The next morning, Maggie opened her eyes and spent the first five minutes of her wedding day staring at the empty pillow next to her. Then Penny entered carrying a cup of tea, some buttered toast with poached eggs and two glasses of bucks fizz on a tray. Maggie sat up and Penny perched on the edge of the bed. They clinked glasses and sipped the fresh, tangy champagne.
Penny’s eyes filled with unexpected tears. ‘Since the first day I saw you and my son together, I knew you’d become a Warr one day. It just took a bit longer than I expected,’ Penny joked. ‘And I know that taking a man’s name doesn’t mean what it used to, and that’s no doubt a good thing, but... Oh, Maggie, I’ve waited so long to call you my daughter-in-law. You fill me with such pride.’
Maggie precariously hugged Penny over her breakfast tray, then they gulped down their first drink of the day.
Ridley stood at the front of the modestly sized room, tightly clutching the ring box. Although the bride’s family were seated on the opposite side of the room to the groom’s, many of the guests knew each other because Maggie and Jack had grown up in the same corner of Totnes, so their parents had mutual neighbours and friends. The rest of the guests were from various parts of the emergency services, so again paths had crossed many times before. Wetlock was seated towards the rear of the room on his own, next to the door in the ‘quick escape’ row of seats. He had his head down, checking his mobile, avoiding conversation with his neighbours.
There was a ripple of unrest running around the forty-three guests, due to the fact that Jack wasn’t standing next to his best man — but this was quickly replaced with joy as the doors at the back of the room opened...
Princess and Hannah both wore layered pink dresses with lace trim and matching pink hair bands. Princess sat in a Little Tikes Cozy Coupe, which Hannah was pushing whilst also dropping petals onto the floor, and Mario steered.
By the time they reached the front of the room, most people had tears in their eyes. Regina swept Hannah up into her arms and Mario steered Princess to the side of the room, before lifting her out and joining Regina and Hannah in the front row. All eyes returned to the now-open doors at the back of the room, where Jack stood, on the arm of his mum.
Penny beamed with pride and made a point of meeting every single tearful eye as she walked her only son down the short, makeshift aisle. By the time she was at the front, all of her neighbours from back home had their handkerchiefs out. Ridley took Penny by the hand and led her to her seat in the front row, near Regina. As soon as Penny was seated, Hannah scrambled into her arms. And once Jack was in position at the front of the room, the music began, and Maggie entered on her dad’s arm.
She looked stunning in her long-sleeved white satin dress. It hugged every curve of her athletic body. The neckline was elegantly revealing, plunged just far enough to meet her cleavage. Jack was speechless, in awe of the fact that Maggie had somehow managed to make herself even more breathtaking than usual. As she continued towards him, they never took their eyes off each other.
The ceremony was blissfully short and sweet, with all of the superfluous, old-style wording removed. Before Jack knew it, Ridley was being asked if he had the rings, and the second he opened the box and Maggie saw the DNA ring, she burst into tears, throwing her arms round Jack’s neck. The guests, although confused, knew that something special had just happened so responded with laughter and a round of applause.
Mrs Kasabian turned out to be true to her word. The venue was perfect down to the very last detail. Champagne was opened on cue, and no one had an empty glass for longer than two seconds before a teenager in immaculate black-and-whites swooped in and filled it up.
Ridley led Penny in on his arm, and asked what she would like to drink. Penny smiled at the fact that he was prepared to keep her company. ‘Don’t you worry about me. I’m going to pop over to my old Totnes friends and reminisce about what tearaways the bride and groom were as children.’ She reached onto her tip toes and kissed Ridley on the cheek. ‘Thank you, Simon. You are kind.’
Ridley watched Penny walk across the room, into the open arms of a big group of loving, attentive, lifelong friends. Ridley thrust his hands into his pockets and, no longer needed, headed to the bar on his own.
The early part of the evening was filled with old friends reconnecting, joyous dancing, hundreds of photos being taken, and dozens of bottles of wine being polished off. The teenage waiters seemed to be under strict instructions never to allow a glass to fully empty, so people quickly lost track of how much they’d actually drunk. At 5 p.m., Mrs Kasabian turned the music down and asked everyone to make their way to the tables. Wine glasses were filled, and the father of the bride stood to make his speech. He announced himself as being a man of few words, which thankfully turned out to be true, as he was also incredibly dull. He received a polite round of applause and Jack got to his feet.
‘Thank you all for coming. It’s great to see so many friends here, old and new. Thank you to George and Hazel for allowing me to marry your daughter. Thank you, Mum, for... God, where do I start? You saved my life, Penny Warr. I love you. I love Dad. I wish he was here with us.’
Penny mouthed the words, He is. She’d been in tears from the moment Jack stood up, but now she was in full flow. Her hanky was out and she was soaking up the tears before they fell, so as to minimise the damage to her make-up.
Jack took a deep breath. ‘Everyone, I’d like to introduce you to my wife, Maggie Warr. I’ve wanted to say that since I was nineteen. To me, the name means love, safety and belonging. I hope it means the same to you, Mags.’ Jack said very little more. He didn’t need to. He handed the thank you gifts out to the bridesmaids and to Ridley, then the guests raised their glasses to the bride and groom.
Ridley could stand in front of every officer in the Met and deliver a faultless briefing. He could stand in front of the national press and give a word-perfect speech. But this... this was so much harder because it was personal. Ridley was the most mysterious man in the station, with a private life that no one knew anything about, and now he had to say how he felt. Beneath his immaculate black suit jacket, his armpits were wet, and he could feel sweat running down his spine. Ridley had tried and failed to prepare, so now he was winging it, which was something he’d never done before in his life.
‘I don’t know why Jack chose me to be his best man. Some of you would be able to tell hilarious stories from years ago — I can’t do that. Some of you will have spent holidays and leisure time with Jack — whereas I only work with him. In fact, I’m his boss.’ The excited anticipation of a hilarious stream of embarrassing anecdotes instantly vanished and an awkward silence settled on the room. ‘If best man means “oldest friend”, that’s not me. But I think that every now and then, someone comes into your life who has an impact that you didn’t see coming. They fill a gap you didn’t know was there. And they provide support you didn’t know you needed. That’s how Jack and I rub along together. As unexpected friends. So...’ Ridley raised his glass and the now captivated, obedient room did the same. Ridley’s simple honesty now had everyone in the palm of his rather sweaty hand. ‘Maggie... thank you for allowing me to step into your life. Jack... thank you for stepping into mine. I have never known such a perfect couple. To the bride and groom.’
As the room stood and repeated those words for the third and final time, every nurse who had swooned over Ridley at Hannah’s christening was right back in that moment. He hadn’t said much, and he hadn’t been remotely funny, but he’d made the biggest impact.