"Stop being an idiot!" Jack told him with brother wisdom. "Dave, just talk to her. About what happened ten years ago."
"Like she's going to do that. I tried to do that when she visited me at home, and she scarpered. "
"Make her listen." Jack looked over at David. "You are good at giving advice, now it is time for you to follow your own advice! Do you remember when you gave me advice, when I was struggling with my relationship with Amelia? You told me to talk to her."
"I told you. I tried that." He ran his fingers through his hair, and his voice grew low and showed his frustration, "Ella scarpered. Fast!"
"Talk to her when she comes to the wedding." Jack suggested. The question was whether it was the right time or the right venue. David and Ella need to have this conversation in private, not at a public event. But if this was the only option, it was better than nothing.
"I expected Amelia to ask both Gabriella and Evangeline to be bridesmaids or whatever." David murmured.
"What?"
David gave Jack a stony look, "I just said, I thought Amelia would have asked Ella to be her bridesmaid."
"She did. Ella said no." Jack's eyes narrowed.
The air crackled.
"What?"
"Her sister is having a baby." Jack pointed out what he thought David already knew. "I thought you already knew."
"So?" David finished his beer. His head was spinning, not because of the alcohol, the fact that he couldn't hold her in his arms at the wedding. "Are you saying she isn't coming to Amelia's wedding?"
Jack shook his head. "No. She is coming." He couldn't miss David's sigh of relief.
"She is definitely coming." David said, while his mind questioned that statement. She might find another reason not to come on the day.
If Jack was still not sure about David's feelings, the emotions he saw in David's eyes confirmed his suspicions. Jack recognised those emotions in David's eyes, because they mirrored his feelings about Amelia. Either David was already in love with Ella, or was on the way to that.
"Ella's gone to Auckland to be with her sister for a few days, just popped down for this, today. She is heading back. But she'll be back here for my wedding. Flying in the day before I believe."
"Oh." David used his heel of his palm to wipe his lip and it gave him a chance to hide his eyes behind the fence of his fingers. He knew his recent conversation with Ella, resulted in this impasse. At that time, he thought his actions, and his advice to Ella was the best for all: him, her, Amelia and Jack. But with hindsight, his frustration tarnished his statements, and his tone hadn't helped. He knew his tone and words abraded their relationship. By the end of their conversation he knew he had left their association scratched and battered. All because he was annoyed by the fact she went out with Ben's share-milker and she enjoyed her date! His frustration exploded in his mind and it showed in his eyes.
Jack watched the explosion in David's eyes. Jack narrowed his eyes, "Did you say something to her?" The question suddenly hit Jack. He'd thought it rather odd that Ella had suddenly had to fly to be with her sister. And Jack knew that Amelia was not happy that Ella was not available.
"Say what?" David said quietly but Jack saw David's neck redden.
"Amelia and I saw you guys having a cosy chat at the bbq." Jack narrowed his eyes. The problem was that David was good at keeping schtum when it suits him. "Thought that boded well for the wedding party. But the next day, Amelia asked Ella and Ella declined. She said she'd be with her sister in the next few weeks, and it wouldn't be a good idea to have her in our bridal team, as she would be here and couldn't help Amelia or me."
David retorted, "What's that got to do with me?" But, now, the colour in his cheeks matched his neck. And David had shielded his eyes by looking away.
Jack watched David as he blush, and he lowered his voice as he mumbled, "Just wondered."
"About what?" David demanded, feeling more than guilty. Jack shrugged. David barked, "Whether I told her to go away?" He poked his tongue into his cheek to stop his temper.
Jack waited. Seconds passed. David, again, used his palm to wipe his lip. Jack waited. They were both good at poker, but in this case, David folded before Jack.
"I didn't know about her pregnant sister." David said. Jack shrugged. David glared and then confirmed Jack's suspicion. "I told her I thought you guys would be asking us to be in the wedding party and we should try to be civil to each other."
"That's all you said to her." Jack's eyes pinned David to the spot.
"Yes." David glared and then added, beneath his breath, "Just a bit more direct."
"More direct? You were more direct?" Jack narrowed his eyes. "What did she say?"
"To what?" David snapped.
Jack folded his arms and ignored David's tone. "To your order, to act civilized?" Jack wasn't happy about that.
David shrugged. "She didn't say anything. Actually, nothing much."
"Really." Jack sighed.
David looked at Jack, as the guilt really hit home, "You think she made up the baby excuse, that her sister was pregnant?"
Jack's eyebrows rose. "David you can't be that naïve! She is Amelia's best friend. Of course Amelia would ask her to be in our bridal party. Then you and she have a conversation. You tell her to be civil, and suddenly she isn't available for bridal party duties."
"Don't blame me, Jack! Or are you saying that she made it up, that her sister is pregnant to avoid bridal team's duties?"
"No her sister really is having a baby. I'm just not sure why she had to take off for Auckland so soon and stay away for weeks. She is going back."
"When's she going?" David asked as his guilt grew.
"Wednesday."
Jack looked at David, "I thought she was still doing your place."
"Nearly done. She came round two weeks back, we went through some things. We've even ordered the furniture. She said the decorators would do the rest, they would just followed her instructions. They'd work to her directions and my expectations. If there were any problems, they or I would get in touch with her. In any case, they've nearly finished. You'll have to come up and see it. It is looking good. She was going to pop in tomorrow to see the decorators and check if they understood her directions."
"Talk to her then."
"I'm at school. She said she could only make it at 11 am. The decorators are going to be there. She said she'd leave me a note if there were any issues."
The two brothers looked at each other. They knew she had deliberately arranged her schedule to avoid David.
Jack said after a moment, "Dave, you don't hold grudges."
David acknowledged that statement by just nodding. "Yeah, so what?"
Jack asked bluntly, "So why her?"
David rubbed the side of his face, "I am not holding a grudge..."
Jack snorted. "Yeah, you are." Jack folded his arms, "I just don't understand it. The tribunal exonerated you and even her father supported you. You carried on at the camp. She went back to school."
"Yeah, exactly, she went back to school." David muttered.
"What do you mean?"
"Nothing."
"David!"
"She didn't have to go a tribunal. Her dirty laundry wasn't aired in public. I bet she didn't tell her school or have a chat about her personal and social life. I had to talk to other people about personal things that should be kept private."
"Ok, Ok, I get that. But you were ok. In any case, a kiss at a public venue is not exactly personal. So why the grudge? There is more going on here."
David's rubbed the back of his head, "It wasn't just a kiss."
"What? I thought you said it was just a kiss. One kiss."
"Yes. One kiss." David murmured.
"I am really lost, David."
"I told you, we talked. Proper conversation, I can't remember talking to girls like the way Ella and I talked back then. It was the first time in my life that I understood what people meant when they talked about falling in love. And with every statement I gave her a piece of my heart." Jack blinked in surprise. He didn't expect David to be a romantic. David said quietly. "And I knew, when we kissed I was in love with her."
Seconds passed. Jack said calmly, "You know, she might have felt the same."
"Doubt it."
"Within seconds, she gave my heart away."
"What do you mean?"
"She could have told Henry at the time, instead she threw out my heart. Left without looking back. Nothing. Just left. Didn't stand up for me. And she left me to face the brouhaha on my own."
"Come on David. Her father told our parents that she told him about the kiss." Rather than go over that again with David, probably with the same result, Jack looked at David and said, "You need to reschedule that appointment."
"Why?"
"Because you know she is avoiding you, and you need to talk to her. Trust me, David, sort this now. You need to talk to her about that incidence and how she felt, back then, and now."
"Yeah. Like she is going to volunteer that information." David snorted.