To Love and Be Loved(62)

‘What’s the latest from Luuk?’ Merrin liked to be up to speed with the state of affairs with the ‘Flying Dutchman’, as they had nicknamed him, because, despite finding out that Bella was pregnant, he had flown.

‘He says he’s still coming to terms with the situation.’ She rolled her eyes. ‘Says he’s in shock, the poor love, and thinking about what he wants to do with his future. I told him that having an actual human the size of a large melon pop out of your tuppence was also quite shocking, but . . .’

Ruby spat out her tea. Merrin shouted her laughter and she remembered what was so wonderful about being in this little house with the women she loved and who loved her in return. The familiar ache at living so far away rolled in her stomach.

‘Tuppence!’ Ruby howled.

‘Honestly, you girls!’ Her mum delivered the tea and cake to the table. ‘Right, come on, Ruby. Sit down, my love, the curling tongs are hot. This is our last rehearsal; we’ll be doing it for real tomorrow.’

There was a moment of awkward silence as the women all shared uncomfortable glances, until Merrin decided to take the lead.

‘A rehearsal, now that’s smart.’ She ran her fingers through her own fringe. ‘Don’t want any burnt-hair disasters on the day!’ She felt the weight of tension leave the room.

Ruby sat down and put her head forward. ‘Like we practised, Mum: demi-wave curls, a sharp part to the left and then the big hair comb put in nice and tight – pulling the one side back up off my face. Okay?’

‘Okay, lovely.’ Her mum grimaced over her head. ‘Don’t know who she thinks I am, but I’m not a professional hairdresser, I can only do my best.’

‘You’ll do fine, Heather!’ Bella called out her encouragement. ‘This must be a bit weird for you, Merry? Remind you of Digby the shit?’

Merry gave a snort of laughter at this nickname and was thankful in a way that Bella had mentioned him, glad of the opportunity to let off some of the tension that bound her insides tight.

‘I suppose I’ve thought about it a bit more than I usually do.’ She played it down. ‘But it’s not like I’m traumatised at having to relive the whole thing or anything like that. I still feel embarrassed if I think about it, though.’ She stared at her lap, her quick blinking and the redness that crept over her neck and face suggesting it was not quite the breeze she suggested.

‘You have nothing to feel embarrassed about. His loss.’ Bella used this for the second time in as many minutes.

‘It’s not even about him.’ She preferred not to say his name. ‘It’s how daft it made me feel. I was so sure, so confident, that I could rely on him. I still think about the surprise of it, his face and the way he looked at me differently . . .’

‘No one’s seen him, apart from that one time up at Reunion Point.’ Bella laughed. ‘I think he hides away in Bristol with his biscuits, or I think Mrs Everit said he might be in London. Anyway, who cares as long as he’s not in Port Charles?’

‘I think Jarvis saw him once up at the petrol station on the way up to St Austell. Said he was in a Porsche.’

‘Well, lucky old him!’ She bit the inside of her cheek and sipped her tea. It bothered her how the mention of news about him so piqued her interest. ‘So how are you getting to the church, Rubes? Want me to take you in Vera Wilma Brown?’

‘Christ, I’d rather not!’ She giggled. ‘I think Nancy’s coming here and we’re all going to walk up together. I thought, what with Jarv not having a big family, it would be better if we all went in one group, rather than Nancy arrive alone.’

‘Is his dad coming?’ Bella asked the question Merrin was about to.

‘Yes, apparently.’ Ruby sighed. ‘Jarvis is determined not to make a fuss of him, but I said to him, he may be a waste of space, but it will take courage for him to come back to Port Charles and be among his old friends, who all hold him in the same low regard, and so we need to make him feel welcome.’

Merrin understood this more than most.

Her sister’s voice faltered. ‘I just don’t want anything to go wrong. I want it to be perfect. I can’t be doing with falling out and bickering or even telling stories of all the bloody things that can and might go wrong!’

She and Bella shared a knowing look, the one they did when Ruby was on the verge of losing it and interventive action was required.

‘Now, Rubes,’ Merrin began, ‘we must turn to the matter in hand; it’s a rite of passage that you now have the “wiggle and tuppence” talk – time you knew what to expect on your wedding night. I’m sure we all have some good advice to give. Over to you, Bells.’

‘For the love of God, don’t make me part of this!’ Bella yelled. ‘I am the last person to give any advice on that particular subject. Aren’t I, babby?’ She leant forward and kissed her boy’s tiny hand.

‘Oh, I don’t know, Bells.’ Her mum spoke, as she kept her eyes firmly on Ruby’s locks. ‘I’d say you are probably the best person to give advice!’

‘If I must. What I can tell you is this: if you’re on the pill and you drink too much wine and throw up, you might also throw up your contraceptive, and that makes you more likely to get up the duff. Oh, and if a tall, handsome Dutchman tells you he can see a future with you, he might actually just be saying that to get into your knick-knacks and not mean it at all. Oh! And if for the briefest moment you think that what you’re feeling might be the dizzying first effects of love, remind yourself that, most likely, it is in fact the dizzying effect of the white wine you have necked – the same white wine that will make you sick and ultimately get you pregnant!’ On cue, baby Glynn cried and Bella jostled him into a new position so he could feed on the other side.