The Guest List (20 page)

Heidi grabbed the phone again and fought the urge to throw it against the wall.

Instead she grabbed the handset in a steely grip and dialled her sister’s phone number.

It rang several times but then, just as Heidi felt sure she was about to be sent to voicemail, Cara answered.

‘Hello?’

Heidi paused, interested. There was no denying the weariness in Cara’s voice. She sounded as if she was exhausted. This perked her up no end; it meant that she would have the advantage.

‘Cara. It’s Heidi here. I just spoke to Mum and she told me about your ridiculous plan to get married in St Lucia. You have no idea how upsetting this is.’

She was met with silence. Not a word. Heidi couldn’t even hear her sister breathing on the other end of the line, and she wondered if they might have been cut off.

‘Cara, are you there?’

She heard Cara inhale deeply. ‘Yes Heidi, I am here and you have no idea how not in the mood I am for this just now.’

Heidi was taken aback. ‘Excuse me?’

‘You heard me,’ Cara said dryly. ‘I am not going to listen to you complain about my decisions.’

‘But you haven’t even taken a moment to listen to what I’m going to say!’ Heidi cried.

‘No, I haven’t but it’s not as if I need a crystal ball to know what you are calling about. The wedding will be in St Lucia in September, Heidi, a good two months-odd before your due date.’

She sighed, and Heidi noticed how defeated she sounded. Why? Had someone else complained about it too?

‘I would love to have you there,’ Cara went on, ‘and as far as I know flying shouldn’t be a problem, but if you have to get special permission from your doctor to travel or feel that it is unsafe or whatever, then that’s your choice. But Shane and I have made our decision and this is not a subject that is up for discussion. And you can call Mum back and tell her the same. I’m not going to be bossed around,’ Cara stated confidently.

Heidi bit her lip. She hadn’t even been granted the opportunity to air her grievances. Cara had seemed to know exactly what had been on her mind. And still she didn’t care . . .

‘Now if you will excuse me Heidi, I have had a very long day and quite frankly, I can’t deal with any more family drama just now. I hope you have a good night.’

The line went dead and Heidi stared at the receiver as if it had suddenly grown legs. She couldn’t believe it. Her own sister had hung up on her!

‘Paul?’ she called out, throwing herself back upon the cushions. She didn’t like the way people were treating her lately, and as usual she wasn’t being taken seriously.

Moments later her husband rushed into the room, breathless.

‘Yes? What is it, sweetheart? Are you OK?’ He dropped to the side of the sofa. Her eyes filled with tears. ‘Cara just hung up on me,’ she told him.

Paul rushed to put his arms around her. ‘Why would she do that?’ he cooed.

‘I don’t know. But listen to what else is new. Did you know she scheduled her wedding for September? In St Lucia?’

Paul quickly did the maths in his head and realised his poor wife would be in full bloom in September. He frowned.

‘What is Cara thinking? Ah no, I’m sure she just forgot. And when she realises I’m sure she’ll change it for you—’

‘No, that’s just the point; she said that she wouldn’t change anything. That we didn’t have to like it, and it was our choice whether we went to the wedding or not—’

‘So then we just won’t go if you don’t want to,’ he said, and she was once again grateful to have him in her corner. The only one who ever seemed to be. She shook her head. ‘But if we don’t go then I’ll be the one left out – again. And especially so close to the baby’s due date and everything. My entire family will all be over there concentrating on Cara’s wedding and I’ll be left here on my own. What if the baby comes early and everybody misses it?’

‘That early? Hardly. But sure if it does happen, they can just see the baby when they get back can’t they?’

‘Not the baby, Paul, the birth! I don’t want to go into labour when there’s nobody else around to—’ She crossed her arms. ‘Oh you just don’t get it.’

At least his wife was right about that much, Paul thought. He didn’t understand many of the complexities of the female mind. Especially the
pregnant
female mind. He supposed it was because of all the hormones that were running rampant. Maybe he could just change the subject.

‘Would you like a cup of tea?’ he offered.

‘I can’t drink tea, Paul. It’s
caffeinated
, you know that. It will be bad for the baby. Maybe just some warm milk instead? And some of those shortbread cookies,’ she added, feeling a little bit better. Paul always made her feel better.

But not long after he left the room to get her snack, Heidi began to feel powerless once again.

