Page 56 of A Clean Sweep

T abitha twirled this way and that. Checked out her reflection in the mirror.

Looking pretty damn hot, she decided. The satiny fabric clung in all the right places; her hair was piled up in an artful way that suggested done but with wispy tendrils hinting at ever-so-slightly undone.

Make-up just right, not too much, not too little.

Yes, all perfect for a very special day.

'You look amazing.' Adam was standing in the doorway, looking pretty amazing himself. Normally dressed down in jeans and casual shirts, he was resplendent in formal attire, even if his top button was undone and his tie languishing in his pocket. 'Are you ready for this?'

Tabitha took a step towards him, slightly hindered by the tightness of her dress. She envisaged him unwrapping her later, like a much-wanted Christmas present, and couldn't suppress a smile of sheer, unadulterated joy. 'Never been more ready in my life. Let's get this road on the show!'

Adam gave her a look as he drew her close, careful not to crease her outfit or smudge her face. 'Methinks someone might have had a glass too many of bubbly in the preparation stages. Getting your words a little mixed up, my gorgeous girl?'

Tabitha hiccupped gently – OK, she had downed a couple between showering and dressing – but …

hey … wasn't that what champagne was invented for?

Celebrating the golden moments in life. Like when she'd gone for the interview in London and actually bagged the job.

Which she loved with a passion, even if it meant spending prolonged periods of time away from Adam.

It involved travelling all over the country, meeting new people, doing precisely what she loved and had dreamed of for years.

Leaving Meryl had been hard but her beloved boss had been a total rock.

Possibly aided by the fact that she was stepping out – her words, not Tabitha's – with Steve and all seemed to be going well.

Very well, in fact. And all due to Tabitha's magical powers (or inability to keep her non-twitchy nose out of other people's business if you accepted Emily's viewpoint).

Speak of the devil, or at least a wickedly besotted pair, judging by the way Meryl and Steve approached with their hands tightly clasped together.

Meryl was a vision of loveliness in a shot silk mauve dress, perfectly complemented by Steve’s charcoal suit and lilac shirt.

She hurried towards Tabitha, who had been joined again by Adam after a hectic round of introductions and hand-shaking.

‘Tabbie! You look stunning, my darling girl. Doesn’t she, Steve?’ She hugged Tabitha enthusiastically, before giving Adam the same treatment. He responded with equal enthusiasm, having grown immensely fond of Meryl in the past twelve months.

‘She does indeed. Pretty as a picture as always.’ Steve gave Tabitha a kiss on each cheek, before exchanging a manly backslap/hug with Adam. ‘What a perfect day for a wedding. Speaking of which, when are the happy couple due to arrive?’

Minutes later and the cast was beginning to assemble on the steps of the registry office.

Tabitha liked to think of them in that way – players taking their positions, rehearsals over, the production finally ready to be staged.

Hard to believe where they’d all been a year ago, how far they’d all come in both individual and collective ways.

'Susan! I hardly recognised you.' Tabitha gave her mum's friend a warm hug, turning to embrace the beaming man by her side. 'And you're looking pretty dapper too, Jonathan.'

The pair of them shuffled closer together with a slightly embarrassed but emphatically chuffed expression on their faces.

Susan knew that a large part of her changed appearance was down to shedding over two stone – and still more to go – but the decreasing numbers on the scales only told part of the story.

She was free of cancer, although regular checks were still necessary, and beside her stood the man she'd loved, lost and – miraculously – found again.

As an accountant she was used to making sense of numbers but she'd given up on counting her blessings.

Was just grateful she was alive, with good friends and a man who made her feel everything she'd failed to feel in the past.

More and more people were arriving, the official photographer huddling them into groups on the steps of the registry office.

Smile! Click, click went the camera, capturing each moment for posterity.

The weather had decided to behave itself after several anxious days of downpours and dark clouds.

Now the sun had made a welcome appearance, bathing the guests in its warm glow.

Tabitha spied her aunt Celeste and uncle Michael making their way from the parking area.

She suppressed a giggle as Celeste tottered across the gravel driveway in her vertiginous heels, clinging to Michael lest she come a cropper.

