All across the room, women stood on raised platforms, inside giant brass birdcages, the fairy lights streaming along the floor, underneath our feet and climbing up the bars of each cage. Rather than standing frozen in place like Jenny had said, the models moved around inside, some sitting on delicate wooden chairs that were woven with springs of holly and blood-red poinsettias, others swaying to the music that filled the room, each one in a different AJB Collection gown. And every one was stunning, the gowns and the women. I knew right away that Al had been involved in the casting. As well as standard issue Sadie Nixon-type knockouts, I saw just as many normal-sized women, draped in AJB’s finest. Tall, short, slender and curvy: every kind of woman was represented and they all looked incredible.
I stared all around the room, taking in one thing then the next, and I couldn’t believe that Amy had created anything so incredible. I was so ridiculously proud of her, I could barely stand it. All I wanted was to knock the guitar player out of his cage, grab his mic and tell everyone, ‘Listen, my best friend did this!’ My best friend had made a dream – a dream I didn’t even know I’d had – come true.
‘This is amazeballs,’ Jenny said, taking a glass of champagne from a passing waiter with a heavily burdened tray. ‘Your friend is killing it.’
‘She is,’ I agreed. ‘I can’t believe she’s never done anything like this before. She’s amazing.’
‘I’ll say,’ she agreed. ‘This is the most impressive event I’ve seen. And I’ve been to a Halloween party at Gwyneth Paltrow’s house.’
Ooh!
‘You have?’
She nodded and screwed up her face. ‘Not nearly as nice as you’d think. Also, I totally saw Sour Patch Kids in her kitchen even though she was only serving fruit snacks. Sugar free, my ass.’
As the room filled up with equally astonished guests, I searched for a face that was familiar because they actually were someone I really knew, instead of someone I’d seen in a movie or posted on someone’s Facebook wall. But Al, Amy and Kekipi were nowhere to be seen.
‘Hey, I have to go say hi to a few people,’ Jenny said, her hand on my bare arm. ‘You OK if I leave you for a few?’
‘Yes, of course,’ I said, waving her away but suddenly feeling very exposed. ‘I’ll be right here.’
‘You don’t have to be,’ she said, smiling. ‘Go mingle. Hell, you look incredible, Tess. Go find a millionaire and marry him. Just make sure you invite me to the wedding.’
‘I’ll do my best,’ I replied, dying to take out my phone and check for messages. But this wasn’t the time. Nick hadn’t been in touch and I’d more or less given up hope that he ever would but that was something to worry about afterwards. Right now, the only thing to do was to find Amy and tell her how amazing she was.
Everywhere I looked there was something new to see and treasure: small, singing birds that couldn’t possibly be real, hidden in the branches of the towering Christmas trees that lined the room but looking as though they would flutter down and sit on your shoulder at any second; tiny, golden pineapples glinting in the lights, reminding me of Al’s beloved island home; and, as I got closer to the walls, I saw lines and lines of elegant handwriting. Tracing out the words with my finger, I realized what I was reading. It was wallpaper made from Janey’s notebooks, her original notes and sketches, yellowing and faded with time but brought to life for everyone to see. It was such a beautiful touch that I felt tears swelling in my eyes, threatening my false lashes. Before I could destroy my make-up, I raised my camera to my face and snapped at everything I could see.
‘Miss Brookes, as I live and breathe! You are beautiful.’
I looked up to see Kekipi and Domenico in matching black tuxedos, Domenico tall and striking, Kekipi shorter and dashing, both with the same expression on their faces that I knew was on my own, utterly glowing with pride.
‘This old thing?’ I looked down at my dress and saw it sparkling in Amy’s fairy lights. Almost as if she knew. ‘Chucked it on at the last minute.’
‘Then I insist that you really must stop taking so much care when getting dressed every day,’ Kekipi said. ‘Now, tell me everything that happened from the second I left you last night. I can’t believe you’ve made me wait all day, it’s downright cruel.’
‘He’s done nothing but bitch about it since he bothered to get up this morning,’ Domenico added. ‘Please put him out of his misery before I do it for you. My way will be much more permanent.’
