Forked Roads Back

64 - TESSA

"SO HOW'S ALL THE other wedding prep going?"

Now three mojitos deep, I'm beginning to feel a fuzzy sensation in my cheeks.

"It's all done really. We've booked everything. Only thing left is the food tasting."

I don't want to admit how daunted I am at how much there is to do. To be honest, I'm mostly daunted by the amount of attention that will solely be on me and Jamie on that day. Anyone who knows me knows that I hate being the centre of attention.

"If you have a pen and paper, I can make you a list?"

I smile, just handing her my phone. She opens the notes app and just starts to type, speaking out loud.

"Venue, first and foremost. Then bridal party and your band. After that it's all your RSVPs, dress, suits, flowers and food, followed by the joyous delight of table plans. What to drink, whether there will be a free bar, party favours, mid-afternoon snacks... hair, make-up and photography, although I would put those up the top somewhere."

Somewhere around bridal party and band I had started to feel nauseous at how under-prepared I felt.

"All Danny and I need to do now is turn up!" After taking a sip of her mojito, she turns and looks seriously at me. "Do you have any idea of a where yet?"

"I have a pretty good idea, but it's up near Jamie's parents, so it's a trek for everybody... so I don't know." I bite my lip. "We haven't really talked about anything properly yet... we're still just enjoying the buzz of being engaged."

"It doesn't matter about everyone else if you love it, Tess. So it's in Scotland?"

I nod, loving that she knows me so well. "Yeah, and I know Jamie won't have a problem with that. It's where he's from, and it's where we met." I smile. "It's always been my favourite place in the world."

"You do practically live there," she jokes.

I do laugh that time. We practically do. As well as Jamie being from there, my grandparents live there too. I was hoping we could plan a few trips up there to see them, and to stay in Mark's Croft before life settles down and throws us onto a rollercoaster. I didn't want to grow up and be an adult quite yet.

"Big or small wedding?" She asks.

I smile. Maybe her asking these questions will help me formulate the answers in my mind.

"I want small, just the family and a few close friends, but Jamie's family at a minimum is huge... so I reckon it could end up being big, whether we want it to or not."

She snorts. "As big as my two-hundred?"

I raise my eyebrows. "Two-hundred? Bloody hell, Char."

"I know! I don't even know how we know two-hundred people," she laughs. "But I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised when I put Mum in charge of the guest list." She rolls her eyes but I love that she's now able to joke about it. A few months ago they had been close to eloping. To be honest, the idea does sounds incredibly tempting.

But as I watch her talk about her wedding day, getting excited by all the tiny details, she starts glowing. I love that the two of them are still so in love, even after all this time. It gives me hope for the future, knowing that they've gone through as much as they have, coming out the other side in tact.

"You know... I think I have an idea."

I take a sip of my mojito, my cheeks starting to feel warm. "Oh yeah?"

She nods. "Well, we'd have to ask Danny... but I was thinking that maybe you could join us in New York?"

Okay, another subject change, and my eyebrows lift in surprise that she'd suggest that. They're going soon... soon enough that I'd need to talk to Jamie about it in the next day or so.