Wags To Riches (8 page)

“So tell me about this wedding then Adam” I say as I put my phone away in my bag.  “I’m dying to hear all about it!”

“Well” Adam begins, “the ceremony is at 11 on Saturday 16th of February, but there is a dinner for close friends and families the night before that we have been invited to as well.  I thought you might like to go to that as you can meet everyone then.  If you go in the glove box the invite is in there, along with the spa information”.  I open the glove box and take out the invite.  It is wrapped in a piece of gold gauze, made of thick creamy coloured card and has gold lettering on the front.  Two tiny red felt padded hearts dangle on two slim gold threads from the top left corner of the card.  One is embroidered with the letter ‘G’ and one with the letter ‘T’.  As I read the front of the invite, written in curly writing:

‘Tim & Gina request the pleasure of your company to celebrate their marriage’…

Adam continues explaining.  “It’s going to be quite a big do and
Gush!
magazine will be there.  Tim said he and Gina had been offered a really good deal for giving
Gush!
exclusive rights to the pictures and plus, it keeps the ceremony more private”.

“
Gush!
are going to be at the wedding?” I say terrified.  “Oh my goodness!”  They aren’t getting a photograph of me.  No way.  Not with my thighs.  “They aren’t going to want a picture of me are they?” I ask.

“Yes I would have thought so” Adam replies.  “Why?”

Why he says!  I’m too fat for starters!  They can take photos of me in my other life – the one where I’m terrifically skinny.  “Adam” I say desperately, “I can’t have my photo in a national magazine.  I’ll just look horrendously fat and frumpy next to all those super skinny women with perfect hair.  By the time they’ve finished airbrushing the picture, there won’t be anything left of me – just a gap next to you in the picture”.

“Don’t be daft!  You’ll look fantastic!” Adam says, giving my hand a quick squeeze.  “Anyway, get the spa booklet out and have a look at all the treatments you can have”.  I get the booklet out and have a flip through.  I’m glad he’s so confident that I will look fantastic because I’m not.  Gosh - you can have anything and everything done – mud wrap, waxing, facial, massage, manicure - everything!  I don’t think all the beauty treatments in the world are going to transform me into a glamorous goddess, but I can try.  At least they will help me feel pampered and relaxed.  And I
need
that.

“I think I’ll have a luxury facial, an aromatherapy massage and a manicure please” I say.  “Are you sure you’re okay paying for all this?” I ask.

“Gail - it’s fine” Adam replies.

“Well, thank you” I say.  “That’s very generous”.

Adam looks over at me and smiles.  “Oh – just to let you know, one of my exes will be there as well – Nicola Green” he says.  “We went out a few times a couple of months ago, but it’s all done with now.  She’s started seeing Michael who plays in midfield for us, but we’re all okay - you know?”

Ooooh, he snuck that into the conversation very casually.  “Great” I say sarcastically.  “So there will be magazine photographers
and
an ex to contend with!  Great!  Do you know I was just thinking I could do with another challenge!”  I bet she is absolutely stunning as well.  Oh well, I can try and give her a run for her money.

“It will be fine Gail” Adam says reassuringly, “You’ll look far better than she does believe me” he says, looking over at me and smiling and I beam at him.  He is so sweet, but I will be the judge of that.  It kind of ups the stakes on the dress front, so I hope I can find something that fits the bill.

****

We arrive in the city centre and I’m hungry and thirsty.  As we drive slowly down the road, we stop at a zebra crossing and I see a small coffee shop at the side of the road.  “Do you think we could get a drink first?” I ask.  “I’m absolutely parched”.

“Of course” Adam replies.  “Where did you want to go?”

“There’s a coffee shop just there” I say, pointing to it, “I could nip in and get us a coffee?”

“Okay” Adam says and luckily just then, a car pulls out of a parking space directly in front of the coffee shop.  Adam parks the car in the space and I go to open the door.

“What would you like?” I ask.

“Get me a latte please” Adam says, “I’ll pay” and he presses a £20 note into my hand.  I go inside and emerge a few minutes later, carrying two lattes and two very large chocolate muffins, which I simply could not resist. 