‘Dom, you’re all talk.’ Kekipi rolled his eyes at his partner before turning his attention back to me. ‘Now, dish. What happened?’
‘You haven’t talked to Amy?’ I asked in disbelief. ‘I thought you might have had a summit about it or something.’
‘As you can probably tell,’ he said, waving his hand around in the air, ‘Miss Amy was really quite busy today. And I was looking after our glorious leader while you were AWOL.’
‘Of course she was,’ I said, gazing around in awe. ‘And I wasn’t AWOL. I was working and then I was getting all pretty. This was not a short process.’
‘I am guessing not.’ He pressed a hand to Domenico’s chest. ‘How long do you think it took to tame her hair? I would not have had the patience.’
‘Is Al all right?’ I asked, thinking that neither would I. ‘Where is he?’
‘I don’t know, he left before us. He did seem a little less chipper than his usual self,’ he said, looking to his partner for confirmation. ‘What did you think?’
Domenico nodded. ‘But he was 100 per cent when we left him,’ he said. ‘This is a big day for him. It has to be hard without Mrs Bennett.’
‘Did you see the Belle piece?’ I asked in a low voice, fully aware that any one of the well-dressed women around us could have written said take-down.
‘No,’ he replied, holding out his hand for my phone. ‘Gimme.’
Kekipi read quickly, Domenico scanning over his shoulder, scowling as they swiped down the page.
‘That is ridiculous,’ he announced, handing the phone to his fiancé to finish. ‘Some airy-fairy asshole has their nose out of joint because Al doesn’t want to play by the rules. It was the same when Alexander Wang showed in the Brooklyn naval yard and now they’re all doing it. Forget this.’
‘Trash,’ Domenico nodded. ‘I cannot believe this came from Spencer Media.’
‘I imagine Delia doesn’t see every email that goes out,’ I reasoned. ‘But it does feel a bit harsh. Maybe Al is hiding with Amy? I can’t find her anywhere.’
‘Amy isn’t hiding,’ Kekipi said, looking surprised, pointing off to the corner. ‘She’s right over there.’
And there she was.
While hundreds of people milled around in extravagant outfits, drinking champagne and marvelling at Al’s designs, Amy was standing in a dark corner, head to toe in black, wearing a headset, with a look of concentration on her face the likes of which I hadn’t seen since she vowed to beat the mechanical claw game on Blackpool seafront in 1998. She hadn’t even seemed this fazed during her maths GCSE and that was routinely referred to as one of her life’s greatest tests.
‘She’s been here the whole time?’ I asked, my heart swelling with pride.
I couldn’t stop staring. She pressed a hand against her ear, talking into her microphone and checking something on the phone in her hand. Even though she was practically invisible, as far as I was concerned, Amy was the most incredible thing in the room.
‘AMY!’ I bellowed at the top of my voice, barrelling into her with a hug. ‘This is incredible. I can’t believe you did all this.’
‘Tess!’ She almost yanked my head off with a hug. ‘I’m so glad you’re here. I’m freaking out.’
‘I don’t know why,’ I said. It once took us three weeks to build an Ikea television unit and we still buggered it up. How had she done all this by herself? ‘I’m so proud of you.’
‘There’s so much going on,’ she said, shaking her head. ‘Al isn’t here yet, the media is tot
ally out to get us, one of the ovens is on fire so we don’t have all the edibles and one of the models kept throwing up before she went in her cage. She said she was OK but what if she pukes on her dress?’
‘Which one?’ I asked, glancing around the room. Amy looked at me with wide, terrified eyes. ‘It doesn’t matter,’ I corrected myself. ‘She won’t be sick. Everything is going to be fine. Brilliant, even. Look how impressed everyone is.’
‘I’m just glad you’re here,’ she said, squeezing my wrist before pressing the headset against her ear and looking off behind the tallest Christmas trees in the corner. ‘What’s that? What do you mean they won’t let her in? She’s the cocking editor of Vogue. Of course she isn’t already inside! OK, I’m on my way.’ She turned to give me another quick squeeze. ‘I’ve got to go, there’s a problem at the door. I’ll be back, don’t go anywhere.’
