Scripted, page 19
Sue jumped in. ‘Let’s not talk about that, eh, Lils?’ She tried to look sympathetic and nodded at Jade while anxiously repositioning her orange headband.
‘Well, I’m just making a point that it was only the venue deposit for Jade’s non-starter wedding that was lost, so Dad ended up saving quite a bit of cash in the end.’ Lily’s obliviousness was written across her face.
Jade continued to take deep breaths and didn’t make eye contact with anyone. She would not think about Navi. Not tonight. She let his face crack into fragments in her mind and concentrated on her pink dress and the shred of confidence she still had.
Lily turned back to Tony. ‘Well, anyway, thanks Dad. Love you.’ She rubbed her hands together and looked at James. Jade felt her teeth clench together. Breathe, breathe, she thought.
‘Well, Jade? What do you think Pauline should do? Regarding her …’ Sue mouthed the words prolapsed rectum.
‘I don’t know, Mum. Just … send her some flowers or something?’ Jade’s voice sounded distant and distracted.
‘I don’t think flowers will be much use. Anyway, where the hell is that sodding wine? Are they hand-crushing the grapes back there?’
‘Sir, red or white?’ A slick-haired waiter appeared behind Tony and leaned to his right.
‘Red, lovely.’
‘Mine’s the white,’ Sue hollered.
The waiter ignored Sue and moved to Jacquie.
‘Red, please.’ Jacquie grinned politely; her red lipstick now slightly smeared outside of her lip line.
‘White, please.’ Sue grabbed the glass from the waiter before he could place it down on the table. She took three large gulps then sighed.
‘Shall we order food while the waiter’s here?’ Jacquie clearly wanted this dinner to be over even more than Jade did. Jade smiled broadly at her stepmum.
‘We’ve barely been here two minutes, Jacquie. I’ve not even looked yet.’ Sue took one large gulp of wine, mouth open like a goldfish, to finish off her drink. ‘I would love another wine, though, please.’
‘Well, I tell you what, I know what I want so I’ll crack on and order.’ Jacquie kept her eyes on the waiter. ‘We’ll just do mains and puds, right? No starters.’ Jacquie looked to Tony.
‘Alright, Jacs, hold tight, it’s Lily’s rehearsal dinner. If I can’t have three courses on my baby girl’s big celebration, then when can I?’
‘Well, it’s not the actual big celebration,’ Jacquie said, giving Jade a knowing look. Jade raised her eyebrows in recognition. ‘But, anyway, you lot can do starters if you want. I’ll just go for a main and a pud. Can I have the sea bass from the Secondi section, please, and I’ll order my dessert later.’ Jacquie closed her menu with a little too much vigour.
The waiter nodded and scribbled quickly in his notepad. ‘Madam, for you?’
Sue looked up. ‘Oh, bloody hell. Well, I’m making a rushed decision here, but I’ll have the prawns to start and the pasta Alfredo for my main. Ta. And another glass of white.’ She held out her glass.
‘I’ll go next,’ Lily said, her smile bordering on smug. ‘I’m vegan at the moment, guys.’ Her face beamed around the table.
Jade looked down at the menu which featured every variation of animal product possible. ‘Good luck with that.’
‘Does the tomato salad feature cheese?’ Lily looked wistfully towards the waiter.
‘Feature cheese? It’s not a recording artist.’ Jade shook her head, wondering how they were even related. Lily ignored her.
The waiter smiled through the family tension, replying, ‘Yes, there is tomato, basil and mozzarella.’
‘OK, yes I’ll have that,’ Lily said cordially.
‘Mozzarella is cheese, Lils.’ Jade’s eyebrows furrowed.
‘Well, it’s only a little bit in a salad.’
Jade sighed deeply.
‘And for my main—’
Jade jumped in, ‘Are you going to ask if the turbot has fish in it? Because I’m imagining it does.’ The words escaped her mouth before she had time to think them through. She felt a tingle of fun course through her.
‘Jade!’ Sue scolded, almost as if she were talking to a dog.
‘Does the tagliatelle have dairy in it?’ Lily continued, undeterred.
‘Yes, madam.’