She was wearing a bright orange dress which almost matched the colour of her fake-tanned skin, hair styled in an elaborate chignon with an enormous fascinator that appeared to have been plucked from some exotic bird.

‘Tabitha, darling! Don’t you look totally ravishing.’ Still clinging to Michael’s arm, she carefully leant in for an air kiss. Just as well, thought Tabitha, who didn’t particularly want to be smeared with gloopy tangerine lip gloss.

‘Hi Aunt Celeste, Uncle Michael.’ Tabitha exchanged a quick hug with her uncle, Celeste now safely on level ground.

‘You both look wonderful. Didn’t you come with Sophie and the boys?

’ Just as the words left her lips she heard the unmistakable sound of two tiny terrors approaching at breakneck speed.

Scuffing their highly polished shoes through the stones, one wielding a toy aeroplane and making appropriate noises, the other clutching a plastic dinosaur head on a stick.

‘Boys, would you please slow down! And George, stop snapping at your brother’s ear with that damn thing!

’ Looking rather flushed and harassed, Sophie caught up with the dynamic duo and grabbed the offending T Rex from her youngest’s hand, prompting a wail of outrage.

Sensing imminent meltdown – Edward was rubbing a rather inflamed ear with a distinctly wobbly lower lip – Tabitha delved into her beaded purse and produced a bag of jelly beans.

‘Here boys, look what I just happen to have on me!’ Like starving velociraptors, they pounced on the sweets, cramming handfuls into their mouths.

Sophie sighed, then squeezed Tabitha’s hand in gratitude.

‘Not sure a ton of sugar and additives is quite what the doctor ordered but at least they’re quiet for now. Thank you.’

Tabitha watched as Sophie and the boys walked towards Celeste and Michael.

Her uncle embraced his daughter warmly, before bending down and hugging each of his grandsons in turn.

Stepping back, Sophie smiled at Celeste then gave her the briefest peck on the cheek.

Celeste in turn ruffled the hair of Edward and George in a slightly self-conscious manner.

They’d come a long way in the past year, but if Rome wasn’t built in a day then repairing years of damaged relationships and deep-rooted animosity would take considerably longer.

Privately, Tabitha thought her aunt a singularly selfish person, her uncle a virtual saint for putting up with her ‘me, me, me’ ways for so long.

When the whole painful Sophie saga came out she’d fully expected Michael to walk away and build a new life with his daughter and grandsons.

But – to give Celeste some credit – she’d extended an olive branch to Sophie.

Who – to give her massive respect – didn’t tell Celeste which orifice she could shove it in.

Tabitha could never imagine them having cosy stepmother/stepdaughter tête-à-têtes but at least they’d achieved some workable level of acceptance.

Suddenly the low murmur of the crowd turned to excited whispers then cheers.

‘They’re here! Look, everyone. They’ve arrived!’ Indeed, a powder-blue vintage Austin Healey had swung into the driveway. Tabitha sent up a silent prayer of thanks that the roof was firmly up. Artfully tousled was one thing, dragged through a hedge backwards quite another.

As everyone watched, Joe emerged from the driver’s side and made his way around the car to open the passenger door.

He was wearing a slate-grey suit and gleaming white shirt, accentuated with a deep purple tie.

He really was a stunning-looking man, thought Tabitha.

A collective roar of approval went up as Emily emerged from the car, clutching a small posy of flowers in one hand, her other held firmly by her husband-to-be.

Tabitha felt a flood of emotions wash over her, not least pure joy that her wonderful, amazing mum had found true happiness.

'Och Em, you look like an angel!' Her friend Kirsty – who'd flown over from Australia for the occasion – looked Emily up and down, her face alight with pleasure.

Emily self-consciously smoothed down her cream dress, appliquéd with swirls of bronze and taupe.

She'd spent hours browsing for it with Tabitha, discarding many for being too over the top or too 'young'.

But she'd been immediately smitten when she set eyes on this one.

As had Tabitha, judging by the way her eyes had filled when she emerged from the changing room.