boys like we’d just come in from a particularly dull GCSE history revision class. Some love affairs were just destined to last a lifetime. Any friendship forged in the fires of a Take That themed birthday party was in it for the long run.
‘Yeah.’ I held my hand out in front of me, splaying my fingers wide. Before plunging them back into the Monster Munch. As I said, some love affairs were destined to last a lifetime. ‘The boy done good.’
‘He has, he has.’
She stretched her legs out across the bed and looked around the room. Presumably she was as weirded out by the fact that my mother had kept it as a shrine to my difficult teenage years as I was. Why on earth anyone would want to preserve ‘Angela: ages sixteen to eighteen’ was beyond me. At least, she had taken down all the cut-out pages from the
NME
that I’d actually stapled to the wall. It was embarrassing all the same.
‘Any developments on the wedding plans?’ Louisa asked. ‘Anything you need me to do?’
Obviously, after immediately changing my Facebook status from ‘in a relationship’ to ‘engaged’ (I’m not proud), the second thing I did after Alex proposed was to ask Jenny and Louisa to be my bridesmaids. They were my best friends − it made perfect sense. It just didn’t make a lot of logistical sense. Aside from the fact that they lived in entirely different countries, separated by a not insignificant body of water, they were very, very different people. While Jenny was, when sober, desperate to get involved in the spectacle element of the wedding – the dresses, the party, the food − Louisa wanted to know about the chair coverings, the venue, the guest list. I assumed it was experience talking on her part: she knew which parts of wedding planning would drive you insane and she knew you had to prepare for the … unexpected. Cough.
‘I’ve actually been thinking about it a bit more recently,’ I admitted, gnawing thoughtfully on a monster claw. ‘And it’s freaking me out a bit. The idea of a wedding. Of actually walking down an aisle in front of people and doing that whole bit.’
‘That’s only natural,’ Louisa shrugged. ‘I wouldn’t have got through it if it wasn’t for you. It was the best day of my life. Before I had Grace, obviously.’
‘Obviously,’ I agreed.
‘But at the same time, it was absolutely the most stressful. And that was before you hulked out and broke my husband’s hand. If I had to do it again, I wouldn’t go half as crazy. Just small, simple, close friends. Nothing else.’
‘Are you trying to tell me you’re getting divorced?’ I asked through the trauma of finishing my crisps.
‘There are days, babe, there are days,’ she sighed. ‘But no. I’ll stick it out a bit longer.’
As a testament to just how well she knew me, Louise pulled a third bag of Monster Munch out of her handbag. ‘One’s never enough.’
‘Imagine living in a world with no pickled onion crisps of any kind,’ I said, diving in. ‘Actually, imagine living in a world with no salt and vinegar crisps. It’s a wonder to me that America has done as well as it has, honestly. I wouldn’t have made it through university without salt and vinegar Hula Hoops.’
‘You’re the one who wants to live there,’ she replied. ‘These are the choices we make, Angela Clark.’
‘There are a few things that make up for it,’ I acknowledged. ‘Brunch, Buffalo Wings, Combos, Lucky Charms. And, oh God, the pizza.’
‘And there was me thinking you might mention your fiancé.’
‘Well, obviously.’
We sat in silence for a while, inhaling the snacks. It was only when I’d scoffed the entire bag that I realized I hadn’t actually eaten solids since New York. Entirely unnatural. Although my only real food option was my mum’s cooking, so maybe I could stick it out the entire week.
‘So, do you think you’ll ever move back?’ Louisa’s voice was impressively breezy, but I could tell she’d been
‘Yeah.’ I held my hand out in front of me, splaying my fingers wide. Before plunging them back into the Monster Munch. As I said, some love affairs were destined to last a lifetime. ‘The boy done good.’
‘He has, he has.’
She stretched her legs out across the bed and looked around the room. Presumably she was as weirded out by the fact that my mother had kept it as a shrine to my difficult teenage years as I was. Why on earth anyone would want to preserve ‘Angela: ages sixteen to eighteen’ was beyond me. At least, she had taken down all the cut-out pages from the
NME
that I’d actually stapled to the wall. It was embarrassing all the same.
‘Any developments on the wedding plans?’ Louisa asked. ‘Anything you need me to do?’
Obviously, after immediately changing my Facebook status from ‘in a relationship’ to ‘engaged’ (I’m not proud), the second thing I did after Alex proposed was to ask Jenny and Louisa to be my bridesmaids. They were my best friends − it made perfect sense. It just didn’t make a lot of logistical sense. Aside from the fact that they lived in entirely different countries, separated by a not insignificant body of water, they were very, very different people. While Jenny was, when sober, desperate to get involved in the spectacle element of the wedding – the dresses, the party, the food − Louisa wanted to know about the chair coverings, the venue, the guest list. I assumed it was experience talking on her part: she knew which parts of wedding planning would drive you insane and she knew you had to prepare for the … unexpected. Cough.
‘I’ve actually been thinking about it a bit more recently,’ I admitted, gnawing thoughtfully on a monster claw. ‘And it’s freaking me out a bit. The idea of a wedding. Of actually walking down an aisle in front of people and doing that whole bit.’
‘That’s only natural,’ Louisa shrugged. ‘I wouldn’t have got through it if it wasn’t for you. It was the best day of my life. Before I had Grace, obviously.’
‘Obviously,’ I agreed.
‘But at the same time, it was absolutely the most stressful. And that was before you hulked out and broke my husband’s hand. If I had to do it again, I wouldn’t go half as crazy. Just small, simple, close friends. Nothing else.’
‘Are you trying to tell me you’re getting divorced?’ I asked through the trauma of finishing my crisps.
‘There are days, babe, there are days,’ she sighed. ‘But no. I’ll stick it out a bit longer.’
As a testament to just how well she knew me, Louise pulled a third bag of Monster Munch out of her handbag. ‘One’s never enough.’
‘Imagine living in a world with no pickled onion crisps of any kind,’ I said, diving in. ‘Actually, imagine living in a world with no salt and vinegar crisps. It’s a wonder to me that America has done as well as it has, honestly. I wouldn’t have made it through university without salt and vinegar Hula Hoops.’
‘You’re the one who wants to live there,’ she replied. ‘These are the choices we make, Angela Clark.’
‘There are a few things that make up for it,’ I acknowledged. ‘Brunch, Buffalo Wings, Combos, Lucky Charms. And, oh God, the pizza.’
‘And there was me thinking you might mention your fiancé.’
‘Well, obviously.’
We sat in silence for a while, inhaling the snacks. It was only when I’d scoffed the entire bag that I realized I hadn’t actually eaten solids since New York. Entirely unnatural. Although my only real food option was my mum’s cooking, so maybe I could stick it out the entire week.
‘So, do you think you’ll ever move back?’ Louisa’s voice was impressively breezy, but I could tell she’d been
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