‘They’re on their way, Peter Hudson just saw them passing the Rec,’ Sam called to Suzie as he dashed into the marquee, clapping his hands together to attract everyone’s attention.
‘Hello? Hello!’ he called. ‘Can I have your attention please? Just to let you know that Rose and Jack are on their way. It’ll just be a few more minutes before they get here – they’ve just been seen on Low Road near the recreation ground by one of the guests. So if we can ask everyone to be really quiet now and make sure you’ve got a glass in your hand. And no one leaves the marquee, please, until after they get here. It shouldn’t be more than a few minutes before they arrive – okay? And please keep as quiet as you can. Suzie, are you coming round the front to meet them?’
Suzie nodded and followed him outside. He was walking fast, looking horribly flustered and she struggled to keep up.
‘Hang on, Sam, wait for me. I can’t run in these shoes. Have you told Liz that they’re nearly here?’ said Suzie, trying to keep pace with him.
‘I’m not totally brainless, you know. I’ve just sent Megan,’ he said brusquely.
‘Sorry, I was just saying,’ said Suzie. ‘Liz will be livid if she gets left out. You know what she’s like.’
‘I wasn’t thinking of leaving her out,’ he snapped. ‘I just said Megan’s going to get her.’ They were almost at the kerb-side now. ‘If she can’t be bothered to get herself downstairs it’s hardly my fault, is it?’
‘The banner looks good,’ Suzie said in an attempt to placate him.
‘Yeah, right.’
Suzie stared at Sam. ‘What on earth is the matter?’
‘Nothing,’ he said.
‘Has Liz upset you?’ she said. ‘I didn’t think that she’d give you a hand with it.’ She couldn’t imagine Megan would have made him so angry, and he wasn’t usually the kind of person who would get this annoyed over hanging a banner up over the front door. And then Suzie’s heart lurched; maybe he had heard something about her and Matt . . .
‘What makes you say that?’ he said.
‘What?’ said Suzie, struggling to regain her cool. ‘About Liz? Well, like you just said, we all know what she’s like. You know how much she gets under my skin. I love her dearly but she can be the most irritating bloody woman on earth when she’s in one of her moods, and from what I’ve seen so far she’s in a beauty today. I think she’s nervous; she’s probably worried about us meeting this new man of hers. I’m sure she didn’t mean to—’
But Sam was way ahead of her. ‘Oh yes she did, Suzie. You know, that is the trouble – people are always making excuses for her. She is completely self-obsessed. The only person Liz ever worries about is Liz,’ Sam said with real venom. Suzie stared at him; she couldn’t remember seeing him so angry.
‘What did she do?’ said Suzie anxiously. ‘Sam, talk to me. What did she do?’
‘What’s that?’ said a familiar voice from behind them. ‘Talking about me again, are we?’
‘I was just saying that you would hate to miss Mum and Dad arriving,’ lied Suzie, her eyes still on Sam, who had a face like thunder.
‘I’d have made them drive round till I was ready,’ Liz said wryly, giving them a wink, while running a finger over her eyebrows. ‘I was wondering, Suzie, do you think you could do up the hook on the top of my dress for me?’
Sam grunted furiously.
‘Sure,’ said Suzie, but before she could move Megan began yelling from her vantage point upstairs at one of the bedroom windows.
‘Mum, Dad – they’re here, they’re here,’ she squealed. ‘Their car’s at the end of the lane.’
‘Come on down then, love,’ said Suzie.
‘Where’s Hannah?’ asked Sam, glancing over his shoulder, his tone prickly.
‘I don’t know. I haven’t seen her for ages. I’m sure she’ll turn up sooner or later. Short of chaining her to the marquee I don’t know how I could have kept her here—’
‘She said she would help,’ Sam snapped back.
‘Play nicely, you two,’ said Liz.
‘Is she with that girl? You know, what’s-her-name?’ Sam continued, completely blanking Liz.
‘Sadie? I don’t know, but if I was asked to have a guess I’d say yes. Don’t you remember when your parents said keep away from something, anything at all, just how attractive it made whatever it was – drink, drugs, or in my case you, ’ Suzie said with a smile, trying hard to lighten the mood.
‘Yes, but—’
‘But nothing. Look, here are Mum and Dad.’
Which was exactly when Suzie spotted Peter Hudson and Mary wandering across the grass from the back garden. She groaned.
‘Please can you go around the back to the marquee?’ Suzie said, shooing them away, but they seemed totally oblivious, and it was too late to stop them now.
