Page 84 of The Reunion

‘Hi, everybody! Just a few last words from me and then it’ll be time to say our goodbyes. So tonight wasn’t quite the party I’d planned for you all, and it’s safe to say it didn’t exactly go off without a hitch.’ A laugh ripples through the crowd and I smile. ‘But hey! I wanted to give you all an event you’d be talking about for years, and I think I managed that, right?’

‘Whooo!’ someone shouts, and most people join in and applaud. I throw my free arm out to one side and take a little bow, then slip the microphone out of its stand to move around the stage a little, getting comfortable.

‘We had a power cut … a fire alarm … a slightly pitchy performance from the old orchestra … You laughed and danced and gossiped and kissed people you fancied and caught up with friends and enjoyed some spiked punch, which sounds about like how prom went, right? And honestly, I don’t know what more any of us could have wanted from this reunion. So all that’s left for me to do is thank you all for coming out tonight and making this such an epic party, and wish you all a safe journey home!’

People burst into cheers and applause, and someone is running up on stage.

I turn, a grin ready for Ryan as I prepare to hand him the mic so he can say a few words, but – it’s not him.

It’s Hayden who gives me a bright smile and takes the mic and says, ‘Thanks, B,’ before he looks out to face the crowd, grabbing my hand.

‘Hang on, hang on, just one last thing!’ he calls, and the microphone screeches. A collective wince doesn’t deter Hayden, though, whose hand turns a little sweaty in mine. ‘I think we’ve got one more person to thank for pulling everything together to make this all happen, and even putting her career on the line for it. Whatever else you achieve in life, B – you’re a leading lady as far as everybody here is concerned. Tonight’s Master of Ceremonies and the wizard behind the curtain – folks, give it up for Bryony Adams!’

Hayden hurls our hands high above our heads and practically yanks my arm out of the socket doing so, but then he lets go, returns the mic to the stand and joins in the storm of applause that’s not for the party, not for the joy of tonight, but purely for me.

I watch Hassan and Josh and Shaun stomp their feet, and Ryan and the rugby lads throw punches in the air as they shout my name, and Ashleigh and Trendy Elise and Roisin applaud over their heads, and Steph and the girls jump up and down as they scream for me, all linked elbows and smudged mascara.

I take a bow, but it’s not with my usual dramatic flourish, and I give a watery laugh nobody except maybe Hayden overhears, looking out at my sea of admirers as the ferocity of their standing ovation threatens to bowl me over.

When it dies down, voices replace the sound of the music I stopped and people make their way out to taxis and cars, the night over, and I leave the stage.

Truly, the curtain fell on tonight when we were all out on the tarmac and I stopped lying to everybody. But this feels like the true grand finale.

It’s a perfect encore.

And my very best, if last, performance.

Chapter Forty-Two

Steph

‘Most Likely to End Up Together’

‘Have a safe drive home, lovely!’ I squeeze Priya tight and give her boyfriend a quick hug goodbye too, then do the same with Thea while Morgan says goodbye to Curtis. When the four of us girls are done with hugs and kisses on the cheek, we end up all facing each other, standing in a close circle, and it suddenly seems every bit as impossible to say goodbye to them as it did when we all met up for a farewell sleepover before we would leave for university.

I don’t know how I’ve gone ten years without these girls in my life; I don’t know how we ever let things fizzle out when it’s so clear we’re still so very much each other’s kind of people. I wriggle, trying to restrain myself, but Priya catches sight of me and laughs, launching herself forward, and the four of us pile into one massive group hug.

‘I’m crying!’ Morgan exclaims. ‘Why am I crying? We’re going to see each other in a few weeks!’

‘You daft thing.’ Thea tsks, but her voice sounds thick, too.

We all pull apart, a little bit sniffly and watery-eyed.

A taxi beeps its horn and it’s Priya and Morgan’s signal to go, along with their partners; they’re both staying at the same bed and breakfast, so sharing a lift. I wave them off and say one more last goodbye to Thea before she and her boyfriend leave, too, heading back towards their car.

Still waiting for my mum to come to collect us, knowing she’ll be stuck in the queue of cars now steadily coming in and out through the school gates, I turn back around to Curtis, whose arm immediately curls around me as he rubs the chill of goosebumps from my bare arms, folding me into him to share his body warmth.

I look up at him, and the doubts I expressed to Shaun feel like they belong to somebody else. They’re so far away, so silly to even think about now …

Maybe what we had as teenagers was real, but so is this.

I don’t quite regret leaving to catch up with Shaun, but I do regret how much I let the nostalgia take over, and how quickly I let myself give in to it. I think, if I’d come here tonight and kept my distance, part of me would have always wondered. At least now, I suppose, I know for sure.

Curtis and I agreed we’d talk more about it later, and while I’m sure we both meant when we were back home – not even simply back at my parents’, but home, in our apartment – I suddenly become a ball of anxiety, all frayed nerves and roiling stomach. It’s the same feeling I used to get before an exam.

I tug on Curtis’s arm to make sure I’ve got his attention and he’s not distracted by people-watching.

He knows without me having to say a word, because his brow crumples and he sighs heavily, breath washing over my face. He looks so tired, so disappointed, and I realise he was hoping to put this off for as long as possible. I wonder if, if I hadn’t initiated this now, he would ever have bothered to bring it up at all. For all he can engage in a hearty debate at work, I know he hates confrontation in his personal and private life.

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