Page 43 of Going Overboard
It is surely a faux pas, to be this happy, and this loved-up, at someone else’s wedding.
And yet here I am, with Brody, having one of the best days of my life. I know, that sounds dramatic, but considering how the last wedding I attended went down – and the one before that, actually – let me have this one.
This really is a perfect wedding though, my happiness aside.
The fairy lights strung between the stone pillars, the faint roar of the ocean – and the food, my gosh.
I hate to dunk on British tapas, because I love me a big plate of beige, but surely arancini and cannoli have sausage rolls and Party Rings beat?
If you can’t get yourself a man who looks at you the way Brody looks at a silver platter covered with mozzarella and salami, then get yourself a man who looks at you the way Neil is looking at Kelsey.
Seeing your best friend marry the man she loves – a man worthy of her love too – is like reading a love story with the most perfect ending.
Neil looks like he’s just won the lottery – I suppose he has, because the odds of getting a gem like Kelsey must be slim.
I’m so lucky to have her as a friend. I mean, come on, this is her wedding, and she took time out from focusing on herself and her happiness to make sure I was okay, to bring me and Brody together, so that I could be happy too.
And I am happy. I’m smiling so hard my face aches – more than my arse did after my morning in the gym.
‘I’m glad they decided to do the dance without the rest of us,’ Brody says. ‘It’s their moment.’
‘Yeah, their moment that you would have stolen with your exceptional dance moves,’ I tease him. ‘Are you actually trying out for Strictly Come Dancing ?’
‘I’d never rule it out,’ he says with a laugh.
‘There’s only so many ways you can carry me, it’s probably for the best,’ I say with a sigh.
‘Okay, okay, everyone else come and join us,’ Kelsey calls out after having her moment with her man in the spotlight.
Brody takes me by the hand, leading me to the dance floor. With everyone else up on their feet we just sort of blend in, but we’re in a world of our own anyway. We smile, and we dance. And I don’t mess it up. Not a step.
I take a moment, from my little bubble of happiness, to glance around the room. Todd and Nikki came, but not together – presumably giving the wedding planner (or was it the coordinator?) one last heart attack, making her shift the seating plan one last time.
I wonder if they’ll figure it out. I mean, they went through all of this to get together, what would it all be for, if they don’t work things out?
It’s funny, how genuine happiness changes your perspective, because I don’t have a bad thought or feeling towards either of them. Truly, I mean it, I hope they work things out. I’m over Todd, over the betrayal, over Nikki’s games – all of it. And Brody clearly is too .
Whether they do or don’t work it out, you know what? It’s not my problem. I’m letting it all go and I feel so, so much lighter.
With the dance over, Brody and I saunter out onto the terrace, to take in the view as the sun sets. As the sky cycles through the colours, we sit on a bench. I rest my head on Brody’s shoulder and sigh.
‘It’s funny how things work out, isn’t it?’ I say.
‘I know not all of it was ideal but… we’re where we want to be now, right?’ he replies.
‘We are,’ I tell him.
‘If I hadn’t been dumped, and you hadn’t been, you know, publicly humiliated in front of everyone at Al and Kira’s wedding…’
‘Thank you for the reminder,’ I say, deadpan.
‘…then we wouldn’t have ended up here. Unless this was your plan, all along – I’ll bet you threw yourself into that fountain, on purpose, and when Al pulled you out instead of me, I’ll bet you were gutted.’
I smile because now, when he teases me, it feels like foreplay.
‘I’m not in the habit of throwing myself into water features to get men,’ I tell him.
‘And yet every time I’ve seen you fall into one – which is three times, by the way – I’ve fallen for you a little harder,’ he replies.
‘Well, in that case, I’m grateful for each impromptu dip,’ I tell him.
And I mean it, I really am.
The road to the two of us getting together may have been messy – and incredibly embarrassing for me – but true love is never plain sailing, is it?
I’ve never really bought into the idea that everything happens for a reason. Well, why can’t good stuff happen without bad? Why do we have to pretend to be grateful for shitty things if we ultimately end up in a better place? But whether I believe in fate or not is by the by.
If Todd and Nikki hadn’t got together, if they hadn’t broken up with me and Brody at the same time, then what are the chances that Brody and I would have met?
We were thrown together at Al and Kira’s wedding, whether it was by fate or circumstance, and maybe it would have happened anyway, who knows?
But there’s no way I would be here, with my head on his shoulder, if it hadn’t been for the valet mix-up, the bouquet incident, my dip in the fountain, sharing his room that night… and so on and so on.
I look out at the ocean and smile. The view from here looks great.
Who cares if all of this is down to fate, luck or coincidence? The past is the past, and I’m so, so happy with the present. And as for the future? Suddenly that seems much brighter too. I’m not sure exactly what it looks like, but I’ll send you a postcard when I get there.