Grind turns out to be one of these trendy places that have turned coffee into an art form. The barista shakes his head condescendingly when I ask if they do hot chocolate. Izzy takes charge, ordering two flat whites while I lean against the wall, letting the smell of beans fill my lungs. It reminds me of my mum and her five-a-day habit. She would not have approved of this café, I think, looking at the men with man buns and designer stubble serving coffees in glasses. I swallow. It’s been fifteen years but some days the loss feels so sharp it’s like it happened yesterday.
‘Ready?’ Izzy’s voice breaks in. She’s holding a cardboard tray with three paper cups jammed into it. ‘I thought about getting you a mocha but I figured if you’ve managed to avoid getting hooked on coffee this long, why start now? I got Ed a flat white as well though.’
‘Thanks.’ Luckily, I wasn’t that thirsty anyway.
‘Figure I’ve got to keep him on side now that he’s going to be a permanent fixture. Speaking of which, have you guys started making plans?’
‘Iz, we’ve been engaged for less than twenty-four hours.’ I don’t mention I’ve already bought two wedding magazines.
‘It’s never too early,’ she says. ‘And I know it’s going to be tricky planning it without your mum. So if there’s anything I can do to help, I will.’
‘Thanks.’ I can feel a lump mushrooming at the back of my throat. Mum was never that convinced about Izzy. She thought our relationship had a toxic element to it (show me a teenage friendship that doesn’t), but I’m sure if she saw us now she’d be glad we’ve stayed in each other’s lives. I tuck the thought away. Thinking about Mum will only make me upset. ‘We’d better get a move on or those coffees will get cold.’
9.51 a.m.
‘Well done, you.’ Izzy is already hugging Ed by the time I reach the bandstand. She started power walking as soon as we hit the common. I lean down and scratch Missy’s long ears. She sniffs my hand to see if I’m carrying any treats then gives a disgruntled snort and lumbers off to investigate the bag of pastries. My brother, Rob, says she’s more of a portable dustbin than a dog, but I love her. I let her go and pass Tilly her sticker book. The force of her hug nearly knocks me over. I ruffle her hair and tell her it’s no big deal but really I’m chuffed.
‘Let’s have a toast.’ Rich starts handing out the plastic flutes of champagne.
‘Toast. Toast and jam and jam and toast,’ Tilly sings, the wind snatching her words away as we raise our glasses.
‘To the wonderful Bec.’ Rich inclines his glass towards me. ‘And to Ed, the man lucky enough to spend the rest of his life with her. Well done for pulling it off, mate.’
The plastic glasses snap as we tap them together. Ed clears his throat.
‘Thanks for that,’ he says. ‘But we all know I couldn’t have done it without a little help. I’d like to raise a toast to the other lovely lady in our company today. To Izzy.’
Izzy blushes and looks at the floor.
‘Yes. Thank you for introducing us.’ I nudge my glass against hers. ‘And thanks to Rich for going AWOL at that dinner so that I got the chance to be your plus one.’ I smile, remembering how Ed caught the seating plan after I nearly knocked it off its easel as soon as I arrived. ‘Basic risk assessment,’ he’d said with a chuckle, before swiping drinks off a passing waiter. I’d just had my heart broken by a sports journalist I’d been obsessing about for months but Ed made me smile. The rest, as they say, is history.
‘We wouldn’t be here without you guys.’ I move closer to Ed and he wraps an arm around me.
‘That’s not all we’ve got to thank her for.’
‘What do you mean?’
Izzy’s face starts to look a bit strained. She’s obviously worried about stealing my thunder. I smile to try and communicate that I’m more than happy to share it.
‘Well when I decided to make an honest woman of you I knew I needed a partner in crime, so I went straight to Izzy. I swore her to secrecy and she gave me all sorts of advice. She even helped choose the ring.’
Ed’s grinning like he’s won a prize but I stare at Izzy, who is still gazing intently at the floor. ‘When I told you this morning you pretended to have no idea.’
The corners of Ed’s mouth start to fold in on themselves. ‘Darling, I’m afraid I made her promise. I hope you’re not upset. I just wanted to get it right.’
‘Why don’t you help me give this a push, mate?’ Rich nudges Ed towards where Tilly’s discarded her scooter. ‘Come on, Tills, let’s see if we can really make you fly.’
Izzy waits until they’re a safe distance away then says: ‘I didn’t want to spoil it for you.’ She stares at me, eyes wide like a Disney princess. ‘Besides, I had no idea how he was going to do it or when exactly. So really it was a surprise, if you think about it.’
‘I feel like an idiot banging on like it was some massive bombshell when you knew all along.’
‘I didn’t want to spoil your moment. If you think about it, Ed put me in quite a difficult position. I could hardly say anything, could I?’
‘I guess not,’ I say doubtfully. My whole engagement now feels like a loop I was left out of.
‘I wanted to make sure you got a decent ring.’ She glances over her shoulder to check Rich is out of earshot. ‘Not a hand-me-down like mine.’
I think Izzy’s engagement ring – an antique square sapphire flanked by diamonds – is stunning, but I know she prefers her wedding and eternity bands.
‘Did I do good?’ Izzy looks like Tilly when she’s done something she’s really proud of. ‘Do you like it?’
I look at the ring on my finger. The diamond blazes back at me. I always thought that if Ed ever got round to it, he’d choose something smaller, quirkier. This is so big I’m going to struggle to use a keyboard when I go in to work on Monday.
‘I do… except…’
‘What?’
‘I keep waiting for the Titanic to call and say it wants its iceberg back.’
A cloud scuds across the sky and casts a shadow across Izzy’s face and I worry I’ve offended her. Before I can check, Rich and Ed amble back around, Tilly and Missy sandwiched between them.
‘So now Ed’s finally popped the question –’ Izzy claps her hands ‘– we want to throw you an engagement party.’
‘We can’t let you do that,’ Ed says. ‘It’s too generous.’
‘We don’t need to make a big deal of it,’ I agree. Rob’s the party animal in our family. Large rooms full of people I don’t know stress me out.
‘Don’t be ridiculous. You know I love a party. We can have it at our place,’ Izzy starts ticking things off on her fingers. ‘If we get a move on, we can get it in before Christmas. It’ll be Christmas-themed so we can save on the decorations. Oh, it’ll be so much fun. Ed, Bec, can you get me the email addresses of the people you want to invite by the end of the weekend? That way I can get cracking.’
‘You must let us cover the booze,’ Ed replies. ‘To thank you for the gesture.’