It was clear that Cara did not care whether she was at the wedding or not. Hell, was she even planning on asking her to be bridesmaid?

Of all the insults, Heidi thought.
I asked her to be bridesmaid.

Her initial worries about St Lucia temporarily forgotten, Heidi quickly turned her attention to what colour bridesmaid dress a woman seven months pregnant would look best in – all the while wounded about not yet being asked.

‘Oh my goodness! I think that’s a fantastic idea!’ Kim cheered.

Cara breathed a sigh of relief into the phone. ‘Really? You honestly think so?’ She was feeling quite tired of all the negativity and complaints by now, and Kim’s positive attitude immediately buoyed her spirits. ‘And you’ll all come?’ she asked hopefully.

‘Of course we will. We wouldn’t miss it for the world!’ Her sister-in-law laughed. ‘Why wouldn’t we come? Ah, here we go,’ she added, immediately wise to the fact that there was something else in the mix. ‘What’s the problem then, who’s giving you grief?’

‘Ah, it’s nothing really.’

‘Tell me,’ Kim insisted.

Cara sighed. ‘Well, Mum and Dad were less than pleased last night, which was a bit upsetting. And then Heidi phoned afterwards in a fit about the timing. We still haven’t told Shane’s parents, but I am really not anticipating good things. Especially since they aren’t even speaking to us at the moment.’

‘Oh feck it, ignore them all. This isn’t about them. If you want to have your wedding in St Lucia, then have it. And if the others can’t respect your wishes, don’t bother with them. They are the ones who will miss out,’ Kim said encouragingly.

‘But why do they have to protest so much? I mean, why do they have to make me feel so terrible for doing what we want for our wedding? Especially when Mum is usually so supportive . . .’

Kim shook her head. Cara sounded truly upset and she inwardly cursed her husband’s family for their idiocy. Why did people have to put the ones they loved through so much strife?

‘Look, when you do something different than what is considered normal, some people who might only be thinking about themselves are going to get their noses bent out of joint. They will come around, or they will be excluded. You’ll see.’

‘But I don’t want to exclude anyone—’

‘I know you don’t, but in order for this to work, you are going to have to ensure that they realise this is simply not their decision. If they see you sticking to your guns, and not giving in, they will realise they have two choices – they can either support you or they can be left out of the fun entirely.’

Cara knew Kim was right and that in order for their plans in St Lucia to happen, she would just have to develop a tougher skin. She wished she had some of Kim’s chutzpah. While she didn’t consider herself a shrinking violet, she also hated confrontation.

‘So, anyway, on to happier topics. Tell me all that you’ve planned. Is there anything I can do to help?’

Cara smiled. She was lucky to have Kim and she secretly applauded her brother again for bringing her into her life. ‘Not much to do really from a logistics standpoint on the wedding side – the resort has a lovely wedding planner who’s going to arrange everything. All we have to do is turn up on the day. But I do have to go dress shopping soon and I think I’d appreciate a bit of help on that one. I just want something simple. Hey, though, while I think of it, quick question. You aren’t going to have any problems travelling or being able to get on a plane are you?’

‘What are you saying; you think my ass is going to get so big they won’t let me on?’ Kim laughed.

‘No, like isn’t there some sort of rule about travelling when pregnant?’

Kim laughed loudly. ‘Of course not. Well I suppose if you are very close to due date or have a high-risk pregnancy, some doctors will advise against flying – something to do with the cabin pressure – but really, I was able to travel easily when carrying both of the girls and in September my due date will still be ages away anyway—’ Then she groaned. ‘Oh please, let me guess, Heidi is saying she can’t fly? I should have guessed that would be an excuse. The same one seems to think it isn’t safe to
walk
.’

Cara hid a smile. ‘I know she’s a little over the top about the pregnancy, but at the same time I’m completely inexperienced in all of this stuff, and I certainly don’t want to make someone do anything that might put their unborn baby at risk.’

‘No baby is going to be at risk, don’t worry about that. I’ll tell Heidi as much the next time I see her.’

‘Oh, don’t say anything on my behalf. I just wasn’t sure of the specifics,’ Cara said.

‘Cara, you see there, that’s your problem. You are too damn nice. Heidi is a little drama queen and you know it.’

‘Maybe.’

