Page 55 of Six Steps to Happiness
“I was going to ring you…” Ronnie gestured to the room. “Once I’d sorted through this lot. I’m going to need some help getting rid of it.”
Willow looked like she was reaching the end of her tether.
“I would have done it myself, but with my car still in the garage.”
Willow turned to Bea. “She doesn’t know, does she?”
Bea shook her head. “Doesn’t look like it.”
Ronnie stared at them both. “I don’t know what?”
“About why I’ve been calling you?” Willow pulled out her phone, pressed call, and waited until Ronnie’s mobile rang.
“Good luck finding it,” Ronnie said as it rang from somewhere within the mess. “Although you could just tell me what’s on your mind instead of trying to show me.”
“I was coming to that,” Willow said.
Bea’s eyes lit up. “You might want to sit down.”
Ronnie laughed. “I’m fine, thank you.” After everything she’d been through, from a dodgy haircut to a police search party, she doubted anything they had to say could warrant a funny turn.
“Don’t say you haven’t been warned,” her mother-in-law said.
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Ronnie watched Willow bring up an image on her phone, before holding it out for Ronnie to accept. Ronnie put down her drink in readiness, pausing nervously. Not quite able to look at the screen, she’d been in that situation too many times already. Having watched herself flying off a treadmill and then rearrange someone else’s cupboards, she didn’t think she could face any more embarrassment. “Please don’t tell me I’ve gone viral again.”
Willow nodded to the mobile, encouraging Ronnie to take a look.
Ronnie did as instructed, although glancing at the picture before her, she wasn’t sure what she was meant to be seeing. Going off everyone’s posh outfits, the photo was of a celebration of some kind, but other than that she didn’t clock anything relevant to herself. She looked to her daughter and mother-in-law for the answer.
“Keep scrolling,” Willow said.
Doing as she was told, Ronnie realised the images were of someone’s wedding and that she vaguely recognised the groom, although she had no clue where from. Again, she turned to Willow and Bea.
“He’s a footballer. Premier league,” Bea said, her excitement coming to the fore. “And the bride’s an actress.”
Ronnie swiped over to the next photo, one that included more of the wedding party. “They make a beautiful couple.”
“You haven’t spotted it yet, have you?” Willow asked.
“Spotted what?”
Willow used her finger and thumb to zoom in on a particular section of the photo.
Ronnie’s heart skipped a beat. “But that’s my…” She smiled, unable to believe what she was looking at.
“Handbag,” Willow said.
“Wow!” Ronnie had no idea her mother-of-the-bride creation was headed for that kind of wedding.
“Only in one of the biggest celebrity magazines going,” Bea said.
Ronnie felt a bit in shock. “I think I might need that seat after all.”
Bea cleared some stuff off the nearest chair so Ronnie could sit down.
“So, now you see why we can’t have this,” Willow said, waving her hands at the kitchen paraphernalia laid about the place. “Or this.” She pointed to the boxes and bags piled high in the garden. “And we definitely can’t have any of this.” She stared at Ronnie’s attire, shaking her head as if that was the worst crime of all.
