Lexington Black (27 page)

Roger turned to him, grinning.

'You were never this fun when we were growing
up.'

'Neither were you,' Rob retorted.

He had no intention of making a discreet exit
once the service had finished. He wanted people to see him. The way
Sara had banished her own brother from the wedding, just because it
was inconvenient to find another Matron-of-Honour, had infuriated
him. He wanted the chance to have a little fun at her expense,
because God knew the whole family had suffered at her hand in the
last few months when she was organising her Big Fucking Day.

'You're getting the Evil Eye,' Geri said as
they stood together, slightly away from the main crowd. The
photographer was moving everyone around and the Best Man, Steve's
brother, held a clipboard with a list of names on it. Periodically
he bawled out a group of names and those people would obligingly
shuffle forward and take their place next to the Bride and
Groom.

Rob dispassionately watched it all, not
feeling as if they were part of his family at all. His family
consisted of Geri and Simon, and now Roger and Tony, who stood with
them. And in a strange way, Caressa felt like family too. Her arm
was resting on Rob's shoulder, almost protectively as if she could
tell the animosity radiating from the bridal party.

Steve's brother headed towards them with a
determined stride.

'Alright, you've seen her get married. Now
piss off.'

Rob moved close so they were face to face.
'You need to remember who you're talking to. I'm Sara's brother,
dickhead. That means I have more right to be here than you do.'

'Yeah? Well, I've been told to get you and
your freak show the hell away from here. So fuck off, both of
you.'

Caressa stepped forward. 'Which freak show
are you actually talking about? From where I'm standing, there are
several candidates. There's the 34JJJ boob job over there, the
tattooed biker with a nose ring, and what the hell has happened to
that poor lady's face! She looks like she's been attacked with a
blowtorch, poor love.'

'That's my mother,' the man said tightly. 'I
won't tell you again.'

Rob took Caressa's arm. 'We're going,' he
said firmly.

As they headed off out of the churchyard, he
heard his name being called. He turned back and saw Sandy, hovering
awkwardly.

'You look ...' She groped for words. 'Great.
You look great, Rob. Wow. That holiday in New York really did you
good.'

'Thanks. I fucking needed it.' He turned
away, but not before he saw her blanch at his harsh language.

'Rob, I know you're mad at me. Maybe one day
you'll...'

He faced her again. 'You want me to forget
what you did? That isn't going to happen, Sandy. You treated me
like shit, far worse than I ever treated you. But don't feel bad
about it, sweetheart, because my life is better now than it's ever
been. I would thank you, if I thought for one moment you actually
did it for my benefit.'

'So why didn't you tell me you were gay?'

'Believe me, it was as much of a surprise to
me as it is to you. Now I'm celebrating it, so if you'll excuse me,
I'm going to get a drink.'

'Is that why you're here today. To humiliate
me?'

'It's not about you. I was here for
Sara.'

'She didn't want you to come. Why couldn't
you stay away?'

'Because I was clinging on to the vain hope
that this family might be able to get along together for one day.
One fucking day! I was obviously wrong so I won't bother trying
again. You spent the whole of our marriage telling me how you
couldn't stand my family, yet they chose you over me. Fine. As far
as I'm concerned, they're welcome to you. Go fuck yourself,
sweetheart. Go fuck all of you,' he said loudly.

By then, people were staring at him with
horrified expressions. Caressa led him away, turning with a toss of
her regal head and a swish of skirts.

'Keep walking,' she muttered, her hand firmly
on Rob's arm.

They headed back to the Deansfield, where
they were staying. Staff were running around, bracing themselves
for the wedding party to arrive. Outside the dining room, a large
heart-shaped sign, bedecked with white and navy blue ribbons, held
the seating plan.

In the bar, Caressa thrust a double Scotch
into his hand. 'Drink this.'

'Getting hammered won't solve anything.'

'No, but it might make us all feel better,'
Geri said behind him. She was standing with Simon, Roger and Tony.
Rob was amazed to see them.

'What are you doing here so early?'

'We wanted you to know where our loyalties
lie,' Geri said. 'Hopefully this means we won't be expected at
Christmas any more.'

