“
Yes, and it
’
s beautiful, really beautiful,
”
Marie-Noelle confirmed.
“
You can
’
t buy a wedding dress in Dublin
!”
Sandrine cried.
“
They
’
re far too expensive. You have to take a photo of the one you like and then send it to these people in China who make it up for you at about a twentieth of the price.
”
Ellie was horrified.
“
It can
’
t possibly be the same. The quality and material can
’
t be as good at that price. And what about the fit? How can it be perfect if they can
’
t fit it on you?
”
“
It
’
s only for one day.
”
Ellie felt close to tears. Yes, it was only for one day but it would be the most important day of her life.
“
The dress was perfect on Ellie
,”
Marie-Noelle interjected, seeing how upset her younger daughter had become.
“
And she has the money for it
,
thanks to
Uncle Matt
’
s inheritance
.”
Sandrine had used hers to buy her Kia car.
“
That
’
s not the point
–”
Sandrine started but thankfully
was interrupted by the ringing of the doorbell.
Marie-Noelle breathed a sigh of relief to see that Keisha and Chloe had arrived. She hoped they would diffuse this conflict that seemed inevitable every time her two daughters got together. Ellie poured wine for them and
,
when they were all seated, she showed them the photo she
’
d taken on her phone of the wedding dress she
’
d found
.
The girls exclaimed loudly at how beautiful it was.
“
Yeah, I
’
ve definitely decided on it. They
’
re holding it for me till next Saturday
,”
she told them ignoring the disapproving face of her sister.
“
Now for our dresses,
”
Sandrine said, turning her laptop around so they could all see the screen.
“
I think it
would be nice if we all wore white, like at Kim Kardashia
n
’
s wedding.
”
Her mother and the two other girls all looked at Ellie who obviously didn
’
t like the idea.
“
That marriage didn
’
t exactly last very long
,
did it?
”
Ellie commented.
“
Seventy-two days,
”
Keisha
,
who was a huge Kardashian
fan
,
confirmed.
“
I think there
’
s a tradition that only the bride wears white at a wedding,
”
Marie-Noelle observed.
“
Yeah, absolutely,
”
Keisha agreed.
“
Anyway, I look crap in white. My skin
’
s too fair,
”
Chlo
e added.
“
But the Kardashians
–”
“
To hell with the Kardashians,
”
Ellie said through gritted teeth.
“
This is my wedding and I
’
d appreciate if you
’
d butt out. Okay?
”
“
I was only trying to help,
”
Sandrine replied sulkily.
“
Well, I was thinking of having a white
and pale
-
gold theme for the whole wedding. What do you all think of pale gold for the bridesmaids
’
dresses?
”
“
Sounds great! Cool!
”
Chloe and Keisha chorused together.
“
Isn
’
t it a bit insipid?
”
Sandrine pronounced tartly
. “
I think a dark burgundy or black would be nice.
”
“
Not black
!”
the others, including Marie-Noelle, chorused in horror.
“
It
’
s not a funeral,
”
Ellie remarked.
“
I think the best thing is to have a look on Saturday at what they have in Bridal Heaven before we make a final decision.
“
Mmmm
,
this cheese is yummy,
”
Chloe said, as she speared another cube.
“
What is it?
”
“
Pecorino,
”
Ellie informed her.
“
It
’
s Italian.
”
Sandrine looked at her sister in surprise. My, my, she thought, Ellie has certainly changed a lot since she met David. He has obviously been introducing her to the finer things in life. Poor David! He really is making a huge mistake. He has no idea what he
’
s letting himself in for. My little sister has always been thoroughly spoilt by everybody and no doubt will expect him to do the same.
She looked on disapprovingly as Ellie and her two friends chatted and talked about girly things. They really were too silly for words
.
Ellie declined to look at Sandrine
’
s suggestions for the flowers and menu for the wedding.
“
I have a fair idea of what I want,
”
Ellie put her down subtly.
Sandrine left shortly afterwards, her tail between her legs, mumbling about the ingratitude of some people.