‘No maybe about it. Anyway, dress shopping then? When are we going?’ Kim continued, turning Cara’s attention to happier subjects.

‘So you’ll come with me?’

‘Of course I will. Dress shopping is one of the best bits of wedding planning – it’ll be great fun.’

‘Well, I suppose I might as well ask you then, I would really love it if you would be a bridesmaid, Kim. Would you?’

Her sister-in-law squealed like a schoolgirl. ‘I’d be honoured, thank you for asking me. As long as you don’t mind me dragging my big butt down the beach in front of you, of course. I’ve never been a bridesmaid before, and while I know I’m getting a bit old for taffeta, I’ll still wear whatever you pick out, no matter how horrendous and ghastly, without uttering a single complaint.’

Cara’s heart soared. Why couldn’t all of her family behave this way?

‘Thanks Kim. Not just for being my bridesmaid but for making all of this so easy. I really appreciate it. I just want to make sure you know that.’

‘No worries honey, that’s what I’m here for. A sounding board when the rest of our nutty family is driving you mad.’

A few moments later they said their goodbyes. Kim was happy that she could be there for Cara, but she found herself wildly disappointed in her in-laws. It was awful of them to make Cara feel miserable about her decision; it wasn’t their role and it was very unfair.

She thought of several choice words that she had on the subject, to be directed at her mother-in-law, as well as Heidi. Kim pressed her lips together. She certainly wasn’t going to stand back and watch Cara get bullied. She made a silent oath to herself that she would be in Cara’s corner, and have her back no matter what craziness the family decided to throw at her.

She walked into the kitchen to find Ben making chocolate milk for Olivia and Lindsay. It was close to nine o’clock, way past the girls’ bedtime, but no big deal. ‘Oh good! Chocolate before bedtime, nice job Daddy,’ she laughed dryly. ‘And be sure to make it extra chocolatey for good measure. I won’t be happy unless these two are bouncing off the walls . . .’ She idly wondered what oh-so-proper Heidi would have to say about feeding the girls chocolate and caffeine on a school night.

Ben laughed. ‘Well, I thought it would be a nice treat for our two little girls.’

‘And your lovely wife too I hope?’ Kim smiled and put her arm around him. Then she turned to her daughters who were sitting watching TV.

‘So guess what, girls? Aunt Cara is getting married in a tropical paradise far, far away.’

Olivia’s eyes got wide and Kim knew that her daughter’s imagination didn’t need much to run wild. ‘A tropical paradise? Are we going? Will there be monkeys?’ she asked quickly.

Kim was unsure where the monkey question had come from but figured it was an interesting one. ‘Of course we are. Do you think I would miss out on Auntie’s special day? And for the record, I think the inclusion of monkeys is a fantastic idea. I’ll mention it to the bride.’

‘Is Number Three coming too?’ Lindsay asked, referring to the name they had given their unborn sibling.

‘Well I suppose he or she will have to – they will still be in Mummy’s tummy.’

The girls looked at each other with self-satisfied smiles, knowing that they had a tropical island to look forward to in their future. A trip that involved their parents, and possibly monkeys, and that Number Three would also be a part of it.

Kim turned to Ben and smiled.

‘I just wanted to say, thanks for being normal.’

He raised an eyebrow at his wife. ‘What’s that supposed to mean? And monkeys? Where exactly is this wedding?’

‘St Lucia, and what I meant was, don’t give your sister any grief about the wedding, OK?’

‘Why would I do that?’

‘I wasn’t saying that you would, but no teasing her or anything, OK? From what I hear, she’s had a rough time about it already from your mum and dad, and Heidi.’

Ben rolled his eyes. ‘You know my thoughts on all that.’

Indeed she did. Ben stayed well out of his family’s affairs, knowing that involving himself was pointless and would only cause headaches.

A moment passed and Ben looked at Kim. ‘St Lucia, huh? Well that’s interesting,’ he said mildly.

‘Why’s that?’ she asked, noticing the change in his tone.

‘That’s over in Danielle’s neck of the woods, isn’t it? I wonder if she will be there.’

Kim thought back to her conversation with Cara and remembered that Cara had indeed said something about Danielle helping her with the initial arrangements.

‘Now that you mention it, Cara did say that she recently spoke to your sister, and it was Danielle who actually helped her find the resort.’