Megan ran across the lawn. Wide-eyed and giggling, she was practically jumping up and down with excitement. ‘They’re here, they’re here,’ she shrieked, as her grandparents’ car pulled up into the driveway.
There was a moment, a split second, when nobody moved and Suzie watched her mum reading the banner above the door and saw the surprise register on her face. Rose was barely out of the car before Megan had thrown her arms around her and whooped, ‘Grandma, Grandma, we’ve been waiting for you for ages – happy anniversary.’
Meanwhile Jack was taking his time climbing out of the car. He stood on the driveway, hands on hips, a big smile on his face as Peter Hudson and Mary came over to join in the group hug.
‘Well, well, well,’ Jack said, looking from face to face and then at the huge sign above the doorway as Megan rushed around to hug him too. ‘Will you just look at that,’ he said. ‘“Happy Fortieth Wedding Anniversary to Rose and Jack.” You and your mum and dad and Auntie Liz have been busy, Megan. Haven’t they, Rose?’ He grinned at Peter and extended a hand that turned into a hug. ‘Peter, wonderful to see you. We wondered where you were off to in such a hurry all dolled up to the nines.’
Peter laughed. ‘Mary and I wouldn’t have missed it for the world, you know that,’ he said. ‘Congratulations, mate. Well done.’
Rose said nothing as Fleur got out of the car to join them on the driveway.
‘Well, what do you think?’ Fleur said with a smile.
‘Is that what today was all about?’ said Jack. ‘The trip out and everything.’
Fleur didn’t say a word.
‘So you’re not feeling sick then?’
‘No, I’m just fine, Jack. Just fine.’
Alongside them Rose remained silent, while Megan skipped around the garden like a spring lamb.
‘Happy anniversary, Mum and Dad,’ said Suzie, her voice crackling with emotion as she hugged first one and then the other. ‘Congratulations.’
‘You really shouldn’t have,’ Rose finally began, and then turned to confront Fleur. ‘Did you know anything about this?’ she said, but before Fleur could answer Liz stepped forward and caught hold of Rose by the hands.
‘Mum, you can’t blame Fleur. I thought, I mean we all thought this was just too important an occasion to let slip by, didn’t we?’ said Liz looking from face to face. ‘And we’ve got such a surprise for you,’ she said.
‘I’m with the ladies on this,’ Peter Hudson interrupted. ‘Although just between you me and the gatepost, we were a bit surprised really, weren’t we, Mary, you calling it your fortieth wedding anniversary on the invitations.’
‘Invitations,’ said Rose. ‘What invitations?’
But Peter was pressing on full steam ahead.
‘Bit of artistic licence there, eh? Papering over the cracks and all that. But who am I to say anything?’ Peter said with a wink. ‘I don’t suppose anyone minds these days, do they? Any excuse for a bit of a booze up, eh, Jack? Forty years of wedded bliss? That’s certainly gilding the rose a bit, eh? Geddit – gilding the Rose ?’ he laughed. ‘You know, like lily?’
Mary shot him a killer look. ‘Peter,’ she said sharply. ‘You said you wouldn’t say anything.’
Jack reddened. Rose’s face was a blank canvas.
Suzie stared at Peter, trying to work out exactly what he meant.
‘Well, not to anyone else, obviously,’ said Peter with a big cheesy grin. ‘But this is family and good friends, we all know the score.’
‘Actually we don’t, I’m not with you,’ said Suzie, aware of the tension now on her mum’s face.
‘Peter,’ Rose cautioned, holding up a hand to silence him, but he simply laughed.
‘Oh come off it, Rose, you don’t have to pretend with us, love.’ And then, turning to Suzie, he continued, ‘We’ve known Jack and Rose for donkey’s years. Since well before they got hitched and I’m just saying that a lot of people haven’t got a clue that your mum and dad got divorced, and those who do won’t mind you being a little bit economical with the truth, will they? I mean, does it really matter these days if you’re married or not?’
There was a split second when the world went hot and still; Suzie felt her mouth fall open. ‘What?’ she managed in a gasp.
‘I mean, nobody bats an eyelid these days, do they?’ Mary said. ‘Not really, although I did say you weren’t to make a big thing about it, Peter, not today of all days.’ She looked around the stunned faces, ‘I did tell him he had to behave himself but you know what he’s like.’
Suzie’s gaze fixed on her parents’ faces. ‘You’re not married?’ she said.
Rose and Jack glanced at each other.
‘Not exactly,’ said Jack sheepishly.