‘I won’t,’ I promised. ‘Don’t worry about a thing, you’ve got this.’
She gave me a grateful smile and then disappeared through the trees.
‘Full of surprises, that one,’ Kekipi said, sidling up behind me with a drink. ‘But you know how it is, you can do exactly what you believe you can do. If you spend all your time telling yourself you’re no good at something, you start to believe it.’
‘Suppose so,’ I replied. ‘Or listening to other people tell you you’re shit.’
‘Exactly,’ he nodded. ‘Lesson learned?’
‘I’ve been ruining Amy’s life by not encouraging her enough?’ I asked, horrified.
‘Actually, I meant more like you don’t believe in yourself enough, but sure,’ he said, ‘if the shoes fits, go ahead and wear that bitch. Now, I do believe I’m still short of a few details from the last twenty-four hours, such as what happened after you abandoned me with those terrible women who led me astray and who is responsible for this vision of beauty that stands before me?’
‘It was Jenny. One of those terrible women who led you astray.’ I shimmied my shoulders and watched my entire dress come to life, scintillating from head to toe. ‘They must have twisted your arm so far up your back, I’m amazed you can even hold on to that glass.’
‘Champagne is a miracle cure,’ he declared. ‘I take it all back, we can keep her.’
‘He did not get home until four in the morning,’ Domenico said. ‘And when he did finally roll into bed, he was singing Billy Joel at the top of his voice. I do not know how you did not hear him.’
‘The soundproofing in Al’s houses is always wonderful,’ Kekipi explained. ‘And you can’t be mad at me: it’s impossible to go to a karaoke bar in New York and not sing “Piano Man”, but that isn’t the point, what happened with Mr Miller?’
‘Nothing,’ I said, determined to retain a stiff upper lip. My nan always told me the reason we won the war was because there was no time for crying if it would ruin her eyeliner. ‘He didn’t answer the door.’
It wasn’t a lie.
‘He didn’t answer the door?’ Kekipi looked suitably unimpressed.
‘That’s what I said. The evening was Nickless.’
‘And you’re going to leave it at that, are you?’ Kekipi asked.
‘Hello Miss Photographer to the stars.’ Angela appeared at my elbow, Jenny and Delia by her side, both of them showering Kekipi with kisses. ‘Your photos were perfect.’
‘I don’t know about perfect,’ I blushed, so thankful she didn’t know about all the drama that had gone into their delivery. ‘I’m glad they were OK.’
‘How many times do we have to tell you about this false modesty shit?’ Jenny said. ‘I saw them, they were ah-mazing. Own it.’
‘I’m owning it, I’m owning it,’ I said, accepting a hug from Delia.
She and Angela both looked stunning, Angela in a navy knee-length shimmery cocktail dress with a flared skirt and adorable white collar while Delia had stuck to her classic style and was sheathed in a floor-length black shift dress that swooped dangerously low in the back, exposing her lack of bra in a way that made me very, very jealous. Bralessness was something I had always aspired to.
‘What’s going on?’ Jenny asked, grabbing a yummy-looking canapé from a passing waiter and nibbling at the pastry.
‘Tess was just telling me how Nick wasn’t home last night so she’s given up trying,’ Kekipi told them. ‘Which is nice.’
‘I haven’t given up,’ I argued. ‘I’m taking it as divine intervention. Maybe it was a bad idea.’
‘I don’t think so; I think it was a test to see how committed you are,’ Jenny said, her long glossy hair cascading over one bare shoulder. ‘Dude, you should call him.’
‘I’m not calling him because he never answers,’ I explained. ‘It always goes to voicemail, always. Don’t you think I would have tried that by now?’
‘Then forget him,’ Angela added quickly, much to Jenny’s visible chagrin. ‘If he doesn’t call, he’s not worth it. You shouldn’t have to chase him.’
‘Nick?’ Delia asked, looking confused. ‘I’ve missed something haven’t I?’
‘Superhot douchebag who’s giving Tess the runaround,’ Jenny summarized. ‘She’s totally into him though.’
‘Right,’ Delia nodded. ‘Got you.’
