Completely & Stupidly: Forever and Ever

Chapter 14. Vanessa

 It was finally here. Friday night, this one was for the girls, and Vanessa swore she hadn't been so excited in her life. The kids had all gone over to the house known to be the base camp of The Dingle's, Wishing Well Cottage, where they were in for a night of fun and games and movies with Sam and Ryan while the women of the family partied with Charity at The Woolly. As soon as the house was empty, Charity and Vanessa had attempted to go back to bed to enjoy their last evening alone before their big day, but just as they started getting hot under the collar, a chorus of voices burst into song and into the bedroom without a moment's notice. "You're getting married in the morning, ding dong the bells are-" Tracey and Rhona chirped together as they invited themselves into the room with a bottle of champagne. As the singing turned into screaming, Vanessa covered her naked body with a cushion until Charity's head popped out from beneath the blanket, where she was then able to use it to hide them both. "I'm so sorry, I thought Charity'd be gone and you would be ready by now" Rhona explained in a panic, filled with second hand embarrassment.. "You could've put a sock on the door" Tracey suggested, desperately trying not to address the lingering pictures in her mind of her sister and her almost-wife in bed. "In my own home? I don't think so" Vanessa muttered as she sat up and pulled herself together. "I'll be scarred for the rest of my life now," Tracey added in a whisper, as she and Rhona stood with their backs turned. "Just get out then, both of you" Charity shouted, secretly finding the funny side to what had happened. "Yeah, okay, come on Trace. We'll wait downstairs Ness" Rhona mumbled, pulling Tracey out of the room and the door shut with them. Charity sighed and shook her head as Vanessa nervously chuckled into the nape of her neck. "I'm definitely having a lock put on that door" Charity insisted, pointing vigorously across the room. Vanessa smiled and breathed in Charity's scent as she realised that they weren't going to get that last time in bed after all. Vanessa's friends were all gathering there at Jacob's Fold for a few hours for pre drinks before heading off to town where Rhona, as chief bridesmaid, had booked them a booth for the night in the VIP section of a new club in Hotton. Charity planted four or five wet kisses upon Vanessa's lips before climbing over her lap and onto her feet. As she passed over her, Vanessa slapped Charity's bare flesh, leaving behind a faint red hand print. "Oi" Charity gasped, "Stop trying to make it harder for me to leave" She smirked, and grabbed clean underwear from the chest of drawers under the window. Vanessa smiled and watched for a moment before she too got up and began to dress in clothes that weren't really going to cover her up much more than the cushion had moments ago. Less than five minutes had passed by since Rhona and Tracey had witnessed more than they had bargained for, and yet it seemed a lot longer as they held one another. "I'll miss you tonight" Vanessa told Charity, as her thoughts turned to spending the night alone in their bed. "I'll miss you too" Charity breathed, pressing her forehead against Vanessa's. Charity was warm and radiant and glowing in the lamplight, but Vanessa knew it didn't have a patch on how beautiful she was going to look in the morning. A new fluttering of butterflies tickled away beneath her skin and she was sure she was going to burst into tears had Charity not broken the silence before she had had the chance. "You look hot. You better not pull tonight" Charity teased, eyeing Vanessa up and down in her short leather skirt. "I already pulled the sexiest woman in the village so," Vanessa joked back. Charity grinned in a way that she didn't always do, that smile was reserved for special moments, like this. "Are you two coming down here or what?" Tracey's voice trailed up the stairs over loud nineties music that began to blare from the living room. "Come on" Charity rolled her eyes, taking Vanessa by the hand.

Downstairs, Rhona had thrown balloons around the room, dimmed the lights, hung up 'L' signs on the front door and windows, and had poured the four of them a drink, though she had already almost finished hers. As the two of them reached the bottom of the stairs, carefully stepping over balloons in their heels, Rhona and Tracey audibly awed as they appeared, still holding hands. "God, I am so jealous of the two of you" Rhona gushed, blushing as she felt their love emitting from behind shy smiles. "Here you go," Tracey announced, handing them their untouched drinks from the coffee table before raising her own. "To a love nobody saw coming, that we all hope lasts forever" She smiled, making a toast. Like a flood, Vanessa's eyes filled with the tears she'd managed to keep at bay until this point, as they each sipped from their glasses. "Right, I better go" Charity admitted, wishing she could stay longer, but she knew Chas and the rest of the Dingle clan were waiting for her at The Woolpack. Vanessa followed her to the door where they kissed one last time. As she unwrapped her arms from around her bride to Be's neck, she noticed how Charity and Tracey seemed to be having a secret conversation in widened eyes and nods over her head. "What's going on?" She asked, "You'll find out soon enough. See you at that altar tomorrow" Charity whispered, as the voices of Vanessa's other guests echoed from across the road. Charity's eyes glimmered with happiness as she studied Vanessa's face until the very moment, she managed to pull herself away and left for the pub, looking back one last time before she turned the corner and was out of sight.
