Page 18 of Always the Bridesmaid

It doesn’t work.

‘Am I allowed to ask if you’re crying because you’re being sick or for some other reason?’

Sarah sniffs with zero elegance. ‘No.’

Nodding, I move back to my position propped against the wall.

‘Maybe taking one for Becky wasn’t the best idea,’ I venture.

‘You saw that? Huh. Isn’t hindsight a marvelous thing.’

Always.

‘Charlie?’ she says to the bottom of the loo.

‘Yeah.’

‘I just want to go to bed.’

Me too.

I help her stand and take her weight across my shoulder. ‘Come on, then. Let’s be having you.’

She leans into me sleepily.

‘Teeth first,’ I say, bringing her to lean against the sink, where I put toothpaste on her brush and hand it to her.

Once she has paid lip-service to cleaning her teeth and given her face a cat’s-lick wash, I help her into bed, pulling the covers over her fully clothed body. Then I do my own ablutions, strip down to my boxers, and settle onto the sofa bed.

‘’Night,’ I call out.

Sarah responds with a snore of the kind I have only heard coming from old men who still enjoyed snuff in the nineties.

Not so perfect after all. Yet significantly more relatable.

9

SARAH

‘Here,’ Brooks says as I enter the kitchen. He hands me a mug of filter coffee. ‘You need this more than I do.’

I hold up a hand – stop. ‘Please don’t.’

The character lines on Brooks’s face betray his amusement. ‘I’ve not seen you that drunk for a long time.’

‘Yes, ha ha, very funny. Let’s joke at my expense, then move on.’

‘Oh boy. Tetchy Sarah is here. It’s going to be a long day for you.’

I inhale deeply, my nostrils flaring with my exhale, and take a long mouthful of coffee, needing the caffeine hit but not enjoying the memory of too many espresso martinis.

I notice Brooks is wearing running shorts and a vest. ‘Tell me you’re not exercising at this ungodly hour,’ I mumble into my mug as he pours himself a second coffee from the machine.

He checks his watch. ‘It’s eight thirty, and I’ve just finished.’

Urgh. Ordinarily, spritely is something I like in people in the mornings. Today, not so much.

‘Why are you up if you’re hanging this badly?’ he asks.

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