Page 71 of A Wedding in Tuscany

‘What? Show me.’ I hold up the piece of paper. ‘Mum and Dad have given me half-a-million frequent flier points.’

Josh’s open-mouthed reaction makes me laugh. ‘Holy fuck-a-mole is right. I guess when your Dad works for QANTAS for four decades …’ he says, leaving the rest of the thought unsaid.

‘So, where do ya wanna go first?’ I waggle my eyebrows at him and he grins.

The bounteous platters and bowls of food are replenished by stealthy waitstaff and as the sun sets and the candles are lit, so are dozens of strings of fairy lights in the trees. My lovely late-afternoon party turns into something even more magical, like it’s out of a fairy tale.

I’m reminded of the time, several years ago, when a silver fox named James surprised me with a rooftop picnic, including fairy lights and candles, to tell me he was falling in love with me. James passes through my thoughts from time to time, but I never regret my decision to end our romance. He is a wonderful man?just not the man for me.

I sit back against my chair, already having had my fill of the incredibly delicious food, and toy with the stem of my wine glass. Dad has poured me a Super Tuscan?essentially a Bordeaux-style wine made with Tuscan grapes?and it’s delicious but I am pacing myself now, wanting to remember every detail of this incredible party.

I look down the table to where Josh is talking with Nick and Alistair and he throws back his head and belts out a loud laugh, almost as if he knows I’m watching the scene. God, I love him. I am grateful every day that the fates brought us together in Greece?even on the days he drives me mad by shouting at his video game or leaving his jocks on the floor next to the laundry basket. It is literally right there?can’t you make it the few extra centimetres? I want to shout (but don’t) because he puts up with my foibles too. And I am far from perfect. He’s forever scooping used teabags out of the sink and putting them in the bin and when I’m reading, I will shush him if he tries to talk to me ‘during a good bit’.

But my heart is swollen with love for him, as it often is, when I take in all that he’s done to make my birthday special. My parents are here, my sister and brother-in-law, my bestie, one third of Joshivara! How he made that happen when Siobhan was a definite ‘decline’ is a minor miracle. Even having Jaelee and Lou and their partners here is lovely. With how special they are to Cat, they’re like extended family now and it’s perfect that they’re part of this.

All my nearest and dearest here for a celebration in one of the most beautiful places in the world. Dad was right?it’s exactly what I would have planned for myself had I thought of it. Sometimes I think Josh knows me better than I know myself.

‘You’re deep in thought there,’ says Siobhan. She’s been entertaining Mum with the story of how we all met and Mum has just excused herself to top up her Pellegrino?she’s our skipper?so I have Siobhan to myself for the first time tonight.

I smile at my friend. I’ve missed her desperately, I realise now that the flesh-and-blood version is sitting before me. ‘Just happy.’ Her smile widens. ‘So, tell me … you said you weren’t able to come ’cause it’s term time in Ireland.’

Siobhan is a teacher too, only she teaches at-risk youths so her work is a thousand times more intense than mine. My students are (mostly) adorable?they’re all ‘Yes, Miss’ and ‘Sorry, Miss’. Whereas Siobhan counts herself lucky if she goes a week without being called the C-word.

‘I know, yes. At first, I did think there was no way I could get away, so I just told myself I had to get over it.’

‘So, then how did you end up …?’

‘Well,’ she says, adding a vigorous hand gesture, ‘the closer it got on the calendar, the more I started thinking, “Siobhan, you cannot possibly miss this. So, what if you just go down for the birthday party and the wedding?” You know, take a few days’ leave for a very important medical procedure and make an extra-long weekend of it.’ She grins cheekily and I grin back at her. It’s impossible not to?her smiles should be trademarked, they’re that powerful.

‘So, then I chatted with Josh on WhatsApp and he totally corrupted me, encouraging me to lie to my school. “Oh, Siobhan, Sarah and Cat would love it. You have to come.” So, last week, I booked a flight and here I am!’

I reach across and hug her tightly. ‘I am so glad you did.’ I sit back. ‘And I hope you have a speedy recovery from …?’

‘Oh, I haven’t thought far ahead yet. Probably something gynaecological?even though my Head is a woman, she’s the sort who’d be too squeamish to ask me anything more about it. I doubt she’s ever touched her own vagina.’ I start giggling.

‘Oh, Siobhan?you’re hilarious,’ I say through my laughter.

She waves off my compliment. ‘You know, I nearly brought a date.’

‘Oh? You didn’t tell me you were seeing anyone.’ In truth, Siobhan could have been dating for the past year and I wouldn’t have known. As close as we are when we’re together, falling right back into that easy understanding and genuine affection for each other, she is terrible at keeping in touch?terrible! Josh and I can go months without hearing from her and suddenly there will be a long, newsy email in our inboxes. And she hates video calls?hates them.

‘You should have brought him,’ I say. ‘He would have been most welcome.’

‘First off, thank you. I knew that if I did want to bring a date, you wouldn’t have minded. Second, he’s a she.’

‘Oh, wow. You’re dating a woman.’

‘I am.’

‘And so …?’ I have so many questions. When we met Siobhan on Maui, she was on her honeymoon alone having been left at the altar by (the eejit) Liam. And they’d been together for fourteen years!

‘Well, her name is Keely and she’s grand. Gorgeous, of course?I mean, hello?after Liam, I lifted my standards about a thousand per cent. And she’s brilliant. I mean, actual proper brilliant?she’s a surgeon.’

‘Nice.’

‘I know?finally dating a doctor, like Mammy always dreamed for me. Actually, that’s how we met. Mammy was in hospital to have a hip replacement?long story, but she fell and it was bad and my sisters and I had to convince her that a hip replacement was better than a wheelchair. Anyway, Keely was her orthopaedic surgeon and she was brilliant with Mammy and at first, I thought that was all there was to it, you know?she’s got this great bedside manner, she’s lovely?but then when I took Mammy for a follow-up appointment, that’s when I knew?I fancied her like mad. And I’ve never dated a woman before.’ This I know. ‘But I took a chance and asked her out and we’ve been seeing each other for about seven months now.’

‘Wow, that’s … I’m so happy for you, Siobhan. She sounds amazing.’

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