And can you say that a bit louder when Mike comes out here? The other week he putmilkon thebottom shelf.’ She might as well have replaced those words withhis penisandchopping board, such is the horror in her voice.
‘He’s an animal,’ I laugh.
Mila suddenly looks serious again. ‘What was it like, seeing your dad again?’
‘Oof,’ I say, blowing hair out of my eyes. ‘Overwhelming. It had already been such an emotionally charged day and for a while I didn’t think my little heart could take any more. I just cried and cried. Dad cried and cried. You know, when I was in Dublin I went for Sunday lunch with the girl I was shooting and her whole family. It was messy and loud and, to my mind, perfect. I knew there and then that I could face seeing Dad again. Like Erin said, families are never going to be perfect, right? And when I saw Dad, I didn’t feel angrytowards him, just sad that I’d missed out on all that time. I’d been so wrapped up with what he’d done that I couldn’t allow myself to move past it. And the truth of it is that yes, Dad didn’t do a great thing. Yes, he was a bit of a douche. But that’s just him and at the end of the day, he followed his heart and he was true to himself. I can’t hold that against him and I sure as hell shouldn’t have let it affect me for so long.’
‘Proud of you.’
‘Hearing from Mum that she’d moved on made me realise I should do the same, too. You know the whole hanging out at the supermarket thing? And the other day she told me that they sometimes go for coffee and cake in the café. COFFEE AND CAKE!! I couldn’t get my head around how she’d managed it but when I saw Dad. . .’ I pause and shake my head. ‘He looked exactly the same, Mils. A bit more crinkly around the eyes, but just exactly the same. The minute I saw him I knew it would be okay. I can’t get those years back but I’m bloody well going to make sure we make memories again now. We’ve planned a trip to the Tate.’
Mila plants a kiss on my forehead. ‘I’m so pleased for you.’
‘Thanks. I am too. And you bet your ass I’m going to be the best half-sister for Everly and Willow from now on.’
‘To all the incredible women in our life,’ Mila raises her glass.
‘Toyou,’ I reply.
