Page 58 of The Happiness Project

‘If we want November,’ Charlie says. ‘And I don’t. Our honeymoon is booked too.’

This much I know as he frequently shows me pictures of the resort in Formentera.

‘We could still go for a holiday but it won’t feel the same,’ he continues. ‘I want to go as a married couple.’

I put my hand on his shoulder and tell him I’m sorry.

‘We’ll find you somewhere for the date you want,’ I tell him. ‘We’ll scour heaven and earth and find somewhere completely fabulous — just you wait and see. You’ll be glad that place was double-booked.’

He leans his head into me and I kiss the top of it. I’ve just promised a lot, but there must be a venue with space in March — it’s not exactly peak season.

Ed and Caroline pull up, which means we’re ready to head in. Peter walks over to Charlie and pulls the sides of his mouth up into a smile; the silly act makes Charlie laugh, so Peter and I link arms either side of him and strut into the golf club.

Kathryn has done a fabulous job; the club looks gorgeous. The small floral centrepieces and napkins are in the club colours of orange and green, which makes the room look fresh and inviting. The linen is crisp and the cutlery gleaming. When the basics are done well, I remember telling her at our meeting, there’s no need to spend a great deal on decoration. I can see that she’s taken this advice to heart. There’s a little gift bag at each place setting, which excites our group until we open them and find a tiny bag of golf tees and some golf pencils provided by a sponsor. Happily, there’s also an even tinier box containing two Belgian chocolates. Obviously, they don’t last long around us.

‘Why do golfers need little pencils?’ asks Josie, holding one up and examining it as if it’s an ancient artefact.

‘To write down the scores as we’re going round,’ says a voice behind me.

It’s David and I get up to give him a kiss on the cheek.

‘The place looks terrific,’ I tell him and he thanks me. I can see he’s a little nervous.

‘Thank you all for coming,’ he says. ‘It’s always a bit nerve-wracking wondering if you’re going to sell enough seats but we’re completely at capacity. I even had to squeeze in another table for four at the last minute.’

He points to a corner where there are indeed four people looking very cosy.

‘What should we do with the pencils and tees, given none of us play?’ I ask him.

‘Leave them on the table, I can always distribute them to the youth team or use them in lessons, they won’t go to waste.’

We can see that the waiters are about to start serving, so I wish him luck and let him head back to his own table. Inevitably, as soon as he’s gone, the questions start.

‘So that’s the one you’ve been spending so much time with,’ says Josie.

‘What happened to that Michael guy?’ asks Mum.

‘Oh, keep up, Mrs S,’ Charlie tells her. ‘He’s mysteriously vanished.’

‘Like in the Bermuda Triangle?’ asks Mum.

‘Exactly,’ replies Charlie.

‘Poor love,’ says Mum, putting a hand on top of mine. ‘You don’t have much luck, do you?’

With Ed sitting only two seats away, my cheeks are blazing red and Peter comes to my rescue, telling them all to back off. I nod my thanks and then tell them that he’s just a friend.

‘With benefits?’ persists Charlie, getting poked with the pointy end of a golf tee.

* * *

The meal goes well but the after-dinner speeches and dedications mean very little to our table and we don’t understand any of the golf jokes. I look around at the group and see a couple of stifled yawns; over on David’s table they’re roaring with laughter and we could be on completely different planets. The auction and raffle get underway next, thank goodness, and at least the prizes aren’t all golf related. The Mercury Travel voucher raises a decent sum and Charlie is asked to present it to the winner, then Caroline wins a rather nice silk scarf donated by a local boutique.

After this, the chairman stands and asks everyone to raise a glass to the organiser, Kathryn, and to the brains behind the evening, David. They read out the sum of money they’ve raised and it’s enough for the work they need doing, so all the club members cheer even louder as the rest of us politely applaud. Kathryn is handed a bouquet of flowers and David a gold tiepin. Then there are photos of the two of them.

My table have gone back to talking about potential wedding venues but I’m watching the photos. I’m watching David put his arm around Kathryn, which is a perfectly normal thing to do when you’re being asked to squeeze together for the picture, but it’s the way he’s doing it. He’s leaning in so naturally and I don’t think he’s ever done that with me. Music starts up and David waves over at me to check it’s okay before pulling Kathryn onto the dance floor. I simply nod and smile. My group are up the second the music starts, happy that the party has actually started. Only Caroline stays behind as Ed and Josie strut their stuff to ‘Voulez-Vous’ with the others.

‘Penny for them,’ says Caroline. I can feel her eyes boring into the side of my head.

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