laughs. ‘Raffles don’t work like that, Natalie.’
I suddenly realise that everyone in the hall is watching us bicker.
‘Why don’t you just pull a ticket from those two?’ Clive suggests, gesturing between me and Will. Not a bad idea actually, except I’ll stand a 50 per cent chance of losing and I really don’t want to lose.
I don’t comment and neither does Will. I can tell Will’s not particularly keen on the idea either.
‘Good suggestion, Clive, thank you. But I’ve had an idea too,’ Mick says. My ears prick up.
‘How about you both go? Together.’
A laugh escapes my lips. ‘Together?’ I gawp.
I look over at Will, who’s also laughing.
‘That’s a great idea, Mick,’ my mum pipes up, a twinkle in her eye. She’s sitting a few seats down from me at the table and I shoot her a look. I know she likes Will, but I mean, seriously? Suggesting I go on holiday with him. I haven’t even seen him for sixteen years, I’m hardly going to just hop on a plane with him to Marrakech!
‘You could …’ Rita suggests, looking hopefully between me and Will.
Suddenly everyone in the hall is murmuring in agreement.
‘Maggie used to love our holidays,’ Mick reminisces over the microphone. ‘There was this quote she used to like – “The world is a book and those who don’t travel only read one page”. She loved that. I know she would have been keen for you both to have a read of the Morocco chapter.’
Oh my God, what is happening? How has this trip of a lifetime that I was dying to get my hands on five minutes ago suddenly turned into the world’s most awkward holiday?! Now I can’t even refuse to go without feeling like I’m somehow betraying Maggie’s memory.
‘Come on, love. It’s what Maggie would have wanted,’ my mum says. I blink at her in shock several times, unable to believe her nerve. She’s not interested in what Maggie would have wanted, she’s just trying to set me up with Will.
As I gawp at my mum, another voice pipes up.
‘I have an idea …’
I look over to see Brian. Googly-eyed annoying Brian. I hadn’t noticed him until now, but he’s sitting at a table by the buffet eyeing me intently, almost hungrily. It’s a little disturbing, actually.
‘I’ll come with you,’ Brian offers. ‘If Will doesn’t want to. I’ll take the ticket and come with you. Give you a bit of company, do you know what I mean?’
He stares at me with a look of impassioned intensity as he makes this offer. I’m not sure he realises he’s not helping the situation at all. As if Will’s going to just give up his ticket! I glance at Will who is now smirking mischievously.
‘That’s not a bad idea, Brian,’ he says.
My eyes widen in shock. He’s not seriously going to sacrifice his ticket to Marrakech purely to get a laugh out of making me go on a four-night romantic getaway with Brian? Actually, that’s exactly the kind of thing Will would find hilarious.
‘No, Brian! Thanks for the offer, but no,’ I state firmly, my voice tight and a little erratic. Brian deflates a little, but I don’t care. I know he’ll bounce back and will probably have moved onto his next target by the time the raffle’s over.
‘Okay, well in that case, maybe we should just go together then?’ Will throws his hands up in surrender. I glare at him. What is he doing? He smiles back, shrugging.
Suddenly everyone’s eyes dart towards me, expectantly. I don’t want to go on holiday with Will, but if I say that, I’m going to look like a total spoilsport.
‘Come on, Natalie!’ Mick says, with a hopeful grin.
‘Yeah come on,’ a few others echo.
Everyone’s looking my way and even though only seconds have passed, it feels like a lifetime. I squirm, not knowing what to do. My mum’s nodding encouragingly. So’s Rowena. Even Clive looks keen on the idea. I glance towards Rita, who seems to be the only person in the room who’s giving me a sympathetic look.
‘I mean, you could always go together and just do your own thing?’ Rita suggests in an upbeat, optimistic tone.
I suppose she’s right. I could always go on the trip, enjoy the gorgeous hotel, hang out at the pool and explore Marrakech on my own. Just because the trip is billed as a romantic getaway for two doesn’t mean Will and I have to be romantic. It may be a package holiday, but we can unpackage it. We don’t have to do everything together. I glance over at Will.
‘Don’t worry Natalie, I won’t cramp your style,’ he says, smirking again.
‘Okay, fine,’ I sigh, giving in.
‘Oh fabulous!’ my mum cries out.
‘Excellent!’ Mick says. ‘Maggie would be so proud.’
‘Great.’ I smile uneasily, sitting back down.
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