Page 64 of Tessa Cavendish Is Getting Married
“India doesn’t think Mum and Dad are married,” I said.
“India? How would she know?” Ryan scoffed. “You two weren’t even born back then, never mind her.”
Sal and I shared a look, realising he had a point.
“And something like that would be pretty hard to keep quiet over the years,” I said, accepting Ryan’s reasoning.
“You’re right,” Sal said. “India’s claim doesn’t make sense. Of course Mum and Dad are married.”
Leo grabbed knives and forks from the cutlery drawer. “Would it be a problem if they weren’t?”
“Not really,” Sal said.
“Of course not,” I said.
“Well then?”
“But it’s not as simple as that, is it?” I replied. “If our parents aren’t married, why would Mum insist on passing down a dress that isn’t even hers? Why call it an heirloom?”
“I bet you ten pounds they’re not,” India said, entering the room.
Sal suddenly screamed, horrified at the sight of her daughter. “What have youdone?”
As Ryan, Leo and I spun round, all thoughts of Mum and Dad disappeared into the ether. We each stood wide-eyed and in shock, taking in the pair of scissors India held in one hand, and the long clump of hair she held in the other.
India’s gaze went from her mum to her dad, to Leo, and then to me. “What? It was getting in my eyes. It needed a trim,” she said. “Plus, if I’m going to make it as a supermodel, I need to be edgy. How else am I going to stand out?”
“But you’ve…” Sal let out a whimper.
I stared at what I assumed was supposed to be India’s new fringe. Sitting a couple of inches above her eyebrows and about a centimetre below her hairline, it appeared India had trimmed to the extreme. With only a couple of months to the wedding, another picture of her following me down the aisle popped into my head. “How quickly does her hair grow, Sal?”
Chapter 40
July
“Something smells good,” Leo said.
Hanging our jackets on the banister, he and I had just landed at Mum and Dad’s. After the excitement of dropping off sack loads of fabric at Marianne’s house, we’d spent the rest of our car journey trying to guess what wedding news Mum could possibly have. Leo gave me a wink. No doubt, another of his attempts to reassure me all would be well. I only hoped he was right; that the day wasn’t about to take a turn for the worst.
Mum smiled, appreciating the compliment. “Slow-cooked pork shoulder, crispy roast potatoes, pork and herb stuffing, with caramel glazed parsnips and carrots.”
“Very nice,” Leo said.
“All served on the finest of bone china.”
Mum’s dinner service had been her pride and joy since I could remember. “We wouldn’t expect anything else,” I said.
“And for dessert?” Leo asked.
“Dark fruit crumble with vanilla custard.” She gestured to the lounge. “Now, you two go through, while I check how things are going in the kitchen.”
Having expected Mum to share what she had to say at the first opportunity, I watched her head off down the hall.
Leo leaned into me. “Didn’t I tell you it wouldn’t be that big of a deal?”
We entered the lounge to the sight of Dad giggling over some video on his phone.
“What’s that you’re watching?” I asked. Curious as to who the excitable voice emanating from the screen belonged to, I approached to find out. However, Dad quickly hit the stop button and shut down the video.