“Here you go – I got you a muffin as well” I say as I get back into the car.

“Thanks” Adam says and we sit and drink our lovely hot cups of coffee and munch our chocolate muffins.  “I don’t normally have food or drink in the car at all you know Gail” Adam says, taking a huge bite of his muffin, “but in your case I’ll make an exception.  I hope you feel honoured!”

“Oh I am” I say.  “I know I shouldn’t be eating this muffin really, but hopefully we will walk it off today”.

We finish eating and drinking and Adam takes the wrappers to a nearby litter bin.  He gets back into the car and has a very serious look on his face.  “Now Gail” he says, “this is very important.  You aren’t paying for anything today.  I’ve asked you to be my guest at Tim’s wedding, so I will get you everything you need, okay?”

I start to protest but Adam holds up his hand to stop me.  “Gail, I am treating you, so there!” he says smiling.

“Well, if you insist” I say grinning.  Hey, I’m not going to stop him spending his money on me but I’m sure I’ll feel guilty about it afterwards.

We visit several really posh clothes shops and the stores themselves are almost as beautiful as the clothes!  The shop we are in at the minute for example, has got solid oak floorboards and a fountain in the centre of the shop with little twinkly lights in the bottom.  It is
really
pretty, but I don’t think I could work here and listen to that all day – I’d end up wanting to go to the toilet all the time.

I wonder round trying to find something, then I see not one beautiful dress but two.  The first one I pick up, I immediately fall in love with.  It’s a pale gold, slinky satin number – knee length and strapless with a few gold flowers sewn along the top of the bodice.  It’s
gorgeous
.  I look at the label in the back and see it’s by someone called ‘Alenta Chimera’.  I have no idea who she is, but she has made a beautiful dress.

“That’s lovely” Adam says, “Why don’t you try it on?”

“I will” I say, “I’m just going to have a look at another one as well” and I hurry over to where this lovely black dress is.  It’s a very simple black dress, but the cut is amazing.  I lift it off the rail and hold it up against myself.  “Oh I like this one as well now!” I say.  “What do you think?” I ask Adam.

“They’re both nice - Try them on” he replies and I go into the changing room with both dresses, while Adam sits on a sofa outside to wait for me.  Even the changing rooms are fabulous in this shop - pink velvet curtains, a huge gilt mirror and a little basket of complimentary toiletries!  I hang the dresses up inside the cubicle and look at them both for a few seconds.  Wonder what Nicola is going to be wearing?  I’d better make the right choice so I look better than she does.  Oh - which to try on first?  Think I’ll try the gold on.  I put the gold dress on and feel
fantastic
in it.  It’s lovely.  I go out to show Adam.  “What do you think?” I ask.

Adam looks up from the magazine he’s reading.  “Wow!  You look fantastic Gail” he says admiringly, looking me up and down.

“Thank you!” I say smiling.  “I’ll just go and try the other one now”.  I go back into the changing room, trip over one of my discarded boots and promptly go flying.  Oops.  I try and recover my poise and move the boots out of the way, before going to try the black dress on.  Thankfully Adam didn’t see me do that.  I try the black dress on and look at myself in the mirror.  Now this dress is very different, but I love it as well.  I feel really elegant in it and kid myself I look a bit like Audrey Hepburn in
Breakfast at Tiffany’s
.  Yes, if I breathe in and squint at my reflection from a long way away.  I go out to show Adam again, carefully avoiding my boots, which have slithered across the floor again.  “What do you think?” I ask.

“You look great in that one as well Gail” he says, “Very chic!”

“I just need to decide which one to get now” I say and head back into the changing room.  I change back into my jeans and jumper and look at both dresses.  They are both really lovely and I can’t decide which one to get.  I’ll get the cheapest I think.  I look at the price tag on the gold one first and my mouth drops open in shock.  £595!  Somebody is having a laugh.  Adam is not paying that much for a dress for me!  Good God - that’s a mortgage payment!  I wonder how much the black one is then?  I hardly dare look at the price ticket.  Phew it’s okay – it’s only £395.  Only!  Goodness!

