Page 51 of Heart So Hollow

“This is Brett Sorensen...”

Bowen doesn’t have to elaborate. Everyone seems to know who I am before I even open my mouth. Everyone knows him and, by default, they all know me, too.

Everyone.

I’ve known him since he was five…his mom and I went to school together…his dad and I used to work together…I played soccer with him in high school…I babysat him and his sister when they were toddlers…

And this is how it goes from the moment I step through the ornate mahogany doors of the country club, winding through a sea of people, my hand perpetually clasped in his. I stop keeping track of who everyone is by the time we get to the opposite end of the foyer. By this point, I’m just along for the ride.

Hildy finally appears again as the dishes are being cleared away at the reception, collapsing into the empty chair next to Jay. At the same time, a pair of arms come out of nowhere and stretch over Bowen’s shoulders. I flinch and lean away as a woman leans over and wraps her arms around him. She’s wearing the same Navy blue off-shoulder dress as Hildy, her blonde hair affixed in a French twist at the back of her head. Bowen turns his head slightly to see who it is, and once he recognizes her, he relaxes again.

“What’s up?” he asks while chewing the last of a dinner roll, not bothering to look behind him.

The woman plants a hand on her hip and runs her other hand back and forth across his shoulders. Oddly enough, I recognize her. She’s in one of the framed photos on Bowen’s wall.

“Did you see Hildy almost fall down the steps outside?” the woman snickers at Jay across the table.

Hildy pauses in the middle of brushing off the front of her dress and shoots the woman a tight-lipped smile.

Jay stretches his arms and rests his hands behind his head, “Don’t lie, y’all were lit by the time the wedding started.”

“I was completely sober,” Hildy snickers, “but I can’t say the same for the bride,” Hildy shoots the blonde woman another look, “Hannah kept refilling her champagne glass and no one realized it!”

Hannah rolls her eyes and then turns to Bowen, “And I’m surprised to see you here,” she says with an accusatory tone.

Bowen looks over his shoulder, confused, “Why?”

I train my eyes on Hannah’s hand as she traces random designs over his back with her fingertips. I glance at Hildy, then Jay, and then back to Bowen. No one seems fazed by any of this, so I continue to watch with intrigue.

“You’ve been MIA,” Hannah shrugs, “you’re never at Hildy’s anymore.”

Bowen hangs one arm over the back of his chair, looking up at her, “Yeah,” he deadpans, “I’ve been busy.”

“Mm-hm,” Hannah retorts with a roll of her eyes, “as long as you haven’t ditched us for some skank.”

Jay lets out a whoop of laughter that cuts through the air like thunder. He can’t contain himself he’s laughing so hard. Hildy freezes, a flush creeping up her face. Her eyes dart back and forth between me and Hannah, trying to figure out what to say. My expression remains unchanged as I stare up at this woman who seems intent on pretending that I don’t exist.

Bowen presses his mouth together and pinches the bridge of his nose, then reaches over and slides his hand over my thigh.

Jesus Christ, these people…

I set my elbow on the table and lean into Hannah’s field of view, shooting her an enthusiastic smile, “I’m Brett,” I raise my hand, giving her a wave, “the skank—in the flesh.”

Jay thrusts his arm across the table, pointing at me, then looks at Bowen, “This is why I like her,” he declares.

Meanwhile, Hildy finally recovers from her awkward stupor and rejoins the conversation, “Hannah, this is Brett Sorensen, Bo’s girlfriend.”

Oh, good, I exist again.

“Brett,” Hildy turns to me, “this is Hannah Bailey.”

Hannah pauses, raises her eyebrows, and opens her mouth in polite surprise. But I know that look; the one where one minute, you’re perfectly content and then, in the blink of an eye, one sentence throws you off balance and you realize reality isn’t what you thought it was. Two seconds—literally, two seconds—after meeting this woman, I saw the catch in her chest and her brain short-circuit as she made sense of Hildy’s words.

All she can offer is, “No way!”

And now something tells me she doesn’t think it’s so nice to meet me. But before I can respond and make the situation even more awkward, two women approach the table. A woman who looks to be in her forties with sandy brown spiral curls plants her fingers on the table and glares down at Jay facetiously.

“And where is your brother this evening?” she asks with an accusatory tone, bringing her other hand to the hip of her lavender maxi dress, “I’ve seen your dad and the rest of the department, but he’s nowhere to be found.”

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