{"id":411,"date":"2011-05-03T11:11:31","date_gmt":"2011-05-03T00:11:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/?p=411"},"modified":"2013-09-27T16:20:31","modified_gmt":"2013-09-27T23:20:31","slug":"cucumber-sandwiches-and-a-wedding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/?p=411","title":{"rendered":"Season 2: Episode 10"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Ana checked her watch. She was running so <\/i>far behind time. She understood the concept of being fashionably late, but this was beyond a joke. The traffic was barely moving. She drummed her fingers impatiently on the seat next to her.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs there another route we can take?\u201d she asked the driver, conscious that she was over an hour late. Her mobile phone battery had died while she was at the hairdresser\u2019s and she didn\u2019t want anyone to think she was leaving them stranded at the altar, so to speak. The driver shrugged apologetically and Ana was left staring out the window, cursing Stefan for taking forever to finish her hair. She had tried to hurry him along. He knew how important it was for her to be on time, tonight of all nights!<\/p>\n

\u201cBut darling,\u201d he had cooed. \u201cYou cannot celebrate such an occasion of love and commitment without perfect hair!\u201d<\/p>\n

Finally, the car arrived at its destination and she leapt out. Ana pushed open the heavy door and ran down the long corridor, noticing the beautiful fresh flowers that had been set out for the occasion. She took a sharp left into the room where she could hear the murmur of hushed voices.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026we can see Catherine just emerging from the hotel as we speak\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHave I missed it?\u201d Ana asked breathlessly, bursting through the door. \u201cThe hairdresser took forever!\u201d<\/p>\n

She was met by a chorus of \u201cSsshhhhhh!\u201d from housemates Willow and Mia.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s just getting into the car to go to the Abbey,\u201d explained Mia, her eyes glued to the television.<\/p>\n

Ana breathed a sigh of relief. Not that she normally got into these sorts of things, but all three of them seemed to have caught wedding fever \u2013 it had been going around, apparently \u2013 and Ana didn\u2019t want to miss the moment when Wills and Kate tied the knot.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not sure about that lace,\u201d said Willow, sceptically. \u201cBut maybe it\u2019ll work when we get to see the whole outfit.\u201d<\/p>\n

There were murmurs of agreement from the other two. A break in the commentary enabled Mia to rush into the kitchen and grab some Champagne flutes.<\/p>\n

\u201cAna, I thought you were never going to get here. We are dying<\/i> for some bubbles. We thought you were going to leave us high and dry,\u201d she said, adding, \u201chair looks great, by the way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Because she was going out to the hairdresser anyway, Ana had been charged with the very important job of buying the booze on her way home. Had she known that Stefan was such a fan of the British Royal Family she wouldn\u2019t have mentioned her plans tonight to watch the wedding with her girlfriends, because as soon as she had, he had insisted on spending extra time making sure every strand sat perfectly. She handed over the bag of sparkling, laughing when she saw the girls had brought an Esky into the living room.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be a long night,\u201d explained Willow.<\/p>\n

In the spirit of the occasion, Willow produced a platter of cucumber sandwiches that she had prepared earlier. Mia bit into the delicate canap\u00e9 and smiled, hardly surprised that Willow had gone to this much trouble. She\u2019d rolled paper-thin bread and even cut the crusts off. They half-watched the wedding ceremony; more interested in the crowd and what everyone was wearing than the actual nuptials.<\/p>\n

\u201cLooks as though she\u2019s planning on broadcasting to greater London,\u201d said Ana, pointing to one of the Royals, who had a particularly ridiculous satellite dish of a hat on her head.<\/p>\n

Willow took another swig of Champagne and picked up a sandwich. \u201cIs your wedding going to be like this, Ana?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ana snorted, nearly spraying a mouthful of her drink across the room. \u201cYeah, I\u2019ve got Sarah Burton on speed dial already. I\u2019ve told her to spare no expense!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe you could just borrow Kate\u2019s dress. It\u2019s not like she\u2019s going to be needing it again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe hope!\u201d chorused Ana and Mia.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t do anything like this,\u201d pleaded Mia. \u201cI don\u2019t think I can sit through another five-hour wedding extravaganza.\u201d She shifted uncomfortably. \u201cMy bottom has gone numb.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAny plans for nuptials on the horizon for you then, Mia?\u201d Willow teased.<\/p>\n

Mia looked decidedly uncomfortable but tried to make light of the comment. \u201cI\u2019d need to find someone I wanted to marry first.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot Nick, then?\u201d<\/p>\n

