Page 91 of The Layover
‘I miss Nana,’ she says.
‘Yeah. Yeah, me too.’
But then Myleene snorts and adds, ‘She’d have bloody hated this, mind. Can you imagine her face when that David showed up? Then again, she probably would’ve paid him to stay and give a performance at the reception, just to piss off Marcus.’
I crack up at the mental image. ‘Maybe I should’ve done that. Reckon he’s already on a flight back home, or can we still catch him?’
‘Hi, everybody. Thanks all for being here today to celebrate Kay and Marcus,’ I say, standing at the front of the packed dining tables arranged around the terrace with all eyes on me. ‘For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Kay’s older brother, Leon. In lieu of a father-of-the-bride speech, this is a bit of a family-of-the-bride speech instead, on behalf of all of us.’
I talk about Kay’s childhood, how she always wanted to play dress-up and made me play Barbies with her where they were doing impressive, girl-bossy jobs like she has now, and what a romantic at heart Kay’s always been … How the way she andMarcus looked at each other lit up the room, you could tell they were meant to be …
I say all the bland empty pleasantries that I’m supposed to, and the crowd make all the right noises in all the right places. Kay and Marcus sit holding hands at the top table, smiling at each other.
I talk about the Christmas she brought him home to meet us for the first time and how the two of them are made for each other, and I couldn’t imagine a couple better suited. I wish them every happiness in the life they are building together.
‘Kay,’ I wrap up, ‘we love you, and even if you’re moving on to make your own family, you’ll always have a place at home with us.’
I mean it. But I also know what Myleene means: it feels like goodbye, more than anything else. And I feel like I’ve said all I can, if that is the case.
We all toast the happy couple, and I sit back down, a weight off my chest.
Francesca catches my eye from her table and gives me a warm smile that makes me feel like – yes, I got this right.
Gemma’s speech is great. It’s short and sweet, about the journey of Kay and Marcus’s relationship and with a couple of funny stories from the wedding planning that get everybody laughing. The compilation video she made rolls in the background on a screen and there’s not even a hint of David and the strip club in it.
‘Kayleigh and I were fast friends at school, and inseparable ever since. We did everything together – we always have. People talk a lot about the impact romantic love has on their lives, but sometimes we forget about how monumentally the love between you and a good friend can change your life. And like all good love stories, there’s a beginning, a middle, and an end. Kayleigh – I wish you all the best in this next chapter of your life.’
People coo, and raise their glasses as Gemma leads the toast, but I notice the sharp look Kayleigh cuts her, and I hear the words Gemma’s not exactly saying.
I don’t manage to catch her alone until a little while later – the speeches are done, coffees have been served, and she’s leaning against a wall, tapping furiously away at her phone. I wonder if it’s another wedding-related crisis.
‘Good speech,’ I tell her.
‘Huh? Oh, thanks. You, too. Very restrained, minimal Marcus-bashing. Good job.’
‘Everything okay?’ I nod in the direction of her phone. It’s an email, I can see now. Quite a long one.
Gemma takes a long, slow breath. She types out,Regards, Gemma, then hits send without so much as a quick proofread, and lowers her phone. ‘Everything isveryokay, actually. I just quit my job. Well – I’m sure I’ll have to deal with some long, annoying conversations with HR on Tuesday morning when they actually read my email, since it’s bank holiday weekend and all, but.’
‘But,’ I repeat, and smile. ‘You quit. Good for you. That’s … I’m really proud of you, Gem. That sounds like a good move.’
‘Yeah. Yeah, it does, doesn’t it?’ She nods with conviction now, and grins at me. ‘I mean, it’s kind of unhinged behaviour, I’m well aware, but – once this weekend is done, I’mout. Kaput. Finito. I amaway. I’ve got enough of an emergency fund saved up to see me through till I find another job, butanywherehas got to be better than that place. Anywhere so long as I’m not working for a girl who stabs me in the back and cheats me out of things I’ve earned and deserve. And when I’m back, I’ll start looking for another house-share. Maybe even leave London? I mean, there’s nothing keeping me there. I could go to Bristol, maybe. Or Manchester. Edinburgh! Belfast!Paris!As long as I never have to see the inside of Orly fucking Airport ever againin my life … It’s a clean slate, Leon. I could go anywhere. Do anything. Be …’ She finally falters, her breath hitching and eyes shining. But she keeps smiling at me, shoulders squared, looking so completely sure of herself. ‘Be someone else.’
‘Be yourself,’ I say, and she nods. A couple of rogue tears drop off the ends of her eyelashes, and I think I’ve seen her cry more in the last twenty-four hours than our whole lives put together.
‘Yeah,’ she says in a shaky voice. ‘Myself. I like that.’
Just as we lapse into quiet and I’m trying to figure out how to say what I probably should’ve told her a while ago, Gemma laughs. ‘Who knows? Maybe Fran’s looking for a new flatmate. If she could put up with me for twelve hours in a Parisian airport, maybe she won’t mind spending a bit more time with me. At least then I won’t be totally alone and starting from scratch. Oh, God,starting from scratch. Isn’t that a midlife crisis sort of thing? I’m only twenty-five!’
I wait for her to stop laughing, and tell her, ‘You know you don’t have to be alone, Gem, right? You’ve got us.’
She cuts me a dry look. ‘What part of clean slate did you miss? I’m cutting Kayleigh out of my life. I don’t—’
‘Yeah, but … I mean, she’s cuttingusout, too, so it’s not like you’d be running into each other constantly if you came to visit. Mum’d like it if you did, you know. She’s always liked you. And you were always hanging around the house like you were part of the family anyway.’
‘This better not be you trying to replace your sister with me. Although, admittedly, I am asignificantupgrade.’ She pauses for a moment. ‘And Idoreally love your mum’s roast dinners. She makes the best lamb.’
I grin and knock my shoulder against hers. ‘Of course that’s not what I’m doing, you muppet. I just … I want you to know, that’s all. You’re welcome any time. You always have been. You send each of us a bloody birthday card every year.’
