The Wadhams: Gathering Of The Clans
We’re delighted to bring you the continuing adventures of Life & The Wadhams, featuring the younger members of the family. Not yet met the Wadhams? Read the background on My Weekly’s best-loved family, then come back and enjoy the next generation’s adventures as Mike and Polly Wadham’s elder grandson, Alex Clark settles into family life with wife Natalie and toddler son William in their flat above Pretty Polly’s, the hairdressing and beauty salon which Natalie runs. If you’ve missed any instalments, you’ll find them here.
Despite their early start, the sun was shining brightly as Natalie and Alex pulled up at the entrance of Altham Castle estate.
“Isn’t it just the perfect day for a wedding?” Natalie beamed, as she pulled her small son William from his car seat.
“No!” William replied.
“Yes!” Natalie said firmly. “Great Uncle Drew and Auntie Annabel are going to have the most perfect wedding day, filled with love, and friends and family, and we are going to enjoy every minute of it.
“Now, go to Daddy and join the men, while Mummy finds the ladies of the party.”
She handed the toddler over to Alex and began pulling her mobile hairdressing equipment from the boot, declining Alex’s offer of help.
“I’ll be fine – you shoot off and keep him occupied. I’ll need all my time to get everyone ready for 2pm.”
For once, Natalie had taken a day off from the salon – this was a special day for the Wadhams and Clark family, the first wedding since Alex and Natalie’s own. And that had of necessity been a small affair as it took place during lockdown.
What’s more, Mike and Polly’s elder son, Jonathan and his wife Ann would be there. The families hadn’t seen each other for three long years, but now Jonathan and Ann were moving home for good.
Thanks to travel disruptions along the way, they weren’t arriving from Singapore until early this morning, but they would be at the hotel for lunchtime – just time to freshen up and change.
Natalie was looking forward to seeing them again, and to introducing them to William.
“Natalie! Here you are! Now we can get the celebrations started!” A helpful receptionist had shown Natalie to the large suite where the women of the bridal party had gathered to get ready for the ceremony, and now her sister-in-law Jennifer Clark came bounding over to her, her eyes alight with excitement.
Natalie grinned.
“I’d better not start on the Prosecco yet – I have too many heads of hair to see to!”
She scanned the room. There was Polly, matriarch of the Wadhams clan with her pillow of soft white hair; her mother-in-law Pinky with her red tresses, just like Jennifer’s; the bride Annabel with her bobbed dark brown hair, and her sister, Moira, who looked just like her though she’d allowed her hair to go naturally grey.
As Natalie began unpacking her accoutrements, Jennifer halted her in her tracks.
“We’ve got these to put on first!” she declared, dragging a big bag from behind the sofa and delving into it to produce half a dozen short silk robes.
“Let’s see, this one is for you, Mum.”
She handed Pinky a robe emblazoned on the back with Sister of the Groom.
Polly’s robe read Mother of the Groom, while Moira’s and Jennifer’s own declared them each as Bridesmaid. Annabel’s, of course, read The Bride.
“Ta-da!” Jennifer handed one last robe to Natalie, carrying the message Wedding Stylist, and Natalie couldn’t help laughing.
“Now,” Jennifer said, “We’ll all have a great girlie time while we get ready for the wedding of the year. No men are allowed in here under pain of having their heads shaved.”
“OK,” Natalie agreed, snapping her scissors lightly. “Now, who’s going first?”
She’d just started tonging Pinky’s hair when a knock on the door heralded the arrival of the groom himself, Drew.
“No men allowed!” Jennifer declared to her uncle, blocking him at the door. “And you especially can’t see the bride. Get lost.”
“But I need to see Mum,” Drew said, side-stepping her smartly as Annabel squealed and made a dive for the en-suite.
“Mum, we’ve just had a call from Jonathan. They landed safely at Heathrow, but the trains are running all to pot, as usual, and they’re not sure they’ll get here in time. Jonathan wanted to let you know not to worry.”
“Oh no!” Polly held a hand to her mouth. “What a shame. Oh, I was so looking forward to us being all together, too.”
“Can’t be helped,” Drew, ever calm and phlegmatic, said. “They’ll be here when they’re here. Meanwhile, I’ve asked Alex to step up to best man duties. Just thought I should let you know.”
“How’s Ruby behaving?” Pinky asked.
Her four-year-old was a flower girl but deemed too young to join in the beautifying party, given the hot tongs and hairspray flying around. Her older cousins had charge of her.
“Like an angel, of course.” Drew winked and withdrew before his sister could challenge that unlikely assertion.
