Walking out of the stone villa, the heat hit me like bricks; now even more sultry, the sky was turning dark, like a shadow had crossed the sun. The air was heavy, and it occurred to me that we might be in for a thunderstorm as I approached the tight little group gathered around this new stranger.
Violet was jumping up and down excitedly, which was what the kids all did when Uncle Jamie was around. But it wasn’t just general excitement and a family welcome, they were all focussing on something in the girl’s hand. When Violet saw me, she broke free from the group and grabbed me by the elbow, urging me to ‘Come and see Uncle Jamie!’
I fixed my smile and, suddenly feeling shy, allowed Violet to pull me between Dan and Bob into the circle. I felt a bit like the odd one out, everyone already knew her name and why she was here – except me.
Jamie was looking at me with a stupid grin, clearly proud to have snagged an even younger, even more beautiful woman than usual. So proud in fact, he had his arm around her shoulder, which I felt was rather territorial for him, and thought he must be quite keen on this one. But then he was always keen on them to begin with.
‘Hello,’ I said, smiling at her, waiting to be introduced.
She gave me a little wave with just her fingers.
‘This is Clare… Dan’s wife,’ Jamie said as I got closer. They were both so tall, like models, making me feel very short.
‘Clare,’ she said, white teeth, dazzling, open smile.
She really was stunning and unless that maxi dress hid the secret of unshaved legs, I suspected this woman was completely without physical flaws.
‘This is Ella,’ I heard someone say. I think it was Jamie, or Dan.
‘Ella, how lovely to meet you,’ I said, and before I could add anything she came in, with firm, gym-honed arms open wide, for a hug. This took me by surprise; she was confident for someone so young, and among all these strangers too.
I opened my arms clumsily and we did an awkward hug – the awkward was all me.
‘So, welcome to the family, Ella,’ Dan said, and I wished he wouldn’t come on all son-and-heir – we weren’t bloody royalty. I found it a little cringey the way Dan sometimes took on his mother’s delusions of grandeur.
Ella smiled sweetly – gosh, she was so pretty.
‘I just wish you’d told us,’ Joy said, unable to hide her irritation, the initial warmth fading slightly. Her lips were slightly locked, and the stance was pure self-protection. ‘We’d have loved to be at our son’s wedding, wouldn’t we, Bob?’ she said pointedly.
Bob nodded, and looked slightly confused, but not as confused as me. In a couple of seconds, I managed to process what Joy had just said, looking from Jamie to Ella, to her left hand.
And there it was – a platinum ring. That’s what they’d all been admiring as I’d watched from the window. The others hadn’t been looking at something in her hand, it was something on her hand.
‘Wedding?’ was all I managed to say. This wasn’t Jamie’s latest pretty girlfriend, to be replaced by someone prettier next time. This was his wife.
‘Yes, these two ran off and got married – yesterday! They were in Italy already and didn’t even tell us,’ Joy said, accusingly. She masked this in faux annoyance, but it was real. I could only imagine how she felt having been robbed of one of her son’s weddings. Not only was she not present on the big day, but she hadn’t had the chance to stage-manage the event – and worse still, no opportunity to vet her new daughter-in-law.
‘Sorry, Mum, but when you know, you know. I also knew if I didn’t grab her, someone else would.’ He looked at Ella and she positively cooed. ‘I mean look at her.’ There was an awkward silence as the two of them stared at each other like no one else was there.
‘So where did you meet? We need to hear all about it,’ Joy said, linking her arm through her son’s and walking him slowly across the gravel, away from Ella – taking ownership back. The past shimmered through me. I was remembering how Joy had done the same with me and Dan.
‘We met a while ago, in Manchester actually,’ I heard him say. ‘We bumped into each other in a bar. I fell in love in the first five seconds. It took her a little longer.’
‘An hour!’ Ella laughed from behind them, a reminder to him that she was still there.
Jamie gently pulled away from Joy and turned back to his new bride. ‘Anyway, we were both planning to head off to India, and I suggested we go together.’
‘Not like you,’ Joy said pointedly. I detected a flash of anger in her eyes at his abandonment of her. ‘Jamie usually likes to travel alone, don’t you, darling?’ she continued, addressing them both.
‘Not any more.’ Ella beamed, and I wondered if perhaps Joy might have met her match.
‘Yeah, I knew I couldn’t live without her so I asked her to marry me and when she said yes we headed for Italy to get married… and also to meet up with you guys,’ he said, like his family were an afterthought.
‘I always wanted to get married in Positano.’ Ella glanced dreamily at her new husband.
‘Oh, I wish you’d waited so we could all be there, Jamie,’ Joy sighed, with a sad, loving look at her son.
‘Sorry, Mum, we just wanted to get it done.’
Ella nodded enthusiastically at his side.
‘So how did you sort it all so quickly?’ Dan asked, as he manhandled Alfie, who’d suddenly gone shy and was swinging from his dad’s leg. ‘Must have been one hell of a rush to get it all done in time,’ he continued, always the practical one. Dan didn’t see the mad urgency of love, just the problems of planning a wedding in a short time in a different country.
‘Easier than you’d think,’ Jamie said. ‘Just a case of getting the right papers and knowing what to do. Turns out my new wife isn’t just a pretty face, and within a few days we’d signed the forms and booked the wedding.’
‘We wanted to have a quiet wedding, just us…’ Ella added, looking at Joy, who raised an eyebrow before softening this with a smile. A rather stiff one.
‘I didn’t want to hang around and let this one get away,’ Jamie said, for once oblivious to his mother’s disapproval. He didn’t see anyone but his new wife. He was smiling at her, lost in her eyes.
‘Of course, of course.’ Joy was rallying in the face of all this. ‘We can always do something for family and friends when we’re back home, perhaps the golf club?’ She looked at Bob, who shrugged.
I was sure the very reason Jamie and Ella had eloped was to avoid places like ‘the golf club’. With its wooden tables and beige buffets, it wasn’t exactly Instagrammable. No, these two were made to marry in the glamour and beauty of the Italian Coast.
‘Oh Jamie,’ Joy sighed again. She seemed flustered, no doubt torn between delight at her son’s arrival and panic at the fact he’d just introduced a complete stranger as his wife. ‘I just wish you’d mentioned it. I didn’t even know you would be bringing… anyone.’
‘It doesn’t matter, we’re all together now, and you’ve got ten days to get to know Ella and for her to get to know you.’ Everything was always so simple and straightforward to Jamie, he just saw what he wanted and took it without ever having to consider anyone else.