Page 84 of The Wedding Game

‘I was going to and then you arrived. And it’s only a little bit,’ I say, defending Josh one second after putting him down.

‘All right then,’ Chris says. ‘Why are you even mentioning it to me?’

‘Because you asked what was wrong?’ I reply in a voice much whinier than I usually sound.

Chris sighs audibly. I sigh too. And we stand like that for far too long. ‘I’m going to go and get a proper drink,’ he says and walks away.

‘I can’t believe this is happening. We’re growing up,’ Scarlet says on our final evening together.

‘We’re thirty-two years old,’ I say.

‘And haven’t we done well,’ Scarlet chuckles as we clinkour plastic cups of Squadka – vodka and orange squash, both of which were left over from the house-cooling party, although neither of us knows who brought the orange squash. We’re sitting on the floor in our flat. Scarlet’s shipped all our crockery, glasses, cutlery and furniture up to her new flat, with my blessing, as Josh has plenty and she’s starting out from scratch. Plus all the flatpack Ikea stuff we bought together is about ten years old, so I was hardly going to put up a fight.

‘Can we still do Deliveroo on Fridays sometimes?’ Scarlet asks as I glance around at my cases and boxes filled with clothes, books and far too many cosmetics. I can’t believe my life packs up into such a neat arrangement.

I look back at her, focusing on what she’s just said. ‘How are we going to do Deliveroo on Fridays at such a huge distance? Our train fares are going to be out of control.’

‘I’ll order it in Edinburgh and you order the same thing in Somerset and we can FaceTime.’

‘That sounds great. Only I’ll have to cook or run out to the local fish-and-chip shop because there’s no Deliveroo in Josh’s village.’

‘Soon to be your village too. Do you think you’ll miss London?’ she asks.

‘Yes,’ I say. ‘You?’

‘Yeah,’ she nods. ‘I think I will.’

‘Do you think we’re making a mistake?’ I ask.

‘Both of us are moving to opposite ends of the country, for men,’ she points out. ‘Do you imagine Emmeline Pankhurst will be spinning in her grave?’

‘Who?’ I ask and Scarlet gasps in horror. ‘I’m joking, I’m joking. No, I don’t think she would be. We’re making a choice. We are in charge of our own destinies. And you’re not moving in with your guy; you’re just making yourself available in your own flat, and with a fab new job to boot. I’m the one moving in with a man in his ready-made set-up, like some kind of freeloader.’

‘You know that’s not true,’ Scarlet chastises, leaning over and stealing a slice of pizza from my side of the box. ‘Our lives are changing,’ she says. ‘For the better. And we’ve done that. We could hardly live together for ever, could we?’

‘Imagine how amazing that would have been, though.’

‘It would have been fricking awesome,’ Scarlet replies as we clink our cups together in our flat, one final time.

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

February 2024

It’s Valentine’s Day and I’ve cooked Josh and me the most amazing dinner. I feel like a proper country housewife these days. I’m fully settled in here and, even though I had a bit of a panic before I was due to move in, about how everything might be between Josh and me, it turned out to be groundless on that score. I wasn’t sure how things might change if I was a permanent fixture. Would I take him for granted? Would he do the same to me? Would the fun we’d had getting to know each other dwindle away?

But it was just like it was before, a year and a half ago, when I accidentally found myself staying for what I considered far too long for a new relationship, even though it was only a few weeks. Josh is right. Back then, it laid the foundations for the start of us living together.

We had Christmas Day together this year with his family. It would have been a bit strange if we hadn’t, given that we live together now. And then Josh drove on Boxing Day as we set off early, making the whistle-stop tour towards myparents’ houses. We’re a proper couple. Who live together. It still feels so strange to think it.

Tonight we’re having boeuf bourguignon, with Josh’s wonderful beef and all the other ingredients we had in the pantry. It meant I didn’t have to get on the push-bike in the depths of this icy winter and dice with death on the country lanes. I’m nowhere near passing my driving test and the only real downside of village life is that if I’d felt isolated before when I was part-living here, I’m really feeling it now.

I had half-hearted ideas about joining bookclubs and yoga classes, but they haven’t come to anything. I’m so busy with work, and I can’t really get around unless Josh drives me. Public transport is a dud out here, and taxis are hit-and-miss. Plus Josh is so busy with work that he’s too tired in the evenings to run me around like a very sexy chauffeur. I asked him once and he was practically asleep on the sofa after a gruelling day. I don’t want to ask again. The guilt would ruin me. Instead, when he has a spare bit of time, we’re going to keep working on my driving lessons. Then, when I pass, I can take myself to these social activities and make some friends.

Tamara pops in every now and again, but I notice she’s being respectful and not bashing the front door open without invites, in her cute but clumsy way. She texts first and checks it’s OK.

Josh seems put out when she texts me and not him, and we hang out just the two of us more often now. Josh wonders how his best-friendship with Tamara can have morphed into me and Tamara hanging out together loads instead.

‘Am I the third wheel?’ he asks with a sideways smile as we discuss this over our Valentine’s Day dinner.

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