Page 74 of Limits
‘I’ve still gotsomelimits,’ she hissed. Pav laughed in the face of her residual rather-not-swap-spit-in-front-of-entire-hospital limits, and they were promptly swamped on all side by Millie’s friends. At least with the ensuing group hug she was shielded from the crowd, and Pav was distracted from doing anything even more inappropriate than he already had.
It was Don who started the clapping. When Millie finally emerged from the arms of her friends she saw the audience on their feet. A year ago having so many eyes on her would have sent her into a flat panic, but now, with her hand in Pav’s, Kira administering a sloppy kiss on her cheek, Don’s hand on her shoulder, Jamie, Kira, Tara, El and Claire flanking her, now she just felt … loved.
And really that’s all she ever wanted, anyway.
Epilogue
Loved, unconditionally
‘We’re willing to overlook the appalling way you’ve treated this family, Camilla, ifyou’rewilling to be sensible.’
Millie waited for the familiar shame and guilt to swell up inside her. Years of dealing with her parents had made it almost a conditioned response. But after a minute she realised that she just felt … annoyed. Not even angry. Not upset – just a little bit pissed off. She glanced over at her soon-to-be mother-in-law and sister-in-law’s red faces, and realised that, whilstshemight not be furious, the rest of the room was spitting mad.
Millie sighed. She needed a moment so she turned away from her mother and towards the full-length mirror on the wardrobe in front of her. El had been in seventh heaven since the moment Millie told her she was getting married and that she would need dresses. Lots of dresses. The number of bridesmaids she had settled on was ridiculous, even for a Greek wedding. But in the end shehadto have Kira, Libby, Rosie, El herself, Pav’s sisters, Tara and Claire.
The old Millie would have worried that it wasn’t normal to have that many bridesmaids, that people would think she was weird, that is wasn’t precisely right. The new Millie was so over the moon to even have women she could ask to walk up the aisle with her that she didn’t give a badger’s arse (one of the many Kira expressions she used now with some regularity) what anyone thought.
Her dress was cream lace over fitted, strapless satin; her hair fell around her shoulders in its natural soft waves (Pav’s request), and she wore just a single flower in it, stolen from the bouquet after Rosie pitched a fit that Millie had to wear a tiara; the flower appeased her somewhat, but the six-year-old was still in grumpy mode. She’d only just stomped out of the room a minute ago, a second before Millie’s parents’ unexpected arrival.
‘And by sensible you mean … ?’
‘I’m going to walk you down the aisle,’ her father put in. ‘Then there’s a photographer who’ll –’
‘No.’
Millie’s hands clenched into fists at her sides so hard she could feel the nails cutting into her palms.
‘No way.’
‘This rift has gone on long enough,’ her mother coaxed. ‘I don’t know what you think we’ve done to deserve this kind of treatment, darling.’
Valerie Morrison was playing to her audience now. Millie could count on one hand the number of times she’d used an endearment with her before.
‘All we’ve ever done was want the best for you. I can’t understand why you would turn your back on us. We didn’t even know you were getting married today. We had to find out from the matron of Mother M.’s nursing home last week, and that was only because Matron assumed we would be transporting your grandmother to the wedding and she wanted to sort out timings. It probably didn’t occur to a sensible woman like that, that the bride had excluded her own parents from the guest list.’
‘You’veneverbeen my parents,’ Millie said, her voice low with suppressed anger.
‘What a ridiculous thing to say. I –’
‘Before you needed me for the campaign we hadn’t spoken in over two years.’
Valerie narrowed her eyes at Millie and clamped her mouth shut. A tic at her mother’s left eye heralded a probable loss of control.
‘You took a naturally shy, introverted child with a special gift and forced her through the education system so fast she was doing her A-levels at thirteen years old. You belittled her and ignored her until she was an anxiety-ridden adult with social phobia so severe she had trouble even ordering a coffee.’
‘Don’t blame us foryourdeficiencies, Camilla.’ Her mother’s voice had changed now. Gone was the disingenuous façade of hurt and concern. Anger turned her tone ugly and derisive. ‘You always were a bloody embarrassment. What sort of child can’t even attend a few simple functions without practically collapsing from stress. You’re weak; weak and pathetic and I –’
The slap resounded around the large space and the room fell into shocked silence. Millie hadn’t even seen her mother-in-law-to-be move, but now Talia was standing in front of Valerie, breathing heavily after the exertion of leaving a livid handprint across the other woman’s face.
‘How dare you!’ shouted Valerie, clutching her cheek and shaking with outrage.
‘My God,’ David said, going to take his place near his wife, but in typical cowardly fashion he stood just behind her instead of at her side. ‘What on earth –?’
‘Get. Out.’ Talia said, her voice trembling with rage.
‘Now just hang on a damn minute,’ David blustered, but still took a small step back in the face of Talia’s rage. ‘This is between our daughter and us. I’ll not have some –’
‘She ismydaughter now,’ Talia said in the same low, dangerous voice as she reached back and gave Millie’s hand a squeeze. ‘Unless you want your face to match your wife’s I suggest you both get out of this room right now.’
