The room can barely contain the roaring laughter combusting inside. The Intern gets up, clears some dishes and cutlery into a neat pile and picks them up. As he heads to the kitchen, he uses his free hand to delicately stroke the back of Isabella's head. He loved every stolen touch, glance and intimate moment.
Isabella's Auntie beams as she watches The Intern leave the room, her smile a mixture of love and relief.
"What?" Isabella asks her, returning a beaming smile of her own.
"He's lovely. I'm just really happy for you."
The Intern starts preparing coffee and listens in.
"So the wedding! One month warning!" Isabella exclaims to move the conversation along. "Outside of your attendance, I wondered if you'd be able to help on a couple of things."
"Of course. You know I will."
"I know." Isabella agrees with a knowing look. "It's little things really. We have people coming in to do heavy lifting tasks like fairy lights, basic table dressing etcetera. What I'd love help with, before we go to my room for fizz and fun at 11, is putting out little pics of us and little favours on the table. Andrea will help too so it won't take long, but I kinda want to make sure we've got those little touches."
"You had me at fizz."
"So I'm making sure you can stand up for the ceremony then..."
"Wahey!" They both laugh.
"Have you agreed on the honeymoon yet?
"Definitely going later. Maybe after Christmas? So I can pack together holiday and have a longer break. We still haven't planned the little mini-moon either." Isabella says acting exasperated.
"Ooh, I really want to go to Croatia. You know after all this time, I've still not got out there." Her Auntie looks wistful.
"Oh you must. I've been, remember. Gorgeous."
"Oh that's right." Isabella's Auntie strains and tightens her eyes as she thinks. "That was with Thame wasn't it?"
"Yeah." Isabella replies after an almost indiscernible pause. A slight sigh. A tell.
"One last thing," she quickly adds. "Only a small thing. Would you do me the honour of walking me down the aisle?"
They both jump up from their chairs, hug and cry.
"Oh, a hundred times yes." Isabella's Auntie kisses her on the cheek and goes for another hug.
The Intern is struck still with rage. Him again in conversation. It jolted him back to the reality of his own plan, the one he'd begun to forget as he fell in love.
YOU ARE READING
The Selfless Gene
FantasyTrapped in a dank cave with only his bestial inner voice for company, Thame has a choice: deny the creature inside and fester forever in darkness, or embrace his shadowy alter ego Ormr once and for all. But what then? Thame has to break free of his...
