Oh no. He was coming to sit next to me.Pull yourself together, Faith!
‘How are you, ladies? Having a good time so far?’ Dylan pulled out Hester’s chair for her, then sat down. ‘You’ve done an amazing job. The place looks incredible.’
He looked round the table with a smile, then turned in my direction. ‘Hi, I’m?—’
He stopped, his turn to stare. ‘Faith? Wow. Your hair. I didn’t even realise it was you.’
I pulled a face. ‘Well, that was sort of the plan.’
He studied me for another minute before nodding. ‘How are you doing?’
‘Okay. Perry’s taking care of me. I’m fine.’ I couldn’t look at him.
‘Right.’
Throughout the whole of the meal, I concentrated on making conversation with Marilyn, on my other side, and the rest of the table. Dylan, too, made no attempt to speak directly to me again. And yet. All I could think about was him. His arm, only a few inches away from mine. His beautiful face, that I carefully positioned just outside my field of vision. Sometimes, when hemoved his hand to accompany an anecdote, I caught his scent, the usual pine and leather overlaid with a hint of aftershave.
I wondered if this was still the teenage crush I had never had. One last (and first) hurrah before I committed to a lifetime of comfortable, steady, safe.
Or was it more? Was this what falling in love felt like? Had these past few months of choir, and letting go and breathing out, of gradually, like a flower bud, opening up to this new life of friendship and fun and acceptance, had it produced the unexpected – and totally unwanted – side effect of repairing my heart to the point where it could fall in love?
If so, why had I gone and fallen for the wrong person?
And if he was the wrong person, why was being near him the only time everything seemed right?
And what on earth was I going to do about it?
April and Sam arrived moments before we were due to sing. Not yet up to a whole big night out, Sam wanted to hear the choir. He planned to stay for half an hour or so, then catch a taxi back with April.
We took our places on the stage at the front of the room. Hester checked our posture, pointing to her face to remind us to smile and giving us a discreet thumbs up before turning to address the crowd.
‘Ladies and gentlemen. May I express my thanks on behalf of the Grace Choir at your being here tonight. I started the choir eighteen months ago with one purpose in mind. To bring together a group of ordinary women and, by teaching them how to create something beautiful and magnificent, I would show them that they, in fact, were beautiful and magnificent.
‘Ladies and gentlemen, as our lovely soloist Rowan would say – epic fail!’ She paused, scanning the room. ‘Not one woman who came to join our group was ordinary. I am ashamed for thinking otherwise. And they have taught me far more than Icould ever teach them. I am proud…’ Hester paused to clear her throat. Almost as if she was holding back tears! ‘I am so very proud to introduce the bravest, strongest, kindest and quite possibly strangest bunch of extraordinary women I have had the pleasure to know. Put your hands together for the Grace Choir!’
At that point, as the ladies and gentlemen put their hands together, Marilyn, standing at the end of the back row, suddenly ran to the front of the stage, elbowing Hester out of the way, and launched herself off the edge.
Sailing through the air, she landed with a skid on the wooden dance floor, before sprinting across the room and into the arms of James.
James caught her, spinning her around a few times before placing her back on the ground, holding her at arm’s length while he took her in.
‘Excuse me,’ he said, looking round at the crowd with mock horror. ‘I seem to have made a terrible mistake. For a moment there, I thought this woman was my wife. It’s been a few months since I’ve seen her. Please don’t take offence.’
‘I’ll take this,’ Marilyn said, wrapping her arms around his neck and giving him an enormous kiss that went on so long, a couple of people wolf-whistled.
They broke off and stood there, foreheads pressed together. I couldn’t catch what James said to his wife as she glowed with health and happiness, but his grin, his tears, his hands firmly planted on her backside said it all.
Hester coughed into the microphone. ‘Shall we continue?’
James stood back to let Marilyn rejoin us on stage.
She shook her head. ‘It’s fine. They can manage without me.’
‘No.’ James frowned. ‘You have to get up there. I want to hear you sing.’
‘Trust me.’ Marilyn smiled. ‘You don’t.’
James looked at Hester for back-up.
