The Spark - Jules Wake Page 0,96

old was this woman? Any sympathy I’d had for her vanished in one fell swoop. What a bitch! I thought I’d been pretty patient with Victoria’s I’m-the-indispensable-daughter-in-law routine throughout the afternoon and wasn’t ignorant of the point she was making; she’d rather hammered it home. I got it: she and Sally were great friends; she belonged here and I didn’t. Game, set and match to Victoria.

When she looked my way with another one of those victorious little smirks, I was through being polite and playing nice, I rolled my eyes and turned my back on her.

Obvious, much.

Everyone piled in for the food and the crush filling the room meant Victoria and her busy, busy, hostess act were subsumed by the crowd. With plates piled high, everyone then drifted back out into the garden to sit in small groups. Sam and I gravitated to Lynn and Richard, who’d bagged the end of the large wooden table and had been joined by Fiona, who lived next-door-but-one to them with her husband, Mitch. Cocooned by my family, with Sam’s leg resting against mine under the table, I pushed Victoria’s pettiness away and enjoyed the feel of his skin, the soft teasing of Uncle Richard, Aunty Lynn’s gentle observations, and the general sense of happiness and contentment that hung in the air.

Puddings were brought out and glasses were refilled with more Prosecco, and then the tinkle of metal against glass brought everyone to a standstill as Miles called the guests to order.

‘Thank you all for coming today.’ His voice gained strength as he spoke, turning to encompass everyone in the garden now watching him, and Sally at his side. ‘It is wonderful to see so many friends and family here today. I’m not going to waffle on—’

‘Thank God for that,’ yelled Uncle Jeff from the back of the garden.

‘—but I did want to say a few words.’ He looked at his wife standing by his side and took her hand.

‘Thirty-five years… I was going to make a joke about it being a longer sentence than you get for murder…’ Gentle laughter rippled through the guests. ‘But,’ his fingers tightened on Sally’s hand, ‘thirty-five years is half a lifetime, and what a lifetime it’s been. I still think I’m the luckiest man in the world, and the very first time I saw Sally, there was something about her. Something special.’

Sally pulled a face and groaned.

He turned and laughed. ‘We didn’t actually speak for another month, but I still remember that very first glimpse of her, in Woolworths in Ramsgate.’

‘God, that uniform was hideous – a nylon special,’ said Sally, shaking her head but smiling all the while.

‘It took me a while to summon up the courage to ask her out,’ said Miles. ‘I was a lowly stockroom boy, working during my university break, and she was a glamorous Saturday girl. But once I got to know her, we became the best of friends, and that friendship grew and grew, and one day, I realised she was the person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. Sally’s still my best friend, but she’s also the woman I love with all my heart.’

There was a collective sigh and my pulse skipped a little at his quiet, earnest words. When Sam’s fingers interlaced with mine, I risked a quick look at his face, my heart ballooning in my chest cavity. His eyes softened as they rested on my face, glowing with a confident, knowing smile as if he had all the answers and I was the only person he could possibly share them with.

‘I’d like you to raise your glasses. If we have three score and ten, then Sally and I have enjoyed half a lifetime of marriage,’ Miles lifted his champagne flute and turned to face his wife, ‘and I’m hoping we’ll spend the rest of our lifetime enjoying the rest.’

A quiet calm held while everyone raised their glasses, silenced by the emotion before, bit by bit, the hum of kind, good-natured chat began to pick up again, reflecting the general atmosphere of warmth that rippled through the smiling guests.

I really needed to pee, but the downstairs loo just off the utility room was already occupied by someone who, judging by the sound coming from the poorly soundproofed room, appeared to have a camel-sized bladder. I had no idea people could pee for that long. It was seriously impressive – or rather, it would have been if I hadn’t been crossing my legs with