After an hour or so of sensibly drinking and chatting amongst friends, Vanessa and her hens really got the party started by popping open multiple bottles of prosecco, dancing around in feather boas and singing along to throwback hits from their childhoods. Plenty of divas such as Madonna, Cyndi Lauper and Cher blasted from the television speakers as they shouted over the music, laughing and joking until Tracey turned down the volume and stole everybody's attention. "Hey, what you doing? This is my jam" Leyla called out, referring to Shakira's - Hips Don't Lie, that now played quietly in the background. "Sorry, but I actually have strict instructions from Charity-" Tracey began, but was cut off by Vanessa. "What is it?" She asked excitedly, and also nervously as she had no idea what to expect. For weeks, her fiancé and sister had been sneaking around planning something that neither of them would give her any hints about. Tracey grinned as she amped up the anticipation of the guests, waiting to tell them what it was that she had in her hands. "Here. Read this" Tracey told Vanessa, handing her a small white envelope. "What, out loud?" She clarified before tearing it open, knowing Charity had a tendency for writing her notes that weren't all that innocent. "Yes, out loud" Tracey confirmed, excited to see Vanessa's face when she realised what was going on. "Babe" Vanessa read out loud, pausing at Charity's handwriting on the folded paper. "I know how much you wish your Dad could have been here to celebrate with us" She paused again, holding the note to her chest and looking up towards the heavens with her bottom lip threatening to tremble. "Aww" Rhona sniffled from the sofa, taking hold of both Vanessa and Tracey's hands as they waited for her to continue reading. "I know how much you wish your Dad could have been here to celebrate with us" She read again, "And how he was the best at surprising you on special occasions, so without treading on any toes, I wanted to create a treasure hunt for you, just like he had when you were a little girl, and with Tracey's help, for the most part, this is what I've come up with. So, get ready because your first clue is this: Starting easy, I hope you remember, Clue number two is where I first said, I love you," Vanessa spun around on the spot, and looked directly at Tracey. "Your kitchen" she cried, staring at her sister in excitement. "Let's go" Tracey giggled. With that, Vanessa, Tracey, Rhona, Moira, Layla and Priya all ran out through the door, almost forgetting to lock up behind them as they piled out into the street. When they reached Tug Ghyll, Tracey forced her key into the door and pushed it open. Vanessa found herself in the kitchen within seconds and began rummaging around the countertops with her friends. After tugging at a few cupboard doors, "Ahh" she proclaimed, as she noticed an envelope with a number two drawn upon it, stuck to the fridge with a magnet. "Clue number two, Roses are red, Babe you're so cute, if you want the third clue, take a look in your boot" Vanessa read out loud for the others to hear. "I'm not wearing boots" she announced as she looked down at her feet in disappointment. "I think she means car boot," Moira pointed out. "Oh" Vanessa gasped, and once again everybody ran off across the village, giggling like children. "I chose the wrong night to wear heels" Rhona mentioned in passing to Layla. "Man up, Ghoskirk" Layla demanded, taking hold of her by the arm, and practically dragged her along the street like Bambi on ice. Vanessa's car was parked outside of Jacob's Fold and all five women pressed their faces up against the windows, trying to sneak a peek at whatever was inside as Tracey nipped into the house to fetch the keys from the bowl near the door. "Catch" Tracey called from the door as she threw the keys over to Vanessa, who missed and almost toppled over as she knelt down to pick them up off the ground. As the boot popped open, the third clue dangled from a slither of ribbon inside. "Clue number three" She read, her fingers trembling as she opened its envelope and pulled out the next rhyme. "When you're Mrs Dingle, you won't just be my wife, so here is a thought I think you'll find nice. 