‘Maybe you actually did, as it goes.’
‘Hmm, maybe that’s why I love it there. There’s something about it I can’t put my finger on.’
‘Shame you didn’t love it enough to buy it.’
‘I wasnevergoing to buy it. For a start, I don’t have that sort of money.’
Birdie nodded. ‘There are ways and means.’
‘Ha, yeah, not enough of them. No, I’ll just hopefully have a wedding party there.’
‘It is gorgeous when the sun’s out, I’ll give it that. It'll make for a stunning backdrop. Jill's always been a fan of making the hotel a part of the community's happy memories, so I can’t see there’ll be any problem from her side.’
Nina smiled. ‘Exactly. After everything that's happened, it feels right to start married life there.’
‘If there is one thing I know, Lovely Bay has a way of making things come together just right, so it should work out well.’
‘I hope so, I really do.’
19
From the podium, Nina looked over at her mum, her sister, Nancy, and Sophie. Sophie had a smile on her face, Nancy was chatting to one of the assistants, her mum nodded, and her sister was happily knocking back the free champagne. Nina was not happy. That was putting it mildly. She’d not fancied the high-end wedding dress shop in the first place, but her mum, as ever, had been absolutely insistent. Sophie had been too, really. Her sister had been positive, always a first, so Nina had just gone along with it. Now, after having tried on what felt like every possible wedding dress known to man and with no sight of the end, she’d had enough.
She slumped her arms in front of her as the assistant fussed with the bottom of the dress and then snapped a huge bulldog clip in the back. ‘This is nice. Yes, it looks good. How does it feel?’
Nina looked in the gigantic gilt-edged mirror, and a flash of her first wedding came to mind. Andrew’s happy, beaming face was right in front of her. She hated it when that happened. It was like a strange whack of grief but now nowhere near as potent as it once had been but still horrid. She shoved it away, smiled widely, and tried to sound both polite and interested. She sowasn’t interested. She was also losing the will to remain polite. ‘Mmm, no, I don’t think so. Thanks for trying.’
‘I’ll be back.’ The assistant, head to toe in black, didn’t seem in the least perturbed. She had the unenviable job of dealing with the ups and downs of brides all day long.Possibly the worst job ever,Nina thought as she looked around as the assistant walked away.
The thing was, Nina abhorred the whole affair. First of all, she felt a hundred years old compared to the young women beside her. Secondly, clearly, and little had she known, nowadays people got ready for their wedding dress shopping as if that in itself was an occasion and needed an outfit. She’d so not been aware or ready for that. She’d shoved on black chino pants and a fairly nice top and called it a day. When they’d first arrived, she’d immediately known she wasn’t dressed correctly. She’d also very quickly ascertained that the shop wasn’t for her. One of the other customers whose appointment was at the same time had rushed up to her and asked her if she would consent to being on the video she would be uploading to TikTok. The woman had clearly just come from a make-up artist; her hair was beautifully blow-dried and complete with long, lush curls, and her entourage’s outfits coordinated, all of it a neutral, bland, minimalist ribbed beige.
Nina and her party were definitely not coordinated in any shape or form. Nor was she done up; her hair was shoved up in a bun, and she’d done her make-up in the car.
Then there was the shop itself. Ultra-expensive, hyper-gleaming, shiny to within an inch of its life. She grimaced at the long, sleek black side tables with the too-green faux plants in fake grey paper pots, the vomit-inducing grey shiny floor, the assistants in grey or black knit dresses, and the grey rugs. Everything grey and black and fake.
Nina kept a smile on her face for the sake of her mum and sucked it up. It seemed as if everyone else was having a whale of a time. Maybe Soph would tell her the truth when they got home. Her mum had booked the whole day, including lunch, and had been really looking forward to it. Nina felt as if she’d ratherdoanything andbeanywhere else. Her frustration simmered beneath the surface as she watched the assistant disappear into the sea of white and ivory backed by grey, her steps muffled by the grey floor that did nothing to soften Nina's growing disdain for the entire process. She turned slightly, catching her reflection; the dress lookedhorrendous. Rather than the bridal gown of her dreams, as the shop liked to call itself, she looked ridiculous. The huge clumpy black clip at the back, meant to simulate the perfect fit, looked as out of place as she felt.
Her mum clapped her hands together. ‘Yes, I like this one! What do you think? Like it? I think it’s the best one yet. How does it feel?’
Nina managed a half-smile. ‘Umm, not sure. Yeah, I don’t know. Thanks, Mum.’
Nina caught Sophie's eye through the reflection in the mirror. Sophie did a little thumbs-up and eyebrow raise. Nina could tell there was an unspoken understanding between them that this was perhaps not what Nina had envisioned. Her sister, meanwhile, seemed to be in a world of her own, the champagne evidently more appealing than either the dresses or how Nina looked in them. Her sister’s laughter was a bit too loud, a bit too forced, and she’d told just about the whole room how nice the free bubbles were.
Nina turned away from the mirror and looked at the dresses that lined the walls – each one more elaborate and expensive than the last. The assistant returned, her arms laden with yet another selection of gowns, each one promising to be "the one".
As Nina reluctantly stepped out of the current dress and into another, her mind wandered to the conversation that had started the whole wildflowers at The Summer Hotel thing. Nancy had coined it: simple and elegant. When she’d been strolling in the marshes with Nancy and later talking it through with Robby, she’d envisioned a ceremony surrounded by the people who mattered most and not much else. Not all the malarkey she now found herself partaking in. Mostly, she just wanted to seal the deal with Robby and get on with it.
In the little dream in her head, there had been nothing of the pretence and pomp of what she was witnessing in the high-end bridal boutique. Despite how she felt, the show continued to go on, but with each dress she tried on, Nina felt further removed from herself and the essence of what she wanted. It wasn't about the dress, flowers or the cars or white tulle or satin. She’d already done that the first time around. It hadn’t ended well.
Part of her wanted to just run away and get married, just her and Robby. She knew one thing for sure: she wouldn’t be finding a dress in the grey and black bridal boutique anytime soon. There really was no doubt about that.
20
Nina strolled down the pavement alongside Robby. He took her hand, squeezed it, and watched as the riverboat approached. The just-about-there moon reflected off the water, little lanterns swayed back and forth in the breeze, and fairy lights twinkled around the top of the boat. The engine hummed, water splashed against the jetty, and a couple of people chatted as they sat on the bench at the end, waiting for the riverboat to arrive.
Once on, Nina took a seat at the front of the boat, pulled her bag around to the front, put her phone away, and just sat for a while, not saying anything and taking in the scene around her. It was a warm evening, the light was just right, and Nina and Robby were on their way to a secret chowder event. Life had been worse.
As the riverboat chugged in the direction of where The Summer Hotel was located, Nina smiled and turned to Robby. ‘So, I've finally been invited to one of the most prestigious events in Lovely Bay,’ she chuckled. ‘It’s taken long enough.’
