Page 10 of The Layover
Alright, nowI’mbeing the patronising one, but I can’t help it. It does lighten my mood a little to see that I’ve hit a nerve. I didn’t think I was someone who liked the concept of payback, but this conversation is starting to prove otherwise.
He grits his teeth, jaw working side to side as if he’s contemplating spitting some pointed retort at me to stay out of things that don’t concern me, or maybe to simply tell me to bugger off. I wonder, when the look softens for a fraction of a second, if he’s debating telling me. Spilling whatever’s eating at him to some relative stranger, just to ease his mind. But he obviously thinks better of all those things, because he settles for turning away and ignoring me.
I say, ‘Well, this is going to be alovelywedding.’
Time until ‘I Do’
17 hours
Chapter Seven
Gemma
Oh, God, this is just what I need. First the cabin crew actuallydidmisplace my bridesmaid’s dress – which, for all I joked, was a fucking nightmare – andnow, after waiting for them to track down where they’d put it, there’s a massive queue to sort out where I go from here.
‘Here’, apparently, being France. Honestly, who goes throughOrlyfor anything? What happened to good old Charles de Gaulle?
A gym-bro guy with glitter in his hair and no luggage except a rucksack runs past me, panting, ‘Shit, shit, shit,’ under his breath. He looks like a kid who got lost on a stag do and is late going home to Mummy and Daddy.
He probablyis.
He joins the huge queue I’m heading for, tearing at his hair as he counts up how many people are in front of him.
Yeah, you and me both, buddy.
I’m on the phone to Kayleigh as I cross the terminal, though I only get her voicemail. There’s a big, fake smile pasted on my face as I talk. Like it’ll help me pretend I’m totally genuine – or maybe it’s just force of habit for whenever I’m dealing with Kayleigh.
‘Babe, you willneverbelieve what’s happened. It’s an absolute mare of a sitch. The flight got diverted to Francebecause of a bit of rain, can you even? Absolutemare. Anyway, sure they’ll fix me up on a new flighttout suite, so it’s no big. Do not even stress. Not sure if I’ll make it in time for a cheeky beveragino tonight but I promise, I’ll make up for it in the morning with the champers, lol!’
I will make up for it with vodka, neat.
Can the maid of honour get away with being completely rat-arsed during the ceremony? I wish.
‘So, like, I’ll deffo let you know as soon as I know when my next flight is, butplease, do not stress. It’ll all be totally fine. Promise. Love ya! Say hi to Marcus for me!’
I hang up, knowing full well she will be stressing out.
What a waste of a massage that will be. Boo-hoo.
I wonder if there’s somewhere hereIcan get a massage? I deserve one.
I also wonder if this is either karmic retribution or the universe trying to throw me a line. First with the dress, and then the weather… I mean, I have practicallymade this happen. I am a witch fromMacbeth. I am the Grim in the tea leaves of Harry Potter’s cup. I am Nesta fromA Court of Thorns and Roseswith her pointy death finger.
I’ve brought this on myself. Spoken it into existence. Manifested not being able to make it to the wedding.
But God, if I don’t show up there – at the very least, by tomorrow morning – she will never let me live it down. Oh, we’ll laugh about it, and she’ll say it’s all good and it’s not my fault, but she will hang it over my head like a guillotine for the next ten – twenty – years, easy.
It’ll be the thing she brings up jokingly whenever I’m a bit late to meet up. ‘Ooh, didn’t get diverted through France again, did you? Thought this was going to be a repeat of my wedding, haha!’
It’ll be the thing she throws back in my face whenever she gets a little bit upset with me for something. ‘And this isjustlike my wedding, when you weren’t there for me …’
It’ll be the thing she brings out as leverage to overrule me – ‘Well, if you’d listened to me and flown out earlier like I’d said, you wouldn’t have missed the wedding …’ – and the thing she uses to excuse her own failures as a friend – ‘I think I’m owed a missed birthday party or two when you missed my entirewedding, Gem, the most important day of my life!’
I think about the video on my camera roll, and the resolve thatshe deserves thishardens a little more.
I will be at that goddamn wedding if it kills me.
Joy of joys, finally, a stroke of luck!
