Splintered Memory (40 page)

“Matt is he alright
?” She asked concernedly.

“Rich
,” Matt said as Rich sat up unsteadily. But he didn’t say anything, and he looked confused. “Rich,” Matt said again lifting his chin up and looking into his face and eyes.

“Rich
,” Charlie said bending down by Matt’s side.

He
turned to look at her, stared blankly at her for a second, and then asked; “do I know you?”

Charlie scowled at him a
s Rich batted away Matt’s hand from his face and started laughing.

“Are you alright
?” Bex shouted down to him.

“No
that really hurt,” Rich said standing up gingerly. But as he turned to face Matt and Charlie, and saw that they looked far from amused, he said; “sorry, I was only having a laugh.”

“Insensitive much
,” Claire said to him before turning round and climbing back up the tree.

Charlie turned to Matt and gave him a quick peck on the lips,
and then she went over to the tree and started to climb back up it as well.

“No kiss for me
?” Rich asked.

“No
,” Charlie and Bex said in unison before laughing at the fact that they’d both replied.

Matt also smiled, but as he saw Charlie reach the branch that led across to Claire’s window he called; “Charlie?” He waited for her to turn and look down at him before he said; “not too much wine okay? You’re supposed to be taking it easy.”

Charlie finished her climb, and when she was safely back inside Claire’s room she called down; “sorry Mr Grayson, but there’s a new doc in town and she says I’m good for another few bottles!”

Emily’s face appeared at the window, and she said reassuringly to Matt; “she’s had one spritzer, and I’m only going to let her have one more.”

“Seriously,” Charlie said nudging Emily with her hips.

“Oh sorry,” Emily said laughing as Charlie shook her head at her.

Matt smiled at them and said; “see you all tomorrow.”

“Will you recognise me
?” Charlie asked sarcastically.

“Will you be the one in white
?” He asked her, and Rich laughed appreciatively.

“Night ladies
,” Rich called.

“Night
,” they all replied.

Matt and Rich watched
Claire shut her bedroom window, and Matt slapped Rich on the back as they walked away, Matt laughing as Rich rubbed his backside. “You really are an idiot at times,” he said; “and totally insensitive.”

“
Well if you can’t laugh about a bit of memory loss, what can you laugh about?” Rich asked, and when Matt laughed again he asked; “pub?”

Matt nodded in reply, and
then he couldn’t help but smile to himself. Tomorrow he and Charlie were going to renew their vows in the same church that they’d gotten married in eleven years earlier.

***

“Well here we are again mate,” Rich said to Matt as they sat in the front right hand side pews.

“Yep
,” Matt said.

“Don’t know what comforting words I said the last time
,” Rich said.

“Rich
,” Adam said appearing to their right.

“They’re here
?” Rich asked, and Adam nodded. “Ready?” Rich asked Matt, and when he nodded Rich smiled and said; “okay in that case, I’ll be right back,” and he walked away with Adam.

“Rich!” Matt said, but Rich just gave him a cheeky thumbs up as he turned his back on him again.

Matt stood up as the familiar music began, and everyone turned their attention from him to the doors at the back of the church which had just opened.

He watched Rich and Be
x walk down the aisle together, and he smiled. Bex was in a lavender gown that suited her colourings perfectly, and Rich winked at him as he kissed Bex. She then went to stand on the left hand side of the altar, and Rich again took up his place next to him.

“
I got double booked mate,” he said making Matt laugh.

Next in were Rach and Ben, and Matt saw that Rach was in a deep emerald green dress. Ben was in a traditional morning suit, as was he, as was Rich, and as were Nick and Adam he knew.

Matt saw that following them in were Nick and Emily. Emily was in a turquoise dress, and he wondered why Charlie hadn’t asked all the girls to wear the same colour. Yet he was distracted from this thought, as he saw Claire and Adam walking down the aisle behind Emily and Nick.

Claire was in a tight figure hugging black dress that went to the floor, and Matt couldn’t help but acknowledge how good she looked in it. He also knew that Rich was thinking the same thing because he heard him wolf whistle very quietly.

“Eyes to the back now please,” Claire whispered with a smile as she came level with them.

Matt looked to where she’d said, and he saw Charlie at the same time as the whole church made a collective; “aaah” sound.

She was stood in a full length silver dress, which was covered in sequins all around the hem. The front of the dress was low cut, and her hair was pinned back from her face. Matt couldn’t believe how beautiful she looked, and he smiled as she began to walk towards him.

One thing struck him as strange though as Charlie approached
the altar, and that was that she wasn’t walking down the aisle with Harry. In fact as she got closer to him, he wasn’t sure that he recognised who she was walking down the aisle with at all. Did he know this man he wondered? He looked vaguely familiar Matt thought, but he was going to have to ask Charlie about this later. It didn’t seem fair of her to try and make him jealous whilst he was stood at the altar waiting for her.

As the vicar began the service Charlie winked at Matt and he mouthed to her; “you look beautiful.” She smiled at him and he felt his heart expand with happiness.

“In a departure from tradition,” the vicar said; “the bride and groom have decided to say their own vows.”

Matt felt his head snap from Charlie to the vicar. He hadn’t agreed to this, and he hadn’t prepared any vows. He felt himself starting to panic, but when he looked at Charlie she smiled audaciously at him. He recognised this smile. It was the same smile
that she’d used when he’d gotten a detention at school, after she’d convinced him to skip his lesson to spend her free period with her.