‘Not exactly? ’ Liz snarled at him before Suzie could respond. ‘What the hell is that supposed to mean?’ she said. ‘How can you not be married? You are joking, aren’t you? Please tell me you’re joking.’
‘We can explain,’ Rose began, but Peter Hudson was on a roll.
‘We were really surprised the girls asked us round tonight – pleased though, obviously. I mean, your mum and dad are both fantastic people, we love ’em, don’t we, Mary? We both thought it was great that you were brushing over all that other business,’ he said.
‘What other business?’ Suzie said, looking from face to face, feeling as if someone had knocked all the breath out of her.
‘You don’t have to worry, pet. I’ll be brushing over it in the speech too, nudge nudge, wink wink, say no more . . .’ Peter said with a sly grin, tapping the side of his nose.
There was a moment of absolute stunned silence while everyone considered what Peter had said and Megan, oblivious to the tension between the adults, skipped by them.
‘I feel like I’ve woken up inside a bad dream. I don’t understand. Can you please explain what the hell is going on here? How can you not be married?’ Liz snapped. ‘It’s ridiculous. We’ve got the photos. I’ve made a film about the two of you and your life together. About us. I’ve had your wedding certificate blown up. Have you got any idea how much it costs to have something blown up to twelve feet long?’
‘Well yes, it is true, we did get married,’ said Rose looking increasingly uncomfortable. ‘We did get married but we also got divorced – it’s years ago now . . .’ She glanced at Jack for support.
Jack was nodding. ‘Years ago,’ he echoed. ‘I mean, does it matter in this day and age? Lots of people live together. Other people do it all the time.’
Liz stared at him. ‘This isn’t about other people, Dad, this is about us. About me. How could you not have said something?’
‘Well, it was a long time ago, now. It must be, what? Probably thirty-two? Maybe thirty-three years,’ Rose said, biting her lip and trying to work it out on her fingers. ‘I can’t remember exactly now.’
‘Probably closer to thirty-six,’ said Peter Hudson helpfully.
‘No, it can’t be thirty-six, Liz is thirty-four,’ said Rose.
‘I said that,’ said Mary, eager to chip in with her two-penn’orth.
The four of them were so caught up working out the maths that they seemed completely unaware of the impact the news had had. Suzie could see her dad also trying to work it out.
‘What year was it?’ he asked lightly, almost con versationally.
‘Do you mind? What do you mean, what year? How come you don’t remember?’ wailed Liz. ‘And does it matter what bloody year it was – how come you’ve never said anything? How could you? Why didn’t you say something before? When the hell were you going to tell us?’
‘All those years,’ said Suzie, almost to herself. It seemed amazing, impossible.
‘All those anniversary cards . . .’ said Liz.
‘But you and Dad went away on your twenty-fifth,’ said Suzie.
‘That’s right, we did. We wanted to avoid anyone throwing us a surprise party,’ said Rose wryly.
‘And what about the trip to Rome on your thirtieth?’ said Liz.
‘Same reason,’ said Jack.
‘I assumed that you both knew,’ Peter said to Suzie.
‘I told you that I didn’t think they knew,’ Mary said to Peter. ‘I said, didn’t I? I’m so sorry,’ said Mary. Turning back to Peter she snapped. ‘I told you, you and your big mouth.’
‘The thing is, does it really matter?’ said Rose gently. ‘People live together all the time these days. Let’s be honest, it’s no big thing. You know your dad and I love each other,’ she said, smiling up at Jack. ‘I’m sorry – we should have told you, but least said, soonest mended.’
‘What the hell is that supposed to mean?’ growled Liz.
Peter shrugged haplessly. ‘I didn’t mean to cause any trouble. I just assumed—’ At which point Megan skipped over and cut him off mid-sentence.
‘Are we going to have the surprise now?’ she said.
Suzie stared at her younger daughter; she suspected the consensus was that they had probably had enough surprises for one day.
‘What surprise, sweetheart?’ asked Rose gently.
‘I can’t tell you. You have to close your eyes, Grandma, and you’re not to look. And you too, Granddad.’
‘Do I?’ said Jack. ‘And why’s that then?’
Megan giggled. ‘We can’t tell you – it wouldn’t be a surprise then, would it?’
Rose’s gaze moved from face to face.
‘Oh come on. It’s hardly rocket science, Mum. Just close your eyes, the pair of you,’ snapped Liz.
‘Go on, Mum, it’ll be fine,’ said Suzie. She glanced up at Sam who just shrugged; after all, what was there to say?
‘All right, but just mind this paving – if I fall over . . .’ Rose was saying warily, finally doing as she was told.
