Page 21 of Lie For Me

Valerie flapped her hands, urging them to be seated.

‘Heather, Mark and their boys are due in the morning,’ she said, gesturing to James to bring more chairs around for Lucy and Jack. She smiled at Jack and leaned into him. ‘Thomas and Peter are Mark and Heather’s sons. They’re both in the ceremony. Thomas will be fine. He’s such a good boy. Very mature for six. But I do hope little Peter can manage.’ She looked over at Lucy. ‘He’s at that difficult age. Your grandmother,' Valerie's voice took on a weary note, 'is napping upstairs. She came down with your father and I and is sleeping off her lunch.'

Lucy saw her father hide a smile by taking a sip of wine as his wife mentioned his mother, Lucy's nanna.

Her mother continued.

‘Ollie and Sophie, our happy couple, checked in a couple of hours ago. They’re having a quiet afternoon before the event this evening.’ She clasped her hands with glee. ‘I am so delighted to have you all here with me.’

As she listened to her mother position herself at the centre of the weekend’s events rather than the absent bride and groom, Lucy could swear she felt a stomach ulcer start to form. Valerie reached over and tucked Lucy’s hair behind her ear.

‘Are you all right, darling? You don’t look quite well.’

Lucy leaned back out of her mother’s reach.

‘Yes, it’s just hot.’ She fanned herself with her hand. ‘Aren’t you boiling?’

‘It’s this dress you’ve got on,’ Valerie said, plucking at the fabric as if she’d never seen the like before. ‘What is this fabric? Some sort of polyester?’ She leaned in. ‘Polyester won’t let the skin breathe, darling.’ She patted Lucy’s knee. ‘You were always a hot and sweaty child.’

Lucy stared at the terrace and willed a sink hole to appear. Jack, who had somehow ended up seated between her mother and father, gave a slight smile and crooked an eyebrow at her, as if to say, I see what you mean.

‘We really should go and check in,’ Lucy said, and made to stand up.

‘Nonsense,’ James said, handing her a glass of chilled white wine. ‘You’ll have a drink with us and celebrate us all being together. Then you can check in.’

Well.

So long as there was wine to be had, how bad could it be? She took the offered glass, and her father raised his in a toast.

‘To family,’ he said. ‘All being together.’

‘And to Jack,’ her mother added. ‘We’re glad to know Lucy has met someone, at last.’

Jack blew her a kiss across the table, and she smiled through gritted teeth and blew one back.

The wine was tart and fruity and ice-cold. She took a long sip and felt the coolness as it travelled down, then winced at a sudden ice-cream headache.

‘Here now,’ her father said, standing up and offering his chair. ‘You and Jack can sit together.’ He gestured for Lucy to take his seat beside Jack as he moved to sit beside his wife.

‘Oh no, it’s okay,’ Lucy began, as Jack said, ‘Thank you, James, that’s very kind.’

He patted the newly vacated seat beside him. Lucy unglued herself from where she was sitting and plumped down beside Jack.

‘Feeling better now, darling?’ Jack asked, getting into the role.

He took her hand and held it. It was far too hot for holding hands, but Lucy couldn’t very well rebuff him. So she smiled and squeezed Jack’s fingers a little too hard. He responded by kissing her hand while gazing into her eyes. She smiled back with her mouth only. Her mother and father looked on and nodded.

Lucy felt the next three days spread out before her like a chasm.

***

Lucy squinted at the door numbers as they trundled down the windy corridor, ancient floorboards creaking every few steps.

‘Here, this is it.’ Lucy nodded at the hotel room door. ‘212.’

She swiped the hotel room key card, and it flashed red and beeped.

Jack, wrestling with his bag as well as several of Lucy’s, puffed, ‘Do it more slowly.’

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