Page 54 of Once Bitten, Twice Fried
“That’s why they make fun of you city-dwellers.”
They both giggled and Zoe touched Julie’s arm. The rabbit jumped away, startling them once again. “That’s enough nature for me tonight, we should head back.” Julie rubbed her arm where Zoe had touched her. She turned around and started walking towards the house. Zoe trailed behind again, remembering that just this morning she had agreed to take Nicki’s advice of no more late-night encounters with Julie. And here she was.
As they entered the yard, loud overlapping voices echoed from the house. Zoe recognised Yasmine’s voice along withMarion. Something seemed off, though - the chatter had a tone of anxiety, rather than excitement. Julie clearly heard it too; she stopped and turned towards Zoe.
“What’s going on there?” She seemed worried.
“I‘ve no clue. Is that Marion? I thought she was still outside with Maria.”
They could see people under the tent, and they headed in that direction.
“Is everything alright?” Julie asked as they arrived.
Leila and Alice were sitting at the dinner table, speaking urgently in low, concerned voices. Leila broke off to turn to Julie and shook her head.
“You should see what was in the treasure box.”
Zoe looked at the small wooden crate sitting on the table. The lid was open and lying next to it were two bottles of champagne - the good expensive kind - and a handwritten note.
Julie picked up the note and scanned it. There was a heavy silence that lingered on for a few seconds too long after she finished.
“Holy shit.” Julie looked up at Leila. “Is this a joke?” Leila shook her head again.
“What does it say?” Zoe was expecting the worst. Yasmine and Marion were still speaking loudly inside the house. It sounded like they were trying to call someone on speaker phone but whoever it was wasn’t picking up.
Julie handed her the small piece of paper. Her face white as a sheet. Zoe grabbed it and started to read.
It started with a flowery declaration about how Yasmine was the most wonderful woman on earth. Nothing terrible so far. Then:
“There will be a documentary team coming tomorrow to shoot our entire wedding. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me and I think our wedding should be part of thefilm they’re making about me, about us. Surprise, my princess! You’re going to be a movie star!”
Zoe had a hard time believing this wasn’t some sort of prank. Who in their right mind would think this was a nice surprise? Zoe knew all too well that bringing a film crew into any situation shifted the vibe immediately. A wedding videographer would just capture the moment however it happened, but a documentary team would care far more about their own project than Yasmine’s plans for her wedding day. Maybe some people would be into that, but it was obvious to Zoe that Yasmine didn’t want to be a movie star for the next two days - she wanted to be a bride. She looked up. Julie was pacing around the table, scrolling on her phone.
“How am I supposed to accommodate an entire documentary team? Do they need lighting or something? Can I even book stuff like that on such short notice?”
Leila stood up. “I think Adam should take care of that. You don’t even know how many people there’ll be.”
“This is a nightmare.” Julie sat down, defeated. Maria walked out of the house. She paused for a second, looking around at everyone’s faces.
“So… You all know the news by now?”
“Whatiseven going on?” Julie asked, as if Maria had all the information.
“We have no idea. Marion and Yasmine are trying to get hold of Adam.” Maria seemed very tired. “I don’t know why he thought this would be a good idea.”
“Seriously.” Julie shook her head.
Seeing Julie so distressed, Zoe had to resist the urge to wrap her arms around her and tell her everything would work out in the end. The unfinished conversation she’d had with Yasmine just half an hour ago had left her feeling vulnerable, and now there was this crisis to deal with. It was all too much. She put ahand on Julie’s shoulder. “Should we go and see how Yasmine’s holding up?”
“That’s not a bad idea. She needs all the support she can get right now.”
Maria sat down and seized one of the bottles of wine leftover from dinner before pouring herself a generous glass.
“Let’s go.”
Zoe felt Julie’s hand graze against her own while it was resting on Julie’s shoulder, but she stopped mid-motion and jerked forward to stand up. The abruptness of the gesture startled Zoe who took her hand away like it was burning. Was Julie just about to take her hand? This couldn’t go on any more. Between Tom and his stupid catering, Yasmine’s documentary issues and whatever was going on with Julie, Zoe really wanted something to get resolved. Tonight.
They both entered the house and followed the voices into the living room, their footsteps barely audible on the cold tiles. Yasmine and Marion were sitting together on the large grey sofa in front of the fireplace, hunched over Yasmine’s phone. Sarah sat next to them, frantically scrolling on her own phone. Yasmine threw up her hands and swore in three separate languages.
