Nevertheless, she decided to have a quiet word with Jason to put him in the picture about Patrice’s plans, but not until the ceremony and the reception were over. She had no intention of dumping that grenade on the groom before he’d exchanged his wedding vows.
Chapter Fourteen
Feeling as though she’d just been slapped in the face by one of Anton’s wet dishcloths, Lexie made her way to the bar, desperate for a drink. A glass of ice-cold prosecco would have been just the thing to soothe her frazzled nerves, but she couldn’t do that so a glass of sparkling water with a slice of lime and lots of ice would have to do. She slid onto the barstool and ordered her drink from the barman, a ginger-haired teenager with a profusion of freckles and a sympathetic smile, who replenished her glass when she downed the first in one gulp.
‘Thanks.’
‘Looks like you needed that,’ came a voice at her elbow. ‘I know exactly how you feel. Barman, another G&T for the lady and I’ll have another snifter of your finest malt, if you please.’
‘Oh, no, George, it’s not gin – it’s just sparkling water.’
‘Okay, well, mine’s still a double whiskey.’
George exchanged a mischievous smirk with Lexie and she rolled her eyes. There was no way she was going to chastise George for ignoring Zara’s mandate – he clearly enjoyed a close relationship with the inside of a scotch whiskey bottle. She had only met Jason’s father briefly when the wedding party arrived, but she had liked him on sight, despite his slightly dishevelled appearance and propensity to repeat everything he said twice.
‘You look flustered, my dear, flustered. It’s not good for the soul all this stressing and running around. You need to take up yoga, I say, yoga or Pilates, that’s good too, that’s what I tell my patients’ parents when they complain about the pressures of life, the world and the universe.’
George knocked back the contents of his glass and banged it down onto the highly polished mahogany bar, nodded to the barman to give him a refill.
‘Your patients?’
‘I’m a physiotherapist on the children’s ward at the Bristol Royal.’
Lexie had to admit, her initial reaction to this news was surprise. However, if she took a moment to look beneath his slightly scruffy exterior, she could see that he was actually quite muscular and the reason she had thought he carried a few extra pounds was because his clothes were a size too big for him. Having just spent the last ten minutes in the company of Patrice, the difference was stark. Far from wearing his Sunday best, George looked like he’d slept in his jacket, which was not only creased and misshapen, but missing a button and frayed at the cuffs. And the guy could really do with a decent haircut. She made a mental note to ask Dianne, the hotel’s resident hairdresser, who was booked to arrive at dawn the next day to perform her magic on the women’s hair, if she wouldn’t mind popping in to see the groom’s father first.
As George sipped on what was probably his fourth or possibly even fifth whiskey of the day, she briefly wondered how he had afforded to pay for his share of Zara and Jason’s wedding – which she knew ran into the tens of thousands – if he couldn’t afford a haircut or a new shirt for the rehearsal dinner that was due to take place in an hour’s time, not to mention his ever-lengthening bar tab!
‘That sounds like a worthwhile career, George.’
‘I love it. The kids are so inspirational, every single one of them. They are all fighting the cruellest of battles, the cruellest of battles, but they still find the energy to smile, to join in with the games the nurses organise to keep their spirits up. Seeing them every day puts my own meagre troubles into perspective, I can tell you. When Nadia and I split, I thought my world had ended, but when I walked through the ward door, I gave myself a sharp slap around the chops. “George,” I said, “look around you, look what these little ones and their families are going through and count your blessings,” and that’s what I do every day, I count my blessings.’
George smiled at Lexie and her heart ballooned at the kindness she saw in his eyes, but the feeling was swiftly followed by a surge of distress. What would he think when he saw Patrice go down on one knee and propose to his ex-wife the next day? George didn’t deserve to be a witness to that.
‘I wish I had the cash Nadia’s got stashed away. Do you know what I’d do with it, Lexie? What I would do with it?’
‘No?’
‘I’d spend it all on toys and books and those computer games the kids love so much nowadays, but well, I suppose Zara must have mentioned that I didn’t come out too well in the divorce settlement. In fact,’ he muttered, staring into the dregs of his whiskey as if searching for the elusive Holy Grail. ‘I think all I walked away with were the clothes on my back and my ten-year-old BMW. Can I give you some advice, Lexie? Never sign a pre-nup, no, never sign a pre-nup. Twenty years I was married and what do I have to show for it? I have a studio flat next to the hospital with a prime view of the gasworks.’
‘Oh, George, I’m—’
‘It’s all good, it’s all good. Hey, do you fancy joining me and a bunch of colleagues next weekend for a half marathon? Fancy dress, it is. I’m doing it in a Spiderman outfit – the kids love that. I’m going into the ward on the Friday beforehand in the full regalia. The children write their names on my costume and I run the whole course with a bucket around my neck to collect donations. You know, I raised over five hundred pounds when I did the London marathon last year. We bought one of those little trampolines for the hospital garden. What do you say, Lexie? Will you join me?’
Lexie couldn’t remember the last time she had been to the gym or taken part in an exercise class. She would like to use the excuse that she was too busy, working long hours, travelling abroad, but that would be misleading George. She had never been one of those people who enjoyed running on treadmills or cycling on stationary bikes. She couldn’t see the point. If she was going to exercise, she would drag her bicycle from the shed in the rear yard and brave the London traffic.
‘I’ll think about it, George. Thanks for asking me, though, and I’d definitely like to sponsor you, if that’s okay?’
‘That’s fabulous! Every penny counts, as the saying goes, every penny counts. I’ll grab you before I leave tomorrow night.’
‘Okay, now, I think you should switch to lemonade because the rehearsal dinner is due to start in just over fifty minutes and I assume you know about Zara’s embargo on alcohol until after the ceremony tomorrow?’
‘Oops, sorry, that must have slipped my mind.’
Lexie rolled her yes, but smiled. ‘I’ll see you in the dining room at six o’clock.’
‘Okay, lass, see you there, but can I ask you a favour before you go?’
‘Sure.’
‘Make sure I’m seated as far away from Nadia and that toyboy of hers, Perfect Patrick, as possible, will you? He’s a bit too fragrant for my taste, if you know what I mean!’
‘I know exactly what you mean,’ she grinned, liking George even more and her sympathy for his financial predicament growing even more pronounced. ‘Consider it done. So, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll pop over to the dining room and check the seating plan. There’s only nine of you, but I’m sure I can sort something out.’