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39 DAVID

‘So you’ve got to tell me, how the hell did this happen?’ David said, throwing his arms wide at the crowd that must now be upwards of two hundred people. He was standing with Mark, talking to Benji and Salma, who had done a teenage version of dressing up, Salma in a dress and Benji in a smart jumper with a school shirt underneath.

‘There’s so many people,’ Mark said.

‘People just wanted to come!’ Salma said. ‘We made sure people on the guest list had that pride ribbon, so you know who’s here from the wedding and who’s extra.’

‘And it’s public so I think people have just stopped, interested to see what’s going on,’ Benji said. ‘It’s not exactly bad for the shop.’

‘We only knocked on a few houses to let them know, but everyone just wanted to come see,’ Salma said.

‘And people knew you were involved, which helped,’ Benji said. ‘The GOAT.’

‘Who brought a goat to a wedding?’ David said, looking around.

‘No,’ Salma said. ‘You’re the GOAT.’

David looked at Mark.

‘It means Greatest Of All Time,’ Mark said. ‘ Obviously. ’

David took a look around. Everybody was mixing and having a nice time. The taco truck could never have served everyone all at once, so there was a happy queue of people lining up patiently for their food. Ramon had only catered for the guests, so he’d called a couple of people he knew from the food festival and now there was a semicircle of food options, and another drinks cart, for everybody else. Two conjoined trucks were called Meat Me Halfway and Boom Boom Bao, and David was struck by the constant presence of the Black Eyed Peas, reminding himself to request them later on the dancefloor. There was another vendor, Coq Au Van, and Ramon had told David that, if needed, he was going to call somebody called Carbonara Tara.

In the middle, Martha had set up her decks on a series of brightly painted pallets, and was playing mid-tempo love songs, dancing away behind the speakers. People weren’t dancing yet, but groups of people were swaying to the beat.

Where was Meg? David had not had a real chance to speak to her since he’d taken his seat in the ceremony. He could see her now, talking to a group of friends in the distance by the bar. She was holding a pink cup, and was laughing. She looked free and relaxed. And the dress! He was not exactly a fashion expert but it seemed to convey everything she might want at a wedding: some tradition, the pride colours, a burst of personality, so modern and so her.

‘I’m going to go ask Martha about being a DJ,’ Salma said. ‘I think I could do that,’ she added.

‘Shouldn’t you call her Miss Apoline?’ David said. ‘She is technically a teacher.’

‘Oh, she doesn’t care about things like that,’ she said, before running away into the crowd.

‘I’m going to go check Matty’s okay,’ Mark said. ‘Maybe take him some food.’

‘So how did this happen, Benji?’ David asked, turning to him. ‘Tell me your secrets.’

‘Loads of people wanted to come,’ he said. ‘Once we’d posted. You said to do everything to make it special, so first off we knocked on a few doors this morning to make sure people around here wouldn’t mind the noise, but also to invite them. A few people said they’d stop by but it was as soon as it went online, it went mad. Everything got a bit carried away as soon as I posted.’

‘Wait, is that a news truck?’ David said, looking over to a van with some sort of satellite on the top, and a woman in a pale purple blazer and skirt standing next to it fiddling with a microphone. ‘Benji, what?’

‘Oh they’re here!’ Benji said. ‘I need to go speak to them.’ He spun round to walk off.

‘No, slow down,’ David said, grabbing his arm. ‘It’s like you’re running the day! That’s meant to be my job!’

‘They messaged the flower shop page, look.’ He held out his phone to David. ‘It’s a feel-good story, right? Local community, ordinary people. They love stuff like that. The pub is getting donations in.’ As Benji spoke, David couldn’t believe the boy he’d seen grow up from a shy ten-year-old who couldn’t control his emotions was now co-ordinating a national news team. ‘You’ve gained five hundred followers today.’

‘Five hundred?’

‘Five hundred.’

‘As in half a thousand?’