‘Oh well, I’ll have that anyway please. It is my rehearsal dinner after all,’ she said, dismissing James’s existence altogether. ‘Thank you.’ She handed the waiter the menu, tilting her head coquettishly.
Jade ordered the tomato pasta, which, ironically, was vegan, and sat waiting for the scripted part of the evening to arrive. Thinking back to the words on the pages she had read on the train from Dorset, she knew it would begin to unfurl before the starters came out. It could be any second. The room seemed to fall quiet as Jade ran through the new part of the script she had penned on the blank pages. Would she have the confidence in the moment to say the words aloud? She felt anxious, as she often did when all her family were together, but a little mischievous too. Everybody was so used to her being very quiet and accommodating, and she was bored of it. She had nothing to lose. She looked up at various family members talking at each other and heard her tummy rumble.
27
‘Oh, Daddy, I got you a gift to say thank you for tonight. Just a little something I picked up at Dukes while I was on my holistic hen?’ Lily thrust a small package in his direction.
Daddy? She really was pulling out all the stops now she had a free honeymoon in the bag, Jade thought. Blinking slowly, she forced a smile.
‘Oh, you little gem. Pour me another red while I open it, Lils.’ Tony held his hands out in Lily’s direction, his large fingers grappling with the tightly wrapped paper and strips of tape. Within the layers of wrapping and tissue paper sat a brown leather passport cover with ‘TMS’ stamped in gold at the bottom.
‘Oh, lovely, darling. Very classy.’
‘Did you see your initials at the bottom? I got it in the hotel boutique where they have their own monogramming service. Isn’t it gorgeous?’ Lily pushed her silky hair behind her ears with both hands.
‘What’s the M, Tony? What’s your middle name?’ Adam asked, pretending to care.
‘Morris. Tony Morris Shaw. The Tony Morris Shaw, that’s me.’ Tony’s laughter boomed as he placed the new passport holder next to his wine on the table.
‘Well, it’ll be handy come September, as Tony and I are off to Brazil. It’s part work trip, as there are some properties we’re going to look at—’
Jade sat bolt upright. Oh god, here we go. She knew the script was imminent, but this felt too soon.
Sue slammed her glass down on the table with a little too much force, her newly refilled wine splashing over the sides. ‘We? Is it a joint business now?’ Her bangles clashed together as she spoke.
Jacquie’s eyes narrowed to a squint. ‘Oh, you know what I mean. We’ll look, Tony will do the business part.’
Sue rolled her eyes to the ceiling. Jade felt the temperature drop.
‘Then we’re off to stay at an eco-lodge an hour outside of Rio. We’re trying to learn as much as we can about sustainable living as it’s a smart business move to convert as many of our, sorry, Tony’s properties going forward.’ Jacquie fake-smiled in Sue’s direction.
Jade looked across and noticed her sister listening with an exaggerated smile that barely masked her jealousy.
Sue swilled her wine around the glass then swallowed two mouthfuls in one. ‘Sounds lovely,’ she said, slurring slightly. Jade could feel her mum’s anger in each syllable, the table almost vibrating.
‘Oh, that sounds fab,’ Lily blurted out. ‘I once stayed at the Fasano Hotel in Rio. It was divine. I was working on a project there in my days as a party organiser. The manager is called Fabian and is quite literally FAB. You must pop in.’
‘Oh, darling, you did know how to put on a great party,’ Sue said loudly, as if to show Jacquie how supportive she was towards her daughters. ‘You really were the best event organiser out there.’ She had nearly finished her second wine. She looked over her shoulder for the waiter.
‘Yeah, Lils, we’ve been there,’ Tony said. ‘Think I met Fabian when we were over for the carnival one February.’ He spoke casually, as if visiting Rio was an everyday affair. ‘We’ve got a lot of work to do out there, though. Not too much of a holiday, Jacs. Got to keep working hard to expand the portfolio. These properties won’t buy themselves.’ Tony looked directly into Jade’s eyes.
Jade picked the skin on her thumbs. Do not react. Do not react. She sat patiently waiting for her moment.