‘You know I’m all for the rules,’ Jenny went on. ‘But this is different. Don’t be such a buzzkill, Angie, she looks incredible, we’re basically at a ball, it’s almost midnight—’
‘It’s seven forty-five,’ Domenico corrected.
‘It’s almost midnight,’ Jenny said again, as though she could change the clocks by sheer force of will. ‘You should go to his place. Reverse Cinderella this shit.’
‘I say let him turn into a pumpkin and stay and have a drink,’ Angela said, grabbing two pink cocktails from a tray and waving them seductively in the air. ‘I happen to know my husband has some friends here tonight who are very single and only 25 per cent knobhead. That’s a really good percentage for New York.’
‘Never let her set you up with one of Alex’s friends,’ Jenny insisted. ‘If they’re less than 75 per cent asshole, they’re fug. Go get your man. Don’t take no for an answer.’
‘I agree with that one,’ Kekipi said, taking the spare cocktail out of Angela’s hand and pointing at Jenny. ‘Let’s go to his place.’
‘You just want to go back to the karaoke bar,’ I replied. ‘You’re not going anywhere. Can we just stay and have a nice time, please?’
‘Only if you can put your hand on your heart and tell me you’re not thinking about him right now,’ he said.
I clamped my lips together and gave him a look.
‘You’re not curious? Not even the slightest, tiniest bit intrigued as to why he’s behaving like a little girl?’
‘Oi,’ Angela interrupted. ‘That is an insult to the good name of little girls. I was quite capable of using the phone when I was little.’
‘Aren’t you angry?’ Jenny asked, changing tactics. ‘Aren’t you freakin’ furious? Don’t you want to pin him to the wall by his balls and make him explain himself?’
‘Well, yes,’ I admitted. ‘A bit.’
‘Then don’t be so damn English,’ she ordered. ‘I’ve had six years to beat those bad habits out of this one and she still apologizes to people who walk into her on the street.’
Angela peered at us over the rim of her champagne flute with guilty eyes. ‘They don’t mean to,’ she said. ‘I’m sure.’
‘If I were you, I would be exploding right about now,’ Jenny said, fire lighting up her eyes. ‘That guy would be wishing he had never been born. Messing you around like this. Are you kidding me?’
‘I suppose if I was going to see him, I wouldn’t hate to see him looking like this,’ I said, flipping my skirts around my ankles.
‘Do you really want to do this again for another six months?’ Kekipi asked. ‘Or did you enjoy spending ten years not knowing where you stood with Charlie so much, you want to do it again?’
‘Not really,’ I admitte
d.
‘I really thought he might show his face,’ Kekipi said, pursing his lips and surveying the room. ‘I mean, he RSVP’d no but you know what he’s like.’
‘He was invited?’ I asked, flicking my eyes from one face to the next, slightly startled by the information. There was a chance he’d be here and no one told me?
‘Of course,’ he replied. ‘He’s a journalist, we’ve worked with him and Al likes him. Not to mention the fact we’re all aware that the two of you need all the help you can get.’
‘He’s not here,’ I murmured, quite certain now. ‘He’s flying back to London tomorrow.’
‘Then why are you still here?’ Kekipi asked gently.
I gulped and tapped my hand fast against my heart. ‘How long would it take me to get down there, do you think?’
‘Not long at all,’ he said. ‘You’ve plenty of time.’
‘You’re not missing anything here,’ Jenny said. ‘This is it. You’ve seen it all. Go!’
‘I can go and come back.’ I looked over my shoulder for Amy, to say goodbye, but I couldn’t see her anywhere. ‘You’re right, I’ve got to go. Will you tell Amy and Al I’ll be back?’
‘Of course,’ he said, taking a bow as I picked up my skirts. ‘They’ll understand, it’s all in the name of true love. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.’
‘That doesn’t leave much,’ I said, rubbing my fingers across my forehead before Jenny slapped them away.
‘I’m going,’ I said, taking a deep breath and nodding to myself. ‘There are things I need to say for me, forget what he wants. I’m going to go and see him, sort this all out.’
‘Amazing!’ Kekipi danced on the spot, spilling his champagne. ‘Go get him, girl. Or something.’