Resequencing DNA

As Ashleigh and Eloise entered the marquee, the pair were directed by Tiffany, to the tables on which they would each be sitting. Eloise, of course, was to be seated at the head table along with Pippa, Edward and the rest of the bridal party, along with Warren, Vivian and Alistair. Ashleigh was to be seated at one of the middle tables, each of which was decorated with crisp white table clothes and a candelabra, each with three white candles that were lit, giving the interior of the marquee, a soft candlelit glow. Also sitting upon the table, positioned at each seat was a red placemat and silver cutlery, along with two different style glasses, one being a champagne flute, the other a wine glass.

Ashleigh was the last of the guests to arrive at her table. Not only was she to be seated beside James, but her table also consisted of Jasper and Bridget, Willam and Lawrence.

“Nice of you and Eloise to make it at last,” laughed Bridget, “You made this poor boy wait for you,” she added whilst pointing towards James.

“It’s erm…quite alright,” muttered James as he got to his feet, pulling out the chair for Ashleigh to be seated before tucking her in at the table and returning to his seat.

“Thank you, James,” said Ashleigh with a smile, “Ever the gentleman.”

James smiled back at Ashleigh as he was seated once more.

“Of course, it’s quite alright my dear, I kept him company for you,” joked Bridget, nudging James’ arm as she did so, whilst attracting a glare from the other three occupants of the table.

Ashleigh let out a nervous laugh as she looked at James who sat back down in between her and Bridget, whilst looking rather uncomfortable.

“Mother, behave yourself,” snapped William, who was sitting directly opposite Ashleigh, his back facing the main table.

Ashleigh glanced at Jasper, he too was looking rather uncomfortable with his wife’s behaviour.

Just then Ashleigh felt a gentle tap on her shoulder,

“Red wine or white madam?” asked a rather young lady.

“I’ll have the…erm…red, please,” mumbled Ashleigh in reply.

“Very well,” said the young woman, as she filled up the wine glass positioned in front of Ashleigh.

No sooner had the young woman left Ashleigh and begun to make her way around the table, a similarly young man approached and began to fill up the champagne flute.

Before Ashleigh had even uttered a single word, the young man explained what he was doing, after seeing that Ashleigh was rather surprised by his sudden appearance.

“Champagne Miss…for the toasts,” he explained before he too made his way around the table.

“Good…” thought Ashleigh, “I think I need all the alcohol I can get sitting on this table.”

Just then, Alistair could be heard from the main table, as he demanded that the guests quieten down, in order for him to begin his speech.

 

The speeches seemed to last a lifetime, to Ashleigh anyway. She sat in silence as Alistair gave his, followed by Edward, then Warren and then Tiffany. Each time asking them to raise their glass in a toast for the newly wedded couple. No sooner had Tiffany finished her speech and everyone had raised their glasses, the catering staff had already begun bringing out the starter and placing them for each guest.

Around two hours later, all of the formalities were out of the way and all of the guests had eaten. It had been the longest two hours of Ashleigh’s life, as Bridget had continued to make both her and James feel rather uncomfortable. Bridget, however, was now onto her third glass of white wine, meaning her almost flirtatious behaviour towards James had intensified. James, being the polite gentleman he is, just appeared to laugh the situation off. Instead, it was the rest of the table that felt increasingly ill at ease.

“I need the bathroom,” stated James, getting out of his seat. Ashleigh quickly noticed that James too had ordered red wine and yet the glass remained at his seat, untouched.

“James…you haven’t…” started Ashleigh, pointing to the full glass on the table.

”I know,” he replied, “I don’t drink…I noticed you ordered the red, so I got it too…for you that is,” he added with a laugh before making his way out of the marquee.

No sooner had James gotten out of view, Bridget leaned across in the direction of Ashleigh,  

“So my dear…you and James…really…you moved on from Wesley rather quickly didn’t you…hmmm,” said Bridget.

“No…no…it’s not like that…really…it’s not,” mumbled Ashleigh, quickly retrieving the glass of wine that James had left her, almost instantly taking a huge mouthful. Ashleigh quickly scanned the table, looking for support from either Lawrence, William or even Jasper, only to realise that they had all made a rather swift exit at the earliest opportunity.

“Oh boy…I can’t really blame them to be fair,” thought Ashleigh, “However, I do believe this is going to be a long day.”

“Yes, yes, that is what you will say…won’t you…” stated Bridget, “In all honesty, I can’t blame you, my dear girl,” she added with a chuckle.

Ashleigh’s eyes continued to scan around the place, looking desperately for someone to come and relieve her of the unrelenting Bridget, who was now clearly intoxicated.

“Eloise!” she exclaimed, waving frantically to get the attention of her new friend.

Eloise looked over at Ashleigh before her eyes widened as she noticed the sight of her own mother leaning across the currently vacant seat.

“Ashleigh, HI!!” exclaimed Eloise, rushing over and seating herself between her mother and Ashleigh. “Is everything okay,” she whispered as she hugged Ashleigh.

“I think…I think your mum is a little drunk,” replied Ashleigh.

“Oh, dear god…I’m so sorry,” said Eloise.