‘You won’t, you won’t, I promise,’ said Suzie, gently taking hold of her mother’s hand while Sam and Megan took hold of Jack’s hands. ‘We’ll lead you, won’t we, Liz? Just don’t peek. Promise?’
‘It’s not a barbeque, is it?’ asked Rose, as they led her carefully across the lawn and through the side gate. ‘Only if it is we’ve still got those things in the freezer—’
‘No, it’s not a barbeque, Mum, just mind your step here,’ said Suzie as they guided her in through the open flap of the marquee.
‘What the hell are we going to do?’ hissed Liz in a whisper – as if by closing their eyes, her parents had suddenly been rendered deaf as well as blind.
‘I don’t know,’ said Suzie, through a forced smile. ‘We’ll sort something out. Let’s play it by ear.’
Liz glared at her and shook her head.
Rose tipped her head to one side as if trying to pick out the change in the sound. ‘Where are we?’ she asked, sounding suspicious.
‘You can open your eyes now,’ said Suzie as Megan and Sam brought Jack to stand alongside Rose.
As the two of them opened their eyes the whole tent erupted into cheers of ‘Surprise!’ and ‘Happy Anniversary!’ There were great whoops of pleasure, with cameras flashing and people clapping and cheering and stomping as the surprise was sprung.
‘What a bloody mess,’ growled Liz in an undertone as the crowd bayed and clamoured with delight.
Rose’s face was a picture. Her mouth dropped open, her eyes widened. ‘Oh my goodness,’ she began. ‘Oh my . . . oh, I don’t believe it. I had no idea . . .’
‘No, me neither,’ grumbled Liz.
Ignoring her sister, Suzie felt her own eyes prickle as she saw Rose’s eyes filling with tears. Jack slipped his hand around Rose’s waist and, pulling her close, kissed her gently on top of her head.
‘Will you just look at all this? Isn’t this amazing? Fancy you doing all this. Rose, look at all the photos of the wedding. Oh, and just look at the cake,’ he murmured, all joy and smiles.
‘Did you know anything about this?’ Rose asked, looking up at him.
‘No, not a clue,’ Jack murmured. ‘I can’t believe they did all this while we were out. It’s fantastic – absolutely amazing. Lovely . . . what a lovely thing to do.’
Suzie could see her father’s eyes misting over too.
‘I really don’t know what to say, girls. How on earth did you sort all this out without us knowing?’ he said.
‘It’s been a real feat,’ Suzie said. ‘We’ve tried to invite everyone who was there first time around, and a few more besides, obviously. There are still a few people yet to arrive but a lot of them wanted to be here to surprise you.’
As people started to come over to congratulate them, Rose turned to Fleur. ‘So did you know about all this?’
‘Yes and no,’ says Fleur.
‘What sort of answer is that? Why didn’t you say something?’
‘Because it wouldn’t have been a surprise then, would it?’ Fleur laughed. ‘And besides, I could ask you the same question, couldn’t I? Why didn’t you tell me you were divorced?’
Rose frowned. ‘Not now, I’ll tell you later.’
‘Well you better had,’ said Fleur. ‘You’ve got no idea how hard it’s been to keep all this lot quiet I can tell you. Suzie and Liz rang me over Christmas, and said if I was coming over this year, could we work it so I was here for what I thought was your anniversary,’ she added archly.
‘I thought you were ill,’ hissed Rose, reddening furiously.
‘I certainly was sick to death today – all those bloody plants,’ Fleur said looking heavenwards. ‘I’ve never been so bored in all my born days.’
‘I was really worried about you,’ said Rose.
Fleur sighed. Sisters, eh? Stepping forward, she hugged first Rose and then Jack tight. ‘Seems to me there are a lot of things we need to talk about, you and I. To be honest I have no idea how Jack puts up with you.’
At which point Matt stepped forward with a tray of glasses. Sam took one of the glasses of champagne and held it aloft while Matt passed the others around.
‘Ladies and gentlemen, friends and family,’ said Sam. ‘I’d like to welcome everyone here and thank you once again for joining us tonight. If I could ask you to raise your glasses to propose a toast? To Rose and Jack.’
There was a great wave of noise that rolled towards them as everyone joined in with the toast. ‘Rose and Jack’.
The words echoed and hung in the air for an instant, then were followed by a huge cheer as the band struck up with an impromptu burst of ‘Congratulations’. The guests flocked forward to offer their good wishes and kind words and marvel at the fact that no one had guessed or let the cat out of the bag and to ask Rose if she had had any idea and to congratulate Jack and pump his hand until finally Jack lifted his hand up and called for silence.