‘I should have got you to help with my maths revision,’ Benji said.

‘Are you sure?’

‘I don’t have my results yet but I’m pretty sure I can halve a thousand.’

‘That’s so many followers.’

‘It’s nearly a thousand on TikTok,’ Benji said.

‘Well that’s … that’s amazing,’ David said. ‘I really can’t thank you enough.’

‘I even got Mrs Kirby to come.’

He looked over in the distance to Meg’s parents, who were standing with a drink each. They weren’t talking to each other, and looked slightly sheepish, but occasionally Ava was pointing out details in the crowd to George.

‘What? That was you?’

‘When we were knocking on doors, I didn’t know she lived there, so I knocked and then I explained what had happened.’

‘Did she ask many questions?’ David said.

‘She asked if Meg was okay,’ he said. ‘I didn’t let on that I knew, you know, what had happened. She didn’t say she was her mum either.’

‘But you don’t know what’s happened.’

‘I’ve picked things up,’ Benji said. ‘I’m not stupid.’

‘No you’re not,’ David said. ‘Sorry. So, what did she say?’

‘She just asked what I thought about it,’ Benji said. ‘She asked if all the youth club were coming and what we thought of a same-sex marriage and I just told the truth. I said Meg had been teaching us all and that she was great, and that I wasn’t thinking about a same-sex wedding. It’s just a wedding, you know. Then, well, I told her I was bisexual. I think she was a little bit shocked by that.’

David paused, aware of the magnitude of this moment.

‘Oh, Benji, well done,’ he said. ‘And I’m proud of you! You’ve never told me that.’

‘I know, well … It’s recent.’

‘Then what did she say?’

‘She just said everyone deserved a happy wedding day and she said she’d be coming. She looked really emotional.’

David looked over at Meg’s parents again and for the first time, felt a real hint of sympathy towards them. Their lack of bravery, to go outside what was normal, or what they assumed was normal, here in their town. The way she had been in the flower shop, almost seeking approval from others. How it had taken half the neighbourhood to be going to her daughter’s wedding before she agreed to come. It was a start, at least.

‘Who else knows about you then? Am I last on the list as usual, like when nobody told me skinny jeans were over, or knowing what a GOAT is?’

‘Well, I’m only just telling people, you know. Starting this week. You’re actually the first.’

‘Ah, I see,’ David said. ‘I’m proud of you, you know.’

‘You said that already.’

‘Can I hug you?’

‘You don’t need to hug me, man; it’s not a huge deal. But thank you.’ Benji grinned. ‘Anyway, I need to go. Fred was getting us tacos, and I need to speak to the news people. You need to talk to them too, and make sure you mention the subscriptions! You’ve got nothing to sell today but that will get people booking online.’

‘That’s such a good idea,’ David said. ‘My business manager.’

‘Of course it’s a good idea,’ Benji said, rolling his eyes at him and walking off into the crowd. David walked across and down the high street in the other direction looking for Mark, and realized at some point the area had been zoned off by cones. Suddenly, Mark was there tapping on his shoulder, eating a taco from a small paper cone.

‘There you are,’ David said.

‘Can I—’

‘Can I talk to you inside?’ David interrupted.

‘That’s what I was going to say.’

Without argument, they walked together towards the shop, passing Benji asking the news people how they got their jobs, and past Ailie’s illustration stand, currently drawing Mary, who was asking her to draw her ten pounds thinner.

‘Right,’ David said, closing the shop’s door behind them as they went inside.

‘Right,’ Mark said, putting his hand in his pocket.

David raised an eyebrow at him. ‘What?’

‘David, for over a decade …’

‘No stop, wait.’

‘What?’ Mark said.

‘Mark, ever since I met you …’

They were talking over each other and David couldn’t reach inside his jacket pocket quick enough. Instead, he scrambled down to one knee, and in front of him, Mark did the same. Mark opened a small silver case, and David held the ring for Mark between his fingers; he had thought the bulky case in his pocket would be too obvious, but he hadn’t even noticed Mark’s.

