Live to Tell (17 page)

“Now that you’ve come back, I want to tell you what we propose,” said Dad. “You remember, I mentioned it this morning before I knew about the trip to the RHA? Right? Well, Marylebone Town Hall is just a stone’s throw from the Hotel Metropole and your Mum and I are planning to stay there after the wedding. I’ve met clients there and I know that they have some private dining rooms. As your mum said last week, you’re saving me a small fortune getting married like this, so the least we would like to do is organise a nice meal for all of us. And as well as that, book you a room.” He looked a bit embarrassed. “You won’t have time for a proper honeymoon, will you? So you could stay the night there as well. Or somewhere else, if you’d rather. I don’t mind where it is.”

I couldn’t think of anything worse than spending our wedding night next door to Mum and Dad, but I realised that they were trying to be helpful and kind. There was a long pause.

“That’s really decent of you, Alan, Mrs Scanlon. I think the meal is a really nice idea. Don’t you?” Danny turned to me and I nodded.

“Oh, good,” smiled Dad.

“Would my best man, Adam, be able to come with us as well?”

This was the first mention of a “best man” and I realised that Danny and I hadn’t discussed any of the practical issues at all. My new cream linen dress and jacket that Mum had insisted on paying for, now hung up in Aidan’s old room. Without her intervention I knew I would have had to manage with something I already had.

“Of course, lad. And who else should we cater for. What about your parents? Would they be willing to join us?”

“No. We’re not inviting them,” said Danny. “No it’s only the four of us, plus Adam and Aunt Jess!”

Mum and Dad exchanged a look of disapproval. I had tried to explain about Danny’s situation but I guessed that they thought he was being immature and would eventually change his mind and welcome them back into his life.

“What about your sister Gwen and her husband,” I butted in. “You could invite them.”

“If I did that they are bound to tell the old folks. No, it’s better this way. I don’t want them there. And thank you for your offer of the room as well. It’s very nice of you. We can have breakfast together the next day, can’t we?”

Dad looked so happy that I didn’t have the heart to raise any objections, but my spirits fell. It was my turn to sit on the floor and I sank back between Danny’s knees. He idly rested his hand on top of my shoulder and I realised that feeling relaxed, there was a real risk that he would forget we had visitors and slide his hand inside my jumper. I was sure that that would really spook my mother.

“Anyone want more tea?” I said and leapt to my feet. “I’ll go and put the kettle on.”

Night had already fallen as we waved them a cheery goodbye, but the minute the door was shut I rounded on Danny.

“What were you thinking of, agreeing to the room in the hotel? I can’t possibly stay next door to my parents. It’s alright for you. You aren’t as involved with them as I am. It’ll be terrible. I shall feel so embarrassed, and you can forget a wedding night. It won’t be a wedding night for you. Believe me! I shall go to bed in a long nightie with a cup of tea!”

“Calm down. It’s a massive hotel and I shall go in there, explain the situation and ask them to put us on a completely different floor to your mum and dad. They won’t bother us. Your dad’s got too much sense for that. He’s a regular bloke at heart. In fact, if it makes you happier, we can go to the hotel tomorrow and explain. God, I’ve heard it said that planning a wedding causes a lot of aggro. It’s a good job it’s not more complicated or we’d be in real trouble.”

In bed we made love and Danny fell asleep, but I was too keyed up to relax. Taking care not to disturb him, I slipped quietly out of the room. Wrapped in my robe, I padded into the sitting room and pulled back the curtains. Although we were on the ground floor we had a magnificent view of the night sky, glowing a burnished copper above a city, still illuminated by a million lights. I thought about the elderly gentleman from whom we sub-rented, and wondered how he could bear to give this up.

With no lights on, the room seemed to merge into the velvet darkness outside and I felt that I belonged here. I didn’t hear Danny come in, but suddenly he was just behind me and took me in his arms.

“Are you OK now,” he murmured, kissing my ear.

I nodded.

“It’s just that when we made love you seemed sort of distant. Then I woke up and I was on my own.”

“I was just tired. Being dragged around the shops by my mother wore me out, especially as I had to be on my guard all day not to say anything about you that she wouldn’t approve of.”

“I’m sorry about this morning. I wanted the ground to swallow me when I saw her and the look on her face.”

“I was terrified that when we got back you would touch me or something and she’d be offended. That’s why I kept making tea.”

“I’ve never drunk so much tea in my life. I did wonder what you were up to. And you’ve never shouted at me before. That was a bit of a shock.”

I hesitated. “Are you sure you want to marry me? You’re not just doing it to get back at the sergeant major, or something, are you? I’d rather know.”

“Of course I’m sure. You know that. I was going to ask you anyway. I’d already cleared it with your dad, remember, just never got round to talking to you. We seemed to have loads of time, forever really. Now that I’m leaving, it’s thrown everything up into the air. In fact, I was worried that I was bouncing
you
into something that you weren’t ready for. I don’t want to be left standing at the altar.”

“I could never do that. I’ve loved you ever since you kissed me for the first time in that disco. I’d never been kissed like that before by anyone. It blew me away.”

“Aah” he replied, “the kiss. I felt I had to make it last as long as possible in case you didn’t let me do it again. Then later, when I left you in the lurch, I thought I’d completely blown it.”

“Oh, Danny! Silly boy, as if.”

