Gypsy Wedding (6 page)

‘Well?’ he asked as she climbed into the car.

‘Pretty good,’ she said. ‘I passed five and got an A for art and an A star for textiles. And with English and maths I’ve got enough to go to college.’

Johnnie’s face broke into a huge smile. ‘Well, I never, my daughter, a college girl. Who’d have thought it?’

‘You pleased, Dad?’

‘Since it’s what you’ve set your heart on, yes. Yes I am, princess.’

On the journey home Vicky texted Liam with her results and he was there to greet her when the car drew up. As she got out he picked her up and spun her round and round, pride in his fiancée’s achievement beaming from his face.

‘I can’t believe my girl is so clever,’ he said. ‘And an A star! Isn’t that like top marks?’

‘It’s a good grade, yes,’ said Vicky with a laugh. Liam’s joy was infectious.

‘Vicky! Vicky!’ Her mother was shrieking at her from the door of the trailer. ‘Vicky, your daddy’s just told me. Come here, me darlin’, and give me a hug.’

Vicky ran across to her mother, who enveloped her. She kissed her daughter’s hair repeatedly. ‘Clever, clever, clever girl,’ she said between the kisses. ‘To think, a daughter of mine with real, proper qualifications! Where do you get it from?’

‘I thought you said your great-granny was a seamstress. I think wanting to sew is in my blood.’

‘That may be the case but the other exams? Great-granny couldn’t read or write and no one else in your family has ever got past the basics.’

‘Reading and writing isn’t that tricky, you know, Mammy.’

‘Maybe not but you won’t be seeing me learning to do it properly. Not now. But I’m glad you have, although what you’ll do with all these exams is a mystery to me.’

‘I’m going to college, Mammy.’ Vicky could still barely believe it and saying the words again gave her a thrill.

Her mum smiled at her. ‘To be sure you are, although I still don’t see the need. Great-granny Bernadette made clothes for all sorts before she married – gentry and everything – and she didn’t need no college education.’

‘I know, Mammy, but times have changed.’

Her mother heaved a sigh. ‘You’re right there, sure enough.’

Her father appeared from behind their trailer lugging a crate of beer. ‘Come on, Liam,’ he said. ‘I think our Vicky deserves a toast. Mary-Rose, get some apple juice for the girls and grab a glass of something for yourself.’

The noise and happiness that exuded from around the O’Rourke trailer brought others out of theirs in curiosity. The news of Vicky’s results soon whizzed around the site and other families came to congratulate her on her new qualifications and slap her father on the back for producing such a clever daughter, although there was a certain amount of private head-shaking when they heard she wanted to go on to do more learning.

‘So when’s the wedding?’ asked Fergal McMahon, one of their neighbours. ‘I was expecting it any day now. You and Liam have been engaged for quite a while.’

Vicky slapped on a smile. Why couldn’t people mind their own business? She’d had enough of this sort of talk last night and really didn’t appreciate Fergal dragging it all up again. ‘Not so long, really, and I’ve promised to tie the knot next year. And my dad says it’s okay to wait till then and Liam does too.’
Put that in your pipe, you interfering old duffer
.

‘As long as your daddy is okay with your plans that’s all that matters,’ Fergal went on, interferingly.

‘As if I’d be planning on going to college if he didn’t want me to.’

‘Of course not. You’re a good girl, Vicky, we all know that.’

Vicky’s phone bleeped to alert her to a text. She excused herself and checked it out. It was an unknown number. Curiously she opened the text.

‘Come out 2nite. Wld love 2 c u. Jordanx’

Vicky stared at the screen transfixed. What the heck was he playing at? As if he didn’t have a girlfriend already. Chloe would kill her if she found out that her man was texting another woman.
And frankly
, thought Vicky,
I wouldn’t blame her
. Suppose the shoe was on the other foot and she found out that Liam was playing fast and loose behind her own back? She’d be livid.

