Roughly one year later
Elly
“Elly, are you alright?” Megan asks, concerned.
I feel Mum’s touch on my arm. “Relax, darling. Deep breaths. You’ll get through this.”
You would think they were coaching me to go into labour or surgery. Actually this is one of the happiest days of my life, I’ve been told. Or it will be in hindsight. Right now, I feel faint.
We are standing on the steps of St. Dominic’s Church, a beautiful Gothic-style church in Dubrovnik, Croatia.
I take a few deep breaths. When I’m this nervous it could go one way or the other. An uncontrollable fit of giggles sometimes occurs. I can’t walk down the aisle giggling. Tristan’s mother would never forgive me. The alternative would be a joint wedding and funeral if I don’t stop the heart palpitations.
“I’m fine,” I say to myself more than the bridal party. Megan and my friend Sarah from school are my bridesmaids. Mum is giving me away. All of them look amazing – classy but unstated, just how I wanted it. Megan and Sarah are in sleek royal blue dresses to their knees.
I’m wearing a simple flowing wedding dress. No outrageous gown, no bling, no rhinestones, no massive tent or the opposite – no tight dress that I can’t move freely in. It’s enough for me to walk these thirty-two steps to the top of the aisle without worrying about getting stuck in the aisle.
“You look so beautiful,” Megan gushes and for a second I think she might cry. It might be the Buck’s fizz we had for breakfast to calm the nerves.
I do look beautiful. From my head to my toes, my entire body has been professionally designed. The ostrich has been transformed into a Victoria Secret’s model.
“Head up, bouquet low, belly sucked in, eye contact with the crowd,” I mutter. Holding a bouquet isn’t just grabbing it by the stem. Oh no. Apparently there is a correct angle for positioning your bouquet for optimal photos. “I’ll be okay once I get this bit over.”
“You mean the most important part of the whole day?” Megan sniggers. “The ceremony where you promise to stay with this man for life?
“The bloody walk,” I squeak. “Right now, I’d prefer to walk over hot coals.” “Just focus on Tristan,” Mum reassures me.
“Ready?” Father Murphy asks me. Father Murphy has flown over to marry us. Tristan’s mother was delighted when she found out I was a Catholic. I think it’s my main selling point.
No.
“As long as you have no secrets from this man, you’ll be fine.” He winks.
What the hell? What does that mean? Since when do priests wink? Is he talking about the copious volumes of premium bamboo rolls I’ve stolen from Madison Legal?
“Ready.” I nod, taking my mum’s arm. We’ve been practising to make sure our pacing matches.
Father Murphy opens the double doors to the chapel and the music starts. The music. The ‘here comes the bride’ music that sounds so surreal you are the bride.
He walks up the aisle like it’s just another day in the office, followed by Megan and Sarah.
Inside, all our friends and family are watching the bridal procession.
Now it’s my turn. My final steps as an unmarried woman. Head up, check. Bouquet low, check.
Belly sucked in, check. Keep it together, Elly.
Please God. This is your gaff. Do me a favour and make sure I don’t fall.
I enter the church wearing ivory bridal shoes that do not feel worn in.
There is a 180 degree turn of every head to look at me. I’m at risk of a full blown anxiety attack. Then I see him.
Tristan.
He’s wearing a traditional black tuxedo and his slightly wavy hair is slicked back.
When our eyes lock it’s the most intense intimate moment of my life.
He takes my breath away. Not only because of how handsome he looks, reminding me that I’m the luckiest woman on earth.
But because of the way he is looking at me.
Like I’m the only thing that matters to him. Like I am his whole world.
There are sixty people watching us, but it’s just us.
I don’t even notice myself gliding up the aisle, I lost count of what step number I’m on now. Emotion floods his face.
Keep it together, Elly.
Sophie and Carlie snap pictures to my right. They are beside some of my new colleagues from Carson Payne LLP. I finished my trainee contract with Madison Legal and now I’m a fully qualified lawyer. I convinced them to move me to the human rights division for the last leg of my training.
Carson Payne LLP are smaller than Madison Legal but specialise in human rights, asylum and international protection immigration issues, which is exactly where I want to be. I thought I would never want to leave Madison Legal. It’s funny how things change. I’ll keep my maiden name professionally. The Kane brand can be a double edged sword when people find out.
The Croatian side of my family are a few seats up. Tristan and I are going to spend our honeymoon travelling around Croatia stopping off at a gut retreat before we head back to London. That’s how I’m so certain about this man. He knows all of me and he loves all of me.
Tristan’s side of the chapel looks like a millionaire’s convention. London’s elite has descended upon Dubrovnik old town, mixed in with his Irish cousins who aren’t wearing enough sun block.
Further up, Charlie is attempting to calm one of the twins down while her mother appeases the other. Danny is the best man on the altar beside Tristan. They found out they were having a baby a few months after Tristan and I got together, then they found out that it was two rather than one. Jack and Daniel are on the altar beside Tristan and Danny.
And before I know it, I’ve reached the altar. Mum lets go of my arm and Tristan takes my hand. “Hi,” my future husband says softly.
“Hi.” My voice cracks.
“Are you ready to become Mrs. Kane?”
“Taim reidh, Mr Kane,” I say in Irish.
I’m ready.