'And I know we won't be,' Roger said
cheerfully. 'Mother tore me a new asshole for turning up with
Tony.'

'So we snogged, right in front of her.
Tongues and all,' Tony added happily. 'I had no idea English
weddings could be so entertaining.'

'The day's not over yet,' Caressa said,
smiling enigmatically.

After a while, Christopher sauntered in to
join them. 'Ah, the black sheep,' he said. 'Looks like we're quite
a flock now, doesn't it?'

'We? As far as I know, you're still in
Mother's good books,' Geri said archly.

'Actually, no.'

'Surely you're not gay as well?' Caressa
asked.

'Not to my knowledge,' Christopher replied
seriously. 'I've just told Mother she's a silly old trout and she
won't have any family left if she continues treating them like
dirt.'

'Way to go, bro.' Rob knew he had misjudged
his outwardly stiff older brother.

There was a lull in the conversation as
everyone tried to decide what to say next.

'I tried being gay once, but it was a pain in
the arse,' Simon said gloomily. Geri thumped him, but it broke the
ice. They stayed together, drinking, talking and laughing until the
other guests filtered in. Sarah and Steve stood by the door,
welcoming the guests as they arrived, but they pointedly refused to
acknowledge Rob or any or his party.

Finally, the time came for everyone to sit
down for dinner. Sara swept past, her nose in the air. She paused
when she saw Rob.

'Why are you here? You're not welcome.'

'I'm staying here with Caressa. And Roger and
Tony are staying as well. As Roger has travelled over 6,000 miles
to see you, the least you can do is be civil to him.'

'I don't have a problem with him. Just you.'
She turned to go.

'Why?'

'Girls do talk, Rob. Sandy's told me all
about you. How you can show your face here is beyond belief. You're
just like our father. The way he treated Mother was appalling and
you've done just the same to Sandy. You're disgusting.' She tossed
the contents of her wine glass in his face and walked away.

Caressa fussed around him with tissues. There
was an awkward silence and then Roger said to Tony,

'And that's why I moved to the States.'

Everyone laughed, more out of relief than
anything else.

Geri came back, smiling like a hyena. 'I've
been in the dining room, screwing with the seating plan. It's total
chaos in there. What's the plan?'

'First, we need to have another drink,'
Caressa said.

******

Rob and Caressa stayed in the bar, listening
to the wedding meal as it progressed. They insisted that the others
go ahead and eat in the main hall whilst they contented themselves
with bar snacks and chatted up the attractive bartender. The
speeches were long and boring. At one point, Caressa actually fell
asleep in one of the comfy chair, snoring loudly. Rob nudged her
awake as the guests began to mill about, heading to the bar for
more drinks whilst the room was prepared for the disco.

'Looking forward to showing everyone your New
York dance moves?' She asked him.

'You're not thinking of going in there?' Geri
said, overhearing her.

'Of course, my dear,' she simpered, with an
exaggerated wink.

'Guys, some people in there would lynch you
given the smallest opportunity. Don't do anything stupid.'

'Honey, that's why I called for backup,'
Caressa said, patting her arm.

Geri looked suspicious. 'What the hell do you
mean?'

Disco music began to blare out of the room.
Caressa was grinning like a Cheshire cat. On cue, a squeal cut
through the thumping bass and the bar suddenly seemed full of
feathers, satin and sparkles.

'Christ, there's enough drag queens in here
to start a carnival,' Roger said, as introductions were made above
the noise.

'Now honey, you leave this to us,' Caressa
said. 'If I were you, Rob, I'd stay out here. This is going to get
messy.'

'No way. I wouldn't miss this for anything,'
Rob laughed.

Caressa's eyes widened. 'Oh!' She exclaimed.
'This was nothing to do with me, I swear.'

Rob was puzzled. 'What are you talking
about?'

Caressa turned Rob around. His mouth fell
open as he stared at the man who was standing in front of him.

Lex.

He looked fantastic. Stunning, and angry as
hell. I had no idea what I was going to say to him when I saw him
again. All the way over the Atlantic I had thought about it. Sorry
seemed so lame.
I love you
was too selfish. He deserved
words that portrayed how much he meant to me, not how much I needed
him.

