Greg, hands tucked in his pockets, raised one eyebrow, his eyes fixed on Annie. ‘I’m here to find out what the heck is going on with my wife. And, once that’s straight, to take her home. To be honest, I wasn’t expecting to get an answer before I’d taken off my jacket.’
‘Cooper!’ Mum exclaimed. ‘Why didn’t you take Greg’s lovely jacket and hang it up?’
‘Why don’t you take it, Mamma?’ I suggested, trying to shoo everyone else out of the room. ‘Let’s give Greg and Annie a few minutes to themselves.’
‘But then how will we know what’s happening?’ Mum frowned as we herded her towards the living room. Then she spotted Ben. ‘Benjamin!’ She attempted to whisper. ‘Where’s your camera? You can zoom in, use the fancy microphone and tell us what’s happening.’
Sofia shoved Mum into the room and firmly shut the door behind us. ‘Or, how about we let Annie and Greg tell us what’s happening when they’re ready?’
Mum stuck her hands on her hips, huffing as we settled ourselves down onto the sofas. ‘It’s my house, my kitchen. Maybe I want to go and ask my newly arrived guest if he wants a cup of coffee after his long journey. Or a slice of panna cotta. You daughters are forcing me to be a bad hostess, and a terrible mother-in-law, making Greg feel unwelcome in the family home!’
‘Well, if it’s any consolation, at least you got to see if he’s looking malnourished. And he’s clearly taken some time off work, so you can lay those fears to rest too.’
We sat in silence for a while, listening to the kids squealing and laughing through the window as they piled on top of Moses, Dad snoring faintly in the background.
‘So she did run away,’ Mum said eventually, staring at a spot on the carpet. ‘Because of this baby thing. I tried to teach all you girls that we talk about our problems, no secrets, we work them out together. Antonia would always prefer to hide rather than admit she was wrong. But that Greg. I knew he was the right man for her, wouldn’t put up with her nonsense. Now he’s here, they’ll work it out.’ She looked up, her jaw set. ‘They will. They’ll work it out.’
When, a couple of minutes later, the front door slammed, we all jumped to our feet, expecting to find Annie crying or stomping about in the kitchen. Instead, a moment later the door to the living room opened and Greg shuffled in, his face a picture of hurt and confusion.
‘She ran away.’ He shrugged. ‘Like, literallyranout the door. That was not how I thought this would go down. I had a gift for her and everything.’ He pulled an envelope out of his jacket pocket. ‘Tickets. I finally booked us both a proper holiday. I thought she’d be pleased.’
He looked up at us, shaking his head in bewilderment. ‘Well. This is kind of embarrassing. I guess I’d better book myself a hotel.’
‘Don’t you dare!’ Mum exclaimed, eyes blazing.
‘What? But… my flight home’s not until after the wedding. And I don’t want to leave until I’ve spoken properly to Annie.’
‘A son-in-law of mine, sleeping in a hotel? Emma! Go and put fresh sheets on Orla’s bed. Orla and Sofia always had the best room. It’s got a view right across the meadow, full of spring flowers this time of year,’ she faux-whispered at Greg. ‘And Sofia, Bridget, did I raise you to let your own family stand there without a drink or some dinner after travelling halfway across the world?’ She flapped her hands in disgust. ‘And Gregory, don’t worry about Antonia. She’s going to be on that plane.’
22
Cooper
Cooper spent the following week focussing on being a supportive husband. The pop-up tea shop had metamorphosed into a full-on event, and while on the one hand Emma was pleased that Gabriella had railroaded so many people into buying tickets, the increase in prep required smack in the middle of wedding season was clearly not the easiest timing. Add to that Bridget’s wedding a couple of weeks later, and even Emma’s organisational skills were buckling under the strain.
‘It’s not that I can’t handle the logistics,’ she explained, after arriving home from work past nine o’clock one evening. ‘It’s relying on everyone else to carry them out. In the right order. At the correct speed. And to the required standard.’ She leant back on the sofa, gratefully accepting the mug of lavender tea he’d made her. ‘I mean, how hard can it be to pick up the dresses on Tuesday afternoon? It’s no good replying with, oh, sorry, got held up, I’ll do it tomorrow instead. The shop is closed on Wednesday. And Wednesday we need to go to the wholesaler’s to get the dry ingredients for the afternoon teas and bake a hundred macaroons. There’s a clear system and this whole thing is going to topple like dominoes unless everyone follows it.I’mgoing to topple unless everyone follows it.’
Cooper went and fetched the reheated tacos from the kitchen. He didn’t know what sides Emma liked, so he added a dollop of salsa, guacamole and slaw alongside the black bean filling.
‘Oh, my goodness, I love you,’ she sighed, taking the plate. He didn’t ask whether she was talking about him or the meal.
‘I booked next week off work.’ He took a seat on the other side of the sofa, making sure he wasn’t crowding her as she ate.
‘Oh.’ She looked across, holding her loaded taco in both hands. ‘Was there a particular reason? I mean, did you have plans? Because I’m going to be even busier then.’ She scrunched up her nose. ‘I know we could really do with spending some proper time together, after Sam and everything. But with the wedding so soon, this month is going to be ridiculous. I promise things will settle down afterwards. I mean, we’ll be busy the rest of the summer, but, well, I could probably take off a few days in July… I’m sorry. Am I a terrible wife?’
‘I meant so I could come and help.’
‘Oh!’ Emma put the taco back on her plate and swivelled round to face him. ‘You mean, help in the Cakery?’
‘Or picking up the dresses.’ Cooper nodded at Emma’s wedding planning folder. ‘Folding order-of-service cards. Hanging bunting for the pop-up. Whatever you need. Treat me as an all-round dogsbody.’
‘Cooper. That’s amazing. You really didn’t need to do that.’
‘Well, I have a meeting Monday morning, and should probably check in with a couple of students at some point during the week. Other than that, I’m all yours.’
‘Thank you. That’s… it’s… I…’
Then, to his surprise and consternation, Emma burst into tears.
