Forked Roads Back

76 - TESSA

"EARTH TO TESSA!"

I suddenly crash back down to earth to the sound of clicking fingers, along with Charlotte looking at me weirdly.

I turn my head towards my best friend, hoping I hadn't been spiralling down a rabbit hole for too long.

"How long was I out?" I ask, covering myself with a joke.

"I'm pretty sure I've been monologuing for nearly an hour," she laughs, clearly not taking my not paying attention personally.

I giggle with her, but then her face goes serious as she says, "I know you have a lot on your mind, but can you please not daydream too much today? I need you."

"I promise, that's the last of it." I shout inwardly at my thoughts, trying to make sure they keep themselves together because she had a point.

Today I am conducting a very important Maid of Honour task, in helping her pick out a wedding cake flavour. It was supposed to be Danny doint this, but Charlotte rang me in a frenzy yesterday, asking to take his place, as he now had to be at one of their sites all day. It seemed like an emergency, otherwise Danny wouldn't have gone, but I agreed wholeheartedly, not wanting to let her down. Plus, who would turn down a day of eating delicious cakes?

The answer to that is simple: no one.

"How many cakes are we trying today?" I ask her.

"Let me answer that question with another question."

I laugh as she gets a devious grin on her face. It means we'll be eating a lot of cake today, and that I'll probably be three stone heavier by the end of the day. Worth it.

"Have you had breakfast?"

I frown, smirking. "Nope."

"Good," she nods. "Because this will probably be your breakfast, lunch, and probably dinner too." She giggles. "They've even got packs of free samples for us to bring home as well."

"Christ, how many cakes have you booked then?" Now I am terrified.

"Booked?" she laughs harder.

"I don't know what you call it!"

She shakes her head. "You are useless. Are you saying you haven't even started thinking about yours?" She jokes. "After all those tips I gave you!"

I tut as I turn my head away, but I can't take offence, because it's true.

Right now, Jamie and I can't decide on anything we want for our wedding. We've decided a date, and a venue at least, but everything else is currently to play for. It's all because Jamie let his mum take over, and our small wedding of no more than sixty has now turned into a two-hundred guest affair. Thanks to Lizzie, our guest list was now half-filled with people Jamie and I didn't even know. Everything now feels like a chore to decide, and it ends in either an argument, or one of us just giving up, telling the other to choose. It's frustrating to say the least.

"Tess, have you even booked anything yet?"

I turn back to her and smile. "Yes. Date and venue."

She laughs. "Well, at least you have the important ones." She takes my hand. "But seriously, how much else have you booked?"

I groan and drop my head back onto the headrest.

"I'll take that as an 'I haven't booked anything' groan."

"Char, it's not funny. We can't book anything because we can't seem to agree on anything, or Jamie's too bloody busy at work to help me make a decision." My temper is starting to fray. "He tells me to make the decisions, but then I want to choose it all together. Oh, and with him buying that stupid flat, it's even worse because I now barely see him."