‘I’ve heard the scene is pretty good out there at the moment, fashion-wise. I might have to swing by at some point and do a recce.’ Adam swigged from his negroni and tried to match Tony’s nonchalant tone.
‘You don’t really swing by, matey. It’s a long old flight and not a cheap one. If you’re going to be supporting my daughter here you might want to recce nearer to home.’ Tony chuckled, making light of his disparaging comment.
‘With all due respect, Tony, all businesses have to start out struggling somewhat, with optimistic, confident projections for the future. Putting in the work now means big rewards down the line.’ Adam ran his fingers through his hair, the blonde sections separating from the darker shades beneath.
Jade was starting to actually enjoy watching this scene unfold. It all seemed so ludicrous. One drink in, and everyone was allowing their worst traits to rise to the surface. She remained poker-faced and silent.
‘Been there, matey,’ Tony replied, ‘got the T-shirt. But let me tell you, I wasn’t dashing off to Rio in the early days. I was working twelve- to fifteen-hour days. Rio comes later—’
Adam trampled over his last words: ‘Times have changed, Tony.’
Tony ignored him and looked over his large shoulder. ‘Another bottle, please.’
Jade looked directly at her sister, remembering that she was about to start boasting about her interiors. Two seconds later, Lily looked up at their dad with purpose.
‘My interiors business is really taking off, talking of business, Dad. I’ve had tons of bookings for online consultations and a few prospective clients wanting full renovations.’
‘Lovely, darling, well done.’ Tony was dismissive, much more interested in his newly poured wine.
‘It’s a lot of work but it’s really taking off.’
Jade sat studying her sister – this creature who shared the same blood, arched eyebrows and foot size, yet was her opposite in every other way. She took in her sister’s smooth skin, her barely-there make-up that would have taken her hours, her thin veiny arms and shellac-coated nails.
Jacquie cut through Jade’s thoughts.
‘Oh, how brilliant. You’ll have to help us do a few of our properties up.’
Sue gulped down the last sip of her third glass. ‘Tony’s properties up.’
‘What’s your point, Sue? I’ve been with Tony for twelve years now. It’s really none of your business.’
Jade’s eyes widened. She knew what was coming but it was still a shock to see her mum and Jacquie having it out in front of everyone. Two women so familiar to her but so unfamiliar as a pair.
‘Mum, maybe make that your last glass of wine,’ Lily bellowed from across the table. Jade placed her arm lightly on her mum’s shoulder.
‘Yes, if you could, Sue. You’ve already done a whole bottle and we’re only on our starters,’ Jacquie added.
Jade’s eyes moved from one woman to the other like following a ball in a game of tennis. Mum, stepmum, mum, stepmum.
‘Go easy on her, guys. It can’t be easy for Sue,’ Adam chimed in. Jade had almost forgotten this moment when her boyfriend decided it was appropriate to get involved.
‘Pipe down, matey,’ Tony said. ‘Leave this one to the adults.’
Jade used every inch of willpower not to smile.
‘I’m thirty-three, Tony.’ Adam looked like a little boy at the dinner table.
Wanker, thought Jade.
‘This is all getting unnecessarily tense. Aren’t we meant to be celebrating Lily and James tonight, guys?’ Jacquie straightened her hair.
‘Yes, yes we are.’ Lily bounced her fist delicately on the table, half diva, half toddler.
‘We are celebrating you, Lils. Raise a glass for my princess and James.’ Tony thrust his glass high into the air, red wine lapping over the sides and onto the white tablecloth. Adam raised his negroni. Everyone else remained still as statues.
‘Can we slow down on the wine, though, everyone? This is clearly not a cheap restaurant so to have brazenly drunk a whole bottle already is thoughtless, Sue.’ Jacquie’s pent-up anger had started to rise out of her.
‘Well, it’s also clearly not your money, Jacquie, so it shouldn’t bother you too much.’ Sue was really slurring now. Jade kept her eyes fixed on the red spills of wine on the tablecloth that were starting to spread into bigger, fainter blotches.
‘Well, you would know, Sue. That lovely cottage you live in didn’t buy itself, did it?’ Jacquie stuck her chin out as she spoke. Jade noticed a couple on a nearby table glance over their shoulders to watch.
