After the Party (49 page)

“I know, I know. I know that now . . .”

“Yeah. It's just something I need to do, something to control my creativity, something to keep me positive and focused on the important stuff. And that doesn't mean that I expect you to focus on the same things as me. We can be together and still be . . .”

“Different.”

“Yes.” He takes her face in his hands and looks into her eyes. “Yes, we can be different.”

“And together?”

“Yes. And together. All four of us. Because I love you, Jem. I love you more now than I've ever loved you before. And if you choose to be with me now, after what we've been through for
the past twelve months, I'll know, we'll both know, that this is more than just a romantic dream. That this is destiny. And I mean that in the purest, realest, least romantic sense of the word.”

“You mean we're stuck with each other, no matter what?”

Ralph smiles. “That's exactly what I mean.”

Jem puts down her champagne glass and covers Ralph's hands with her own. She looks into his eyes and she sees it there, the same tortured young man who painted peonies for her twelve years ago, laying himself open, showing himself raw, asking her to love him. And she does. She really does.

“Good,” she says. “Thank God.”

And then she kisses him.

J
em walks into the hall and she grips her father's hand. She is wearing a beautiful Vivienne Westwood dress, ruched and pinned in all the right places, decorated with snapdragons and peacocks, and pinned against her décolletage is a single white orchid. She'd felt a shiver of the past as she'd pulled the dress from the back of the wardrobe this morning, taken it from its hanger, smelled the scent of a sad and awful day still lingering in its folds.

“I Want to Stay with You” by Gallagher and Lyle plays through four large speakers, one in each corner of the room. It is a bright, playful song, about long-term love. About wholly unromantic destiny. The song makes her smile. It makes her feel hopeful. That's why they chose it.

It's March 5, a year since Ralph went missing and thirteen years since their first kiss on a blue sofa in a basement flat in Battersea. Outside it is raining. Jem's red silk shoes are splashed with brown water and the sleeve of her father's jacket is wet. But it doesn't matter. Today is a happy day. Today, at last, Jem is marrying Ralph. And not in a dry room in a registry office this time, not with just the bare bones of family to watch them do it, not with the wrong dress on, not with a hangover and not with a sick dread in the pit of her belly. Today she fits her dress, she
is daisy fresh and she knows that she is doing exactly the right thing.

She smiles as she passes the people lining the walkway. There's Karl, big and handsome in a white suit that somehow only Karl could carry off. He gives her a thumbs-up and she returns it. He is no longer her client. He took the five thousand pounds to do his redemptive TV interview, redeemed himself and then retired from the public eye. He does a late-night slot on London Radio now and keeps his face off the telly. He is sitting next to Smith, who arrived on an overnight flight this morning and looks tanned but shell-shocked. Stella, Jarvis and Philippe sit in front of them, Stella's face almost inside out with excitement. Jem waves at her sisters, at her nephews, at her mother, and then at her little boy, who is sitting on her mother's lap. Philippe is here with a very beautiful young woman who looks like she has been carved out of fine marble. There is Gil, tall and fine-looking in a brown suit, and Sarah, wearing a feathered adornment on her head that Jem believes is known as a fascinator. She is with her very tiny husband and another couple from the prayer group, whom Jem doesn't recognize. But they look very nice. Jem has accepted that this group and these people are now a part of Ralph's life and she knows that they are good people. Ralph's dad stands at the front, just behind Ralph. He is the best man and somewhere in his jacket pocket sits a box containing two plain white gold bands. He smiles shyly at Jem and moves so that she can make her way next to his son. The hall is decorated with orchids, white ones.

Ralph had expected Jem to want peonies, but peonies were too fleeting, too showy, too yesterday. The old orchid on the windowsill in their new kitchen is in full bloom again today, she checked it this morning, eight fat blooms. That orchid would never die, because it wanted to live.

At the end of the hall, Jem stops and turns to kiss her daughter, who is wearing last year's bridesmaid dress, a little shorter in the leg, a little tighter around the armholes, but still the only dress she'd had any interest in wearing today. “But I have to wear that dress,” she said, “it's the dress for your wedding.”

