Page 95 of Wish You Weren't Here
‘What?’ Ethan replies. ‘Are you serious? What about you, Seph, did you not have a hen party?’
‘No,’ she says, sounding almost self-conscious now. ‘That’s not really our sort of thing.’
‘It’s any sort of thing you want it to be,’ Ethan tells them. ‘It’s just a party – one last party, to send you off into married life.’
‘It does sound quite fun, when you put it like that,’ Seph says, as though she’d never really thought about it like that.
Ethan looks at me and smiles. Oh, I can read him like a book. I give him a nod.
‘How about we throw you stag and hen parties?’ Ethan asks them. ‘I’ll take care of the boys, Lana can sort something for the girls – right, Lana?’
‘I never say no to a night out,’ I reply.
Seph lights up at the idea – yes, the same Seph who has always kept me at arm’s length. She looks at me with a smile, like she might actually want to spend time with me.
‘That does sound fun,’ she says.
‘Yes, I’m on board, EPJ,’ Chester adds.
‘Then let’s do it,’ I say.
Ethan looks at me and smiles. I love that he’s doing this for them, like he doesn’t want them to miss out on something.
Of course, this does mean that I have to now organise something for the girls, for tonight, but even I’m looking forward to it now.
The only downside is that, well, as silly as it sounds, I’m actually disappointed that I’m not going to get to spend the evening with Ethan. Oh, boy, I really am disappointed, I wish we were all going out together. Then again, me and Ethan on a night out, that’s a recipe for disaster.
I suppose it’s not only my family who are loving having Ethan around, I am too.
Of all the ways I expected this week to turn out, today really has been the most surprising one yet.
44
Thankfully, between me and Tiggy, we managed to find an upmarket nightclub with a free booth for Seph’s impromptu hen party – or ‘bridal shower’ as she is calling it.
Thankfully Seph approves – well, with crushed-velvet seats and a rope separating us from everyone else here, I’m sure she feels right at home.
Seph lounges back in her seat next to me, eventually resting her head on my shoulder. She’s clutching a piña colada like it’s the last liquid on earth – her, I don’t know, sixth, I think.
‘I can’t believe you’ve dragged me to a club on the night before my wedding,’ she says. ‘This is so, so not me any more.’
‘Are you not having a good time?’ Tiggy asks her as she sips her champagne – it takes a lot more than six drinks to get Tiggy off balance.
‘I am… loving it,’ Seph says, building suspense into her sentence. ‘Aren’t you, Eleanor?’
‘Of course,’ Eleanor replies, although I suspect she’s annoyed because Seph and I are getting along.
‘I used to be fun,’ Seph says, slurring her words. ‘In fact, do you want to see my party trick?’
‘Always,’ Tiggy replies.
I don’t know who is the most stunned as Seph climbs up onto the round table in front of us and starts dancing.
‘See, I’ve got moves,’ she calls back.
‘You really do,’ I reply, stunned. ‘But we don’t want you hurting yourself before your wedding, so maybe come back down, yeah?’
‘I thought you were the fun sister,’ she teases as she joins us.
