Maddy’s Christmas Wedding (Little Duck Pond Cafe #37)

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Next morning, at work in the café, I was feeling a little more cheerful. It was Friday, the day of the big house move in Birmingham. So Jack would be coming back tomorrow – just in time for the annual Snow Ball at Brambleberry Manor.

I hated that he’d left before we could resolve our falling-out, and I was pinning my hopes on the party bringing us close again. Marjery and Will, Fen’s parents, always pulled out the stops for their friends, family and business acquaintances with their annual Christmas bash and it was invariably a grand and memorable evening.

My mobile rang mid-afternoon and seeing that it was Jack, I pounced on it, assuming he was calling to tell me when he’d be back.

‘Hi! How did the move go?’

‘Fine, thanks.’

My heart lurched at the coolness of his tone. He still hadn’t forgiven me. But I blundered on, trying to be cheerful. ‘Great! So when are you coming back? I need to know so I can get the macaroni cheese ready,’ I said, knowing it was his all-time favourite. ‘With extra mozzarella on top, of course.’

‘Right. Well, I’m not sure.’ He sounded so distant. Maybe it was my phone. ‘They’re moved in, but there’s a lot of jobs that need doing here so I was thinking I’d probably stay the weekend.’

My heart sank. ‘So you won’t be back for the Snow Ball?’

‘The what?’

‘The Snow Ball, remember? It’s tomorrow night.’

‘Oh, right. Well, probably not.’

There was an awkward silence.

‘So you might be back on Sunday night?’

‘I think so. Look, I’ll give you a ring when I’ve had a chat with my parents, okay? I don’t want to just leave them in the lurch.’

I swallowed hard. ‘No, of course not. All right. Well, I’ll hopefully see you on Sunday night, then.’

I managed to keep it together until the phone call ended, but as soon as Jack was gone, I escaped to the kitchen, feeling tears welling up. I’d been so looking forward to seeing him tomorrow and apologising, and patching things up between us. But now I’d have to wait until Sunday night at the earliest. It was all too much. But I had tables to clear and I couldn’t afford to give in to my misery. So I took some deep breaths and dabbed at my mascara in the mirror on the wall, and went back through.

I was living through a never-ending nightmare. That’s how it felt, anyway.

And when a customer I’d never seen before complained that her coffee was too hot and that she’d almost burned herself when she spilled some, it was all I could do to hold it together and smile sympathetically and keep my tone civil as I apologised to her. (What I was apologising for, I wasn’t exactly sure.)

Ellie could see that something was wrong. But when I told her that Jack wouldn’t be back in time for the Snow Ball, she was insistent that I should go anyway.

‘On my own?’ I gazed at her in disbelief. ‘How sad would that be?’

‘You wouldn’t be on your own. Everyone’s going. You can come in the car with Zak and me. I won’t be drinking so I can bring you back.’

But my mood, which had been low anyway, had fallen off a cliff at that point. I’d been imagining that by the following night Jack and I would have sorted out our rift and would attend the ball together, which would give us a chance to get dressed up and flirt a little like we used to . . . get back to the old ‘us’. But without Jack at my side to make me laugh, the last thing I felt like doing was being a gooseberry for the night.

To be honest, I was finding it hard to believe that Jack’s parents were in need of all this help he was providing. It wasn’t as if they were clueless when it came to sending meter readings and ordering new dustbins from the council. And if they were, I was pretty sure they were intelligent enough to work it out for themselves.

No, it was becoming clear to me that Jack was staying away on purpose because he was still hurt and confused by my recent behaviour towards him. And angry, probably, for making him feel this way so close to our wedding.

I lay awake that night thinking about how long it had taken me to find someone I wanted to spend the rest of my life with – only to rock the boat with my stupid thoughtless behaviour. Because looking back, I could see that Jack had every right to be hurt and angry with me. He’d be worried about me as well – worried I might have heart problems, like Marcus.

*****

The next morning, Saturday, I was working a shift in the café, still determined to give the Snow Ball a miss that night, when Laurel came in with her mum and dad, and her boyfriend Josh.

The café was busy, so I could only manage a quick hello before nipping behind the counter to serve more customers. There was a mad twenty minutes when every table was occupied and the chatter level soared. And then everything calmed down again, and I took the opportunity to wipe down the coffee machine.

Having slept badly, I was feeling exhausted so I took my time cleaning the counter, replenishing the basket of scones and rearranging the cakes on their glass-dome-covered plates. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Laurel having a great time, chatting to her parents. They were all laughing and at one point, Josh leaned towards Laurel and kissed her on the lips.

I smiled, thinking how radiant with happiness Laurel looked. Life had come good for her. As opposed to mine, which currently appeared to be in the toilet.

Laurel had become a really good friend and I was delighted to see her so happy. But as I cleared tables and loaded the dishwasher, my mood sank lower. Things between Jack and me had changed. Would we ever get back to the couple we once were? Before I cocked up right royally!

What if this was the start of the end for us?

But that idea was too much to bear and before I could think of stopping them, tears were dripping down over my cheeks. When I tried to wipe them away, they just kept coming even faster. Grabbing some kitchen paper, I went to the window, blotting my eyes and staring out over the snowy village green.

It’s going to be fine.

I told myself this over and over – as if repeating it might make it true – as I tried to stem the emotion that was suddenly bursting out of me in an uncontrollable flood, like water smashing through a fractured dam.

Right now, it felt as if the last thing it would be was fine . . .

*****

‘Maddy?’ Laurel popped her head around the kitchen door. Frowning when she saw my face, she hurried over. ‘Hey, what’s wrong?’

I still hadn’t told anyone except Ellie what had been going on with Jack, but now, as Laurel put a comforting arm around me, it all started to spill out – how I’d fallen out with Jack because I’d kept him out of the loop, for reasons I couldn’t totally understand myself now, and how he’d gone off to his parents and didn’t even seem to want to talk to me.

As I cried, Laurel rubbed my back gently and talked soothingly until I’d got everything out and was starting to feel human again.

‘Okay?’ she asked, passing me a tissue from her pocket, which I welcomed gratefully because it was a darned sight softer than that scratchy kitchen paper.

I nodded with a rueful smile. ‘Sorry. Thanks for listening.’

‘No need to apologise. Look, you just need to talk to Jack. You’re meant to be together. You can sort it all out, I’m sure of it.’

She didn’t mention my results. I guess she was worried, like me, that it didn’t look good. But when she heard I was thinking of giving the Snow Ball a miss because Jack wouldn’t be back, she was adamant that I should go.

‘Josh has got some work thing on tomorrow night so he can’t go and I didn’t want to attend such a grand event on my own. So . . . why don’t we go together? You and I?’