Scott looked sincere. I was still trying to process the fact that my father and brother had been cheating. I’d never even contemplated it before but wondered what else I didn’t know about my family. I mean, shoddy real estate deals were one thing, but I hardly wanted to think about my dad or brother even having sex.
“Is there anything that needs doing?” I asked, still standing in the doorway to my cottage.
“No. There’s just guests arriving that need to be told, and they can stay and have dinner, seeing all the food’s here,” Scott replied.
I was still unsure of how to take Scott. He seemed fairly neutral about the situation, but I wondered if he was embarrassed for my idiot brother or proud of him. Even though a drink was the last thing I wanted, after Aunt B’s suggestion again, I agreed and walked down the path towards the bar.
~*~*~*~*~
Scott
There’s a German word for things that turn out in a karmic way, schadenfreude, or something. It was exactly how I felt when I turned up for breakfast at the appointed time and found only Debbie’s father present, reading the Saturday paper. He told me Debbie wasn’t well and that the wedding was going to be postponed.
I went in search of Daniel, only to find he’d left. I thought. as best man, I might have deserved a call or something, but it didn’t really bother me. It didn’t stop me texting my parents, letting them know the wedding was off and they needn’t bother making the trip. Danielle had already been onto my mother, who told me what a sad state of affairs it was.
Yep, she used the word affairs. There was nothing I could do, and the round of golf Daniel had planned was thankfully aborted, so I decided to go for a walk around the vineyard. I was still angry on Davina’s behalf. I’d knocked on her door after the dinner had finally finished, but she hadn’t answered even though she was in there and I could hear her singing.
When I lived in Minneapolis I’d gone out with a larger woman. She had a young son, and her ex had done a number on her self-confidence. She wasn’t after anything permanent, and either was I, but it was fun to catch up and the sex was amazing. I’d only heard from her the week before when she messaged me to say she’d met someone, and they were moving in together. I knew she was never my forever, but still, hearing of exes moving on made me wonder where I’d gone wrong.
Sure, I was still this side of thirty, just, but my parents had been married in their early twenties. It took them fifteen years to have a baby that was born alive. I know the number miscarriages and two stillbirths did on my mother. I was the seventeenth pregnancy. When I was eighteen, my parents sat me down and told me the truth. I was conceived via a donor embryo.
My parents were older when I was born, but they had forged a strong marriage through their struggles. Yes, they were disappointed that I chose to pursue architecture, and we had drifted apart, but they never appeared mean or callous like Davina’s parents.
On my walk, I came across a stunning rose garden on a rise that overlooked miles and miles of vines. I wondered how wind didn’t batter the flowers, but there appeared to be protection from some well-placed trees.
My Grandma Rose grew roses. She told me it was in her name, and I believed her. Grandpa Tom had been killed in Vietnam after being conscripted. Grandma had never married again, but always spoke so fondly of her late husband. It was her death that saw me leave for overseas. I’d wanted to keep her house and begged my mum to try and work out a way of keeping it in the family, but my uncle had refused and said it should be sold, no doubt spurred on by my father.
I hadn’t visited the house since I’d returned home but decided that I would do so in the near future if only to see if her garden still stood and perhaps try and take some photos.
Whereas my parents and grandma had been on my mind on my walk that found me in the rose garden, it was Davina on my mind on the way back. Her smile from the café the day before was tattooed on my brain. The roundness of her cheeks, and her dainty nose, plus, across the room, I could see she had natural eyelashes that went on for days.
Knocking on her door upon my return I was almost left speechless when she appeared dressed to attend a wedding. She looked divine. Her dark hair cascaded across her shoulders in floaty waves. Her dress was a dark pink, almost a red, that covered one shoulder before flowing down. I’ve got no idea what she’d done with make-up, but it made her beauty shine.
“Shit. Wow! Davina. You look stunning, but I take it you haven’t heard?” Classy, Scott, pure class.
Another woman was walking towards us who introduced herself as Aunt B, and I took to be Danielle’s sister. After relaying the stories to Davina and not being surprised that her family hadn’t told her the wedding was off, we made our way down towards the bar. Davina kept saying she’d change, but neither Aunt B nor I would let her.
“It’s a beautiful dress, darling. Did your friend design it?” Aunt B had threaded her arm through her niece’s.
“Yeah, it’s one of Sabine’s, and Marnie designed the lingerie.”
Lingerie. That had my body taking attention. Friends had always told me you were a boob or a bum man, but I was both. Although I couldn’t tell what her bum looked like in the dress, her boobs looked spectacular. Last night she wore a wrap dress that showed off cleavage, but today, the dress simply hinted at the amazingness underneath.
“Don’t worry that they didn’t tell you–I wasn’t even told it was off until I came down for breakfast.” I was still amazed at the situation we found ourselves in.
“Yeah, well, I knew my family’s business morals were on the lower side, so I shouldn’t be surprised their personal ones are too.” Davina shook her head as I held the door open to the bar area.
“Oh, darling. Your father’s been having affairs since before you were born, and my sister knows all about them and has done nothing. How was the rehearsal dinner?”
“It was totally fucked up,” I stated before Davina could open her mouth. “Davina was treated as rubbish and made the butt of their jokes.Their behaviour was disgusting.”
Davina’s eyes flew wide open, and she was clearly shocked by my statement.
“Yeah, well, same shit, different day. You know what they’re like, Aunt B.”
“Just remember, darling, they’re the shit ones, not you. Now…a bottle of red?”
“I drank a bottle last night when I got back to my room and my head has only just started to clear.” Davina bit her lip and looked sheepish.
“I’m happy to start with sparkling water,” I suggested.
We all sat and watched as Priscilla spoke to people about the “postponement.” It was lovely getting to know Davina’s Aunt B. She was hilarious, quipping about what other guests were wearing and telling a long story about the vase she’d bought the happy couple as a gift, but would now return as it was so disgusting, she couldn’t think about giving it to anyone else.
“I went for a walk earlier and came across a stunning rose garden past the vines, on an escarpment overlooking the area,” I offered as Aunt B went over to say hello to some of her family friends who had arrived.