Page 81 of The Stolen Child

‘Hey, stop daydreaming about your man! It’s time to get you dressed,’ Nicola said, taking Sally’s now empty glass.

Sally entered the back storeroom, where her dress hung from a hanger, waiting for her. It was a vintage lace fit-and-flare long dress with striking bishop sleeves. Nicola and Elsie helped her slip the dress over her head and shoulders. Together, they buttoned up the tiny brocade buttons running down it’s back.

‘Now you’re a bride,’ Nicola said, her voice tight with emotion.

She took Sally by the hand and led her back into the salon so that she could look at herself in the mirrors.

‘I wish Mum were here to see me looking like this,’ Sally whispered when she saw herself for the first time. She’d never felt more beautiful and shivered in anticipation of Ian’s reaction.

‘She is here. Watching you from up there,’ Nicola insisted.

‘And she’s proud of you too,’ Elsie added.

Their taxi arrived, and within a ten-minute drive the three friends arrived at the registrar’s office. While it wasn’t the wedding Sally had dreamed about over the years, it still felt magical. When she followed Nicola and Elsie into the small room where Ian was waiting for her, with his two friends Declan and Bob by his side, Sally thought Ian had never looked more handsome. He wore a light brown suit, with a white shirt and a wide chocolate-brown tie. He had a white corsage pinned to the lapel of his jacket.

When she reached his side, he whispered into her ear, ‘How did I ever deserve to get such a beautiful woman?’

The ceremony only took fifteen minutes, from her entrance to their signing of the register and their long, passionate kiss, amid the cheers of their small group of friends. They walked to the hotel together, holding hands, telling each other how happy they were. As Ian led her into the small private room he’d booked for their wedding meal, Sally had never felt more content.

To her surprise, at least two dozen guests were waiting for them. A loud cheer erupted as Sally scanned the room to see who was there. She recognised about half the people there to be colleagues of Ian’s, along with their wives or girlfriends, who she had met at their summer barbecue. She scanned the tables, hoping to see Cyril and the girls, perhaps Sister Jones, also seated there. A surprise from her husband. But there was no sign of any of Sally’s friends.

Declan, Bob, Nicola, and Elsie were seated at either end of the top table, where two empty chairs awaited Ian and Sally.

‘I thought it was supposed to be the six of us,’ Elsie said when Sally sat down beside her. ‘I wasn’t even allowed to invite my Reggie.’

‘It was. I don’t understand,’ Sally replied, her stomach flipping as she tried to make sense of the situation.

Ian looked over at them, a big grin on his face. ‘I hope you’re all hungry. We’ve got a prawn cocktail to start, chicken kiev for mains, and Black Forest gateau for dessert. Nothing but the best for my bride.’ He picked up a bottle of white wine from a cooler and poured them a drink, before passing the bottle down to Elsie.

‘I didn’t know you were inviting work friends,’ Sally said.

‘The biggest day of my life – I couldn’t do it without them,’ Ian said, raising his glass to toast the tables before them.

‘Clearly, when your husband said invite no friends, he meant no friends of yours, Sally, not his,’ Elsie said loudly enough for Ian to hear.

His eyes narrowed as he looked at Elsie, and his jaw clenched. ‘I’m not sure what you’re getting at. You and Nicola are here. Sally’s two closest friends.’

‘We are. But Sally has other friends too. Cyril and the rest of the char gang,’ Elsie replied, locking eyes with Ian.

The start of a tension headache nipped Sally’s temples as her best friend and new husband stared each other down. She’d seen signs of a clash developing over the past couple of months, ever since a double date with Elsie and Reggie had fallen flat.

‘It’s not your business, but my wife and I discussed why they shouldn’t be invited.’ He chuckled as if greatly amused by Elsie. ‘I mean, Sally no longer even works with them.’

‘That doesn’t mean that they are not her friends,’ Elsie retorted, unwilling to let it go. ‘Or maybe it’s because they are not the kind of friends you want your wife to have, though. Charwomen.’

‘Oh my days, here we go,’ Nicola said, throwing her eyes upwards. She put a calming hand on Elsie’s arm. ‘Best leave it for today, love.’ Elsie continued to eyeball Ian, so Nicola whispered, ‘Look, you’re only upsetting Sally. It’s her day. Remember that.’

They all turned to look at Sally, whose face was now flushed with embarrassment. Ian clasped her hand under his. ‘The reason I’ve invited these colleagues is because when you lay down your life with people, as I have done with all of these, you form a bond.’ He glanced back in Elsie’s direction and said, ‘I’m not sure acquaintances formed while mopping a floor are in the same league.’

Sally started at her husband’s inference that her friends were not good enough for him. She’d noticed he didn’t like it when Sally mentioned her cleaning days. She was proud of how hard she’d worked, for years, until she’d got her hairdressing diploma, and would never want to hide any part of who she was.

Ian’s face softened, and he said in a gentler voice as he stroked Sally’s cheek, ‘I’m sorry if I’ve upset you. It was never my intention to do that.’

Sally looked at her friends. Nicola nodded encouragingly to her, but Elsie’s face was still clouded in anger.

‘He’s bang out of order,’ Elsie muttered.

Ian ignored Elsie and asked Sally, ‘Do you want me to ask them all to leave? I will do if that’s what you want.’