Chapter 94

"You're quiet."

Nick nudged his way onto the bench beside Briana and Hope, following their gaze to the gaggle of girls laughing and giggling at the table in the middle of the park.

"Trying to pick my words carefully," Briana said, forcing a smile. "Can I ask your advice?"

"Of course," he said, and Hope saw an amused twinkle in his eye. "What do you need to say and to whom?"

"I ... Ally. I need to ... I can't..."

"You want to tell her that you can't be a bridesmaid?" Nick asked.

Briana nodded, swirling a drip of her drink about the plastic surface of the table with her straw. Hope realised Nick had known this was coming. She started to say something, but Nick shook his head slightly at her, and she held off for a moment.

"You don't like Ally?"

"No!" Briana looked up. "That's ... that's the sort of assumption I'd like to avoid. That's what I need you to help me with."

"Alright then, you ... Are you a cultist who can't attend weddings without a ritual flogging? I'm sure I can get a whip from somewhere."

"No!" Briana managed with a slight smile.

"Do I get a third guess? You're secretly a demon, and you'll catch fire if we push you onto holy ground."

"Are you going to take this seriously?"

"I'm trying. I just don't understand why any girl your age wouldn't want to wear a dress like this," he said and slid a photograph onto the table in front of her.

It was, at first glance, a fairly conventional bridesmaid's dress with a voluminous skirt in pale blue with lace trims, and a narrow, shaped waist. But where the bodice rose and where Bri expected to see a straight-cut, strapless top, she instead saw capped shoulders and a high, almost halter-style neckline.

"She knows, Bri," Nick said quietly. "It's something she thought about. It's not just your dress, either. They're all like that."

"For me?" Bri asked with tears in her eyes.

"Well, I actually think she's just using it as an excuse because she doesn't want you all to look better than her on the day," he suggested, unable to keep the smile off his face entirely. Briana hugged him fiercely, snatched up the picture and ran off to join the others.

"That was nice," Hope said with a smile, "and verging on cruel."

"We try," Nick replied, sliding along the bench a little to get firmly on the seat. The silence drew out for a moment, and Nick leant his arms on the table, deliberately looking at the celebration.

"Did you hear?" he asked without turning. "Ally thinks they've worked out why Connor was killed."

"No."

"Apparently the guy they arrested is involved with a local drug gang."

"Right?"

"Ally reckons that the drug gang had him killed so he couldn't squeal on them as part of a deal."

"Was that likely?"

"I don't know. It doesn't matter really, does it?"

"I guess not."

"I figured that might have cheered you up a bit," he said, turning to face her. "I'm afraid, though, I don't have a magic trick for you like I did for Bri. We considered that Elspeth might be here with Bri for support. Or that El might be here herself. Ally thinks she has a bit of an ugly duckling complex around the rest of you."

"Elspeth? I don't think she's that worried about it, to be honest," Hope assured him.

"Apparently not," he acknowledged. "So why's Hope not joining in the celebrations?"

"I'm just ... Realising the consequences of some of my choices, I guess," she said. "I mean I'd not change them. On balance I'm happy with the way things are. But..."

She trailed off and looked up at him as his eyes narrowed in thought for a moment.

"No, you've lost me I'm afraid," he admitted. "What's the problem?"

"Marcus and I."

"That's a problem?"

"No. And Shawna."

"She's a problem?"

"Not in herself, just ... just what she represents." She pointed across at the table as the picture of the dress was passed around.

"As a bridesmaid?"

"As a bride."

"As ... ah. You think Marcus will ask Shawna first?"

"No, I think if it came to it, he'd ask us both, but you can't do that. You can't marry two people."

"I've not looked into it. I think some places do it, don't they? Muslims can I think. Muslim men, anyway, I'm not sure about women."

"That's not ... Even that doesn't work. I don't want to marry Marcus as Shawna's expense."

"I don't think Shawna's that worried about getting married," Nick offered. "She's never struck me as being particularly religious or hung on formalities."

"Every little girl dreams of her wedding, Nick, trust me. I don't just mean like that, though ... I don't want to put Marcus before Shawna and marrying him would do that."

"You're worried that any two of you getting married would create an imbalance?"

"I suppose, yeah. Even if ... even if we managed to get three partnerships or whatever, it still doesn't really represent us. We're not three couples, we're ... we're us. We're all in it together."

"So you're over here mourning the death of your wedding dreams then."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to drag the day down."

"That's OK. You feel how you feel. I'm sorry it's brought you down, for what it's worth. Can you enjoy the wedding anyway, do you think?"

"Don't be silly. Of course I'll enjoy the wedding." She smiled genuinely. "I'll get over it. Don't worry."

"Do you really want to get married that much?"

"It's ... I've always expected to get married some day. I guess I realised it wasn't going to happen when I got together with Marcus and Shawna, but it's only really hit me today."

"Well, if you want it that much, don't give up."

"What's the point of..." she began, but Nick cut her off again.

"Don't ever, ever give up. You'll regret it." Leaving that admonishment, he rose from the table and offered her his hand.

"Come on. They're going to notice that you're not jumping and squealing and generally acting like an idiot if you hang around here."

"How on Earth did someone with no understanding of romance manage to get her to say yes in the first place?" She laughed, taking the offered hand.

"I must have just caught her on a manic day."

"Just ask him," Tony suggested with a shrug. "I mean it's not like he's not used to you just coming out and saying stuff. Right?"

"He'll see that I know what I'm asking isn't socially acceptable though," Marcus argued, pacing back and forth across the small section of the backstage that they'd been assigned. "I'm not good at hiding that sort of thing."

"Ask him over the phone?"

"It's in the tone of voice as well as the expression."

"How about you hang around back here," Nick said, interrupting, "and fret about it whilst your friends do your dirty work for you."

They both turned towards the door where Nick stood, leaning against the doorframe with a knowing smirk.

"What did they ask you?" Marcus asked.

"What else would they ask?" Tony laughed. "They obviously..."

Marcus cut him off with a wave, not taking his eyes off Nick.

"Don't be so sure," Marcus said. "They could have asked him if they were allowed ice cream, and he'll play ignorant until you've already dug yourself a hole. He's done it to me before."

"It used to work, too," Nick observed, coming further in. Behind him the door didn't quite swing shut, and Marcus caught a brief, blurry reflection of figures hiding just out of sight around the corner.

"Well, not any more," Marcus managed a rueful smile. "A victim of your own success, I'm afraid."

"Shall I make it easy on you?" Nick asked, gesturing towards the last seat.

Marcus waved for him to sit.

"Yvonne mustered up Shawna and Hope to come and ask me if I was considering asking you to be my best man."

"I'm sorry, Nick," Marcus said. "I already told them that we'd had this conversation."

"And they told me, which I already knew, that we had that conversation a long, long time ago. You've changed a lot since then."

"You were going to ask me again?"

"I was," Nick nodded.

"I've already told Ally that I'll give her away."

"I know," Nick nodded.

"It's not that I didn't want to be best man," Marcus blurted, taking a step closer. His fingers twitched as he tried to find something to do with them. "It's just that I'd have messed up the speech, and ruined it, and ... I do appreciate your asking.

"Really."

"If you can give the father of the bride's speech," Tony asked with a confused frown, "why can't you give the best man's?"

"What?" Marcus turned to look at Tony.

"Have you ever been to a wedding?" Tony asked.

Marcus shook his head with a shrug.