Page 51 of The London Girls
Olivia laughed. Despite everything, she couldn’t help but have a giggle. Ava was nothing if not entertaining, a perpetually cheerful friend who somehow always saw the best in every situation and did everything to make others smile. And it couldn’t have been so easy for her to be upbeat either; whatever had led to her being kicked out of home must have been awful, and she’d clearly been let down terribly by her lover, too.
‘You just stick to your tea, Ava,’ Ivy said. ‘I’ll rustle something up before it’s time to leave though, to calm the bride.’
Olivia took the tea passed to her, taking a sip. She actually wasn’t nervous about getting married; she loved Leo and nothing could ever change the way she felt about him. She only wished things could have been different.
‘To Jenny,’ she suddenly said, deciding that it was better to acknowledge their joint loss rather than keep it buried just because it was her wedding day.
‘To Jenny,’ Ava and Florence repeated, holding their teacups high.
‘And to our bride,’ Ava said. ‘Today,my darling, is all about you.’
‘To our bride!’ Florence cried enthusiastically.
Olivia took a sip of her tea as her stomach started to dance a little, and she started to get more than a touch excited about seeing Leo. Perhaps she was more nervous than she’d realised?
‘Have something to eat, beautiful bride,’ Florence said, passing her a slice of bread. ‘I’m giving you the last of Grandma’s marmalade as your wedding present. And trust me, you’ll thank me when you’ve tasted it.’
Her mother might not be there, but as she looked around the room, at her friends smiling at her and Florence’s grandma busy making food for them, she realised that she had all the support and love she needed right there in that little kitchen.
Olivia felt like she’d been waiting all day to see Leo, having not seen him since he returned to his parents’ home the day before, and the moment she saw him, she had to fight not to run into his arms. He was walking into the little church, beside the vicar who’d christened her as a baby, looking as dashing as could be in his uniform, his hands clasped behind his back. But it was the sight of her mother inside the church that stopped her in her tracks – she was sitting clutching a handkerchief, but when she saw Olivia, a smile transformed her face.
‘Oh, darling, look at you.’
Olivia took her mother’s hands in hers as she rose. ‘If this is too insensitive, if you don’t think we should be doing this, if—’
‘This is exactly what we should be doing,’ her mother said, even as tears filled her eyes. ‘I’m only sorry I was too wrapped up in my grief to help you today.’
She hugged her mother, holding her tight and trying to stop from crying. ‘I just wish he were here. I would do anything to have him here.’
‘Pete would love nothing more than to know you two were getting married.’ Her mother gently dabbed her face, drying her tears. ‘Now off you go and marry that dashing young man.’
Olivia kissed her mum’s cheek as her father leaned in, proffering his arm to her.
‘It’s time,’ he murmured, patting her hand when she looped it through.
Olivia turned her focus back to Leo, who was patiently waiting for her. The pews were empty, other than his parents who were seated by her mother. Florence and Ava had entered through the side door, and as she started to walk she heard the door behind them close. She glanced back, surprised to see George standing there in full dress uniform. He gave her a nod, and when she turned back around, she met Ava’s gaze and raised her brows in question, receiving a shrug in reply. She certainly hadn’t expected to see him today, and she hadn’t invited anyone else due to how quickly they’d had to organise everything. It hadn’t felt right to invite old friends or even extended family given the circumstances – she hadn’t even asked her flatmates.
She quickly forgot about George as they walked towards Leo, nervously biting her lip when her father let go of her arm and kissed her cheek before he shook hands with her husband-to-be. And then she was lifting her hands, with Leo catching her fingers and smiling at her in a way that she knew she’d never forget in all her life.
‘You look so beautiful,’ he whispered, stepping closer to her and receiving a frown from the vicar, which made Olivia grin.
‘Thank you,’ she whispered back, admiring him in his uniform, which somehow made him look even more handsome than when he was in civilian clothes.
They said their vows, she in a shaky voice that slowly found its confidence, and it felt like only moments later he was tenderly lifting his palm to her cheek as he leaned in to kiss her, once they’d been pronounced man and wife. Olivia tilted her face to meet his, forgetting anyone was watching him as she gently parted her lips.
‘Hello, wife,’ he whispered.
She grinned, wishing she could kiss him again. ‘Hello, husband.’
Leo held her hand and they turned together, smiling as their parents beamed at them, both mothers dabbing at their eyes. He pressed his lips to her hand before slowly letting go of her so that their families could congratulate them, and it wasn’t until after Olivia had hugged Ava and Florence that she remembered George. She looked around, seeing him still standing near the entrance to the church.
She waved him over, and when Leo whispered in her ear asking who their mysterious guest was, she just smiled and took his hand.
‘George, what a lovely surprise,’ she said. ‘George, this is Leo, my husband. Leo, this is Captain George Robinson, my boss.’
‘Great of you to come,’ Leo said, heartily shaking George’s hand. ‘Tell me, she’s not too reckless on that motorcycle, is she? We rode together before the war and I thought she was a bit of a madwoman!’
George laughed. ‘Olivia is one of our most capable and dependable riders,’ he said. ‘You have nothing to worry about there.’ She could almost hear him thinking:Now her friend Ava, she’s the one I have to worry about.
