The six-month housemate

Thirty-eight

THIRTY-EIGHT

"I'm so bummed I missed it!" Henry laughed after we'd told him about the tournament. "My girl making girls of the other guys!"

He, Alex, Jo and I were having lunch in a little place just off campus. Henry had made the trip though he didn't have class that day. Jo and I had decided to bring our two boyfriends a little closer together, because their rivalry was really starting to make any kind of meeting awkward.

"It wasn't like that!" I replied, lightly punching his shoulder. "All the guys played really well, I just got lucky enough to manage a break through, that's all." I shrugged, blushing slightly at my boyfriend's admirative look.

"Emma, always the modest girl... Don't listen to her, she did play really well." Alex told Henry, playfully shielding his words from me by holding up a hand next to his mouth. I shook my head, smiling gently.

"Anyway, none of us is the topic of this conversation, might I remind you." I cleared my throat slightly. " Have you guys thought of cousin Keira's wedding yet?"

We had finally received the official invitations to Keira's wedding. Everybody had already saved the date thanks to an email which advised us of a problem with the printing company Keira and her fiancé had trusted to print the invitations. Despite this little hiccup, the wedding promised to be wonderful.

The ceremony was to take place in a small village near Brighton, in a very picturesque setting, whether the sun would be shining or rain pouring. Both eventualities had be taken into account, since early March weather was always a little tricky to predict.

The bride and groom-to-be had booked a hotel for all their guests, a sort of little castle, which also served as venue for the evening festivities, which consisted in a fancy dress evening. There were some suggestions on a website, on which you also could -and had to- register who you would be going as, to avoid having too many people dressed the same way. Nothing is more awkward than having five Marilyns in the same room. There was an option that prevented the bride and groom to see who they were going as, and whether they'd done it on purpose or not, it was cute to see that Keira was going as -low and behold- Keira Knightley's character in Pirates of the Caribbeans, Elizabeth Swann, and Mike was going as Mike Turner, Elizabeth Swann's husband in the movie.

At home, there was a big debate. The Dalton family had decided to go for a general theme, but they couldn't decide between Harry Potter, the Avengers and Star Wars. The parents were pushing for Star Wars, and Oliver, Hugo and Tom for something more recent. Alex and I didn't have that problem, since we were part of a little musical and dance act, we were looking for another idea which could fit the two of us and our respective partner. Which brings us back to our conversation on a January day. We just sat and listened to them bickering, which was quite amusing.

"Well, I had an idea for the format, but I don't really know the people and the context so it's not complete." Henry said, proud of himself.

"Go ahead, I'll tell you if they wouldn't like it." Alex replied, crossing his arms across his chest and lying backwards in his chair. Jo slapped his shoulder. "If they would like it." He corrected, grimacing.

"Well, since we're two pairs of decent at least singers and dancers, I was thinking we could have one singing and the other dancing, and we'd exchange."

"You mean, for example, Alex and I sing while you and Emma dance, and then vice-versa?" Jo asked thoughtfully.

"Exactly."

"Sounds good. What do you think, honey?" She asked Alex, who seemed lost in the contemplation of his paper towel.

"It is a good idea." He admitted, although his tone of voice implied that he hated to say it. "On my side, I've been thinking about the soundtrack, since we agreed on something musical."