by Aimee Brown
“Just go with my story, at least until after the wedding, and then I’ll tell her the truth. I promise.”
“Fine.” I scan the pantry and see a basket full of sample sized bottles of liquor and shove a few into my bag. Hannah’s eyes grow wide as she pinches her lips into a disapproving, judgmental pucker. “What? I’ve earned these. Go mingle…”
She rolls her eyes with half a smile before giving me a hug, a quick one because she knows I hate hugs, despite her giving them to me every opportunity she has. “Thank you,” she says with a relieved smile.
As she disappears through the door I grab my bag and straighten my dress. The last thing I need is someone spreading the rumor that I was getting busy with god knows who in the pantry.
“Emi?” Lily calls my name as I click open the pantry door. Lily spins around to face me. “What are you doing?”
“Hiding.” I reluctantly leave the pantry and peek around the corner at the room full of plastic, made-up, glittering rich women. Hannah, they each squeal one by one as they greet the bride-to-be.
“Well stop it. You look more than crazy.” Lily grabs two glasses of champagne off a tray sitting near her on the counter. “Drink this and let’s go out there and try to blend in. And no more acting like a loon, pull it together, would ya?”
“Is Greta here?”
“Yes, and if you don’t get out there she’ll look much, much saner than you. Which is probably harder to do than we can imagine considering she’s nearly certifiably mental.”
“All right.” I down the champagne, set the empty glass on the counter and grab another off the tray. No use letting them go to waste. “Let’s go do some lying.”
“Wait,” Lily grabs my arm. “What? Why are we lying?”
I sigh. “Hannah and Jack didn’t want to tell Amelia what really happened when we broke up, so they told her I took a business internship in New York and that we just… grew apart.” I half laugh at the ridiculousness of it as I down my next champagne and exchange it for another.
“That’s uh… wow. OK then, let’s go lie.”
“You’re on board?” I ask her, surprised she’s going to help me after she’s been so up my ass about being half cracked.
“Well… not really. But this week can’t get any weirder, so why the hell not?”
“Great!” I say, only the tiniest bit worried.
We join the buzzing room of ladies and I’m suddenly very afraid of what exactly might be said. I feel like I should have a notepad to keep track of my lies, just in case I need to follow up with them later in the week. Lying isn’t exactly my forte so convincing someone that I’m telling the truth is a challenge on its own.
“Just smile and nod, and maybe they won’t even approach,”
“Emi! I was wondering where you ran off to in the middle of our conversation? Now come say hello to everyone. They are all dying to catch up.” Amelia guides Lily and me over to the group of women on the patio.
I glance around at the faces of Jack’s aunts, family friends, and a few strangers. Obviously, the few family members Evan and I have are standing along the far wall, leaving little distance between themselves and the buffet. I wave over at my Aunt Maggie who waves back, a proud smile on her face. As I scan the room I see her, front and center as any good narcissist would be, Greta. Her fake, forced smile blends in with the rest of these plastics.
“Have you had the pleasure of meeting, Greta, Jack’s new uh, friend?” An almost malicious smile hangs at the corners of Amelia’s lips as she walks me over to introduce us. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think she was up to something. Amelia has never played games with me, though. Somehow once she decided I was family, I was safe from any hurt that I imagine she could cause should she want to.
“Greta, this is Emi, Jack’s former fiancé.”
I grin, and almost want to do a little curtsey, but I hold back. “I’ve heard so much about you,” I say sweetly.
Amelia nods with a grin. “Greta and Jack have been seeing each other for a short time now, isn’t that right, Greta?”
“Well, two months is long enough to elope in my mind. And we have gotten pretty close recently.”
Amelia gasps, causing me to force away a smile of my own. She pats my back and suddenly shouts hello at a woman who’s just entered the room, leaving Greta and me together.
“This must be so hard for you, to have to watch the love of your life moving on?”
