The Trophy Wife by Evie Baxter

Twenty-Six

Iwas spending my requisite hour volunteering to help at the fete on the tombola table, watching David corner Bastian over by the beer tent. I hated it, but I couldn’t prevent it. The people who cared for me the most were super protective of me. It was to be expected, I supposed.

I grimaced as I watched my brother join the two other men and take part in the conversation. David and Peter were side to side, facing Bastian down. But he was smiling and holding his own as far as I could tell from this distance.

“Stop worrying,” my mother said, as she appeared at my side. “They aren’t going to hurt him, just make sure his intentions are honourable.”

“Mum! That’s archaic.”

“That’s men,” she declared. “They are all cavemen at heart.”

She wasn’t wrong. I knew Bastian wouldn’t be intimidated. I just didn’t want them to put him off me. I liked him. A lot. I didn’t want him to think seeing me was too much of a headache. And between Peter and David I had no chance.

Then I watched Lisa join the group on the far side of the field. Mum served the customers who wanted to purchase tombola tickets because I was too intent on trying to interpret what was going on in that little group.

Lisa was animated, then laughing. I watched as she slapped Peter’s arm at something he said, then appeared to be telling him off. She had known my brother as long as she had known me, so wasn’t daunted by his height or the glowering stance that he was currently sporting.

Lisa pointed at my two protectors, talked a lot, waved her hands around, then pointed at Bastian. Jesus, this was killing me. The trial by fire seemed to be more for me than Bastian because I was far more tense than he looked. Lisa said something else, and all three men burst into laughter. Thank God! Trust my best friend to cut through the tension like that.

There was a squeal, and I turned my head to witness Isla tearing across the ground towards the group. All three men braced, ready to catch her when she collided with them, all three used to being her favourite person. But it was Bastian she threw herself at, and she shrieked with laughter as he swung her up high and placed her on his shoulders.

“There you go,” my mother was speaking to me again, “If that doesn’t tell you everything that you need to know then you’re blind. And the same goes for your brother and David. That man of yours is a good one and you deserve good in your life. Embrace it, Tori. Don’t be so scared you’ll push him away.”

Something settled inside me, the constant worry calmed, and joy filled my heart as I watched Bastian stride towards us, Isla still on his shoulders.

“This young lady would like twenty-five tombola tickets. I reckon she’s going to win us a bottle of wine to go with our barbeque tonight.”

“Twenty-five,” Isla gasped. “I’ve never had so many tickets at once. We are going to win so much!”

I took the money for the tickets from Bastian and counted twenty-five ticket stubs out into Isla’s eager little hands. She opened the numbered tickets at warp speed, looking for any that ended in either a 0 or a 5.

“Nope. Nope. Nope. Oh no! Why do we have all the stupid numbers?” I shook my head, beyond reprimanding her. “Oh, oh, oh! 55! It’s a winner. Come on, Bastian. Find 55 on the table.” The two of them perused all the items on the table, ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous, all prizes donated to the stall by the village residents.

Finally, they found it. The first win was a box of biscuits. “Come on, Isla, you have to do better than that,” Bastian teased her. “I want a bottle of wine to have with your mummy.”

“You brought wine with you. I saw it. I want the box of chocolates. That’s the best prize.” More tickets were opened and discarded into the bucket that was there for the losing tickets. A few more minutes later, Isla had amassed one box of crackers, a tin of baked beans, a 1,000 piece puzzle, and some bubble bath, as well as the biscuits, which she was rather pleased by.

“Three more tickets, Isla,” I informed her. “Do you think you have any more winners?”

“Of course I do,” she said confidently. And she did. The triumphant yes she bellowed out was heard by half the field when she won the chocolates. I instantly confiscated them, telling her they were for later, being fully aware she would attempt to eat herself sick if she was left to her own devices.

Bastian pretended to grump. “I was sure you were going to win me some wine, Isla.” He winked at me, and we awaited her response.

“I won the best prizes. Wine is horrible. Come on, Bastian. Please take me to the bouncy slide. It’s the best thing ever!” And off they went.

I was smiling at their departing backs when I was joined by David, Peter, Lisa, Claudia, and my father. My mother was still helping me sell tickets. It was ridiculously crowded behind the table, under the open sided tent, but I wasn’t going to complain because I loved these people, and I knew I had thrown them for a loop by finally starting to date.

“He’s okay, sis,” Peter declared.

“I like him too,” David concurred.

My eyes widened. I had expected it to be far more difficult than this.

“He’s fucking gorgeous, is what he is,” Lisa said, her eyes following his retreating back too, though I was pretty sure her eyes were on his arse.

“So we all agree then?” my mother asked the group in general. “Tori can date Bastian?”

Seriously? You wouldn’t know I was a grown ass woman, but I knew where they were all coming from and it was a place filled with love, so I kept my mouth shut.

