Everyone laughed. Tasha whispered, ‘Let’s hope he isn’t going to make us jump out of a plane again.’
Rory smiled and pulled her closer. Tasha truly was the love of his life. Would he have got through the last year without her? Probably, yes. But would he have been a fraction as happy as he was now? Definitely not.
‘My best friend Rory is twenty-seven years old today,’ Joe announced, to a roar of approval from the gathered crowd. ‘And I think we can all agree, the last two years have been pretty eventful.’
Carmel, standing with one hand resting on her protruding stomach, said drily, ‘For me too.’
More laughter. Rory caught Flo’s eye and she smiled at him, her own fingers entwined with Patrick’s. Next to them, Hallie was still holding Alexandra, whose tiny left hand was splayed across Hallie’s chest. Here they were, his new family, complete strangers who between them had saved his life. He owed them everything.
‘Anyway, I’m not going to bang on about it, because we all know the details,’ Joe continued. ‘But I just want to say, none of us knows how long any one of us has left. It could be fifty hours, could be fifty years. We’re just glad we’re here today. And we won’t forget those who aren’t.’ He paused and raised his glass. ‘To absent friends. Especially Zander.’
Everyone else joined in.
Then Rory felt Tasha disentangle her fingers from his. Stepping forward in a rustle of sapphire taffeta, she surveyed the gathering of guests. ‘Rory isn’t going to waste this chance he’s been given. He didn’t want to tell you because he was worried he might sound boasty, so I’m going to tell you myself. Next year he’s going to be running the London Marathon. He’s hoping to represent England at the World Transplant Games. And he’s also planning to cycle from John O’Groats to Land’s End, to raise awareness of organ donation. I couldn’t be prouder of him, I really couldn’t.’ Tasha’s eyes were bright as she turned to smile at Rory. ‘He’s amazing. He’s never going to change and I wouldn’t want him to.’
A lump sprang up in Rory’s throat; for a moment he felt himself waver. Oh God . . .
‘Don’t make him cry, Bin Girl.’ Typically, Joe came to the rescue. ‘We’ll never let him live it down if he does.’
‘Here’s to Rory.’ Flo, stepping into the breach, lifted her glass.
When the toast had been made, Rory said, ‘And to Hallie.’
Hallie in turn added, ‘To Flo and Alexandra.’
Finally, moving towards them and clinking her glass against each of theirs in turn, Flo said simply, ‘Here’s to us.’