Before I Do(68)
“I agree.” Josh nodded. “I think we have a ceremony at a later date, even if it means doing it on a random Monday in a few weeks’ time.”
“A random Monday,” Debbie repeated in horror.
“Dad followed the ambulance to the hospital. We thought someone should go with him until his wife gets there. Clara’s gone back to the hall to let the caterers know why the timeline’s a little off.”
Audrey nodded, relieved that Josh was being decisive. He had always been good in a crisis. He reached out a hand and tilted her chin up to his. “I know this feels like the worst thing that could have happened, but at least he’s okay and in good hands. There was a moment there where I really thought—” Josh shook his head, not wanting to finish the sentence. “I’m glad Samar was here.”
Everyone walked down the road to the hall together, Audrey and Josh side by side. Miranda retrieved Audrey’s shoes from the church, but her feet were now dirty; she would stain the white silk lining if she put them on. So she carried them in one hand, hitched up her dress with the other, and walked barefoot on the tarmac.
As she walked, one thought tapped away at the inside of Audrey’s head. She had been granted a reprieve. Now, what was she going to do with it?
39
Two and a Half Years Before I Do
“I’ve highlighted the program, so we know what we want to see on each stage and when,” said Josh.
“Who brings a highlighter pen to a music festival?” laughed Jay as they lay on the grass beside their tents.
“Um, have you met Josh?” said Clara.
Josh had also brought a blow-up mattress, a camping stove, a waterproof money belt, and flannel pajamas. Jay had pretty much brought the clothes he was wearing.
“I’m always up for a highlighted agenda,” said Audrey, hugging Josh’s arm in hers.
Clara had been given free tickets for the weekend festival through work. She had proposed it as a “bonding experience” for the four of them. In reality, the only people she wanted to bond were Josh and Jay. The two men had met many times before, and they were civil to each other, but they’d never formed a particular friendship. Clara and Audrey were desperate for their husband and boyfriend to be as close as they were. They could go on holidays together, double-date, and hang out all the time—if only these men would become friends.
One spanner in the plan was that two friends of Jay’s, Amadeus and Sadie, had tagged along at the last minute. All Audrey knew about them was that they lived on a houseboat and ran an organic fennel tea company. She wasn’t sure their presence was going to help the Josh/Jay bonding project.
“Let’s just chill,” said Amadeus, flicking his long auburn dreadlocks over one shoulder, then he held out his hand to Sadie, who was dancing around him in a long cotton skirt lined with bells.
Clara and Audrey went to find the loos. When they came back, they found Jay and Josh locked in a heated conversation about the monarchy.
“But surely you at least respect the Queen—everything she’s done for this country?” Josh was saying.
“No.” Jay shook his head. “You can’t pick and choose, they’ve all got to go. We live in a democratic society, there’s no role for a monarchy in the twenty-first century.”
“This sounds heavy,” Clara said, leaning to put her arms around Jay’s neck.
“Josh here’s a fucking monarchist,” said Amadeus.
“I just said I respect the Queen,” Josh said, a muscle pulsing in his jaw.
“That makes you a monarchist,” said Jay with a smirk. “Do you sing the national anthem before bed?”
Josh looked to Audrey and Clara for support.
“Ignore him, Josh, he’s winding you up,” said Clara.
“Shall we go see some music?” Audrey suggested.
* * *
They didn’t see many of the bands that night. Jay distributed hash brownies that were so strong, they inhibited everyone’s ability to stand. Josh didn’t partake, claiming they had random drug testing at his work. Audrey couldn’t imagine him stoned; she didn’t think she’d ever really seen him drunk.
“Vampire Weekend are on the main stage in five minutes, we can still make it if we go now,” Josh said, clearly frustrated by the group’s indolence.
“Don’t you think that cloud looks like a puppy fighting a squid, holding a watermelon?” said Sadie, giggling.
“Oh wow, it so does.” Clara sighed, her head flopping backward as she looked up, dreamy eyed.
“I’ll come with you,” Audrey said, struggling to her feet. Her head was spinning, and all she could think about was finding the cheesy chips van they’d passed earlier.
“It’s fine,” said Josh, helping Audrey to sit back down. “You stay with your friends, I’ll just see you back at the tent.”
Audrey lost all sense of time after that. The sun went down, and the stars came out, and stoned stargazing turned out to be almost as fun as regular stargazing. When she and the others finally made it back to their tents, she found Josh tucked into their double sleeping bag on the blow-up mattress, wearing his flannel pajamas. He had bought her a large bottle of water and a carton of cheesy chips, which he’d laid neatly by her side of the bed. She snuggled in beside him and loved him for being there.