‘Something wrong?’ said Shania, coming over to her with the jug of juice to refill her sister’s glass and clocking the expression on her face. ‘Was that the school saying they’ve made a mistake and you’re not the smarty-pants you think you are after all?’

‘Miaow,’ said Vicky. She tried to keep her annoyance in check. It was a great day for her and she wasn’t going to have Shania spoiling it. ‘Can I get you a saucer of milk?’

Shania had the decency to look shamefaced; she’d gone too far with that catty comment. ‘Sorry, I mean I know you’ve done well and all that but I just don’t see why on earth you want to go off to college. I’m glad you’ve got your grades. To be sure you’ve worked hard enough for them but … well, I think you’re mad.’

‘So you’ve said. It’s not like I’m in any doubt about how you feel.’

Shania looked down and shuffled her feet. ‘No, well, like I say, I’m glad you’ve got the grades.’

‘Here, give us a hug. And no, as you were asking, it wasn’t the school.’

‘Oh, that’s okay then. And I was only joking.’

‘I know. If you must know, it was a text from another girl telling me how she’d done,’ she lied. No way could she let anyone on the park know that she was getting messages from a boy from school. Deftly she pressed a couple of buttons and the text disappeared.

Shania shrugged. GCSE results, with the exception of her sister’s, were of no interest. She’d given up school ages back and had only ever cared about becoming a housewife and mother.

The impromptu party swirled around Vicky. Someone brought out a CD player and plugged it into their trailer. A couple of others brought more beers and the women got together and began to organise some food. Suddenly the celebration had gone from a couple of beers with friends to a full-on knees-up.

Vicky realised she was completely underdressed. The clothes that had seemed so suitable for popping into school now seemed drab and boring. Telling everyone she was going to change she nipped into her room in the trailer and shut the door. Besides, she didn’t just want privacy to get changed, she wanted to check out something on her phone.

She sat down on her bed, opened her phone and clicked on the buttons to bring up the call history. There was Jordan’s number. Vicky stared at it. Should she answer his text or ignore it? She made up her mind. It would do no harm to tell him ‘no’. It wasn’t as if she was doing anything wrong. It was only a text. Except she knew in her heart that her dad and Liam wouldn’t see it like that. Having a secretive text conversation with another boy would be stepping right out of line. As far as they were concerned it would be almost as if she were having sex with the lad.

She began to text back. ‘Cant come …’ She stopped. What could she say? My dad won’t let me? I’m engaged? No, either of those would spark too many questions. But if she just told him she was busy he might text again and now he had her number he might keep pestering her and she couldn’t risk that. What if Liam found a message from him, which was a real possibility, as he often borrowed her phone when he’d run out of credit on his own. On the other hand she didn’t want to be rude. She deleted what she’d written and instead put, ‘No don’t want to hurt Chloe.’ That should make him think twice. Satisfied with her answer she hit send. It was only when she’d done so she wondered who on earth had passed on her mobile number to him. There were very few people at school who knew it and one of them was Kelly.

She was going to have to have a really strong word with Kelly about trying to set her up with Jordan. She might think it was clever, or possibly funny, or maybe she really thought she was doing them both a favour, but as far as Vicky was concerned she was wrong on every count. It had to stop.

Vicky changed into the shortest shorts she could find and a skimpy top of neon pink. Tucking her mobile into a pocket she sashayed out of the trailer and into the sunshine and back into the gathered crowd of friends and well-wishers.

The cooking was getting going, despite the fact that it was still only mid-morning, and the smell of barbecuing sausages was fabulous. She realised that she hadn’t eaten since the night before as her nerves had got between her and any thoughts of breakfast. It wasn’t quite lunchtime but Vicky was starving.

A table had been brought over and plates and cutlery were piled on it. Someone had produced a load of soft rolls and Vicky pinched one, buttered it and added a dollop of tomato sauce for good measure before wolfing it down. She was just licking her fingers when Liam came up to her.