“So…as I was saying,” said Bridget, interrupting the pair whilst acting and talking as if she hadn’t even noticed Eloise. “I don’t blame you for moving on…you know…from Wesley…I know he’s my nephew and everything…but James is definitely an upgrade,” she explained before bursting into laughter.

“MOTHER!” exclaimed Eloise,

“Oh, hi dear…when did you get here,” laughed Bridget.

“I think you need to go and lie down for a while mother,” said Eloise, sounding rather stern, “Where is father?” she asked.

“Oh I don’t know dear,” replied Bridget before taking another large gulp of wine.

“What about those two?” asked Eloise.

“Who? my darling girl,” asked Bridget.

“Those brothers of mine…Lawrence and William” snapped Eloise.

“I have no idea,” replied Bridget. “Anyway…Ashleigh…would you like to hear something so…funny yet adorable about this one?” she added, placing her arm around Eloise’s shoulders.

“I have a feeling you will tell me anyway…regardless of whether I want to hear it or not,” thought Ashleigh, picking up her wine glass and downing the remainder in one fell swoop.

“Mother, please,” begged Eloise, she now wore a look that screamed for somebody to save her from her own, rather tipsy mother.

“Now shhh dearest,” stated Bridget. “Eloise my dear…why don’t we tell Ashleigh here about Elijah,” she added with a giggle.

Ashleigh looked at Eloise who now looked as though she was currently praying for the ground to swallow her whole at that moment in time.

“Elijah?” asked Ashleigh.

“Well you see my dear, as you know, Eloise grew up with two older brothers…” explained Bridget.

“William and Lawrence…but who’s Elijah?” wondered Ashleigh.

“Well now…because she used to look up to her older brothers…every now and again, Eloise used to raid their wardrobes and wear their clothes,” giggled Bridget, “After the first few times… when she would play dress up, she would say that she was a boy, like them and demand we called her Elijah.”

Eloise now looked ready to burst into tears, she took her mother's arm from around her shoulders, got to her feet and quickly walked away.

“Eloise…” exclaimed Ashleigh, to which Eloise just raised her hand as she walked away.

“The cutest and funniest time had to be when she was wearing her father's suit…which was far too big for her. She had even doubled the trouser legs over so that they fit…as well as rolled up the sleeves on the jacket…I think I have the picture somewhere…she was only 10 at the time I think. She had her hair tied up and was wearing a hat…so that it looked like she had short hair…she had drawn on a moustache as she paraded around the house carrying one of Jasper’s cigars, unlit of course. But still… she was so cute pretending to be her father,” Bridget explained as she continued to chuckle.

“ Woah…Eloise…I had no idea…” thought Ashleigh.

Ashleigh simply nodded to acknowledge Bridget before getting to her feet and setting off in pursuit of Eloise, who had just left the marquee.

Just as Ashleigh was about to leave the marquee, she bumped into James who was just returning from his bathroom trip.

“Ashleigh…is everything alright?” asked James.

“Yes…everything is fine James,” Ashleigh quickly replied.

“But I’ve just seen Miss Eloise…she looked rather troubled,” said James, looking rather puzzled.

“I’m sorry…I…I’ll be back soon…I promise,” stated Ashleigh in haste as she rushed out of the entrance to the marquee.  

“Eloise…wait,” shouted Ashleigh as she got outside.

Eloise stopped and turned back to face Ashleigh who rushed towards her, visibly wiping away a tear that was running down her face.

“Are you okay?” asked Ashleigh after catching up with her friend.

“I…I’ll be fine,” muttered Eloise in response.

“You sure…you made me almost run…in heels…come on…tell me the truth…and don’t cry you’ll ruin your makeup,” said Ashleigh with a smile and a giggle.

Upon hearing Ashleigh’s words, Eloise let out a slight laugh too,

“See what I said earlier Ash…you can always make me laugh…thank you,” she said with a smile.

“You’re welcome,” replied Ashleigh, “Hey…like I said, you’ve rather quickly become my friend…I trust you…hey…you know my deepest secret,” she added with a wink.

Eloise giggled once more, “I trust you too, Ashleigh…not sure about the other guy though,” she stated whilst giggling.

“See…that’s what I love to see and hear…you happy…smiling…laughing,” said Ashleigh.

Just then, a voice spoke up from behind Ashleigh,

“Ashleigh…Eloise…Is everything okay?” asked Pippa.

“It’ll be fine,” replied Eloise.

“Ash?” asked Pippa.

“Go…enjoy your day Pip,” stated Ashleigh.

Pippa stood and looked at the pair with an inquisitive look on her face,

“Oh…okay…if you promise everything is okay,” answered Pippa, rather hesitantly. And with that, she turned and headed back into the marquee.

“Come on,” stated Ashleigh, linking Eloise by the arm.

“Where are we going?” asked Eloise.

“Let's go for a stroll around the garden…maybe we can talk a little…if not…at least we can get away from it all for a while,” stated Ashleigh.

“Get away from it all…surely you don’t mean my mother,” giggled Eloise.

“Especially your mother,” replied Ashleigh with a wink before both girls began to laugh.