“It was my idea to say our own vows, and Matt’s only just f
inding out about this,” Charlie announced to the congregation as she took his hands in hers whilst everyone in the church laughed. Well everyone aside from him he noted. He wasn’t finding this amusing right now.

“But we’re surrounded by
our family and friends again,” she continued; “and I thought that standing in front of you all, and repeating the same vows that I said to Matt when I was twenty one would be a travesty.”

She
turned to look at him, and he could feel the intensity of the moment in her eyes. “In the past eleven years,” Charlie said; “you’ve been my heaven and my hell. As a little girl, I had the same hopes and dreams as every other little girl. I wanted the fairytale. I wanted the handsome prince and the happily ever after, and eleven years ago I naïvely stood here and thought that I’d gotten everything that I’d ever wished for and more. I stood up in front of everyone here, and I looked forward to the rest of our story together. What I’d conveniently forgotten though, was that there’s always a scary element to all the best fairytales. It’s never just plain sailing.”

She took a breath and continu
ed; “when our storm hit, we were unprepared. We lost our way, and we lost each other. We weren’t together in sickness, and it didn’t take death to part us.”

Matt tried to swallow back the lump in his throat.

“I lost you once because I forgot my way, but I never stopped loving you. So whether I can remember it or not,” Charlie said; “you should always know this. I have loved you my whole life, and I will love you forever.”

Matt could feel tears in his eyes, and he fought with himself to prevent them from sliding down his face. He looked at the girls stood behind Charlie, and he could see that they were all crying.

“You’re the best person that I know,” Matt said calmly. “You’re brave, and you’re fearless. When faced with the worst you protect those around you first, even if they don’t deserve it. You sacrifice your feelings for theirs, and your heart for their happiness. When others are scared you reassure them, and when people don’t deserve your forgiveness you offer it to them anyway. I used to thank god every day that you’d married me eleven years ago. I now realise that that wasn’t enough.”

The congregation made another collective; “aaah” sound.

“So know this,” he said; “I have loved you my whole life, and I will love you forever.”

Charlie kissed him.

The vicar cleared his throat, and the congregation laughed. “Sorry,” Charlie said to the vicar and looking a lot like a naughty school girl as she did which made Matt laugh.

“You have renewed your vows in the presence of god, and in the presence of your friends and family. I now
pronounce you husband and wife
again,
” the vicar said. He then turned to Matt and added with a wry smile; “and you may
now
kiss the bride.”

Everyone clapped as Matt kissed a smiling Charlie, and as they walked up the aisle Matt looked at her and said; “I’ve got a really good idea, let’s say our own vows.”

Charlie looked at him guiltily, and then she smiled sweetly and said innocently; “I loved yours. They were very off the cuff.”

Matt laughed and knew that it was impossible for him to be mad with her, and as they walked out into the bright sunlight he swung her
around into his arms before kissing her again.

“C
harlie your vows were beautiful,” Emily said after she’d walked over to join them. The tear track marks on her face were evidence of the sincerity of her words.

“Thanks
,” Charlie said hugging Emily.

“Congratulations Matt
,” Emily said before hugging him.

H
e noticed that there was no tension between them, and he wondered if this had anything to do with the man that was hovering by her side and who he now noticed was the same man that had walked Charlie down the aisle.

“Do I know you
?” Matt asked holding out his hand to the man. “My wife and friend clearly do.”

“This is Patrick
,” Emily said as Matt shook his hand and looked from him to Charlie.

“Emily and Patrick have been dating for a few weeks. They met when Emily came with me to track him down
,” Charlie said. But Matt looked at her confusedly, wondering why she’d tracked him down.

“Patrick was the paramedic that was called to my crash. He stayed with me until they managed to cut me free. He kept me chatting and conscious for as long as he could, and he told me sweet little lies so I wouldn’t be scared
,” Charlie said smiling at Patrick.

He looked embarrassed, but he returned her smile.

Emily looked at him proudly, and Matt noticed that they were holding hands. Yet he felt blindsided for the second time that day. He had recognised this man in the church. He knew him from the hospital, and it now transpired that he’d also helped save Charlie’s life.

“That’s why you asked him to give you away
?” Matt asked Charlie somewhat distractedly, as an image of her trapped inside a wrecked car filled his mind.

She looked at him and whispered; “I’m right here, and I’m okay.” He looked at her with amazement at how well she
knew him, and she smiled at him.

“I think I need to shake your hand again
,” he said turning from Charlie to Patrick and holding out his hand once more for Patrick to shake.

“T
hank you,” Matt said as Patrick shook his hand again.

“It’s my job
,” Patrick said smiling kindly at Matt.

“She’s my life
,” Matt said to him as Charlie pulled him into a hug.

Emily and Patrick smiled, and then they walked away hand in hand.

“Come on,” Matt said taking Charlie’s hand in his and leading her away from the church.

“Where
are we going?” Charlie asked. “What about our guests?”

“I think we waited too long before consummating our marriage the last time that we did this,
” Matt said; “and we’ve had some pretty bad karma since then.”

“You could just say that you can’t wai
t to get me into bed Mr Grayson,” Charlie said jokingly.

“You’re right
,” he said smiling; “I just can’t wait to get you into bed Mrs Grayson.”

Charlie smiled, and he whipped her legs from beneath her. He hoisted her up into his arms, and as she
began to laugh he started to run.

T
he End