Page 16 of Always the Bridesmaid

With a bit of luck, Edmond might have left some of his fancy bread in the kitchen that I can seek out for a midnight binge.

I’m also devastated because my relative peace sitting next to my friends is about to be shattered by a group game of charades.

Organized fun… The absolute bliss of it… Said no one ever!

In what seems to be her obsessive style, Sarah has already divided the group into four teams. Probably a good thing, I think, as I watch her rise unsteadily from the table and undertake an almost graceful wobble into the living room.

The couples in the group – which is basically everyone except Sarah, Brooks’s daughter and me – have been separated. I’ve been teamed with Jess, Drew’s sister Millie, Drew, Edmond’s wife, Amy, and Sarah.

We might as well consider ourselves one very tipsy teammate down.

Our four teams are sitting around two sofas and two large armchairs, utilizing ottomans and the floor for extra seating. In the middle of the room, covering an attractive but pointless wood-burner, is an art easel – I truly hope we aren’t playing Pictionary, too.

I still can’t quite believe I’ve been forced into a dress code for the evening and want badly to ditch my buttoned bottoms and shirt for an elasticated waistband and one of my Marvel comic T-shirts.

The waitstaff bring around espresso martinis for everyone – regardless of whether people would have preferred a straightforward beer from a bottle. Jake’s parents excuse themselves (and carry out Millie’s sleeping kids, who, on grounds of being asleep, behaved impeccably well through dinner) when their pre-booked taxi arrives to take them to their nearby guest house. Foresight at its best! I bet they have a stash of sandwiches and crisps there, too.

The rest of the group oblige by taking a martini – all except Izzy, who declares herself too boozy from dinner already, and Becky, whom my spidey senses tell me is pregnant. I’m not the most astute man in the world but there is only one reason to my mind that a woman who was drinking hours before is no longer touching a drop.

A braver man than me might have suggested to Sarah that she oughtn’t have a martini, but she takes her drink from a tray, declaring, ‘Just the one.’

That one turns into a second as we watch the first two teams make an appallingly bad effort at charades.

We’re up…

Sarah holds up her hand like Hermione Granger bursting to recite a mind-boggling spell in class.

‘I’m a guesser, it’s my thing.’

‘Charlie should be the actor,’ Jess says. ‘What?’ she asks, disingenuously innocent as she sees my thunderous expression and giggles in that way she does when she’s tipsy. ‘You’re used to being on stage, especially now you’ve hit the big time.’

She giggles again, making it impossible for me to be mad at her.

Performing for the group is the last thing I feel like doing, but I can’t say that and spoil the joviality so I take my espresso martini and stand by the fire, all eyes on me.

‘Okay, okay, your category is…’ Izzy shuffles a pack of charades cards and slips one from the top. ‘Romantic comedies.’

Drew throws up his arms in dismay. ‘Come on! That’s a fix.’ He shakes his head. ‘I’ll just be over here with another drink, completely useless.’

His sister rolls her eyes. ‘Me thinks thou doth protest too much,’ she sings.

‘Are you a closet romcom watcher, Drew?’ Izzy asks, finding herself hilarious.

‘Let’s do it,’ Sarah says, patting the sofa either side of her. Jess and Millie move closer to her.

Well, I either throw the game, or I expose my secret indulgence: I love nothing more than sitting home alone with a tub of ice cream, streaming a romcom.

‘Okay,’ I say, thinking of how to demonstrate the first card. I hold up two fingers.

‘Two words!’ Jess and Sarah shout in unison. ‘Second word!’

I bend to one knee and mime opening a ring box.

‘The Proposal!’ Sarah yells.

Nice.

I think again when I see the second card, then I hold up three fingers. Then I point first to Jake, then Jess.

---