I gazed out of the window into the night. “You know, we are lucky having this apartment,” I said, placing my hands over his. “I don’t know anyone else my age who has left home and has a place like this. We’ve got Aidan to thank for it, poor soul. Poor Aidan.”

“You still miss him, don’t you?”

I nodded. “You’re not jealous, are you? There’s no need to be. He was like a little brother to me, even tho’ he was older.”

“Don’t worry, I know what you mean. I felt very protective of him too. Look, a shooting star!”

“Where? I didn’t see it.”

“No, I just hoped there might be, so that we could wish on it.”

“I don’t need a wish. I’ve got everything I need. Anyway facing this way towards the city, the sky’s too bright to see one. It’s so beautiful, isn’t it? What a wonderful night.”

“Yeah. You’re right. When I’m away, I’ll think about this moment, you and the amber sky, and try to keep it a precious secret all for me.”

“Oh, Danny!”

I turned to him and opened my robe, folding it around us both. “Are you still sleepy,” I asked, holding him tight.

“The cold air’s woken me up. But I think we should go back to bed now. We can sleep in tomorrow.”

“Can’t we stay in here tonight? We could sleep on the sofa.”

“If this apartment was higher, on a different floor, that would be fine but anyone could creep up from the street and look in at us. I’m fussy who looks at my bum, especially when it’s bouncing up and down. No, let’s just go back to bed and get warm under the bedclothes. Come on, soon to be Mrs. Powell.”

He started singing quietly to me, “I’m just a lurve machine…”

Last night, our final one as single people, Danny drove home to Mill Hill leaving me to spend the night alone. He reasoned that should my mother discover that he had stayed at the apartment she would be so upset that it would spoil our day, and that he sometimes went home on Wednesdays anyway. Deep down, I knew he was right, but I wanted him so much. He wasn’t sure if he would be allowed to stay with me every night next week even though we would be married. He was hoping to get some marriage leave but it wasn’t guaranteed and, of course, I was supposed to be at college. Dad kindly offered to check my syllabus with a view to instructing me on the items that I had to miss in order to be with Danny during his last few days.

And here we were, Mum, Dad, Aunt Jess and I, just arrived at the imposing red brick facade of Marylebone Town Hall. The Victorian building on the south side of busy Marylebone Road seemed a fitting place from which to start our married life together, and we sat down in the tiled entrance hall to wait for my angel. We had hardly been there a minute when Mum, who was seated opposite the rest of us leapt up. She was wearing a lavender coloured hat with a feather and when she moved it bounced up and down. It started to quiver violently.

“Oh my,” she said. “What a magnificent sight. Wouldn’t they look glorious outside a church?”

At her outburst, the three of us turned round and looked out through the open doors. Danny dressed in a dark blue tunic and Adam dressed in scarlet with black stripes on their trousers and peaked caps, were emerging from a taxi. Danny bounded up the steps to greet us while Adam attended to the fare. The taxi hooted and Danny stopped mid-stride and turned to wave to the driver as he drove off.

Then he came straight to me and leaned forward to kiss me on the mouth, but my mother interceded.

“No. Stop that,” she said. “Later, when it’s all over.”

Adam ran up the steps behind him and paused at the top. We had met several times before and I was pleased that he was here with us today, especially as his car had played such an important part in our courtship.

“Hi, everyone, I’m Adam. You must be Mr. and Mrs. Scanlon and er…” He looked at Aunt Jess. “May I call you Jess?”

She smiled at him. “Of course, you can.”

“My name’s Alan,” said my father “and this is my wife, Sandra.”

“Danny,” I whispered behind their backs. “You didn’t tell me you’d look like this. You’re not supposed to upstage the bride. What are you wearing?”

“It’s my wedding day. We’re wearing our dress uniforms. What else would I wear on my wedding day?” He grinned at me and as Adam distracted my parents, managed to kiss me quickly on the mouth. “I love you,” he said. “You look so beautiful. And what’s this coronet?” He stroked my hair next to the slender gold and pearl coronet I was wearing and placed his mouth close to my ear.

“We went to the hotel to change into our uniforms. The room’s fine. It’s miles away from the others, could almost be in a different building. Don’t worry, we’ll be OK, you’ll see. You just look so… . And where did you get the pearl necklace? I’ve never seen that before.”

“You know that old saying, something borrowed etc? Well this belonged to my grandmother and now Aunt Jess has it, so it’s both borrowed and old.”

“So what’s blue, Mrs. Powell? I can’t see anything.”

“You’ll find out later,” I whispered.

I wanted him like mad and knew from his face that he felt the same way about me. His lips brushed my face again.

Adam left Mum and Dad and came over to us. “Hi, nice to see you again. Do you know that taxi driver wouldn’t take any money? Because he used to be a marine, he said, have it as a wedding present. Wasn’t that nice? You look stunning, by the way. Danny’s such a lucky bloke.” He kissed me on the cheek.

Despite the lack of guests and the sort of paraphernalia most girls think essential for a successful wedding, I felt so happy, and despite risking my mother’s disapproval, squeezed Danny’s hand. Dad pointed his camera at us.

“Er, you three, smile please. Now, Adam, you and Danny on your own. Right now the two of you…”

“Oh, Dad!”

“Don’t say a word,” said Aunt Jess. I want some pictures, too. It’s not every day that my favourite two people get married. And I want a word with you young man when the ceremony’s over.”

Danny pulled a face but I could tell he was really pleased. He never seemed to mind being bossed about by my family.

CHAPTER SEVEN