Page 64 of The Life-Changing Magic of Falling in Love

‘What?’ I’m confused. First because I have shouted and it’s way too early in the morning to be shouting. And second because it’s not always that easy to snap out of work headspace.

‘I’ve asked Jules to marry me and she, fabulous woman that she is, has said yes.’

‘But why?’

‘She’s pregnant.’

‘Again?’

‘Of course. Bloody obvious how potent I am to anyone who comes near me, isn’t it?’ he declares and as I turn my chair around to face the early morning light glinting off the rooftops it’s getting easier and easier to leave my work headspace. There’s a happiness that he’s going to be a dad again seeping through and its refreshingly worlds away from my work.

‘But why do you need to get married?’ I ask, intrigued, because of the two of us I’m the more traditional.

‘A few weeks ago, some kid started having a go at Millie at school, about how she and her brother belong to parents who, wait for it, aren’t even married! You know how hard that would have been for Millie…’

I do. Millie feels everything keenly and finds it especially difficult to cope when things come at her from left field or aren’t the same every day and just the thought of her being upset has me wishing I was back in England and able to give this schoolground bully quite the talking to.

‘It was all sorted out with apologies issued and so forth but, Jesus, George! How is it possible that seven-year-olds can be so narrowed in their thinking, these days?’

‘Probably belonged to some warped A+B=C ideals-pushing weirdo-parents,’ I say in solidarity.

‘That’s what I reckoned. Not that there’s anything wrong with being married before you have kids, is there, and Jules is incredible with how she helps Millie not dwell on things. But later, doing the whole debriefing thing we got to talking and realised, well, I have a better job now… She has a better job… There’s actually money left over at the end of every month, so why not do the deed? What’s stopping us?’

‘And this is what you really want? I always thought you steered away from conventionality?’

‘Yeah, well, it’s hard to be conventional when a wedding costs money that’s better spent on your baby. Not that Tom coming along when he did was a mistake,’ Marcus is quick to say and I realise that for him it was really that practicality beat convention. ‘Besides, you know Jules has always been the one for me. She’s going to look beautiful in a wedding dress.’

‘You’ve always been the one for her, too, despite me thinking she should have had more sense,’ I tease.

‘What, because she didn’t go for you?’

This genuinely shocks me. ‘Why on earth would she have gone for me, Heartless George?’

‘Whoa. It’s been that long I forgot everyone used to call you that.’

‘How could you forget when you still have a scar because of it?’ I picture him looking down at the knuckles across his right hand.

‘It’s what Jules was first attracted to – me looking like a “bad boy”, so I should thank you. I should thank Steve too for teaching me how to land a left hook. I still say somebody moved that lamppost otherwise I’d have felled Dave for what he said to you that day. Anyway, of course I was going to jump in and defend my brother.’

Your big brother.

Still echoed, didn’t it?

The wound of having my younger brother fight on my behalf when it should have been the other way around.

My mother’s friends, when allowed into the house, that was, used to say “Poor George” at me being stuck inside so much but I used to think “Poor Marcus” because he was the one always being told to be quiet because I was resting. Or being told to go and have a bath because he’d been outside and who knew what germs he was carrying in and when was he ever going to learn his brother was poorly?

‘What do the parents say?’ I ask, knowing it was pointless to pick at old wounds.

‘They’re over the moon. Specially if it means their pride and joy is coming back home for it. You’ll be my best man, won’t you?’

‘Um … yeah?’ I answer, thinking about how much I used to enjoy telling them about working in London and New York.

Wait a minute… Used to? Surely, I’m just having a few bad weeks. No one’s job is perfect twenty-four-seven three-six-five.

Marcus says, ‘Don’t sound too excited, will you?’

‘Sorry.’ I get my head out of my arse and concentrate on the point of the call. ‘Course it’s yeah. Wouldn’t miss you getting married for the world.’ I think of Marcus’s best mate, Steve. ‘But you know … if you wanted Steve for best man duties…’

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