He slowly walked towards me, his eyes wide. I
was gratified by that, at least. It wasn't outright hatred, which
is what I deserved after the way I had lied to him.

'Why are you here, Lex?'

'I knew this day would be difficult for you
...'

'So you decided to make it more
difficult?'

'I wanted to support you.'

'I have all the support I need.'

I fixed my gaze on Caressa, surrounded by the
other queens. They glared back at me.

'Don't you dare,' Rob said. 'Caressa's a good
friend, Lex. Leave her alone. And leave me alone. I don't need
you.'

He walked away.

'That went well,' Ruby murmured.

I didn't know what to do. Boys don't cry.
Neither do real men. That's the theory, anyway. And the theory
sucked. Inwardly I was weeping bitter tears, yet my face betrayed
nothing. I left the room, pushing past the queens, the
brightly-clad girls with high heels and fascinators wobbling on
their heads, past the over-stuffed men, trussed up like turkeys in
their morning suits.

I went out into the garden and kept walking
until I reached the woods. Deep within them I leaned against a
sturdy tree and let out the grief I had been holding onto since he
first walked out of my life. I sobbed and pounded the trunk with my
fists, cursing myself for every stupid thing I had done in my life.
Even the pain from my split knuckles wouldn't ease that terrible
hurt. In frustration, I head-butted the tree.

That worked. My vision clouded. I swayed
backwards.

And was caught in strong arms and laid gently
down on the ground.

'Ouch,' he said, milliseconds before I
did.

******

I spent the night in hospital, not the
auspicious reunion I had been planning. After a scan to make sure I
didn't have brain damage, a tetanus shot and several stitches, I
was bandaged-up, wheeled into a bay and left to sleep whilst they
kept me under observation. I had fallen into an exhausted slumber
when I felt someone touch my hand.

'He's concussed,' someone whispered.

'Unconscious,' another voice said.

'What did he do a dumb thing like that
for?'

My eyes flickered open. Four anxious male
faces looked back at me. One of them was Peter's, so I assumed the
others belonged to his gang of drag queen reprobates.

'You're alive! Thank god,' Peter said,
plumping down on the bed. 'I bought you some grapes.'

'I've only just got here!'

'Honey, you've been asleep for five hours.
And we've bought something else.'

The men parted and there was Rob, casual in a
black polo shirt and snug black jeans. They shoved him forward.

'Glad you're okay,' he said, hugging me
awkwardly. It was a brotherly hug, not what I wanted at all.

'We're in hiding,' Peter confessed. 'We had
to leave the hotel in a hurry.'

'What the hell have you been up to?'

'Well, first we sneaked into the disco and
kidnapped the DJ,' Peter said, his eyes gleaming. 'He was playing
all kinds of techno-trash. I couldn't stand it. So the girls
grabbed him and bundled him out. Gemma here took over the decks and
I distracted everyone with a superlative performance of It's
Raining Men. The audience loved it.'

'Then the younger male contingent realised
what was happening and tried to muscle him off the stage,' Gemma
added.

'They lunged at me whilst I was singing,
darling. What else could I have done? I beat them off with my
Manolos.'

Then there was the food fight, a conga round
the grounds, and the groom snogging Ruby under the top table. When
things began to get a little too lively, the four queens had beaten
a hasty retreat back to their room. They had taken off their
costumes and make up, so when the inevitable knock on the door
came, the potential aggressors were met by four bewildered
middle-aged men who had not the faintest idea what they were
talking about. It bought them enough time to check out and get the
hell away before anyone realised they had been tricked.

'I had no idea England could be so much fun!'
Ruby squeaked, clapping her hands.

The door opened and a nurse walked in. 'I
need to do your obs, Mr. Black.' She stared at the assembled group.
'Who on earth are you? It's way past visiting hours!'

'We're going,' Peter said. He hugged me
tight. 'See you back in Manhattan, darling.'

The nurse waited impatiently as one by one,
they embraced me and said farewell. Rob hung back. The nurse left
the room, saying he had five minutes and that was all.