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Authors: Chrissie Manby
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take her for Sunday lunch at her ex-boyfriend’s local. She just about managed to hide her fury when her ex told her, ‘I’m glad you’re moving on.’
Faced with that obvious uninterest, Diana convinced herself that she was actually moving on. Rather than viewing Ben as a stepping stone to getting her ex back, she started to look for evidence that she had in fact traded up. He was good-looking. He was from a great family. One of his cousins had trialled for the Chelsea youth team. Plus, he was just starting out as a promoter. He had a glittering career ahead of him, she was sure.
But Ben’s club-promotion career never quite took off. There were problems with drug-dealing and underage drinking. The police were there night after night. It was possible that Diana’s ex had set him up. For whatever reason, Ben decided that the life of a promoter wasn’t for him. He diverted more energy into his day job in IT.
When Ben announced that he was retiring from the club scene, Diana was disappointed not to be the girlfriend of a promoter any more, but she decided that being the partner of an IT expert might be just as good. Certainly, Ben made more money at his day job. His bonuses were quite impressive. She was very happy to cruise around town in his big, new Audi. As she entered her late twenties, Diana was increasingly aware of competition in the form of younger girls. It was time to settle down, Diana decided. With her behind him, Ben could achieve great things. They could make it work.
Surprisingly, though Diana had always considered herself to be the ‘bigger catch’, Ben seemed as reluctant to make things official as Diana’s ex had been. Eventually, she persuaded him that it was worth their buying a house. Panicked by the seemingly inexorable rise of house prices, Ben had agreed. However, he didn’t really have enough to buy the kind of place that Diana wanted. It was with help from Diana’s father that they bought a new-build four-bedroomed house at the very height of the market.
After that, Diana concentrated her efforts on getting an engagement ring. She spoke glowingly of the advantages of marriage. She invited her married friends over all the time, as though to prove to Ben that settling down needn’t mean an end to having fun. Still Ben resisted. He said they were too young.
The last thing Diana expected was for her big break to come in the shape of Ben’s infidelity. Had she known how it would play out, she might have tried an ultimatum before. But perhaps it was the fact that her threat to leave Ben was so very real that this ultimatum worked.
‘I was so frightened you’d leave me,’ said Ben when Diana agreed to stay if and only if they got engaged.
Ben had no idea how frightened Diana had been that she would be the one who ended up on a dating site. She was nearing thirty and she had no intention of passing that milestone alone. She was never going to let him go.
Chapter Thirteen
16 November 2010
‘Oh my God!’
The busy showroom of Bride on Time was brought to a halt by a scream from the backroom.
‘OhmiGod, ohmiGod, ohmiGod.’
Sarah, who, at twenty-three years old, was the youngest of the three full-time bridal consultants, came out of the backroom flapping her hands and hyperventilating. She couldn’t get her words out. She skipped round the salon three times before Melanie pulled up a chair and pushed her down into it.
‘Whatever’s the matter?’
A bridal consultant gone loopy would not be good for business. The showroom was packed that afternoon. Four brides and their attendants all stopped and stared.
On the chair, Sarah continued to fight to find the breath to speak. She fanned her face with a Pronovias catalogue. She mouthed words but made no sound.
‘Sarah? Sarah? Whatever is up?’ Melanie asked.
‘You’re not going to believe it,’ Sarah said at last. ‘They’re getting married.’
An awful lot of people who came to Bride on Time were getting married, Melanie
Faced with that obvious uninterest, Diana convinced herself that she was actually moving on. Rather than viewing Ben as a stepping stone to getting her ex back, she started to look for evidence that she had in fact traded up. He was good-looking. He was from a great family. One of his cousins had trialled for the Chelsea youth team. Plus, he was just starting out as a promoter. He had a glittering career ahead of him, she was sure.
But Ben’s club-promotion career never quite took off. There were problems with drug-dealing and underage drinking. The police were there night after night. It was possible that Diana’s ex had set him up. For whatever reason, Ben decided that the life of a promoter wasn’t for him. He diverted more energy into his day job in IT.
When Ben announced that he was retiring from the club scene, Diana was disappointed not to be the girlfriend of a promoter any more, but she decided that being the partner of an IT expert might be just as good. Certainly, Ben made more money at his day job. His bonuses were quite impressive. She was very happy to cruise around town in his big, new Audi. As she entered her late twenties, Diana was increasingly aware of competition in the form of younger girls. It was time to settle down, Diana decided. With her behind him, Ben could achieve great things. They could make it work.
Surprisingly, though Diana had always considered herself to be the ‘bigger catch’, Ben seemed as reluctant to make things official as Diana’s ex had been. Eventually, she persuaded him that it was worth their buying a house. Panicked by the seemingly inexorable rise of house prices, Ben had agreed. However, he didn’t really have enough to buy the kind of place that Diana wanted. It was with help from Diana’s father that they bought a new-build four-bedroomed house at the very height of the market.
After that, Diana concentrated her efforts on getting an engagement ring. She spoke glowingly of the advantages of marriage. She invited her married friends over all the time, as though to prove to Ben that settling down needn’t mean an end to having fun. Still Ben resisted. He said they were too young.
The last thing Diana expected was for her big break to come in the shape of Ben’s infidelity. Had she known how it would play out, she might have tried an ultimatum before. But perhaps it was the fact that her threat to leave Ben was so very real that this ultimatum worked.
‘I was so frightened you’d leave me,’ said Ben when Diana agreed to stay if and only if they got engaged.
Ben had no idea how frightened Diana had been that she would be the one who ended up on a dating site. She was nearing thirty and she had no intention of passing that milestone alone. She was never going to let him go.
Chapter Thirteen
16 November 2010
‘Oh my God!’
The busy showroom of Bride on Time was brought to a halt by a scream from the backroom.
‘OhmiGod, ohmiGod, ohmiGod.’
Sarah, who, at twenty-three years old, was the youngest of the three full-time bridal consultants, came out of the backroom flapping her hands and hyperventilating. She couldn’t get her words out. She skipped round the salon three times before Melanie pulled up a chair and pushed her down into it.
‘Whatever’s the matter?’
A bridal consultant gone loopy would not be good for business. The showroom was packed that afternoon. Four brides and their attendants all stopped and stared.
On the chair, Sarah continued to fight to find the breath to speak. She fanned her face with a Pronovias catalogue. She mouthed words but made no sound.
‘Sarah? Sarah? Whatever is up?’ Melanie asked.
‘You’re not going to believe it,’ Sarah said at last. ‘They’re getting married.’
An awful lot of people who came to Bride on Time were getting married, Melanie
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