The wedding rehearsal had happened, it had been as dull and pointless as Lennie had expected, and now they were back at the hotel, having drinks. Lennie’s drink was cherryade, because she’d earned it. Mum was having champagne with all her bridesmaids. She was supposed to only have her friends Emma and Janis, but then Nana Celine had got back in touch with Aunt Angel and Aunt Love and cried a lot until Mum added them too. Lennie didn’t know why it had even been a big deal- Mum’s other sisters weren’t going to be following her up the aisle, so it wasn’t as if Angel and Love would have felt left out if she hadn’t asked.

Anyway, Nana Celine looked happy now. She’d been at the champagne more than anyone, and now she was giving a speech. “So often in life, I’ve had to be the wise one. The one who made the difficult choices.”

“Mm,” said Mum, not looking up from her glass.

“Sometimes I wonder if I’d ever get anything for myself. But now…” She gazed up at Charlie with a happy grin, even though Charlie was clearly the lowest form of life on Planet Earth. Worms, amoebas, Charlies- that was how it went.

Charlie grunted, like a warthog. “I’m just glad my girls get to be with their mum again.” Behind him, Aunt Love smiled, but Aunt Angel didn’t seem to have heard him. Aunt Angel was a bit weird in general. She had greasy hair and smelled a lot of sweat, and she barely ever talked.

Nana Celine gazed at them. “I’ve missed them,” she said, slurring because of the champagne, “Now I feel whole again.”

On the other side of the table, Great Gran made an angry tsk noise. Lennie was pretty sure she knew why. Edd, who Lennie didn’t call Uncle Edd because he was only thirteen and that would just have been weird, but who was still Nana Celine’s son, lived with Great Gran. Apparently Nana Celine felt whole enough without him.

Charlie looked at Great Gran, and then, not taking his eyes off her, put his arm around Nana Celine’s shoulders and kissed her on the top of the head. Like he’d won and he was gloating.

“What are you up to these days, Angel?” asked Aunt Sammy.

Angel just shrugged.

Charlie laughed. “You won’t get much out of her,” he said triumphantly. He had little bits of hair poking out of his nostrils.

Mum leaned across the table. “Sammy, I meant to ask, did you ever find out why you weren’t supposed to build on that field near the hills?”

“Oh, yeah! What happened was, they thought they’d found some Roman artefacts near the foot of the hill, but then it turned out…”

Charlie cleared his throat, drowning out what Aunt Sammy was saying. “No sign of the local paparazzi, then?” He laughed like he’d just made a brilliant joke.

Mum looked at him like he was a cockroach. “What?”

“Well, someone decided not to show up in time for the wedding rehearsal.”

Lennie wondered if he meant Aunt Van. She wasn’t here yet.

“She wouldn’t be,” said Mum, “She’s not part of the ceremony.”

“She better not show up,” said Aunt Love. She was younger than Aunt Angel, but much bigger and louder. “After all those lies she told.”

Mum’s frown deepened. “Love…”

“Kick her teeth down her throat.” Love leaned back in her chair. “After everything she said. Tell you what, not being funny, but if she does show her face, I’ll kick her teeth down her throat.”

Mum looked right up at her. “Love, she’s coming. You don’t have to like her, you don’t have to speak to her, but she’s coming.”

Aunt Love raised her chin. She had a massive chin and a massive forehead, so her actual face looked like it was squeezed into a tiny space between them. “Wedding’s not til tomorrow, right? Plenty of time to take the invite back.”

“Love, drop it,” said Mum, through gritted teeth, “I mean it.”

Aunt Love sniffed a bit, but didn’t say anything else.

Nana Celine sighed. No-one could sigh like Nana Celine- it sounded like a gale blowing through the trees. “I just don’t understand why she can’t let things go. I couldn’t live like that. She must have a very sad life.”

Before anyone could say anything else, Aunt Sammy jumped up and looked round at Lennie, Wesley and Edd. “Come on, guys. Bet I can kick your arses at air hockey.”

“Oh, you wish!” said Edd, chasing her to the other side of the room.

(To Be Continued)