“That is also unexpected.”
I laugh, resting my head back on the chair. “Not long now until your wedding. How are you feeling about it?”
“Yeah, it’s fine. Our wedding planner at the hotel in Dublin is amazing. She’s basically doing everything.”
“Oh good.”
We fall into silence. She doesn’t want to talk about her wedding, and I’m not sure I want to hear all that much about it. Which I hate, by the way. I hate that Matthew’s actions have made me dread these huge, exciting events in my friends’ lives.
“Did I ever tell you about the time I proposed?” Niamh asks suddenly.
“What?” I stare at her. “I thought Freddie proposed to you.”
“He did,” she confirms. “But I wasn’t talking about Freddie. I was talking about my ex, Jules.”
“You proposed to her?”
“Yep. On a picnic blanket in Richmond Park, surrounded by deer.” She smiles to herself. “It was extremely romantic, if I do say so myself.”
“What happened? You’ve never told me this before!”
She shrugs, stubbing out her cigarette. “I’ve never told anyone before, except my parents. I bought her a ring and proposedthe weekend before her birthday. She said yes, everything was perfect, and then the next day she changed her mind. We broke up that evening.”
My jaw drops to the floor. I feel such an overwhelming mixture of emotions: horrified that I didn’t know any of this about such a close friend, and sad that she went through it.
“But…” I search for the right words to say. “Niamh, I’m so sorry.”
“It was a long time ago.”
“Why did she say yes and then change her mind?”
“Apparently, she said yes because she was caught up in the moment and she knew it was what she should say. Then she lay awake all night knowing in her gut that she wasn’t being truthful to either of us. I was heartbroken, obviously. At that point, it was the happiest night of my life, and she’d been in turmoil. Everything I thought was forever was gone in a flash.”
I glance down at the ground. We both know how it feels, then. Niamh reaches for her cigarettes and lights another, before continuing.
“Look, it’s a long time ago and obviously now I’m crazy happy with Freddie, but I thought you should know. I’m sure people keep saying this sort of shit to you and it means nothing, but I know firsthand that it really does get easier. It doesn’t feel like it at the time, but things do get… brighter again.”
“I’m clinging to that hope. I appreciate you telling me all this.”
“Don’t you go spreading it round.”
“My lips are sealed.” I pause. “Thanks, Niamh.”
“Always here for you, Feathers.”
I nod and we go quiet again, looking out across the manicured lawn. Whoever owns this house has done a very good job with the garden. The beds running along the edges are bursting with colorful flowers, and there’s a tasteful fountain in the middleof the patio, the trickling water lending the garden a calming, tranquil ambience.
“I kicked Matthew in the balls,” I blurt out.
Niamh splutters, the smoke billowing around her face. “Youwhat?”
“I kicked him in the balls,” I repeat.
“What the!” She sits up, pushing her sunglasses back to sit on top of her hair. “You’re joking.”
“Nope. Ruby was with me. I lost my cool.”
“Bloody hell, Freya, that isbrilliant.Tell me he doubled over in pain?”