Willow and Ana made kissy-kissy faces and Mia laughed half-heartedly, barrelling them with cushions from the couch. She decided it was time to change to subject.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow about you, Willow?\u201d<\/p>\n

Willow sighed. \u201cWell Prince Harry did call the other day\u2026\u201d She broke off, grinning. \u201cNope. I\u2019ve sworn off men altogether. They\u2019re all lying, cheating, conniving bastards.\u201d She said it with jest, but the others could tell she was still hurting after the Carlo debacle.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot all of them,\u201d said Ana softly, patting her friend\u2019s hand.<\/p>\n

\u201cI suppose Tom\u2019s all right. And Nick too,\u201d Willow added. \u201cBut the rest of them are bloody awful!\u201d<\/p>\n

Ana and Mia had been surprised at the relative calmness with which Willow had told them about Carlo. Given the strength of her feelings for him, they had been expecting weeks of ice cream, tissues and baked goods. But she had surprised them all by shedding only a few tears, rejecting ice cream all together and only baking one thing: a large sour cherry cake (they tried not to read too much into that). She had taken a sudden and severe disliking to Italian food, though. Willow was adamant that she had given up on men completely, and was perfectly satisfied in the knowledge that she would probably be alone for the rest of her life. Maybe with a cat. She reached into the Esky to grab another bottle of the delicious French bubbly, topping up everyone\u2019s glasses.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am so glad that you are getting married, though, Ana,\u201d she said. \u2018I haven\u2019t been to a wedding in ages. And certainly not of someone I love.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t even really know what\u2019s going on with it,\u201d said Ana. \u201cTom\u2019s been doing most of the planning. It\u2019s like he doesn\u2019t trust me to organise it or something.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mia and Willow suppressed smiles. Ana was fantastic at organising other people. She could manage an event at a day\u2019s notice and it would be perfect, but when it came to planning anything for herself she was useless. Willow and Mia fondly remembered the time she tried to organise her own 30th birthday, realising four days beforehand that she\u2019d ordered cases of Champagne, ample catering and decorations for the house, but forgotten to send out a single invite.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t think of anyone else who is even close to getting married at the moment,\u201d mused Willow, thoughtful. They sat in silence for a while, each mentally ticking off the people they knew in their heads.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh my God. Can you imagine Johnny getting married?\u201d exclaimed Ana.<\/p>\n

She and Willow broke into peals of laughter.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019ll get married when he\u2019s 60,\u201d chuckled Willow, \u201cto a 21- year-old model named Bambi.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWho\u2019ll fall in love with him because he is so mysterious and knows so much about wine,\u201d continued Ana, between giggles.<\/p>\n

They rolled around on the floor, the joke all the more hilarious because of the Champagne they had consumed. Mia tried to join in, but their conversation had made her heart sink. Although she knew that this was probably true, she still secretly hoped Johnny would miraculously turn up on the front door step and sweep her off her feet. Besides, what kind of stupid name was Bambi, anyway?<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve got to go to bed,\u201d she said, too brightly. \u201cEarly client tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n

The other two looked at each other. Why was Mia being weird all of a sudden?<\/p>\n

\u201cBut you\u2019ll miss the balcony kiss,\u201d said Willow, indicating the television set. Kate and Wills had emerged from the Abbey and William was doing everything he could to avoid stepping on the hem of his new wife\u2019s dress.<\/p>\n

Mia shrugged. \u201cIt\u2019ll be all over the papers tomorrow. \u2019Night.\u201d<\/p>\n

They heard her footsteps disappear upstairs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat was that<\/i> all about?\u201d asked Willow, baffled.<\/p>\n

Ana shrugged, a mischievous grin spreading across her face. \u201cMaybe she fancies Johnny.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs if!\u201d snorted Willow.<\/p>\n

Ana and Willow rolled around on the floor again, laughing uncontrollably at the ridiculousness of the prospect. Mia and Johnny. Now there<\/i> was an unlikely couple!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ana checked her watch. She was running so far behind time. She understood the concept of being fashionably late, but this was beyond a joke. The traffic was barely moving. She drummed her fingers impatiently on the seat next to her. \u201cIs there another route we can take?\u201d she asked the driver, conscious that she […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"yes"},"categories":[198],"tags":[35,53,193],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/411"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=411"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/411\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1198,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/411\/revisions\/1198"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=411"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=411"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=411"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}