'Johnny came first, but you'll have step kids soon too, and if my kids are your kids, you'll be a Granny then too' Pray for us, Amen, clue number four is waiting with them" Vanessa's jaw dropped as she remembered that she was in fact about to inherent five Dingle's and two Sugdan's in the morning, all while her friends laughed at her expense. "Where are the kids?" Priya asked, the most sober one amongst them and yet still the most scatter-brained. "Up at Zack's," Vanessa announced. "That's miles away" Layla complained, but as she spoke, bright headlights glistened across the road and the unmistakable sight of a beaten down old van appeared. "Can I give you a lift anywhere, ladies?" Sam shouted from the wound down window. Vanessa turned to Tracey who waved her phone to show that she had given Sam the go ahead to pick them up, and laughed nervously. "Bride up front with me, but plenty of room in the back for rest of you" Sam told, pushing the passenger side door open with his outstretched arm. Vanessa giggled with every step towards the van and climbed in. "We gotta get in the back of that smelly old thing?" Layla asked, not impressed, fearing that her outfit would be ruined for a second week in a row. "Oh, come on. We all want to know what the treasure is, and if it means sitting in the back of that thing, so be it" Rhona squealed, now being the one to drag Layla out of her grump and into the van.
When they pulled up outside Wishing Well Cottage, Sarah and Noah were waiting in the window, excited to play their part in Charity's game. They quickly ran out in their pyjamas where Noah presented Vanessa with the final envelope. Inside the note read, 'The last clue, my babe, for you. Use this key and you will find the treasure bought with you mind'. "Gran said you had to do this part on your own" Sarah explained as Vanessa emptied the envelope over her outstretched palm and dropped a little brass key into it. "It's for the barn," Noah told, nodding towards the big wooden doors that had been locked up and tied with a ribbon. Vanessa smiled and felt a fiery reaction in the pit of her stomach as she wondered what on Earth could be waiting for her inside the barn. With slight hesitation, she walked over to the doors and pulled the ribbon off the handle. The little key jammed into the lock and clicked as she turned it. As the door opened a flood light turned on as it sensed her step inside, where she found a large box wrapped in white paper, right in the centre of the barn. The voices of her friends and the kids sounded muffled as she closed the door behind her. "What is it?" One of them called out impatiently. But Vanessa didn't answer, instead she dropped down to the floor and gently peeled off the paper, careful not to rip it as she wanted to savour the moment. Carefully and slowly lifting up the flaps of cardboard, she peered over the top of the box and found an array of what seemed at first to be very random objects wrapped in tissue paper. The first thing to take her attention was a large bottle of wine that looked a lot more expensive than the stuff she'd already been drinking that night. Beside it, was a beautiful mask, golden in colour and covered in matching feathers and diamante jewels. "Charity Dingle, what is all of this?" She mouthed to herself, not realising a pattern in the gifts. Next, she pulled out a shopping bag from a designer store. The bag had been packaged with tissue paper and was held together by a sticker that looked like a wax seal. Cocking her head to the side as she reached into the bag, she felt material that confirmed it was a piece of clothing. Not sure of what it was right away, she pulled out something white and lacey, with yet another note. Though this one was not at all like the others. 'You'll look amazing in this, but it'll look better on our bedroom floor' she read, and then it clicked and her jaw dropped open as she revealed to herself a slinky lingerie set, consisting of a beautiful lace corset with a matching thong, stockings and garter. Vanessa's heart rate accelerated and her breath shook as she took a second look at the underwear in her hands. "Oh my God" She whimpered, and then she repeated it again and again until enough shock had passed by to allow her to look back into the big box, which showed that she had one last gift to open. A mixture of red and yellow stared up at her from the bottom of the box as she lifted out what looked to be a flag, though she wasn't sure of the country it represented. Something had been folded up inside it and as she unravelled it, the flag quickly grew in size as it opened in her lap and a small folder fell onto her thighs and bounced onto the floor. Her hands shook with anticipation as she measured up options of what could be inside. As she opened it, she counted to three and opened her eyes to find a few pieces of paper stapled together inside a Polly pocket sleeve with two passports, and along with it, a postcard. "No way" She muttered as she caught sight of the postcard's beautiful swirling font and photo of a gondola that was disappearing beneath a tunnel on a lagoon. Upon it she read the word 'Venice', twice, to make sure she had read it correctly and not imagined the word that really was right there before her eyes. 