‘Well, yes! Of course. I mean, not yes I mind, no I don’t mind but yes to the question.’ She stopped, held up her hands. ‘Yes, Arthur Wood. I would like nothing more than to marry you. As soon as possible.’
40
The midsummer sun was nestling against the Barn rooftop when Elliot and I finally slipped away from the party. As usual, there’d been numerous hands to assist with the final stages of clearing up and reorganising ready for the day centre tomorrow, so we felt no guilt in ducking back through the Chicken Coop gate and clambering into the hammock where we gently swung, my head resting against Elliot’s chest as we watched the birds swooping across the cornflower sky and Penny nosing about in the flowerbeds lining the garden wall.
For now, it was enough to be together, with many things not yet spoken, but no shameful secrets towering between us. The talking and the figuring out could wait.
Besides, Elliot had missed out on a decade of kisses. I felt it my duty to help him catch up.
That is, until the gate creaked open again and my brother wandered through, Connie a couple of steps behind him.
My initial irritation at being disturbed was soon appeased by the blankets they’d brought, along with a cool bag containing a stash of leftovers. Arthur and Elsa also appeared with a bottle of Prosecco and six glasses.
We lit the Chicken Coop fire pit and cooked the juiciest burgers made from Wendy’s secret recipe, topping them with cheese before squashing them into fluffy brioche buns along with thick slices of beef tomato and fried onions from the Barn vegetable patch.
‘Is Wilf with your parents?’ I asked Connie, once we’d filled our glasses and toasted the newly engaged couple, the newly dating couple and whatever me and Elliot now were.
Connie shifted on the blanket, appearing uncomfortable for the first time since I’d met her.
‘He’s at a sleepover. The school holidays start this week.’
‘At Wodger’s house,’ Isaac added, ‘which isn’t at all awkward.’
‘It’s totally awkward!’ Connie blushed. ‘Martin came round a few days ago with a bunch of flowers. Said he wanted to make his intentions clear, seeing as he now had competition.’
‘What did you say?’ Elsa asked, leaning forwards in interest.
‘I said thank you very much, I’d enjoyed our dates and really appreciated his friendship, but I wasn’t prepared to commit to anything more.’
‘Competition,’ Isaac snorted, producing a glare from me and an arched eyebrow from Connie. ‘I mean,’ he backtracked, realising the mistake. ‘This isn’t medieval times. You aren’t some prize to be won.’
‘Thank you for the clarification.’ Arthur looked pensive. ‘I’d assumed you were making a blatant remark about your superiority to Martin Bradgate.’
Isaac looked smug. ‘I’m sure Martin is the perfect match for someone out there. Just not Connie.’
‘Oh what, and you are?’ Connie asked.
His wink had Connie burying her nose in her wine glass.
‘Will he cope with a strange house?’ I asked, hoping to spare her further embarrassment.
‘He slept there a couple of weeks ago, when we were over for dinner, so he should be okay. I went to help settle him in and Martin will call if there’s a problem.’
The lingering smugness on Isaac’s face vanished at the reminder that this was a first date, with no promise of any commitment following it.
‘Did your parents enjoy the party?’ I asked Elsa, although it was obvious that I was really asking what they thought about the engagement.
‘They did.’ She beamed, her blissful gaze drifting between Arthur and her antique diamond ring. ‘Apart from me getting engaged to a man they’d only just met. They were pretty horrified at that bit.’
‘Oh dear.’ I winced.
‘Don’t worry,’ Arthur said, wrapping his arm around her. ‘I soon won them around. There’s not a human being on the planet who can resist the charms of me dancing to eighties’ soft rock.’
‘It’s true!’ Elsa retorted with a giggle, when we all broke into incredulous laughter. ‘My man has some smooth moves.’ She paused, eyes twinkling. ‘And he had cleaned up and changed into a dry shirt and jeans by then. That pond water reeked. It was understandable my parents weren’t convinced.’
‘Don’t worry, my beloved,’ Arthur said. ‘We’ve got until the end of the year to win them around.’
‘New Year’s Eve,’ Elsa added. ‘Save the date!’