‘Are you joking?’ Mark said. ‘I can’t believe it.’

‘Are you proposing to me ?’ David asked.

‘Are you, David Fenton, proposing to me, is the real question?’ Mark shook his head. ‘This is unbelievable.’

‘I thought you were waiting for me!’

‘I was, but you’ve done so much for so many people, I wanted to surprise you to show you how nice being proposed to is!’ Mark said. ‘And because you’ve had such an intense few weeks.’

‘Mark, this is amazing. Wait, let me—’

‘I love you David,’ Mark said. David sighed. ‘No, let me go first! Since you’ve got me a ring, I’m presuming you’re going to say yes, but you didn’t have to. I just wanted …’

‘No, I wanted to …’ David fumbled for the words he’d prepared in his head. He raced through in order to get them out before Mark. ‘I can’t control a lot. Not what people’s parents do, or what mine did, or what happens with the shop. I know that I can do this, though, and that I want to.’

They kissed and slipped the rings onto each other’s hands. The words could wait; they knew how they felt.

‘I was going to wait till later,’ Mark said. ‘Or tomorrow.’

‘So was I.’

‘I wanted to find somewhere secret.’

‘Me too.’

‘But I couldn’t wait,’ Mark said. ‘And I’m not sure it’s that secret.’

Mark nodded towards the window, where two news cameras were pointing through the glass filming. Salma had a hand on either cheek in shock, and a crowd was gathering. Benji had his thumbs up next to the camera, like he was directing the scene. Even with the door closed, David could hear the news travelling backwards into the crowd. He had really thought they were hidden in here, and in normal circumstances, they would have been. He hadn’t banked on the fact that with half their stock gone outside or moved, they were essentially in a glass box.

‘Help me up,’ David said, reaching out to Mark. ‘My knee’s gone.’

Standing, they clasped each other’s hands.

‘Better go greet our public.’

‘I feel like Charles and Diana,’ Mark said.

‘That’s not a great reference point for the start of an engagement.’

As soon as the door was open, they were hit with a wall of sound and applause from those close to the shop, but then it seemed news had travelled even further and Martha announced on the microphone that there’d been an engagement on this special day and could everybody please cheer for David and Mark. Everybody joined in, and the sound was deafening.

They didn’t know what to do so David led Mark out towards Martha and suddenly Meg and Hannah were there, looking on in shock. There was a second when David thought they might be annoyed but then they were running towards them, and the four of them were holding hands and jumping up and down.

‘Oh my God, oh my God!’ Meg said. ‘I can’t believe this!’

‘This amazing news!’ Hannah shouted. ‘How did you keep this a secret?’

‘Sorry we didn’t mean to do it today,’ David said. ‘We really didn’t.’

‘Don’t be silly,’ Meg said. ‘We’re ecstatic for you!’

A car’s engine revved behind the crowd and Angie stepped out, shouting something that nobody could hear.

‘What, Angie?’ David shouted across to her.

‘I said it’s time for cake!’ Angie said. ‘Been baking all night and morning. Now somebody come and help with these boxes.’

‘David and Mark just got engaged!’ Meg said.

‘It’s about time!’ Angie replied. ‘But today of all days?’

‘It’s untraditional!’ David yelled to her.

At the car, Benji and Fred were there helping too; Benji was smiling oddly at David.

‘What?’

‘It’s a big day for you, David, and the shop.’

‘What do you mean? You know I just got engaged.’

‘Not that,’ Benji said, resting his head on the top of a huge square box in his hands. ‘The news want to speak to you, at six o’clock. Now they’re here, they think it can go on the national news. Live! Can you believe it?’

He couldn’t believe it. At least the shop, the thing he’d loved most in the world after Mark, was going down in style. With the butterflies that now seemed to have resided permanently in David’s stomach, he continued taking boxes out of the car, thinking to himself: what a day.