Rachel can’t help but wonder how complex the relationship must be between Ali and her mum since the accident. How could you ever forgive yourself for causing someone you love so much pain? Taking away their ability to ever walk again? And how could Maria not spend the rest of her life blaming her daughter for what she’d done? Yet despite it all, Rachel doesn’t think she’s ever seen a pair as close as they are, though the memory of Maria’s words, “It’s all a bit of a front,” rings alarm bells loudly in her ears.
As Rachel weaves her way through the tables toward the magnificent sea view, the fragrant aromas of fish and garlic remind her that she’s hungry, and with the amount she’s intending to drink, she knows it’s only sensible to eat as much as she can now if she’s going to avoid making a scene she doesn’t want to make.
“Hello,” says the man next to her awkwardly. “I’m Neil.”
Rachel takes the hand he offers, and once again wonders about the absurdity of the intimate situation they’ve been forced into. She’s never met this man before, yet for the next few hours, he is her only outlet, as she is his, unless they want to endure a painful and unnatural silence. At least when you’re faced with this situation on an airplane, it’s commonly accepted that you either make eye contact or you don’t. But at weddings that’s not an option you can really choose.
“Rachel,” she says, through a controlled sigh. “Nice to meet you.”
As it turns out, innocuous conversation is just what Rachel needs. Neil, a mechanic, and his wife Liz, a doctor’s receptionist, give her a blow-by-blow account of how they’ve left their three-year-old at home for the first time, and the banality gives her a temporary respite from the nightmare she’s trapped in. Thankfully, the nerves of having to deliver his speech ironically render Jack, on her other side, almost speechless for the duration of the meal.
The sound of cutlery clinking against the side of a glass gradually stills the room and all eyes turn to Will, who’s already gazing adoringly at Ali.
“I can’t believe I get to call this incredible woman my wife,” he starts, to a rapturous round of applause.
Rachel forces herself to put her hands together, but she looks about as enthusiastic as Jack does.
“From the first time I laid eyes on Ali, I knew she was the one for me,” says Will.
Which is surprising, thinks Rachel, seeing as she was hanging off another man’s neck at the time.
“After years of being in the wilderness…，” he goes on.
“Quite literally,” one of Will’s friends heckles.
“I was thinking more from a companionship point of view.” Will laughs. “I didn’t think I’d ever meet my soul mate. But here she is…” Ali fans her face with her hands in an attempt to stop her tears from falling. Will tenderly wipes them away with his napkin. “And she is the most generous, thoughtful and funny person I’ve ever met. We have had such a laugh together and there have been times when I’ve been lost for words at how kind and caring she is.”
Rachel catches Paige’s wide-eyed look of disbelief.
“Just last week, when we found out that her grandmother wasn’t going to be well enough to fly out here, Ali’s immediate reaction was to postpone the wedding. It didn’t matter at what cost, she just knew she didn’t want to get married without her gran here to see it. But, with a little persuasion on my part, and a lot from her family, she agreed to go ahead on the condition that we recreate a mini version for Grandma Nettie when we get back home.”
Ali’s mum claps and dabs at her own eyes as she looks at her daughter with so much pride that she might burst. Rachel wonders how much more of this sanctimonious bullshit she’s going to be able to take.
“But of all Ali’s admirable qualities, it’s her loyalty that astounds me the most.”
There’s a snort from behind Rachel, at the exact same time as the wine she’s got in her mouth threatens to splutter from her nose. She doesn’t need to look to see who it is. Will gives Paige a few seconds to stop coughing and, as the clock ticks down, Rachel’s getting hotter and hotter.
“So, yeah, as I was saying,” Will continues. “Ali’s loyalty knows no bounds. When we met, I had just returned from another voyage of self-discovery in Vietnam.”
“You took ten years longer than the rest of us to find ourselves,” calls out the same heckler.
“Yes, I am aware of that, thanks,” says Will. “And, let’s be honest, my prospects weren’t great. As Ben has so helpfully pointed out, I’ve been a nomad ever since leaving university, with nothing of any relevance to show for it on my résumé. Ali had a good job and I’m sure her friends told her not to waste her time on a no-mark like me.” He looks around at the few women of Ali’s age, who all shake their heads and utter their disagreement. “Well, thank you, ladies, but frankly I wouldn’t have blamed you. Yet somehow, some way, Ali decided it was worth backing me, and there hasn’t been a single day in the last three years that she’s made me feel it’s a decision she regrets. She has stuck by me, through thick and thin—waiting patiently for me to get my act together.”