I go back out of the changing room.  “Adam” I say in a low voice, “These dresses are both really expensive”.

Adam looks at the price tags on both of them.  “No that’s fine” he says casually.

I gape at him.  “Are you sure you can afford one?” I whisper.

“Its fine” he says, taking both dresses from me.

“What are you doing?” I ask.

“Well, you are going to need them both aren’t you?  One for the wedding itself and one for dinner the night before” he replies, grinning at my shocked expression.

“No Adam – you are not spending that much money on two dresses for me!” I protest.  “You can’t!”

“Oh can’t I?  You just watch me” Adam says, winking at me before walking over to the till.  “We’ll pay for these and then you can go and choose some shoes” he says as I walk up to him.  “I know you’ll enjoy that”.  I can’t help but gape at him as the assistant scans the two price tickets and starts wrapping the dresses in tissue paper.  I’ve never spent that much money on anything in my life - apart from a trip to Tenerife a few years ago, which was rubbish.  And I get shoes as well! 

I must be dreaming.  Either that or I’ve died and gone to heaven.

We go into a shoe shop next where all the shoes are treated, quite rightly in my opinion as art exhibits in their own right.  They are all beautifully displayed on clear Perspex stands, with mini down lighters over each pair.  They look so beautiful I can hardly
breathe
.  I am
so
in complete shoe heaven.  Carefully, I pick up a pair of strappy gold sandals and blanch at the price.  You could get a normal piece of artwork for that price.  I hastily put them back on the stand.

“Those are nice, why don’t you try them on?” Adam asks.  “Go well with your gold dress”.

“I think they’re a bit expensive” I say.  “Look at the price!” I hiss quietly.

Adam rolls his eyes and then smiles at me.  “Just try them on will you?” he says, so I pull off my boots and my socks and put the shoes on.

As soon as I put them on, I know that I love them.  I walk up and down the shop in them a few times.  I don’t want to take them off, I like them so much.  Nicola could look like Angelina Jolie and I would still feel fantastic in these shoes.

“Do you want those then?” Adam asks grinning and I nod fervently, carefully undoing the tiny ankle straps.  I’m not feeling guilty about buying these.  I’d walk through fire to get these.  I also choose a beautiful pair of shiny black court shoes, with a small platform sole and cone shaped heel to go with my black dress.  “Are you sure it’s okay for me to have these as well?” I ask.

“Of course it is!” Adam says and promptly spends another
four hundred pounds. 
He has spent nearly all I what I earn in a month in a morning.  Good grief.  “Let me buy you lunch today Adam” I say as we leave the shop and head towards the tailor’s so Adam can pick up his suit.  “It’s the very least I can do after you’ve spent all this on me today”.

Adam shrugs.  “If you insist” he says, “It doesn’t matter really, but it makes you feel better that would be very nice of you”.  We walk up to a really posh looking gents tailors and step into this sumptuous shop with lots of mahogany framed mirrors everywhere and a carpet which is that plush my boots sink several inches into it.

“Good morning Mr Finchley!  Your suit is ready if you’d like to try it on so we can check the final fit,” says this guy with a tape measure round his neck and a quiff in his hair.  Gosh, he is seriously shiny.  His hair is a gleaming black colour and his shoes are that shiny you could use them to do your hair in the morning.  He’s wearing black trousers; black waistcoat and a crisp white shirt with seriously sharp cuffs.

“Shan’t be long” Adam says.  “There’s a sofa for you to sit on while you wait for me,” he adds, pointing to a beautiful deep brown leather sofa (which is nearly as brown as the tailor’s tan).  The sofa is really comfortable, almost as comfortable as my sofa at home.  I got it from my aunty who got it off this bloke she knew at work.  Bit saggy in the middle – that’s the sofa, not the bloke - but it is still really comfy.

“What do you think?” Adam says as he walks from the changing room towards me a few moments later wearing a single breasted dark grey suit with a white shirt underneath and shiny leather shoes. My breath catches in my throat.He looks
gorgeous.