It didn't take any detective work to guess where they would find Dempsey; Chas had been like a cat on a hot tin roof arriving fully dressed into the beleaguered SI10 offices. The Harris Strang building project was in Deptford facilitating a five minute window for stopping off in Camberwell Grove en route to the church.
Dempsey tried to shave but in his haste nicked his skin three times. Harry threw on a dress and twisted her hair up; Dempsey leapt down the stairs two at a time she passed him his jacket, he slipped the ring into the inner pocket and proceeded to tie his cravat as they ran out to the car.
"Damn" Dempsey moaned as he felt the unequal folds of his tie; he and Harry were sitting in the back of the rolls. The car drew away from Camberwell Grove and Harry leaned across to Dempsey and retied his cravat "There" she declared now just get rid of those… she pulled the white tissue paper off of Dempsey's chin and observed with a satisfied sigh "You scrub up quite well"
Dempsey watched Harry slip her earrings into place, open up her compact and tease her fringe "You don't do so bad either" he admitted but Harry was processing something. She studied his face with an intensity that made Dempsey shuffle uneasily.
"You've shaved" she repeated
"I'm best man at Chas' wedding"
"What with" she demanded sticking doggedly to her line of questioning
"A razor"
"Facetious" Harry replied dryly
"Seems to me you don't sweat and you don't get hairy…." Dempsey tried to read her as he marshalled his defence "…come on it was stuffed at the back of your bathroom cabinet"
Harry furrowed her brow, screwed up her face on one side and imagined the pink lady shave in his hand "Dempsey we're talking about personal things here"
"You ain't used that for years princess – I had to wash the dust off"
"You do know that's grounds for divorce"
"Don't we have to get married first?" Dempsey teased
Harry rolled her eyes and smirked; she shook her head and sat back into the soft white leather, Dempsey followed suit.
"You have prepared your speech" Harry suddenly panicked
"Harry…you're nagging…" Dempsey warned and as he breathed out he pontificated "Marriage ain't a word it's a sentence!"
"Well it would be for your wife!"
"They say Marriage is the triumph of imagination over intelligence."
"Ah hum" Makepeace assented in a low murmur "And second marriage is the triumph of hope over experience."
"So are you hopeful eh Makepeace?"
"No Dempsey I'm experienced"
"Well let's forget the marriage stuff – what do you say to living together"
Harry pondered a moment "Tell me Dempsey why is it always the guy that moves in?"
"'Cos his laundry's round there and it saves taking it home"
Harry snorted; the car drew up outside the church and Dempsey actually put his jacket on. Instinctively Harry folded his collar down, repositioned his tie and told him 'for gods sake remember you're the best man'
"Harry…you're nagging…"
By the time it came to the speeches Dempsey had the undivided attention of both of Alice's sisters, two of her old school friends, her neighbour's sister as well as Chas' cousins and an old family friends daughter. Thus when he stood and began his speech "The trouble with being the best man at a wedding is that you never get to prove it" Makepeace curled up, Spikings rolled his eyes and three wolf whistles came forth from his female admirers.
Harry prayed fervently and without hope that he would be brief, but at the end of her prayer she could still hear Dempsey "Personally I don't know why a man would want to get married – after all up until that point he has no faults!" The trouble was that now it wasn't just the female fan club lapping up his words but half the room "Now you see I have another friend" Dempsey was energised by the rapt attention he commanded "who told me he hadn't spoken to his wife for 18 months…." He held his pause in perfect timing "…'cos he didn't want to interrupt her!" The raucous laughter from the men was joined by Spikings and Harry realised that she was onto a loser. There was a tiny bit about how Chas and Dempsey had hooked up when he first arrived from the States and some warm comments describing nights in the pub that Harry found insightful and then Dempsey turned to his conclusion "finally" he announced "There are obviously two very important people here today without whom very little of this would have been possible." Harry sighed with relief "And the great thing is that as the evening progresses, most of us will get to spend more and more time talking with them. So please join me in a very special toast – to the bar staff!"
Harry screwed up her mouth as she conceded his brilliance, she joined the rest of the room in applause and stood to toast the bridesmaids as deftly redirected by Dempsey.
The Fry, Dave and Tony 'let's be like Dempsey club' all slapped him on the back when Dempsey moved over to join the rest of the SI10 team; Dempsey however looked to Harry who observed that he had 'made a lot of fans'. She glanced across the room, it didn't seem to matter in what direction – from every angle someone seemed to be watching Dempsey.
"So what do you think partner?" he asked as he slid into the space next to Harry
"That sometimes I question my own sanity"
"And what does your sanity reply?"
"That I'm absolutely mad"
"You know I have that self same problem"
"They loved you" she tipped her head as she spoke
Dempsey gave out a satisfied grunt and sat back comfortably. Harry noted the approaching gaggle of women "I think your harem awaits"
Dempsey grinned "George Bernard Shaw said 'It is a woman's business to get married as soon as possible, and a man's to keep unmarried as long as he can'"
"Very learned" Harry scorned light-heartedly "have you actually read any Shaw?"
"Sure – on a bumper sticker"
Harry couldn't ignore the women giggling and nudging each other like pathetic school girls "I think you're wanted on the dance floor Dempsey" she pushed
"You coming?" he asked brightly
Harry looked at the expectant huddle "I don't think so"
Dempsey shrugged, he would never get the measure of Makepeace, he tapped Dave on the shoulder "you wanna dance with the girls?"
Dempsey slung his body next to Harry who was sitting down again on the seat running the length of the back wall "You know there was this man – he put an ad in the classifieds: 'Wife wanted'. Next day he received a hundred letters, they all say the same thing: 'You can have mine!"
Harry reluctantly smiled. Dempsey kicked his feet up onto a chair; he leaned back next to Harry "There was another bumper sticker – Many a man in love with a dimple makes the mistake of marrying the whole girl" he thought for a few moments "Why would you want to get married Harry?"
"Who me in particular or people in general?"
"I dunno – you – why did you get married Harry?"
"Seem a good idea at the time"
"And when did it seem a bad idea?"
"On my honeymoon"
"Whoops"
"Whoops indeed - Would you ever get married Dempsey?"
"You'd never ask me"
"No I mean to anyone – would you?"
"Seems a bit too institutionalised for me"
They fell into silence surveying the room in front and then because she was quite drunk Makepeace asked "So which one are you taking home?"
"Which one?"
"I've counted 9 women chasing you Dempsey – who's scored?"
"Do you take me for a fool?" he asked
"A red blooded male" she admitted
"Harry" he sighed at her naivety "they're either relatives of Chas or Alice or their friends – I never play that close to home" She turned to look at him; he put his arm around her shoulder and drew her into his side "Can we go home" he asked to her inordinate surprise "only I'm bushed"