32
Rachel was up bright and early on Wednesday for her big day in the TV studio. She dropped the children to school and whizzed into the hair salon in Sutton. Keisha had done such a nice job on her hair for the night of the party that she was now popping in frequently for a wash and blow-dry.
Next she went into Ellie
’
s beauty salon where she
’
d made an appointment for a manicure. She had considered having her make-up done there but Zita had assured her that the make-up department at the station would take care of that.
“
Best of luck! Have a great day,
”
Ellie wished her as she left in a state of high excitement.
“
God, some women have all the luck,
”
Chloe sighed as Rachel waved goodbye.
Zita came to meet Rachel when Reception called to say she had arrived. She took her up to the office where she explained to her how the interview would go and told her the kind of questions she could expect.
“
Don
’
t worry about anything because we are pre-recording it. If there
’
s anything you
’
re not happy about, we can al
ways re-shoot it.
”
Rachel heaved a sigh of relief.
“
Thank God. I don
’
t know how people do live interviews. I
’
d be a nervous wreck.
”
“
You
’
ll be fine,
”
Zita assured her before taking her down to meet the producer, Jason.
Rachel disliked him instantly.
“
We
’
ve decided to let Zita do the interview as she
’
s a friend of yours.
”
Rachel could feel the tension between Zita and the producer
.
After that, Zita took her down to make-up and introduced her to the women there who were very friendly and did a fabulous job on her face
.
At last they were ready to start the interview
.
Initially Rachel was nervous
,
but Zita quickly put her at her ease and she relaxed. She answered all the questions as best she could and Zita seemed happy.
“
It
’
s a wrap!
”
Zita said at last as she heard the message from the producer coming through her earpiece.
“
Well done!
”
“
Whew, that wasn
’
t so bad,
”
Rachel smiled.
“
I felt like I was talking just to you alone.
”
“
That
’
s why you were so good. It
’
s a really good interview. You were great!
”
To Zita
’
s surprise, she meant it. Rachel had been a very good interviewee. At lunch Zita produced a bottle of white wine and they toasted each other.
“
I think you
’
ve earned this,
”
Zita smiled as she clinked her glass against Rachel
’
s.
“
You
’
ve got such an interesting job. Every day is different
.”
Rachel
’
s voice was admiring.
“
I do love working in television but you wouldn
’
t believe how chauvinist it is. Jason is really not that good a producer but he had political pull
–
so
,
although I
’
ve a lot more experience, he got the job. It infuriates me sometimes.
”
“
I can imagine,
”
Rachel said sympathetically.
“
Now there
’
s another producer job going but no doubt I
’
ll be by-passed yet again for some stupid guy.
”
She sounded bitter and Rachel couldn
’
t blame her. She
’
d heard this happened often.
“
Could Carl help you, do you think?
”
“
Probably. Jason was promoted just before the previou
s
government left office. Now that Carl
’
s party is in, who knows?
”
“
I
’
ll talk to him about it,
”
Rachel said, indignant on her friend
’
s behalf
.
“
It
’
s a man
’
s world out there unfortunately, even in this day and age,
”
Zita observed bitterly.
“
Oh believe me, I know it. Especially in politics.
”
“
Yes, indeed. In the television world too. We women need to stick together,
”
Zita stated vehemently.
“
Absolutely! I
’
ll definitely have a word with Carl about it.
”
“
That
’
s very good of you, Rachel. It would be great if he could help. Now, let
’
s get back to work! As I explained
,
we would like to have some footage of you going about your daily life. We
’
ll follow you around with the cameras as you do your normal duties. I
’
ll ring you to arrange a suitable date, preferably when you have a full-diary day
.”
“
Great. I
’
ll think about what might be the best day.
”
The rest of the day went swimmingly as Rachel watched the most popular soap on Irish TV being filmed. She could not believe how fake it all was. On the small screen it all seemed so real.
“
I
’
ve had a fantastic day. Thank you so much,
”
she said as she hugged Zita.
“
And I really will talk to Carl tonight about your promotion.
”