Page 38 of Could It Be Magic?
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‘Shit, shit, shit!’ Nick’s aged ginger tom cat, Marmalade, narrowed his eyes at his master as Nick chucked the vinyl suit carrier, now denuded of its contents, down on his bed. ‘Where the bloody hell is it?’
While Nick had been clock watching all afternoon at the shop, willing the working day to go more quickly, he’d now have given his back teeth for an extra hour. But all the time in the world wouldn’t have changed the annoying fact that his black bow tie was most definitely not in the carrier with the rest of his dinner suit. The only thing that was, in fact, was a jokey red false bowtie decorated with comedy willies that he vaguely remembered gaining at the last Young Farmers’ Ball he’d attended some ten years ago.
With a growing sense of futility, he rummaged through the pockets of his dinner jacket again, but to no avail; the black tie he’d paired with this suit for years was nowhere to be found. In desperation, he even checked the pockets of his trousers, before pulling them on and hastily reaching for his white dress shirt. Buttoning it up swiftly, he reached for his phone.
‘Dad? Hi. No, everything’s fine. Look, could you do me a favour?’ He explained his dilemma, and when Robert Saint had stopped pissing himself with laughter about the tie his son had been left with, he gave a better, but no more helpful answer.
‘Sorry, Nick – your mother got rid of my old dinner suit a few years ago after I nearly herniated myself trying to get the trousers on. She donated it to the charity shop along with the shoes.’
‘OK.’ Nick’s heart sank. ‘Well, thanks anyway. See you soon.’ He threw the phone down on the bed. Nick, to his shame, had a tendency to let small details derail him. He knew he could just show up without a bow tie, that it wouldn’t be the end of the world, but all he could think about was that it just wouldn’t seem right. He contemplated the tie with the willies again. Wearing that, he conceded, would be even worse.
‘Jamie? Mate? It’s Nick…’
Jamie, it transpired, only had the one tie, and he was going to be wearing it. Why hadn’t he checked the suit before the night of the ball?
There was only one person who, at short notice, might be able to help him. ‘Cross your paws for me, Marmalade,’ he addressed the cat, who yawned disinterestedly and closed his eyes again.
‘You’re a lifesaver!’ Nick exclaimed as Tristan handed him an immaculately pressed black silk bow tie. ‘I owe you one.’
‘Couldn’t have you rocking up at my sister’s door not looking the part, could I?’ Tristan, with a twinkle in his eye, replied. ‘Can you remember how to tie it?’
Nick grinned. ‘I think so. It’s been a while, though.’
‘Well, I’d better get off to Thea’s.’ Tristan, who was looking a knockout himself in a beautifully cut black dinner suit with a rather eye-catching emerald green silk lining, so dark it almost looked black in the evening light, headed towards the front door.
‘Thea’s?’ Nick asked.
‘Oh, yeah,’ Tristan replied absently, pulling out his car keys from the pocket of his black cashmere evening coat. ‘Thea and Charlotte have spent the afternoon getting ready, and Cora’s been giving them makeup tutorials, from what I can gather. I said I’d pick her up at seven, and it’s almost that now.’
Nick laughed, despite his nerves. ‘Sounds like Annie and her mates back in the day. I bet Cora loved being the one in charge.’
Tristan looked sceptical. ‘Charlotte’s not much of a one for makeup, so I’m a bit worried that Cora’s talked her into something crazy.’ He shook his head. ‘My niece can be very persuasive when she’s on a mission!’
‘Well, we’ll find out soon enough.’ Nick grinned at him. ‘I’ll, er, see you later on. Can you let Thea know I’m on my way?’
‘No sense in both of us driving over,’ Tristan replied. ‘Why don’t you come with me?’
Nick could feel himself starting to blush and he dropped his gaze. Tristan cottoned on immediately.
‘Oh. Right. OK… forget I said anything!’ He gave a slightly awkward grin. ‘You and Thea can, er, make your own way there.’
‘Thanks, mate,’ Nick replied. ‘It’s just that I kind of want to do things properly, you know, pick her up myself, take her there, bring her home…’
‘Say no more,’ Tristan said, getting hastily into his car. ‘I don’t want to know any more, anyway!’
‘No, it’s not like that!’ Nick’s face was flaming now. ‘Oh God… I’ve not even picked Thea up yet and I’m fucking this up…’
Tristan paused in the act of closing the car door, and Nick wanted to sink into the floor.
‘Nick,’ Tristan said gently, ‘Thea likes you. She always has. She’s been fond of you since school. It might have been a few years since you were properly close, but I’d bet that hasn’t changed. You’re not fucking anything up.’
‘Fond of me? You make me sound like the family Labrador!’ Nick shook his head, but he felt touched by Tristan’s words. Tristan was notoriously protective of his twin sister. Nick was mindful of that, and hopeful of Tristan’s approval now that he’d finally asked Thea out.
‘Just be yourself, mate, and try not to stress out about tonight. She said she’d go with you to the party. Enjoy it.’
‘I’ll try.’ Nick swallowed the sudden lump in his throat. ‘It means a lot to me that you’re giving me your blessing, you know.’
