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I watched her disappear inside the bar, then emerge with a stool. She dragged it across the pavers to our table. Everyone had to shuffle their chairs along to make a gap for it to fit.
“Thank you so much. Stacy, isn’t it?”
She nodded. “And you’re Milly. How awkward was that?”
Heat spiked up my neck and flared on my cheeks. “Yeah. We’ve only been friends for eight years.”
“Wow. You’ve probably known her the longest, apart from Gwen and Lisa.”
“I think so.”
“Well, now you can bring it up whenever you feel like giving her shit. ‘Remember that time you forgot my name in front of all your friends?’”
“Good point. I hadn’t thought of that.”
A heaviness settled in my chest. Nicole and I didn’t have the kind of relationship where we could give each other shit anymore. Those days were long gone.
A waiter came by. He placed three large bowls of fries on the table. “Can I get you anything else?” he asked Nicole.
“Who wants another drink?” Nicole asked the group.
“Let’s get espresso martinis,” someone said.
“Oooh. Espresso martinis all round?”
“Yes, please!” was the resounding answer.
I recoiled at the notion of the sickly coffee and alcohol concoction. “Actually,” I cut in, “I’ll have a glass of red wine, please. A Pinot noir.”
Maybe I imagined it, but I thought I saw Nicole roll her eyes. “Ten espresso martinis, please,” she told the waiter. “And one glass of Pinot noir.”
He nodded and retreated inside.
My wine came out first, followed later by the noxious brown cocktails.
“Cheers,” Nicole said, raising her glass.
Gwen followed suit. “To the bride-to-be.”
“Cheers,” everyone rang out, clinking glasses.
Nicole took a sip, but a thought seemed to strike her mid-swallow. She downed her mouthful. “I almost forgot! I made goodie bags for all of you, but one item didn’t get delivered, so they weren’t ready for tonight. I’ll have to give them to you another time.”
“What’s inside?” Alicia asked.
Nicole had a glint in her blue eyes. “It’s a secret. You’ll have to wait and see.”
“I haven’t had a goodie bag at a party since I was a little kid,” Eden said.
“Let’s just say these aren’t your little kid party favours.”
Giggles erupted all around. Once the laughter died down, chatter started up again. Everyone seemed to know each other well—except for me. The only person I really knew and wanted to speak to was Nicole, but she was way down at the other end of the table, and fully engaged with two friends sitting opposite her. I took a long sip of wine.
“How’s your drink?” Stacy asked.
Relief swept over me at the sound of her voice. Someone to talk to. “It’s nice. How’s your…” I eyed her cocktail. “That.”
She laughed. “Well, it’s a bit too sweet for my liking.”
