Page 146 of The Wedding Dress Repair Shop
She grinned suddenly and engagingly, showing a gap between her front teeth. ‘Bev, my ex-friend, was screaming and they were both struggling about under all that wet material, but I left them to it and went back to the reception in my slip – it was like a thin, slinky dress, anyway – and danced the night away. My dad and my brothers saw my soon-to-be ex-husband and Bev off the premises.’
‘That was … very brave of you,’ I said weakly, trying not to laugh.
‘Mum and Dad paid a lot for that wedding, so we had to get our money’s worth out of it. And Mum went and fished the dress and veil out of the pond later and washed them when she got home. They came up fine, so we gave them to the charity shop.’
‘Do you mind thatwebought it, to put on display?’ I asked, and told her it had also featured in an episode ofThe Upcycled BrideTV series.
‘I watch that!’ she exclaimed, thrilled. ‘You keep it and tell people the whole story of what happened.’
When we’d exchanged phone numbers, she said, ‘I’ve got a new fiancé now and I’ve told him if he cheats on me, my brothers will see he talks in a very high voice for the rest of his life.’
Then she went off to explore the rest of the museum and Iglimpsed her later wearing a sparkly plastic bridal tiara from the shop.
*
We all gathered that evening at Pelican House, tired but happy, for the opening had been a huge success.
As well as Thom and Pearl, Honey had also invited Kay and Ella, the Rev. Jo-Jo, and Derek and Baz. George and Lyn were there too, of course, since they weren’t leaving till next day.
Viv had laid on a lovely buffet in the dining room, and the double doors between the rooms were thrown open.
Rory, being big enough to snatch things off the table, was shut in the kitchen, but occasionally sneaked out whenever anyone forgot and left the door open for a moment.
Honey had broken out the champagne and, in a mood of tired euphoria, we all enthusiastically toasted the success of the museum, Ella and Kay’s sales prowess and, finally, my engagement to Thom.
I think we were all a bit tiddly after the toasts, but I suspected Lyn had had a few drinks before the rest of us arrived, because she raised her glass again and said, slightly slurring the words, ‘We should toast our bestselling novelist’s new book too – straight to number one, Honey!’
She gave a small hiccup. ‘Or perhaps we should toastbothmy bestselling authors, because I suppose now you’re living in the same place as the star of those films based on your books, Viv, everyone knows you wrote the Silvermann Chronicles.’
There was a silence while we all took this in, before turning as one to stare at Viv, who was shrinking back into her chair.
Honey said resignedly, ‘No, everyonedidn’tknow, Lyn, but they do now. What happened to your vow of secrecy?’
‘Whoops!’ said Lyn, and gave a very unprofessional giggle. ‘But Thom must surely have guessed that Viv is Gus Silvermann?’
‘No, why should I? It never even crossed my mind!’ Thom exclaimed, still staring at Viv, who avoided his gaze and looked as if she might bolt at any moment.
I think only Kay and Ella had no idea what Lyn was talking about, because the vicar said benevolently, ‘How very clever of you, Viv!’
And then Baz and Derek both said ‘Cool!’ at the same time, then laughed.
‘Did youreallywrite them, Viv? Wicked!’ said Simon, admiringly. ‘If I had, I wouldn’t have kept it secret.’
‘Viv never wanted any publicity, so apart from her husband and Lyn – and myself, of course – it’s been kept secret for years,’ Honey said. ‘She and her husband liked a simple, quiet, country life, and they wouldn’t have had that if hordes of fans had known who she was.’
‘No, they certainly wouldn’t,’ agreed Thom. ‘And I suppose that’s why you’ve always seemed nervous around me, Viv? You were afraid I might somehow find out?’
‘What she was really afraid of was that you’d blame her for ruining your life, after I told her how you hadn’t wanted to be a child actor and had to grow up in front of the cameras, not to mention being mobbed wherever you went.’
‘But that was hardly your fault, Viv,’ he said. ‘It was my step-parents who made me take the role. But eventually, after the films finished and all the fuss died down, I met Bruno and discovered what I really wanted to do with my life.’
‘And now he’s going to marry Garland, Viv, so really, you haven’t ruined his life at all,’ Honey said bracingly.
Then she asked Simon to top everyone’s glasses up again.Frankly, I thought most of us were afloat already and would soon be washing up in odd corners, like bits of flotsam.
‘Come and get a bit more food to mop up all the booze,’ Thom suggested in my ear, and we loaded our plates with more sandwiches, cheese puffs and quiche.
Simon was already on to the desserts and, having been unable to choose between chocolate gateau and trifle, had helped himself to both.
