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“It’s not rose gold,” Sarah mutters.
“Oh, but it’s in the rose-gold family,” Diana giggles.
I think I like Diana. She’s friendly and nice to Rachel.
“Why aren’t Hunter, Lucas, and Alex sitting with us?” Rachel asks.
Sarah sighs. “Your group is so large, Rachel. You can’t expect all of you to sit on one side of the table.”
The door opens and I see four servers enter, carrying large platters. I’m practically salivating. My stomach grumbles. I can’t remember the last time I ate, and I’m so excited to have something to do other than listen to Sarah be a bitch all night.
“Yeah, but you could have at least sat them across from us,” Rachel says angrily.
“What is your relationship with the other boys?” Bryan asks with an awkward chuckle. “When Sarah said it would be six of you, including M-Ma…” Bryan pauses to tap his chin. He’s squinting at Maria as if he’s trying to see through her. “Is it Maria?”
“Yes,” I say, trying very hard to control my anger.
He’s marrying Sarah. How does he not know the name of his future step-grandkid? Do they not talk about Maria? I clench my jaw to keep from asking, knowing nothing good will come of it and I need to remain contained for Rachel’s sake.
“Anyway,” Bryan continues, “I just thought it weird that all of you were coming. Usually the typical wedding guests include singles, families, couples. Not a couple and their live-in friends.” His eyes widen and his smile grows. I know whatever he’s about to say is going to make it that much harder not to punch him in the nose. “Unless Rachel is dating all of you.” Bryan laughs so hard he has to smack his leg. “Now, wouldn’t that be funny?”
“Yeah,” Alex says with a grimace. “So funny.”
“It would make sense, wouldn’t it?” Bryan asks, his gaze on Tom, who is also grimacing.
“Yeah, it would,” Tom mumbles.
Thankfully, before Bryan can say anything else, the servers lift the lids on the platters, displaying an assortment of red meat, fish, and vegetables. I grab my plate and fill it to the brim, ignoring the conversations going on around me. Rachel doesn’t say much. She eats very little—mostly vegetables with a bit of meat. She must be hungry. We had that long flight, and Maria had been crazy. We didn’t get a chance to eat our snacks when we finally checked in.
“Are you okay?” I ask Rachel through mouthfuls of food.
Rachel wrinkles her nose. “Just tired.”
Knowing Rachel, “just tired” is code for she’s feeling sensitive and doesn’t want to be around people.
“You should eat something,” I say while taking the tongs and grabbing several pieces of barbecued duck.
Rachel smiles and holds out her plate. “Thank you.”
“So, Rachel,” Bryan begins while leaning back in his seat, looking annoyingly smug as he looks at my girlfriend, “I heard you didn’t graduate.”
Ah. Shit. Here we go.
“No,” Rachel says while shaking her head. “I didn’t.”
I felt that no travel all the way down to my spine. It was the saddest no in the world. Why are we even talking about this? Shouldn’t we be discussing vows, and everlasting love, and how Sarah is the happiest woman in the world?
“Your mother told me,” Bryan continues on with a nod. “So what’s your plan now?”
“Well, I only need six more credits. The summer semester begins at the end of this month, so will be doing that. If all goes well, I should be able to graduate at the end of August.”
“Really?” Bryan asks with a nod. “You think that wise with a baby?”
I’m grinding my teeth. My hand tightens on my fork. I tell myself to put it down. Knowing how much of an idiot I can be, I will probably use it if I don’t put it far away from me. I clasp my hands together and turn to Bryan, trying to scowl my scariest scowl to get him to back off.
Of course, he’s not looking at me. He’s too busy judging Rachel.
“What do you mean?” Rachel asks, her voice shaky. She’s been put on the spot. I don’t think any of this were prepared for this sort of conversation—where the adults tell us what we should and shouldn’t do with our lives.