‘Where’ve you been, gorgeous?’

In my trailer texting another boy
. ‘Changing into something nicer. Didn’t want to party in those dull old trousers.’

‘It doesn’t matter to me what you wear. You’ll always be the prettiest girl around.’

Vicky gave his hand a squeeze. ‘You do say the nicest things.’

‘But I was thinking, Vicky.’

Oh yes? Why did Vicky think that this didn’t sound good? ‘Really, babe?’

‘We could get married soon. I’m earning enough from carpentry to support us and I’ve got money saved for our very own trailer. So what do you say, hon? Now you’ve got your exams you don’t really want to do any more studying, do you? I mean, why?’

What could she say? That she felt like he’d kicked her? This was a complete turnaround from what he had suggested the night before. She took a couple of deep breaths while she thought about her answer.

‘But Liam—’

‘I know yesterday I said I’d help persuade your dad, and I am proud of your results, really I am …’ he paused.

‘But?’

‘But … well …’

Vicky thought she knew what he was going to say. She thought she’d better help him get his doubts out in the open. ‘But you didn’t think Dad would agree to letting me go to college or you didn’t think I’d get the grades. That’s the truth of it, isn’t it?’

‘No. Not really.’ But he wasn’t looking her in the eye.

‘That’s
exactly
it, Liam. I can’t believe you’re doing this to me.’

‘But we could get married so much earlier if you didn’t go to college.’

‘But what about the dresses?’

‘Are you telling me you want to make some dresses more than you want to be married to me, is that it?’

Was it? Vicky didn’t know what to say.

‘Because,’ continued Liam, his voice getting louder, ‘that’s what it looks like from here. Your dad would happily pay to have them made by a
proper
dressmaker who wouldn’t take a whole year to do them.’

His phrase about a proper dressmaker cut her to the quick but she couldn’t let him see it. She knew that by wanting to learn a skill, a craft – other than that of being a good wife and mother – she was going against every traveller tradition. She thought quickly, trying to find an argument that would make sense and give her some breathing space.

‘But it would still take time – months. You can’t run up a whole load of wedding outfits overnight. Even a
proper
dressmaker,’ she tried to keep the bitterness out of her voice as she repeated his phrase, ‘would take several months by the time we’d done the designs and the fittings and all. We’re going to be looking at November at the earliest now and I don’t want to be married in the winter. I want to be a June bride, is that unreasonable? Is it unreasonable to have a half-decent chance of sunshine on my big day? You may think it’s fine to trail around in the wet on your wedding day but I’m not going to do it on mine.’ Vicky stared at him defiantly.

Liam sighed and shrugged. ‘I hadn’t thought about it like that.’

‘No, well, I have.’ The atmosphere between them eased slightly. ‘Liam, I have thought about little else than my wedding day ever since you asked me to marry you. It’s going to be the biggest day of my life and I want it perfect. This isn’t just about the dresses, it’s about everything, and that includes the weather. I know there’s a chance the sun mightn’t be out, but we can give ourselves better odds if we don’t have it in the middle of winter.’ The last thing she was going to mention was that waiting for summer would give her at least the first year at college, and once she was there, she might just be able to persuade her family to let her hang on for the second. It was unlikely but it was worth a shot. But did Liam believe her argument? She held her breath and stared at him, pleadingly.

He nodded. ‘You’ve got a point.’

Vicky breathed a sigh of relief. ‘So in the meantime I might as well make some use of my time.’

‘I suppose.’ Liam sounded grudging but at least she’d made him see sense.

Vicky leaned in and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. ‘You’re a darling and I love you.’

Liam smiled. ‘Love you too, babe.’

He walked back to the party and grabbed another beer. Sometimes, thought Vicky as she watched him go, life might just be easier if she was engaged to someone like Jordan who would understand about having a bit of ambition. She loved Liam, of course she did, and of course she wanted to get married, but … no. She loved Liam and she was going to marry him and that was that.