I shake my head with a nasally laugh. “First of all, I don’t exactly see a ring on your finger… and second, Jack is hardly the love of my life.” I down the champagne I’m still holding in one gulp. They are going down easier and easier, which considering I’m not a drinker, can’t be good. “You can actually have him. In fact, I hope you two are very happy together. You’re made for each other: both cheaters, both over the top, and both sad pathetic liars.”
“Oh, little do you know just how serious our relationship is. Not that it’s any of your business, but I’ll have you know, Jack has never cheated on me. He doesn’t need to, look at me.” She waves her hands down her body. How arrogant can someone be? “But, I warned you I was more his type. I guess you should have listened and saved yourself some heartache.” She smiles with a lift of her shoulders. “I really should get back.”
“Yes, you should, maybe you could tell everyone how you’re just dying to be given a second hand ring after cheating with your boyfriend while he was still engaged to be married to someone else? You’ll fit right in with everyone here, just like the Stepford wife that I’ve no doubt you’ll one day become.”
A sound comes out of her mouth that is anything but pleasant. She quickly stomps her foot and turns away from me, sidling up to some rich old broad I’ve never seen before.
“Well, at least you haven’t had to lie yet,” Lily laughs beside me and motions to a free seating area. “Let’s sit, away from the action. Maybe it will keep us out of trouble.”
A clapping comes from the far side of the room. Amelia is gathering everyone’s attention.
“Today we celebrate my lovely daughter, Hannah. She insisted I don’t embarrass her, so I’ll do my best. Let’s play a quick introduction game. We’ll go around the room and point to someone and say how we know them. Obviously, we will start with my Hannah. I know her because I’m her mother, Amelia, and I suffered many hours of labor bringing her into this world.” Her laugh fills the room as she points to a now blushing Hannah.
The game goes on and on, and Lily introduces herself as my best friend which throws the introduction game to me.
“I’m Emi Harrison, I know Hannah through her brother, Jack.” Hannah’s eyes widen for a second, worried about what might come out of my mouth. “But, since he wasn’t invited to the party I guess I’ll just use his good friend, Greta. I once worked with Greta’s father at Mayfair Homes and she and I once worked on a project together, well, kind of… didn’t we?” I point over at Greta who looks momentarily horrified before she spits out an uncomfortable laugh.
“Actually, I’m Jack’s girlfriend. And yes, we did once work together, if I remember correctly, you were fired that day? Right?”
I nod with a smile, Lily’s elbow now wedged into my ribs. “Yes, yes I was and as a lovely little parting gift I was given a video of the entire evening. Maybe we’ll have to sit down and have a watch, all of us?”
When I glance towards Amelia, her smile is vague, but there is enough to know that she knows more than she’s saying.
“Anyway,” Greta says, moving the game along.
I should have got hold of Morgan and asked for the video proof of what a nut job Greta really is, once I knew she was going to be here this week. That certainly would have thrown a wrench into her snide remarks aimed at me.
“Still haven’t even had to lie…” I whisper to Lily as I take another sip of my champagne.
This last sip doesn’t settle as well as the others and within seconds I know it’s not staying put where it should be.
“Oh no!” I hiss to Lily, barely able to turn my head without the entire room spinning around me. Things are taking a sudden turn for the worse. I knew I shouldn’t have kept drinking these things, on an empty stomach. “I’m gonna be sick.” I lean into Lily, who grabs my arm.
“Where’s the bathroom?” she whispers anxiously.
“Too far.” I run to the patio, her at my heels. I try to make it at least past the decorative centerpiece fountain, but I don’t. The heaving sound coming from within makes even me jump. I don’t have to turn around to know the whole room is watching me defile this very expensive water feature.
“She’ll be fine. I’m so sorry.” Lily is standing in front of me, profusely trying to apologize on my behalf.
I finally look over at her, her face scrunched up in a horrifically embarrassed look. “This is not good, Ems,” she mumbles under her breath.
