Page 104 of Overtime
I shake my head. No, I can’t go down that road with her. What-ifs don’t change this situation. We’re still graduating and parting ways soon.
Besides, I shouldn’t have assumed she didn’t want me at the wedding. Especially not after she shared how gross some of her family members are to her. Like I told Ryan, friends give a shit about their friends, and I shouldn’t leave Maddie to the vultures. At least not the full night. I already missed the actual ceremony and at least a couple of hours of the party, but I can still salvage this.
I start putting everything away. Instead of cooking, I quickly down a protein shake from a carton. Once I’m done, I take off my sweatshirt and head into my room. The tie and handkerchief that perfectly match the shade of her dress are neatly folded in my closet. I retrieve them, along with one of the suits I wear after games and put them on the bed.
I pick up my auditing textbook from the floor and spread it open on the page where I jammed the wedding invite. I drop it on top of the suit and quickly strip off my sweats. It will take maybe fifteen minutes to get dressed and into my car, then just under an hour to make it to the farm where the wedding’s being held. Should be plenty of time to think about what to say and how.
CHAPTER 30
MADDIE
“Maddie, why aren’t you with the others? I’m about to toss the bouquet.”
I groan into my club soda.
I made a decision before coming to Meg’s wedding. Option one, get thoroughly sloshed so I could put up with the full night of torture among Mom and other equally bad, or worse, relatives. Or option two, stay sober so I could drive away at the earliest chance. I chose the second one, and I regret it, because I haven’t found a window of opportunity to hightail it out of here.
Every time I try, Mom seems to read my mind and gets between the exit and me. And apparently even the bride can now read my intentions, because I was just thinking this might be it. Most of the attendees who aren’t dancing or still attacking the open bar are getting ready to watch the bouquet toss, which will be followed by the garter toss.
“It’s okay. Your law school friends seem to not need any further competition.”
We turn to the group of women. A couple of my sister’s friends from the good ole days have even removed their heels so they can maneuver. That’s how committed they are. Or maybetheir feet hurt and they should’ve worn flats like me. We’ll never know.
Meg shakes her head at them and shifts her attention back to me. She runs her hand down my arm until she grabs my hand. “Don’t mind them. I want you there. You’ve looked gorgeous but sad all night, and this should be fun.”
Swinging our hands, I say, “Dude, you’ve had a chance to look at me all night? I thought your eyes belonged to your hubby already.”
“Looking at his beard gets tiring after a while.” She grins. We both know they’ve been making moony faces at each other since the day they met in law school and that it’ll be that way until the day death do them part.
According to Mom, she and Dad were the same until death did do them part. I’ve always yearned for something like that, even though deep down, I’ve never believed I would get it. I don’t want another fresh reminder of how this whole thing isn’t for me, so I try gently shooting my sister down again.
“I think I’m okay, but thanks.”
“Is this related to that plus-one of yours who didn’t show up?”
I grimace. “That’s a bold assumption.”
“Not quite.” She shrugs one delicate shoulder. “It’s all the harpies have been talking about tonight. Not even the shrimp caused such a sensation, unfortunately.”
And the shrimp were massive. Here I thought it’d capture their attention for a bit.
I fold my arms. Even if the whole… thing with Aran hadn’t gone down, I’d still have probably been miserable here, and we both know it. Mom’s still annoyed by the fact I’m not wearing the bolero she spent extra money on to hide my arms with. She still tells everyone my work options are open after graduation. My cousins still openly call me a loser for never having a boyfriend.One of the bridesmaids keeps pushing me to the corner spots in pictures, probably to crop me out later. And I’m really hungry, because for some reason, the vegetarian options flew off the tables first.
As if that all wasn’t enough, I just had to add some severe form of heartbreak to all that, huh?
“Yeah, well. If you know, you wouldn’t want to rub my eternal singlehood in my face.”
“It’s not that, silly. I just want to see you have a little bit of fun. Will you give me that gift tonight?” Meg has the nerve to pout all cutely, and even if I try, there’s no way I could get angry at my sister. She’s the only angel in this family, and to date, I don’t understand how she can transform into an intense bloodhound in court.
“Fine.”
“Yes!” She pumps her fist and leans forward to give me a one-armed hug, mindful of not squishing the famous bouquet between us. When she pulls away, she says, “That guy’s a complete bonehead and doesn’t deserve any of your time. You’ll find a better one who worships the ground you walk on. You’ll see.”
I’m not sure if I’m smiling or grimacing. I’m sure there are better guys than Aran out there. Somewhere. Probably in Iceland or in Laos. Where I’ll never meet them.
She drags me toward the fray and squeezes my hand one more time before letting go. As Meg takes her position and the cameras start rolling, I let the throng of women swallow me. The ones who show the most interest in catching the bouquet elbow their way to the front quite violently. I’m happy to hang out bruise-less at the back.
“Ready?” Meg screams, and the hyenas screech in response.
