Page 43 of Behind Frenemy Lines

The wedding ceremony took place in a pretty Georgian room, with a pink, seafoam green, and lilac ceiling, ornate ivory plaster moulding, and a grand crystal chandelier. The celebrant stood by a table at the front of the room, heaped with pink and white roses and dark greenery.

The brides were each escorted down the aisle by both parents. A girl in a rockabilly dress, with impressive full sleeve tattoos, did a reading from the Song of Solomon. Charles read Wendy Cope’s “The Orange,” gravely and without affectation. When he was done, Hayley and Loretta got up and hugged him.

Charles was red-eyed. He patted Loretta’s back a few times before letting her go. I swallowed down a lump in my throat.

The brides read vows they had written themselves—except for the quotes fromThe Duke of Badminton,which were as overwrought as Charles had led me to expect, and made everyone laugh. Then the couple proceeded out to a rousing Japanese rock anthem, with half the room cheering and singing along.

I was about to join the flow of people streaming out of the room when Charles appeared at my elbow.

“Hey,” I said. “Good job with the reading.”

Charles ducked his head. “Thanks. Do you know where you’re going?”

I gestured at the door. “We’ve been promised drinks and canapés if we head that way.”

“I’ve got to stay with Loretta and Hayley,” said Charles. “They’re going to do the tea ceremony now, just with family. It shouldn’t take long. Will you be all right on your own?”

I smiled. “Yeah. Don’t worry about me. I’m having fun.”

“Great,” said Charles. “That’s good. I, uh, I’ll see you later, then.”

He was standing close enough that I could smell his cologne—a woody, peppery scent, rising off warm skin. I wondered what it was.

“Looking forward to it,” I said inanely.

Charles blushed. For some reason my cheeks were hot, too.

“All right,” he said, and then he was gone.

I followed the other guests out of the room, pressing my hand absently against the side of my face. The room had been on the chilly side, and my fingers were cool on my cheek.

I wasn’t upset to be by myself. I didn’t know anyone there, but there was plenty to keep me entertained. In my satin cocktail dress, I fit right in with half the guests—at least in terms of what I was wearing. The crowd was predominantly white and East Asian.

But I’d expected that. It was the other half of the attendees I hadn’t expected. They had hair—and wigs—in every colour of the rainbow, as well as piercings, tattoos, quirky glasses, and mobility aids, and they were dressed in everything from badminton gear to giant sparkly ballgowns paired with elaborate headdresses to full kimono, complete with obi and geta. It was as though a carnival had crashed a reception at Buckingham Palace.

People were laughing and squealing and grabbing each other to pose for photographs in their costumes. A mysterioustowering figure shrouded in black, with a ghostly white mask, silently offered me chocolate coins.

I accepted two and watched him? her? turn to another guest, a red-haired woman in a floral dress. She smiled and shook her head, but she looked a little sorry when the masked figure wandered off without saying anything. Like me, she didn’t seem to know anyone else there.

I said, “Do you think they’re on stilts under the costume, or do you think they’re really that tall?”

“I was wondering that,” said Redhead. She had an American accent. “I’ve been trying to remember where I’ve seen that character before. I’m sure it’s from a movie.” She laughed. “This wedding issoHayley. Everything about it is totally her.”

“You’re a friend of Hayley’s?”

“Oh yeah. Me and Hayley go way back. We met in first grade. When she said she was moving to England for a girl, I thought, you know, when else am I going to get to fly over to London for a wedding? My partner’s English, but this is my first time visiting.” Redhead smiled at me. “How do you know Hayley and Loretta?”

“I’m here with Charles,” I said. “He’s the best man.”

“Oh, Loretta’s cousin Charles?”

I nodded. “I only met Loretta and Hayley today, for the first time.”

Redhead pulled a face. “Oh my God! In at the deep end. I’m going to see my partner’s family for the first time too.”

I was about to explain that I wasn’t with Charles in that sense, and there was nothing inherently intimidating about being introduced to his family. Apart from the fact I’d been expected to speak Cantonese to his frightening aunt.

But Redhead went on, “We’re headed to Norwich tomorrow to visit his parents.”

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