Scarlett slides onto a chair next to Jem's mother and her little brother and then Jem reaches the side of her husband-to-be. Ralph looks beautiful. He is in his Dolce & Gabbana suit, the suit he'd bought for his party in Philippe's gallery thirteen years ago today. It still fits him and if anything, it fits him better. He holds his hand out for her. She looks at him. He looks at her. She wants to cry. She takes his hand. The song comes to an end and silence falls across the room.

The wedding begins.

LISA JEWELL

A Readers Club Guide

Eleven years ago, Jem Catterick and Ralph McLeary fell deeply in love. They thought it would be forever, that they'd found their happy ending. As everyone agreed, they were the perfect couple. Then two became four, an apartment became a house. Romantic nights out became sleepless nights in. And they soon found that life wasn't quite so simple anymore. But through it all, Jem and Ralph still loved each other, of course they did.

Now Jem is back at work part-time as a talent agent. Now Ralph, a successful painter, is struggling to come up with new, hopefully groundbreaking, work for his upcoming show. Now the unimaginable has happened. Two people who were so right together are starting to drift apart. And in the chaos of family life, Jem feels as if she's losing herself, while Ralph, stuck on the sidelines, feels as if he's lost his muse altogether. Something has to change. As they try to find a way back to each other, back to what they once had, they both become momentarily distracted—but maybe it's not too late to recapture happily ever after.

1. Lisa Jewell tells her story from each of her main characters' points of view. Did you find yourself relating more to one character than the other? Explain your answer using examples from the story.

2. 
After the Party
takes place in an up-and-coming London neighborhood, yet the themes and characters are universal. Do you think the English setting gave a different flavor to the book? Can you envision the story in New York City or Chicago? How does setting change the reading experience for you, if at all?

3. This is a novel full of transformations. Ralph, for instance, goes from rejecting organized religion to attending a prayer group. Identify other examples of transformation in the book and discuss.

4. Ralph feels neglected by Jem, as she's always too busy with the children and household duties. Jem feels ignored by Ralph, as he's always too busy painting in his studio to help out with the kids or chores. Do you feel that both Jem and Ralph are contributing to the problem by neglecting the other—Ralph being too busy for Jem and Jem being too tired for Ralph—or do you think one is more to blame than the other? Would you say their situation is typical of most modern marriages?

5. What do you believe Ralph expected to find when he went to California? Why do you think Jem so easily agreed to his trip when she was already feeling overwhelmed? Did the time apart give each of them what they expected? Why or why not?

6. On the topic of infidelity, what did you think about Jem inviting Joel over for curry and beer on her last “single” evening before Ralph's return? Did you feel the same or differently about the kiss between Ralph and Rosey during their night of Christian rock music and drinking? Compare and contrast the two situations as you share your opinion.

7. Jem feels that men categorize her into a group: Ralph's “you mums” and Joel's “yummy mummys.” Which do you think upsets her the most, and why? Which would upset you more in her situation? How does this fit in with society's vision of modern motherhood?

8. Jem and Ralph don't see eye to eye when Jem finds out she's pregnant. At first, Ralph tells Jem that it's her decision and he'll go with what she wants to do. Then he has a change of heart. Imagine you're a close friend of the couple. What would you advise?

9. What does Ralph do when he finds the text messages and voice messages from Joel on Jem's phone? Do you think he handles the situation well? Why or why not? Placed in the same situation, would you have handled it differently?

10. After Ralph disappears to a studio where he paints a collection portraying Jem's past year, he summarizes their relationship by saying:
“We are about
us
. Just . . .
us
”
. What do you think he means?

1. The final word in the novel is
begins
. Imagine what you think will happen next. After marriage, will Jem and Ralph fall back into their rut of routine and discontent? Or has something changed in each of them now that they've tasted life without the other? Imagine your own new beginning for Jem and Ralph and share it with your book club.

2. Jem and Ralph's love for each other is intensified when surrounded by his artwork. Try attending a local art show or visit a gallery. Does being surrounded by art enhance your mood or open you to love? If you can, visit with someone you love. Does being with this person change your experience of the artwork?

3. Lisa Jewell has written a number of popular books. If you've read some of them, discuss how they are alike and different from this one. Take some time to visit and browse the author's website at www.lisa-jewell.co.uk.