Page 71 of Be Less Panda
‘I thought you liked going to your mum and dad’s?’
Lucy’s parents’ villa was luxuriously fitted out. She particularly enjoyed using their enormous hot tub, with its holiday brochure-standard views across the Tuscan countryside. Her mum and dad had been living there permanently for the last two years. ‘It’s warmer than Moseley,’ her dad had said when they announced their move.
Lucy sighed. ‘I do usually. But Mom will love Mark.’
Em and Mark both looked confused. ‘Is that a bad thing?’ Mark asked.
‘No, but I’m not ready to share you yet. We’ll barely have any time alone. She was threatening to invite a few neighbours around tonight to show you off like a prize pig. When I tell her we’re engaged, she’ll go into overdrive. She’ll have the entire village lined up to greet us, complete with flags and a band.’
Em laughed. ‘I can picture her doing that.’
Mark looked thoughtful. ‘Actually, if she could do that, it would look great on our new Instagram account.’
‘What new Instagram account?’ Em asked.
‘Mark and Lucy On Tour - all one word. I set it up last night,’ Mark said. ‘You can follow all our adventures on there. I’m going to create a website to go with it as well.’
Lucy looked sceptical. ‘As you can tell, Mark has influencer aspirations now.’
‘You’ll be live streaming your wedding next!’ Em laughed.
Mark looked as if he were considering it.
Lucy glared at him. ‘No!’
‘But think of the sponsorship potential.’ He had that serious look again. Hopefully, he was winding her up. Lucy decided to ignore it.
‘Will you be my maid of honour?’ she asked Em.
Em looked down at her bump. ‘If you’re getting married soon, I’m not sure Bob’s bump will look good on the livestream.’
‘Your bump will be fine,’ Mark jumped in. ‘We could do a whole piece on the do’s and don’ts of choosing dresses for pregnant bridesmaids.’
‘As your marketing expert,’ Lucy said in her most professional voice, ‘I would advise you to stick to one niche, travel blogging, and not try to incorporate wedding content as well. You’ll confuse our audience otherwise. I’m saying that as your future wife as well.’
Mark saluted her. ‘Well, future wife, I better do as you say. In which case, could we squeeze in a couple of nights in Rome after we see your folks? It would give a bit more variety on our feed.’
Lucy raised her eyebrows at Em.
‘Don’t complain,’ Em said, ‘You could be stuck at home like me. I’m so envious of everyone gadding about abroad.’
‘Who else is gadding about, then?’ Lucy asked.
‘Nancy and Olivia. They flew to Paris this morning.’
‘Mum’s in Paris?’ Mark said. ‘She didn’t mention it.’
‘They only planned it yesterday. Your mum said something about revisiting some of their old haunts.’
‘I’d forgotten they lived there for a while. I suppose I better text her the good news then.’
Lucy was shocked. ‘You’re going to text her to tell her we’re engaged?’
‘Yes. What’s wrong with that?’ He looked genuinely puzzled.
‘I thought such momentous news would warrant a phone call at the bare minimum.’
He shrugged. ‘If you insist. But if she’s busy, she’ll be less annoyed by a text.’