Page 20 of The Wrong Suitcase

‘Yippee!’ she says. ‘I knew you’d convince him.’

I have a really bad feeling. Areallybad feeling.

‘Izzy, hello, good evening,’ Adriano says, holding out his hand so he can take mine and give a gentlemanly kiss.

‘Evening,’ I reply, through gritted teeth. ‘I would say congratulations on your wedding, but why do I think I will regret being kind to you any second now?’ I ask. Sarah is looking at him delightedly.

‘My loyalties lie with my new, perfect wife, I’m afraid,’ he admits, in way of a response, and then he shouts, ‘Mate! Over here!’ and I understand then that I’m about to navigate an awkward introduction when all I want is to sneak back off to make out with Sam. I hate being set up. It’s a control thing – surprise, surprise.

‘Come on, Adriano, I told you,’ his voices starts, and then we lock eyes.

He smiles.

I smile.

Adriano, Sarah and Anastasia look between us like we’re Nadal and Federer walloping a tennis ball back and forth, from me, to Sam, to me, to Sam, and still we stand, smiling,grinning,beaming even, and finally Sarah says, ‘See, Addy. I told you it would be love at first sight.’

18

Birchy

We’re saved by the first dance. John Legend’s ‘All of Me’plays out from the band, the lead singer crooning softly and all of us gathering around to watch Adriano and Sarah give each other the look of love as they move back and forth to the music, arms wrapped around one another.

‘I thought I was going to have to dance with some cousin or something,’ Izzy says to me as we watch, speaking out of the corner of her mouth. ‘I thought I was being set up.’

‘You are.’ I smile, my face turned towards the dancefloor too. ‘Adriano warned me about it this afternoon. I totally forgot. He said Sarah had someone in mind for me.’

She giggles. ‘Imagine being so selfless that you’d play cupid even on your wedding day.’

‘I can’t,’ I retort. ‘I can’t even imaginehavinga wedding day.’ I don’t know why I said that. It’s a bit deep. ‘Or being that kind.’

‘Says the paediatric surgeon,’ she quips.

‘You teach little kids, don’t you? Building the minds of tomorrow?’

Before she can respond, Adriano and Sarah break apart and start gesturing for people to join them on the dancefloor. Sarah’s dad interrupts his new son-in-law to get his time with the bride, and Adriano seeks out his mum. Slowly, other couples join in too: Anastasia and her wife Kat, Aran and the guy who sat on the other side of him at dinner – I barely even spoke to that guy, I was so busy making eyes at Izzy. I spot Mum and Ian, Charlie and his wife Miranda, Esme with our two nephews in her arms. Adriano’s brothers are with their partners, and there’s the older couple I saw in the lobby when I was in my dressing gown. They know all the steps and show off some proper old-school ballroom moves. It’s really impressive. Finally, there’s just Izzy and me left.

‘May I have this dance?’ she asks, and I nod.

‘You may.’

I put my left hand down at the base of her back, holding up my right hand as she reaches to clasp it. Her other hand slips to my waist, under my jacket, and she looks up from underneath her lashes. She’s a bit flushed, but she smiles.

It wouldn’t be like this with Ella.

It wouldn’t be like this with anyone else in the world.

With Izzy, there’s something beyond the chemical happening. It’s as though our two parts of the puzzle fit together seamlessly. There’s a gravity to it – there’s her, and there’s me, but together there’s somehow a ‘we’.

I’ve never felt like a ‘we’ before.

‘This is … unexpected,’ she says, and over the top of her head, I see Mum’s pondering gaze pointed in our direction, and she grins and nods approval at what she sees.

‘It is, isn’t it?’ I reply. ‘I was just thinking that. I was supposed to be here with somebody else …’ I stop myself. I don’t why I’ve said that, either.

‘I know,’ she says lightly. ‘Your mum told me.’

Honestly. Is there anybody to whom my family hasn’t announced what happened this morning? Although, it doesn’t actually bother me. Not now. Not here. The Sam Birch of this morning doesn’t exist anymore. Something has changed. Shifted.

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