‘No, it didn’t. That lovely cottage is what you get after putting up with that for twenty years.’ Sue’s right hand, clutching her glass, jutted out in Tony’s direction, splattering wine all over the front of Jade’s dress. Jade leapt back and looked down at her damp lap. This was really getting out of hand. More diners had started to turn their heads to see the drama, attempting to not look too obvious. Lily waded in, trying to take the higher ground.
‘Mum, Dad’s work ethic, which I’ve been lucky enough to inherit, has paid off in your favour.’ Lily pushed her shoulders back so her sharp collarbones protruded. One of her drop earrings was illuminated momentarily in the overhead lighting.
‘Jacquie has got a point though,’ James suddenly said. ‘Do you think you have a drink problem, Sue?’ James’s first contribution felt jarring to Jade. A new voice in the drama.
‘James, you’ve been part of this family for all of two minutes, I don’t think you should be getting involved here.’ Adam placed a patronising hand on James’s left shoulder. James stared down at Adam’s hand without moving.
‘This is a joke. I worked so hard trying to organise a wonderful dinner for Lily, and look at you all. It’s embarrassing.’ Jacquie, on the verge of tears, flung her arms about like a rag doll.
Jade counted the two long seconds of silence in her head before standing on her shaky legs. She heard her own voice leave her mouth. It was calm, crystal clear, measured.
‘ALL OF YOU, JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP.’
The whole restaurant fell silent. Time froze; she was on her feet but weightless, suspended in air. Her hands spread out on the table, her arms rigidly keeping her upright. Each family member sat looking up at Jade’s face with wide eyes, unable to process what was happening. The restaurant began to chatter again in whispers. Jade felt the adrenaline course through her body, cool white cortisol running up her spine. She looked at her mum.
‘Mum, you need to stop drinking. You’re a wonderful person, I love you, but under the influence of alcohol you’re not your best.’
Lily stood up. Jade put her hands on her sister’s shoulders and pushed her back down. ‘Lily, you are a first-class piss-taker. You’ve managed to get Dad to pay for most of your wedding and now a honeymoon. You’re clueless. You’ve barely worked a day in your life, jumping from job to job. You seriously haven’t got a clue.’
Lily’s bottom jaw jutted out in shock. Before she had a chance to retort, Jade moved on to the next family member, her head turning slowly and precisely like an owl. ‘James, you’ve been brainwashed by my sister. I’m afraid to say you’re fanny-struck, my friend.’
James looked down at his hands in his lap.
Jade turned and fixed her eyes on her dad. ‘Dad, please can you stop mentioning how lucky I am to live in one of your many properties? Have you forgotten that I pay you full rent? All while Lily continues to raid your bank account. If you want me out of there, can you please be clear about it and just say.’
Jade turned to Jacquie. ‘Jacquie, you’ve been a wonderful stepmum to me over the years. I’ll always be grateful for that.’ She quickly glanced towards her mum. ‘Just try and be compassionate towards Mum. This isn’t easy for her, and I hate being in the middle of you both.’
In slow motion she turned to Adam. His face suggested he assumed he would be spared a grilling; it was relaxed and almost cheerful watching her performance. Jade remained calm and looked directly into his eyes. ‘And as for you; we’re done. Get your shit out of my flat as soon as possible.’
Adam’s face burned red. She watched it happen; his pale skin turn from milk to blood. She realised she had never seen him go red, or even look mildly embarrassed before.
‘Have a lovely evening everyone.’ Jade tipped her head as if she were wearing a hat. She picked up her bag and for a split second imagined tipping the table over, drinks and olives flying in slow motion. Her fingers twitched, but her arms remained by her sides. She turned on her heel, letting the fabric of her pink dress swirl in a perfect circle as she moved. ‘Night, Carlo.’ She waved and smiled at the waiters as she pushed through the heavy varnished doors.
She stood outside the restaurant for a moment, letting her face feel the cool air. The street-lamps glowed and the scent of summer moved around her gently. She grinned broadly. There had been no hesitation or effort. She had said the words. Every single one of them.
28