All I can do is nod as I go for another round into the once crystal clear water of the fountain.
“Oh my!” Amelia bolts to action and runs to my side. “Let’s get you lying down. Help me get her to the guest room,” she says to Lily.
With Amelia on one side and Lily on the other, they drag me through the crowd of women and to a small guest bedroom on the first floor of their house.
“Grab her some Tylenol, Marion.” Amelia barks an order at the woman dressed all in black in the doorway behind us. Before I can object I’m sipping water with Tylenol and have a cold rag being held against the back of my neck. “Was it something you ate?” Amelia asks, sitting by my side and attempting to nurse me back to health. Or in this case, an earlier, more sober version of me.
“No, no. Probably it was something I drank on an empty stomach. I shouldn’t have done that.” I will not tell her how much something I drank. That part isn’t important.
“Of course, she’s drunk.” A voice echoes from the doorway. Greta is leaning against the edge, glaring at me. “What a way to ruin the party.”
“Greta! Go gossip somewhere else,” Lily snaps at her before closing the door in her face.
“Are you drunk?” Amelia asks, looking almost more concerned than angry.
“No, not really. I just had a lot of champagne on an empty stomach, and then Greta… it’s like she’s made it her job to make sure I’m as miserable as possible. I’m so sorry, Amelia. Really, I am. I feel a lot better, though.” That’s mostly a lie. The room is still spinning, but I don’t feel nauseous any longer so there is an improvement. That poor fountain, though.
“Emi.” Amelia’s motherly voice fills the room. The same voice she’s used on me since my mother died. “I know that this is a trying week for you and for Jack. I knew it before it was even here. But I would hope that we could set all this aside and focus on Hannah and your brother Evan and make this as perfect as possible.” She takes my hands in hers and looks me right in the eyes. “I love you like my own daughter, Emi, and while I don’t know the exact truth over what happened between you and my son, I do know that he is still heartbroken over you to this day.”
“But he’s going out with Greta,” I say, wondering what she meant by ‘exact truth’.
“Please,” Amelia waves her hand in the air. “Greta is there when Jack needs someone to talk to. She’s pushed her way in wherever he is, invited herself to be at the same functions as he and yet even as in love with you as he is, he’s convinced himself that Greta is all he deserves. His heart is still with you, should you still have it. So, please use some compassion when dealing with this tricky and emotional situation that we have ahead of us.” She pats my hand, telling me her speech is done and that no questions will be allowed. As she heads for the door she stops just prior to opening it. “Stay in here if you like, but I do hope you’ll rejoin the party soon.” The door clicks closed and Lily and I are left alone.
“Whoa. She is a tad intimidating, isn’t she?” Lily says with a nervous laugh.
“What do you think she meant by all that?”
“That Jack is still in love with you. Still pining, still waiting for his chance to sweep you off your feet. Which is exactly what we all thought anyway.”
“It can’t be right, Lil. He knew how much I hated Greta. How could he ever think that him being involved with her was a way back to me?”
“Life is complicated, Em. Sometimes in order to figure out exactly what you want, you have to figure out how far you’ll travel to get there. How much of a challenge it’s worth? Obviously, both you and Jack have some kind of unfinished feelings for one another. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see it.” Lily sits down where Amelia was a few moments ago. “I think it’s time for you to make a decision about this. Either you’re over Jack and you stop doing all of this…” she motions at my current drunken state, “or you figure out how to tell him how you really feel and you two have a sit down serious talk.”
I stare at Lily, then close my eyes. “I don’t know what I want and I really don’t know how I feel.” Maybe if the room would stop circling me, I’d be able to figure it out.
“Good. After the party then, we’ll stop by and see your new friend. Nothing helps you make the right decision like a rebound guy. What’s his name again?”
“Liam,” I say, wondering if a rebound guy is really the right move to prove whether I am or am not over Jack? It’s definitely risky.