“Thanks guys,” I said to them all. “Because I like him. A lot. And so does Isla.”

“I noticed,” Lisa smirked. I poked her in the ribs, but my eyes stayed focused on the bouncy slide where I could see Bastian standing and diligently watching Isla as she had her five minutes on the slide. Whatever it was about witnessing the moment, a calming warmth filled me. It just felt right.

The day couldn’t have been more quietly perfect. Nothing big or exciting happened. Life just took a seismic shift of proportions I could never have imagined a short while ago. I was happy, truly happy. It wasn’t that I hadn’t been happy at all since leaving Robert, only that there had always been a lingering feeling of sadness beneath that never went away. But as I stood there in the field, surrounded by villagers, my family and friends close by, as they had been from the moment I returned home, I was suffused with joy.

Robert was in my past and this beautiful life lay before me. And maybe, just maybe, Bastian was part of that future. I would only know if I gave him a chance.

Everyone helped clear up after the fete finished. Tents were dissembled, tables folded up, chairs stacked, and all were either returned to their rightful owners or stored safely in the village hall. Together, my family and friends wandered through the village to the edge where Lisa and her husband Jacob lived with their three children, Ellie, Joshua and Florence. They were hosting a barbeque for everyone, but we had all contributed to the feast.

Before the fete, Bastian, Isla and I had dropped off a potato salad and snicker doodle cookies, as well as some beer and the wine Bastian had brought with him. Along with the food everyone else had brought, there was enough to feed a small army.

The men got about doing what they did when they were feeling manly. They lit the two barbeques, one having been borrowed from Claudia, and cracked open cold beer while they stood around and discussed whatever it was men discussed. I watched Bastian fit into their ranks with ease, laughing at something Robert – Claudia’s husband – had said to him.

“Stop worrying,” my mother scolded.

“I’m not,” I informed her. I turned and gave her a smile. “I’m just happy, Mum. He really seems to like everyone.”

“What’s not to like?” She winked at me and handed me a glass of pink wine, drops of condensation rolling down the outside, attesting to its chilled state.

“True.” I clinked glasses with her, and then did the same with Claudia and Sarah as they joined us.

Sarah raised her glass in a toast. “Here’s to good men.” We all gave a little cheer and raised our glasses and drank.

All the children ran screaming around the back garden, clad in swimsuits and enjoying the large above ground pool that was there. Lisa had put out games for them in advance but the slippy slide seemed to be the main draw. There was bound to be an accident eventually the way they were careening around like lunatics, but a few bruises were worth the fun they were having.

Several hours later the children were lying on blankets on the lawn, watching Jumanji, which was being projected onto a sheet Lisa had hung. She really was the hostess with the mostest.

The adults all sat on the terrace where they could keep a watchful eye on the little ones, but still speak without interfering in the children’s listening pleasure.

“Come here,” Bastian called to me softly, when I came out the house having helped tidy up.

I wound my way through the chairs until I was at his side, and looked down at him reclining on one of the teak loungers. I was about to speak, but instead gave a little squeak when he grabbed my hand and gave a little tug that pulled me off balance. I tumbled down into his lap, just as he planned.

“You okay” he whispered in my ear.

I smiled, feeling suddenly shy. “Yeah. Why?”

“How would you feel if I told you that Claudia just said that Isla could have a sleepover with Poppy and Daisy tonight?”

A shiver ran down my spine, and I tucked my head into Bastian’s shoulder so he couldn’t see my face. Time alone. No tiny chaperone.

“I think I’d really like that,” I whispered back to him.

Bastian put a finger under my chin, forcing me to make eye contact. “Yeah?”

I bit my lip and nodded.

“You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do,” he reassured me.

“I know.” I took a deep breath, one I knew he felt. “But maybe I want to do some things.” It was a huge admission for me. One that was testament to how much my mindset had changed in one day.

I saw his eyes darken, even in the waning evening light. His focus shifted from my eyes to my lips and back again, lids getting hooded, and I swear I could feel the temperature increase.

“You want to tell Isla we are leaving now, or shall I?” Bastian asked, as he shifted me in his arms and moved so we could both stand.

I smirked, because his eagerness was such an amazing confidence boost. It was good to know he wanted me as much as I wanted him.

“I’ll tell her. She has sleepovers with the twins so often that Claudia keeps a toothbrush and spare pyjamas for her there. It’s like a second home to her.”

While I let Isla know she was going home with the twins, something that made her yelp with happiness, Bastian moved around the patio saying goodbye to everyone, and giving his thanks to Lisa and Jacob for the lovely evening. When I joined him, he took my hand in his and called out a good night to everyone in general and pulled me towards the door.

The last thing I saw was Lisa and Claudia grinning knowingly, and Lisa giving me a cheeky thumbs up. I was pretty sure that they had colluded over this sleepover to push me into Bastian’s arms.

Little did they know I didn’t need much pushing anymore.