The next interruption came just as Natalie was putting the finishing touches to Polly’s white chignon.
She was just settling her smart little hat on her head to test the angle when Mike Wadham wandered in without knocking.
Not even Jennifer had the heart to tell the muddled old patriarch to make himself scarce.
“Ah, there you are, dear,” he said fondly, settling himself in an armchair, oblivious to the chaos around him. “This is a lovely house Jonathan has bought, isn’t it? Bit big for him though, I think. Hope he hasn’t overstretched himself.”
He looked over Polly’s shoulder to catch her eye in the mirror.
“What a pretty hat that is,” he said. “But of course, you’ve always suited hats. Did you know – ” he turned to the others with a twinkle in his eye – “that she once wore a flowery hat to a funeral?”
Pinky might have thought her father was just even more confused than usual when Polly gasped.
“Oh my goodness! Fancy you remembering that.” She smiled at the rest of the wedding party. “We were going straight on to a wedding from a funeral and I’d forgotten I had my hat in my hand when we entered the church. The rest of the mourners were coming in behind us so I couldn’t take it back to the car.”
“Oh no!” Annabel laughed. “What did you do?”
It was Mike who replied.
“She shoved it in amongst the floral wreaths. It looked like just another tribute. Always resourceful, my Polly.”
“Did you get it back afterwards?” Jennifer asked. She loved hearing stories about her grandparents’ younger escapades and she hadn’t heard this one.
“Oh yes.” Polly chuckled. “It was quite an expensive hat and your grandfather would not have been pleased if I’d lost it.”
“We waited till everyone had gone, then picked it up just before the undertakers could pop it in the funeral car with the others.” Mike chortled at the memory. “Then we went on to the wedding.”
His eyes dimmed as the memory receded and he looked around vaguely.
“We’re going to a wedding today, aren’t we?”
“Yes, Grandpa, it’s Drew’s wedding today. He’s marrying Annabel, remember. He left it a long time, but he’s finally met the love of his life.”
“He’s a lucky man.” Mike nodded sagely. “But I’m even luckier I met mine when I was young.”
He reached his hand out to Polly’s, who squeezed it tenderly. It reassured her to know Mike would never forget how much he loved her.
“There you are, Grandpa!” Yet another male had appeared in the shape of Matty, Alex and Jennifer’s younger brother. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere. Sorry, Mum.” He looked guiltily at Polly. “He gave me the slip.”
“Not to worry,” Pinky gave her son a reassuring wink. “We’ve loved having him here. But take him away now, before we start to get changed. He’ll have a heart attack if he sees us stripping down to our undies.”
The old man ambled off quite happily with his grandson and Natalie resumed her hairdressing duties.
Peace reigned, Prosecco was drunk and she was just about finally to start on the bride’s hair when there was yet another male intrusion, in the form of her own husband.
“What now?” she said crossly. Natalie was usually the most patient of people, but they were starting to run late and she still had her own hair and make-up to do.
“Uncle Drew’s asked me to be the best man. I’ll have to make a speech. I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t have to say much,” Pinky reassured her older son. “Just tell everyone what a marvellous uncle he is, and how much we all love Annabel.”
“And don’t forget to say how gorgeous the bridesmaids are,” Jennifer put in cheekily.
“And don’t be afraid to be a little sentimental,” Polly said softly. “Wish him as long and happy a marriage as me and your Grandpa have had …”
Jennifer giggled softly. Drew and Annabel would have to live to 120 to match that.
Caught in the tenderness of the moment, Natalie added her own advice.
“And wish him the happiness we have found together since our own Lockdown wedding. Remind him that though his brother can’t be here, the wedding ceremony, no matter how small or big, is only the start of married life, and that there is more joy to come each day.”
As Alex crossed the room to kiss his wife, the eyes of the whole bridal party filled with tears.
But they could not wallow in sentimentality for long. For here was Jim, Pinky’s husband, and right behind him, the most welcome sight.
Yes, it was another man gate-crashing the bridal celebrations. But who couldn’t be happy that Jonathan had made it in time for the ceremony after all?
Certainly not his mum, Polly, her eyes shining with pride and delight, nor his sister Pinky, who’d missed him so much over the years.
But possibly the most relieved was Alex, who wouldn’t have to deliver a speech after all.
Amid tears of joy, sighs of relief, and bursts of soft laughter the Wadhams and Clarks exploded with emotion.
As Jennifer said, the celebrations had truly begun!
Join us next month for more adventures with the Wadhams clan.
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