‘Thank you, thank you,’ he said. ‘We’re absolutely delighted and totally amazed to see you all here this evening. We really had no idea about the party. Now if you’d just to give us ten minutes to catch our breath, we’ll be happy to come and have a chat to everyone and thank you once again for coming.’ He turned to Suzie, Liz, Fleur, Sam and Megan and smiled. ‘Thank you. This is the most wonderful surprise. Isn’t it, Rose? Now if you’ll just give us a few minutes I’m sure your mum would like to go and freshen up, put a party frock on, wouldn’t you, Rose?’
Before anyone could protest, the two of them hurried out of the marquee, closely followed by Suzie, Liz and Fleur. Sam turned back towards the guests and began encouraging people to top up their drinks and enjoy the canapés.
‘Are you okay?’ Suzie asked, as her dad opened the kitchen door.
‘Why are you asking them, why aren’t you asking me?’ said Liz. ‘You should be asking me. How could the two of them do this? We’ve been planning this party for months.’
‘They didn’t know that.’
‘Well, it’s unreasonable and so unfair. I mean, how does this make us look? We don’t even know the truth about our own parents.’
‘Getting all het up about it isn’t going to help,’ said Suzie.
Jack plugged in the kettle. ‘Tea, anyone?’ he said.
‘Bugger the tea, Dad,’ said Liz. ‘We thought we couldn’t let forty years go by without doing something special and all the time you’ve been living in sin.’
Rose, who was slipping off her shoes, laughed. ‘Oh come off it, Liz, no one lives in sin any more. This is the twenty-first century.’
‘Not where my family are concerned, it isn’t. Have you got any idea how embarrassing this is? We’ve invited everyone who came to your wedding and all your friends. I’ve put together a film for later.’
‘We found all kinds of things,’ said Suzie helpfully.
‘Yes, but apparently not the important things,’ Liz snapped back. ‘We’d got it all planned – anniversary waltz, lovely buffet, speeches, photographer, cutting the cake and everything. Just like the big day. We managed to track down the ushers, and both your bridesmaids, Fleur obviously, and Janet Fielding—’
Rose looked up. ‘Really? Fancy you tracking Janet down. We haven’t see her for years, have we, Jack?’ she said conversationally as she put her shoes in the cupboard.
‘—And Peter Hudson. We obviously knew he was your best man, he helped us with all the names. The bastard, why didn’t he say something before tonight?’ Liz slumped down into a chair at the kitchen table. ‘What on earth are we going to tell people? Why didn’t you tell us, Mum?’ said Liz.
Rose glanced at Jack. ‘I know it sounds silly saying it now, but it didn’t seem all that important, to be honest.’
‘How can something like that not be important?’ whined Liz.
‘Because it just wasn’t. Before we got divorced, your dad used to work away a lot of the time, and so in lots of ways life wasn’t that different after we split up and you were both very little and . . .’ Rose paused, glancing from face to face. ‘Obviously if we’d stayed separated, then we would have had to have said something to you eventually, but your dad came home nearly every weekend to see you both and to see me, and we still did lots of things we’d always done together and we went on holiday together all of us. It was all very civilised. You were little, and it was all a very long time ago now.’
Liz rounded on her father. ‘How could you leave a woman with two little children?’ she said. ‘I can’t believe you did that, Dad – that’s not the man I know at all.’
Jack looked as if she had punched him.
‘Liz, don’t,’ said Rose hastily. ‘It wasn’t your dad’s fault. It was me who asked him to leave.’
‘What?’ gasped Liz.
Suzie stared at her. ‘Oh, Mum,’ she whispered.
Rose sighed. ‘We were young and these things happen. And then one day I was standing in the kitchen, your dad was walking up the drive and he just looked at me and smiled and my heart did that fluttery-happy-excited thing that hearts do and I realised just how much I’d been looking forward to seeing him. And how much I’d missed him and I realised that I’d made the most awful mistake and that I still loved him and that I didn’t want him to go.’ As she spoke, Rose looked up at Jack, smiling, her eyes bright with tears. ‘And so I asked him to stay, and he did. And that was it really.’
That was it? What an understatement. Suzie stared at the pair of them, seeing the love between them and their obvious joy in being together even after all these years, and was stunned and close to speechless.
‘All those years and I had no idea,’ she murmured. ‘No idea at all.’