'You, Me, No Kids. Honeymoon?' Vanessa mouthed, hearing Charity's voice in her mind as she read her writing on the back of the postcard. "Yes" She automatically answered out loud, hugging the small card to her chest. Then it finally made sense, looking back at the other gifts, she realised each one had a link to the Italian city and had meant to be hints. She wished she had been sober enough to guess before the big reveal, but she didn't care, Charity was taking her on a honeymoon to one of the most romantic cities on Earth after thinking they didn't have the money to fund a romantic getaway. She took a moment to compose herself, and safely packed everything back into the box with a little squeal of excitement, before resurfacing outside of the barn. "Well? What was it?" Moira asked, being the first to notice Vanessa step back out into the garden. Vanessa glanced over to see if the kids were still in earshot, which they were, but shrugged and told them anyway. "Expensive Italian wine, Sexy underwear and a honeymoon in Venice" She told, gradually getting louder as her excitement grew. All five women, and Sam, screamed and hollered with excitement and a touch of jealousy at the revelation, while the kids grimaced ever so slightly. As Vanessa rushed over to her friends and received a group hug from each of them, all envious that she was going to be living a life of luxury in Italy in a few days, an oncoming vehicle sounded as it drove up the gravelled path. "'Ere are, taxis coming" Sam shouted over raised voices. "Time to get bladdered," Layla cooed, high fiving the closest person to her as the mini bus pulled up. While the others belted up inside the taxi, Vanessa pulled Tracey to the side. "I can't believe you managed to keep this from me all this time" Vanessa breathed, impressed that Tracey had managed to keep a secret for once, "I didn't, I only helped Charity with the clues, the rest of it was all her idea, I had no idea she'd put in so much effort and gone and booked you a flipping holiday" she explained, feeling proud of her soon to be sister-in-law. "You're dead lucky V, I'm so happy for you" She added. "I know, I can't wait to walk down that aisle tomorrow" Vanessa confessed, sharing a genuinely happy moment with her sister. Tracey nodded and hugged her tight before shaking away all traces of emotion. "Well, until then. It's VIP cocktails and dancing until the early hours" Tracey announced, shimmying in her glittery top. As Vanessa attempted to follow Tracey onto the mini bus, a voice called her name from behind. "Noah? What's up?" She asked as the teenager jogged over to her. "Erm, I just wanted to tell you something" He began, but he hesitated before he could get the rest of his words out. Vanessa tilted her head, waiting to hear what he had to say. "When you first got with my mum, I told you I didn't like you. I just wanted to say sorry, for that", "That's alright, I know you're sorry" Vanessa told, confused as to why he thought she didn't already know that after three years. "No, I know, but I just thought you and her were going to be over quickly, like all the others, but you weren't, and I'm glad. I'm glad you're getting married tomorrow. You're the best person she's ever been with. I've never seen her so happy, and I know that she really is, in her heart, and I am too. I'd be proud to call you my stepmum" Noah confessed, fumbling with his sleeve. Vanessa felt Noah's words tug at her heartstrings and she became overwhelmed with love for this boy who had laid his feelings bare before her. "Come here" She whimpered from behind a waterfall of tears as she pulled him close to her for a hug. "Thank you, Noah" She said, lip wobbling with emotion as he hugged her back. "We're both so lucky to have you" She told him, not wanting to let him go as she replayed his words in her head, but she loosened her grip before she could embarrass him as the others looked on. "Have a nice night" He smiled with a little nod towards the mini bus that was waiting for her to climb onboard so that the driver could get going. Vanessa beamed from ear to ear and quickly kissed him on the cheek. "What was that all about?" Rhona whispered in her ear as Vanessa took the seat beside her. "Nothing, just saying goodnight to my son" Vanessa mouthed. "Let's go" She added, livening up again. With that, the driver switched the engine back on and the radio flooded with old school tunes which was met by a round of cheering from the other women. As they pulled off, Vanessa looked out of the window as Noah disappeared back inside the cottage, with a proud smile and a bubble that nobody could burst, she was ready to celebrate her last night as Miss Woodfield, before marrying the woman of her dreams.