Well, most of them. Our maid of honor—if one was willing to still call her that—had completely checked out from the moment she got the news that Derrick and I were dating. Not that she’d ever checked in, of course. She’d skated along the fringes of this wedding from the get-go, so most of us were used to it by now. We forged ahead without her help, each of us looking forward to the big day.
I found myself celebrating more than just the wedding. With each passing day, my budding relationship with Derrick gave me more to smile about. That wonderful first date at the park had bonded us and propelled us into a “Hey, what do you want to do today?” relationship. And much to the shock of my friends and family, I’d even fallen in love with baseball. Go figure. Perhaps it had a little something to do with the handsome right fielder, who discreetly gave me a special Cub Scout salute every time a new inning started.
As the wedding day approached, I did my best to make every moment with my sister count. More than once Crystal dissolved into tears over seemingly small, insignificant things. Like a greeting card in the mail. Or an unexpected wedding gift from a relative. She blubbered with each bit of news, good or bad. I’d never seen her so emotional. Probably pre-wedding jitters, just like my grandmother had predicted.
On the day before the wedding, I took the day off from work to devote myself completely to my sister. I chauffeured her to a day spa on Friday morning, where we’d arranged to meet the other bridesmaids.
We had planned to get a mani/pedi all together, and then the bride to be would enjoy a massage—a special treat on this very special day. I knew it would cost a pretty penny—we’d chosen the most popular spa in town—but with all the bridesmaids chipping in, we’d cover it, no problem. Besides, Crystal was worth it. She deserved the very best.
During the mani/pedi time, Cassie had us laughing nearly every minute as she told story after story about her ninth-grade boyfriend, a guy named Caleb who was socially awkward.
Thinking about Caleb reminded me of Tyler. In all the wedding excitement I’d almost forgotten that we’d be walking the aisle together. Interesting. Suddenly I didn’t mind anymore. In fact, I looked forward to it. I no longer saw Tyler as someone I had to spend time with; I saw him as one of the guys. The wedding had morphed all of us into one big happy family.
Well, most of us. Sienna spent most of the time at the salon texting—once her fingernails were dry. Instead of being angry, I felt a little sorry for her. What kind of person completely ignored those she was with to communicate with someone she wasn’t with? On a day this important, she needed to be focused on my sister.
Not that Crystal seemed bothered. As she headed in for her hot stone massage, she gave us all a relaxed smile and thanked us for treating her to such a special day. Once she disappeared, the rest of us gathered to settle up her account. Forty-five dollars for the mani/pedi, plus a five-dollar tip. Seventy-five dollars for the hot stone massage, plus a ten-dollar tip. I quickly divided the total—one hundred and thirty-five dollars—by five, since there were five bridesmaids. It looked like we would each be chipping in twenty-seven dollars. Brianna, Cassie, and Gillian handed over cash. In fact, Cassie threw in a couple of extra dollars.
But when it came time to fetch the funds from Sienna, she seemed confused at best. “Huh?” She gave me a blank stare. “What are you talking about, Mari?”
“Today’s outing was a gift for Crystal,” I reminded her. “We all decided, remember?”
She shrugged. “I’m pretty sure I would’ve remembered that. I’m not forking over any more money. I’ve already paid for that ugly bridesmaid dress, and it’s cost me a fortune for my shoes and jewelry for this stupid wedding.”
“Stupid wedding?” I stopped cold at those words. “Stupid wedding?” The other three bridesmaids stood beside me, fortifying me and giving me courage to speak my mind. “Are. You. Serious?”
“Yes, I’m serious. And this ridiculous bachelorette party tonight is going to bankrupt me. Do you have any idea how much I had to pay to get the private party room at Valentino’s? It’s crazy.”
Valentino’s? The most exclusive club in Houston? What was she thinking? “So, let’s go someplace else,” I said. “It doesn’t have to be that fancy.”
“And have people say I didn’t give my friend the best bachelorette party ever? No way. I know what people think already, trust me.” Sienna’s eyes narrowed. “Besides, I’ve already ordered the bachelorette package—cake, drinks, everything.”
“There aren’t really a lot of drinkers in our group anyway, Sienna, so maybe we should just go someplace else?” Cassie cleared her throat.
“Nothing I do is right, is it?” Sienna slung her purse over her shoulder, and I could read the anger in her eyes.
“I . . . I didn’t say that.” For a moment I almost felt sorry for her. She’d gone to a lot of trouble to get a private room at Valentino’s, after all.
“I just want to get this whole stupid thing over with.” For a moment, pain flashed in Sienna’s eyes.