‘Well, how would you? We didn’t need to say anything, because things were back to how they had been,’ said her dad apologetically. ‘And through it all we always loved you—’
‘And besides Mr and Mrs bloody Peter Hudson, just how many people out there know?’ said Liz pointing towards the marquee. Her face was a picture.
‘Quite a few of them, probably . . . And there is something else—’ he said, glancing at Rose.
‘This is just too bizarre,’ Liz stammered, cutting him short. ‘And what about Fleur? Did you know?’
So far, Fleur hadn’t said a word and now, looking from face to face, she began to laugh, and laugh hard. ‘You know, all this is absolutely bloody priceless,’ she said, ‘There was me thinking you two had got it all worked out. All these years I’ve thought of you as the golden couple, nothing ever going wrong, roses all the way. All sorted. Bloody hell – I don’t believe it.’
Rose looked at Jack and then at Fleur. ‘I’m sorry, we owe you an apology too. You were living in Australia at the time and had this whole new life out there. It sounded so different from mine – all high-powered and go-getting – and if you remember, we weren’t talking much back then. You always seemed to have your act together and were so successful, I thought you’d think I was being stupid, foolish. It was pride really – I was worried what you might think of me . . . And we’d lost Mum and Dad by then, and it just didn’t seem the right time to say anything.’
‘So come on then, why did you ask him to leave?’ said Fleur. ‘Did you meet someone else? What the hell happened?’
Rose shifted uncomfortably under everyone’s gaze. ‘It wasn’t like that, and it was a long time ago now. Do we have to talk about it now? We need to get changed. We can talk about it later.’
‘We want to talk about it now, Rose,’ said Fleur. ‘You can hardly spring that one on us and then not tell us what the hell happened.’
‘I think we should,’ Jack began. ‘I mean, after all, we aren’t the only ones involved.’
‘Look, I don’t like to point this out again,’ said Liz. ‘But we’ve got a marquee full of people out there expecting to celebrate your fortieth wedding anniversary. We can’t keep them waiting all night. What the hell are we going to say to them?’
‘Maybe we could just change it to forty years together,’ said Suzie hastily.
‘Give or take a few years, you mean?’ snapped Liz angrily, prowling round the kitchen. ‘How could you do this to me, you two?’
‘In some ways it’s a lovely story, really romantic. We could just cut out the whole marriage thing—’ suggested Suzie.
‘And the wedding cake? And the ruby wedding party favours, and the band that are all primed to play “Here Comes the Bride”?’ snapped Liz, glaring furiously at her mum and dad. ‘The more I think about it, the worse it gets. I can’t believe you two, I really can’t. We’ve had balloons specially printed and everything. And what about our emotional and mental wellbeing? Do you know what you’ve done?’
‘What do you mean?’ asked Rose anxiously.
‘Well, we’ve all been holding you two up as prime examples of good, clean living for years – happily married, weathering life’s storms together, kind and good and well behaved. You’ve been this family’s moral compass,’ said Liz. ‘God knows what’ll happen now.’
‘But all those things are still true,’ protested Rose. ‘Nothing’s changed, it’s just that we aren’t married.’
‘They might not have changed for you,’ said Liz indignantly. ‘But it’s a disaster for us. What is Suzie going to tell the girls? How can she have a go at them for behaving badly when their grandparents are living in sin?’
‘Oh for goodness sake,’ Rose said, reddening furiously. ‘We’re doing no such thing. You sound like some Victorian patriarch. This is not the Dark Ages, Liz. People do it all the time. Marriage as an institution is on the decline. Lots of people’s parents aren’t married.’
‘Yes, but not my parents,’ glowered Liz. ‘My parents are the height of respectability.’
‘Why didn’t you just get re-married?’ asked Suzie.
‘It wasn’t that simple,’ Rose began, just as the back door flew open and Megan burst into the kitchen, all smiles and joy and noise.
‘Grandma, Granddad, why aren’t you changed yet? Dad wants to know what’s taking so long. And he wanted you to know that the photographer is here to take the photos and Matt said the crowd is getting restless, and that people want to eat, and how much longer are you going to be, only I’m totally starving.’
Rose laughed. ‘Well, we can’t have that now, can we? You go and tell your dad we’ll be over in five minutes. Tell him Grandma just needs to change into her glad rags. Come on, Jack, let’s get going, we can’t keep everyone waiting.’
And with that she turned and headed upstairs leaving Suzie, Liz and Fleur with an awful lot more questions than answers.
For the briefest moment, Suzie thought that her dad was going to say something else, but instead he turned and followed Rose upstairs.