*
The party lasts a couple more hours. Thankfully, I’m able to avoid any more episodes and I’m somehow able to steer clear of Greta and any of Jack’s family members who ask too many questions about my supposed internship and failed almost-wedding.
Hannah gets everything she could possibly need as an almost-married woman, and for the last hour I’ve watched Evan and Josh load it all up into two trucks as I’ve sat on the step of the front porch recovering from my recent embarrassment.
“Listen,” I say to Lily who’s helping Josh tie down the last of the boxes in the truck. “I think I should go make a fool of myself to this guy on my own.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s weird, and I’ve already looked like a ditz in front of him once. Not to mention that it’s probably a totally bad idea that he’ll laugh at. And let’s face it, this week alone I’ve had enough humiliation to last me a lifetime.”
She sighs heavily and glances at Josh as if she’s making this decision against her better judgment. Which probably isn’t far from the truth. “Fine, I’ll drop you off there. But promise me you’ll come home immediately after, and that you won’t do anything completely stupid?”
“What stupid thing could I do?” I ask.
“Vomit in the elaborately landscaped waterfall in the middle of a party, maybe?” Josh laughs at me.
“Ask a random man to be your date for my wedding to prove you’re over Jack?” Evan adds to Josh’s suggestion.
“You guys aren’t funny.” I would add to my defense, but come on, I’ve got none.
“We should start a list of Emi’s unintentional screw-ups this week,” Evan says, avoiding direct eye contact. Clearly, he’s not impressed with my ridiculous behavior. I can’t say I blame him. I’m not normally this nutty.
“I prefer that we don’t,” I say, knowing full well that writing it down isn’t necessary. They’ll be telling this story from memory for years to come.
*
When I walk into the bar it’s as dark as it was the other day, but this time I notice it’s because there are no windows apart from the porthole in the door. It truly is a dive bar. I imagine having no windows makes it easier to hide from the problems you’re trying to drown.
“She’s back!” Bald Bartender yells, and I see Liam pop out of a doorway behind the bar.
“She certainly is. What brings you back? More troubles with the ex?” He winks at me as he walks around the counter to where I’m standing.
“Yes, and no. Actually…” I fidget with my bracelets and pick at my freshly painted nails. “I… um…” I force out a nervous breath. “I wanted t
o ask a favor of you.”
“A favor? We’re already at that point in our relationship?” He laughs and motions to the table near the back of the bar.
I’m nervous, like the-nausea-is-starting-to-return nervous. I take a couple of deep breaths, hopefully unnoticeable, and sit at the table.
Liam flips a chair around and straddles it, leaning against the back. “What kind of favor are we talking here? Do you need another loan? Or maybe a hit man?”
“No, no, neither of them. Yet.”
His smile brings dimples to his stubbled face.
“It’s actually kind of pathetic. I just… uh…” I take another breath and stare at the gold candle holder in front of me. The candle in it is dusty and melted down to the metal wick bottom.
Come on, Em, just say it out loud, it’s not like it’s going to get any less weird.
“I was wondering if you would come to the wedding with me as my date?” I rattle it out, laying my whole pathetic self right there on the table in front of the man I only met yesterday.
Liam leans back for a minute, his lips pursed and his eyes clouded with confusion. “You want me to be your date, to your brother’s wedding? The one where your ex will be?”
“Yes,” I drop my head towards the table. “I know, it’s totally ridicul—”
He cuts me off. “I’ll do it.”
“You will?” I say completely shocked.
“Sure,” he shrugs his shoulders with a smile. “You’re beautiful, sweet, desperate, and you never know when I myself might need a favor in return.”
“As long as your favor doesn’t put me in jail, I’m in.”
“I’ll try to save that one until you know me a bit better then.” He runs his hand through his hair before leaning against the chair back in front of him again. “Just one question: are we making him jealous so he’ll dump the new girl and beg you to come back, or just going for heartbreak that he’s lost you all together?”