Red ⋆ Doctor Who

Chapter Twenty-nine

"Oh, yeah. Fine. Just tired," Cherry lies, shrugging off her aunt's worries as she pockets the address. "And nervous about my speech..."

"Tell me about it," Augustus says, shaking his head as he looks down at the paper and the joke book in his hands. "I fear I may have been using the same joke book as the best man."

"You're my tiny little dad!" Amy exclaims as she bursts into the room and throws her arms around her dad.

"Amelia, why are you behaving as if you've never seen us before?" Tabetha asks, growing annoyed by Amy's actions and Cherry's odd mood. She angrily fixes the tie around Augustus' neck and looks over at Cherry. "And what's the matter with you? Is something going on?"

"I don't know... it's just..." Amy trails off, her eyebrows knitting together as she tries to remember something, and Cherry shrugs.

"I better go and pick up the cake," Cherry says, leaving the house without another word.

She groans when she sits in the driver seat of her little red mini and leans her head against the steering wheel. She takes a moment to try and collect her thoughts before she turns the key in the ignition. The CD she last listened to plays automatically, and she smiles when she hears the familiar voice of Adele fill the car. It takes her mind off her troubles for a while, and she sings along as she makes the journey to Gloucester and ignores the nagging feeling in her heart. She pulls over when she's nearing the city and inputs the address to the bakery where they've ordered the cake from. Cherry briefly wonders why they couldn't get the cake from a more local bakery, but she supposes there aren't that many choices in Leadworth. They've had to do most of their wedding shopping in the city instead. She picks the cake up from the little cake shop with no issue, and the woman apologises profusely for not being able to drop it off and even offers to give Cherry petrol money for the hassle, which Cherry declines politely. She's carrying the cake box carefully to the car and silently thanking Amy and Rory for only picking a pretty two-tier cake when she notices the hat shop next door. Normally, she wouldn't pay it any attention, but something inside is screaming at her to take a look. She hesitates, thinking it over as she places the cake on the passenger seat and secures the seatbelt around its box so it doesn't move whilst she drives. She figures she has enough time because the wedding doesn't start for another four and a half hours, so she pops into the shop. It's empty, apart from the old man behind the counter, who smiles invitingly at her. She browses the rows of hats and headwear, and she pauses in front of a wall of hair bows, considering picking up a beautiful red one because it's about time she replaced the one she lost fifteen years ago when something catches her eye. It's like something takes over her body, and she buys the item without thinking, paying the extortionate price and not stopping to question it until she is driving back to Leadworth and eyeing it in its fancy bag in the passenger footwell.

"What the hell is wrong with me?" She huffs as she parks by her house and retrieves the cake. She leaves the hat in the car, anticipating her aunt and uncle will have lots of questions about why on earth she would buy it, and she doesn't want to answer them. Mainly because she doesn't have any answers. She just had to buy it. She struggles to open the door with the cake box but makes it over the threshold without dropping it and delicately places it on the kitchen table next to her car keys. "I got the cake!"

Amy rushes down with a gleeful look on her face, ripping the lid off the box, and her face lights up when she sees the cake. It's very simple, with white fondant covering it, and then huge red and white flowers made out of icing are placed up the side with cute little figures of a ginger bride and a groom on top. "I love it!"

"It's pretty," Cherry agrees, smiling at her cousin's enthusiasm. Amy hugs Cherry tightly, squeezing her shoulders.

"Thank you for going to get it," Amy says. "Now we have to get ready."