Mack's Progress Ch. 10

"They know who's won though, Mack. Come on, let's go to bed now please. We can leave this lot until the morning."

"Alright, but none of your funny stuff; I know what you sex mad women are like."

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Lindsey and I had to have two engagement parties, one at my parent's house and one at a hotel just outside Bath. I can't say that I was particularly flavour of the month with Lindsey's relatives; but then I really didn't expect that I would be. Even less so, after Lindsey had informed them of where the wedding was to be held. My folks had taken that news a little more... stoically.

As Christmas approached I began to realise and understand Beverley's long term plans for the two pubs; but it was something that Michelle did that made me see how far into the future Beverley was looking.

Not two months into her course at Southampton, Michelle had suddenly changed horses big style. She had been taking media studies down there, but she suddenly left the college completely and moved herself up to London, where she lodged with Julia and entered Chiswick College studying hotel and catering.

It was when I expressed my surprise at Michelle's change of direction that Beverley sat me down and filled me in on her plans. She saw the two pubs developing differently. The Wherry she saw as going down the young persons and music road. The Willow's she intended moving more in the restaurant direction.

"The worlds changing, Mack, and pubs are going to have to move with the times. What with the breathalyser nowadays, out of season we are only just covering our overheads. A nice restaurant by the river should bring in some more out of season custom here, and a live band or two should pull the youngsters into the Wherry."

"We should be able to increase our mark-ups as well during the summer months, if we can lay on all the trimmings!" Beverley sat back with a satisfied smile on her face.

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Christmas and New Year came and went with their usual flurries in trade and a good few loud party nights at both pubs. Builders and architects turned up to offer their suggestions to Beverley on what sort of structural work would be required on the two pubs to fit in with her long term plans. And guys from the local council-planning department also visited to argue with Beverley over those same plans. Most of Beverley's plans were not going to happen right away, but she wanted to make sure that anything she did at the beginning would fit into the master plan. There was no point in making any changes twice.

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Lindsey and my wedding day was upon us almost before we realised. The day dawned sunny and without the wind that often roars into Norfolk from the North Sea. But it was bleeding cold.

Guests had arrived from all over and were scattered about in different hotels and B & B establishments. Some were even accommodated on Holiday Cruisers that had been pressed into service and were moored on the river, by the Willows.

The reception was held in the village hall as Millie and Phillip's had been. But there were a damned sight more people there, what with our families as well as just about every soul in the district.

Around midnight Lindsey and I were packed off in a limousine for our first night as man and wife together. This was a surprise because we had intended spending our first official night together at the Wherry. I still don't know who organised our night at the Hotel Nelson in Norwich, or who paid for it. Lindsey and I have spent the night of almost every wedding anniversary in the same room there ever since. We usually try to re-enact the first time we did the actual deed proper every year. We like to pretend that it's the same bed as well; but the hotel has changed hands and been given the once over several times since that first night.

These re-enactments are performed with a lot of giggling and are usually accompanied by the consumption of copious quantities of Champagne on someone's part; personally it doesn't do much for me.

We honeymooned for two weeks in Malta and for the most part really enjoyed ourselves. I hired a car that, surprisingly, only had 64 miles -- or maybe they were kilometres, we were just surprised at the low reading - on the clock and we toured every corner of the island.

The one down point - or maybe it was just that it was embarrassing to me - was on the trip we took to Gozo. We hadn't been off of the ferry long and were sitting in a small bar, when Codi's friend Marge appeared from out of nowhere, did a quick double take to assure herself that it was me and then approached us.

"Hi, Mack. What happened to tight arse?" she asked casually, although I should imagine that she had actually said tight ass.

"Hello, Marge. This is my wife, Lindsey," I replied, hoping to shut her up quickly. Marge was just about the last person that I wanted to meet or talk to.

"I figured that somehow," she replied, then turned to look at Lindsey. "Hi, Lindsey, congratulations. From what I've heard, you've caught yourself a real stud."

"He's not too bad and I don't intend to throw him back in a hurry," Lindsey replied with laughter in her voice, somewhat surprising to me.

Without being invited Marge settled her fat arse into one of the other chairs at the table, the last thing I wanted. I was beginning to think that I'd have to get rude with her before she'd leave us alone.

"Please excuse me, Lynn, but I was wondering. What happened with you and..." she asked turning back to me.

I was at least pleased that Marge stopped speaking before she mentioned Codi's name.

"She found herself a film star," I replied.

"Oh, shit... silly bitch! You mean to tell me she couldn't keep her legs crossed."

"That's about it!"

"Silly bitch, and she was always lecturing me. Sorry, Lynn, but she was such a goody two shoes until Mack here came along. I can't understand the bitch. From what the grapevine said, she was nuts about you, Mack."

"Not nuts enough apparently," I replied.

"Could be that you had a lucky escape, Mack. I don't think the girl was right in the head. I'm right in taking it that you two are on honeymoon, aren't I?"

"You assume correctly," I answered in my best 'get lost' voice.

"I thought so. Keep him under a tight rein, Lindsey. Sorry to have imposed on you, but my curiosity got the better of me. Ciao." Then she was gone almost as quickly as she had appeared.

"I'm sorry about that," I said to my wife, leaning across to kiss her.

"Don't be, Mack. Codi existed in our lives for a while, but she's gone now."

I'm not sure but later in the week, it might have been Marge who I saw talking to Lindsey as they came out of a store in Valencia. I was waiting in a bar down across the road whilst Lindsey picked up a surprise for me. If it was Marge, Lindsey never mentioned that she'd seen her again to me and I chose not to enquire.

End of Chapter 10