Chapter 6
Chapter Six
STELLA
With the announcement, I move back to my seat. The place card on one side of me says Drew. The other side says Lauren. They feel like protection. Protection I desperately need.
“Stella!”
It’s Diane, Drew and Lauren’s mom. I stand and she pulls me into a motherly hug. She smells like roses, something I remember about her from years ago.
“I’m so glad you’re sitting with us,” she says.
“I was thrilled when Drew said you were friends with Mallory. Isn’t she the sweetest?
The whole family is in love with her.” She motions to the man who stands beside her.
“This is my husband Roger. Honey, this is one of my neighbors from when I lived in Tucson with my mother-in-law.”
I shake his hand. His skin is rough, his voice gruff and low. “Nice to meet you.”
“You, too.”
They find their seats across the table, and a minute later Drew sits next to me. The last addition to our table is his Aunt Peggy.
The sound system screeches for a second, interrupting conversations, then Caleb speaks into the microphone.
“Mallory and I are glad you could all come tonight to celebrate our engagement.”
He turns the microphone to Mallory. “We love you! Thank you, everyone, for your support. We’re so happy to have you with us.”
Caleb ends by saying, “After dinner we’ll have speeches, then dancing. Enjoy!”
When Drew moved around the place cards, he also confused the server. The options are chicken and fish, and she places the wrong meals in front of a few people because names no longer match requests. When she moves to place a fish plate in front of me, Drew speaks up.
“Can you take this meal over there?” He stands and points to a bald man two tables over. “Stella doesn’t eat meat. Do you have anything in the back you could bring her?”
The server scrunches her face in thought. “Um, I don’t know. The salad has bacon. The beans are cooked in bacon grease. I’ll ask, but I need to serve the other tables first.”
“If there’s nothing, that’s fine.” I point to the breadbasket in the center of the table. “I’ll eat a roll.”
“A roll is not dinner,” Drew says to me after she’s left. “I’ll raid my aunt's refrigerator if I have to.”
I am grateful for him. He’s taken care of every roadblock Krystal has put in my way. “Thanks, Drew.”
“You’re a guest. It’s the bare minimum.”
“But I’m not your guest.”
Drew glances to the front table where Mallory and Caleb are sitting with Krystal, Jonas, Caleb’s parents and Mallory’s mom. His expression is pinched, his eyes narrow. I avoid looking in the same direction.
“Stella,” Diane says. “Tell me about what your family is doing these days.”
It’s a welcome conversation topic. “Did you know my brother, Theo? He was going to college in Phoenix when you lived down the street.”
“I met him a few times.”
“He and his wife are both accountants. They have five kids. Their oldest, Margot, is only thirteen, but she’s in a state soccer league and is some sort of kid superstar.”
“Wow.”
“We’re all pretty proud. Naomi’s husband is a firefighter and they have three kids, with one more on the way. She runs a bakery out of her home.”
Diane’s face brightens. “Did Lauren mention she’s a baker, too? She works at the bakery in Blissful.”
“That’s what Drew told me,” I say. “It’s a blessing and a curse to have someone in the family always forcing baked goods on you, right?”
She laughs. “So true. What about your other sisters?”
“Kit runs an auto mechanic shop and has three kids. Her husband works in the same office as Roe and her husband. It’s an architectural firm. Roe’s the part-time office manager.”
Diane taps her bottom lip. “Roe is the same age as Lauren right? She’s who I remember the best. Does she have any children?”
“One. He’s a handful, but so sweet. When the whole family is together, it’s wild.”
“I bet your mom loves that,” she says. “Little Benji is my first grandchild, and he is my joy.”
“What about me?” Drew says.
Her expression softens. “You’re my joy, too. My family is my joy, and I want more joy in my life, so feel free to add to it.”
She winks at him with a slight head tilt toward me. Awkward. Lucky for me, Lauren and Brody return at that moment with Benji asleep in his dad’s arms.
“Sorry,” Lauren says. “I fell asleep, and Brody was happy enough to play on his phone for twenty minutes to let me nap. I might actually make it through the night without collapsing in a dead faint from exhaustion.”
When the server comes back, she brings me a cheese sandwich, stuffed with tomatoes and spinach and some sort of mustard-mayonnaise concoction. It’s delicious. When she returns for our plates, I tell her so.
Drew’s family is entertaining. They banter back and forth, sharing memories of their time in Blissful. GG’s dry humor and one liners never fail to make me laugh. They fold me into their group as if I belong, and for long stretches, I can forget about Krystal’s cruelty and Mallory’s forgetfulness.
When dessert is brought out, the best man and maid of honor give their toasts. Krystal’s speech is fine, but shallow. I can’t help but think I could’ve given a better one focused on what a phenomenal person Mallory is, that didn’t include anecdotes from weekends spent bar hopping.
Mallory’s mom and Caleb’s parents say a few words. When Caleb’s dad announces the dancing, a song blasts over the sound system. The pink dress posse and a few men, including Drew and Jonas, stand.
“Oh, boy,” Drew mutters. He raises his arms above his head and sways his hips to the beat. He may grumble about the spectacle, but just like with “I Want it That Way” at karaoke, he gets into the dance. I could never be as carefree as he is with everyone watching.
Lauren does the same with a playful glare in my direction, as if blaming me for putting her in this situation. She’s joking, but she should be directing her ire toward the woman at the front.
The choreographed dance is much better than anything I could create. All eight groomsmen and bridesmaids eventually move to the dance floor to join Krystal and Jonas. It’s fun to watch, but the one positive of not being a part of the wedding party is I missed out on participating.
“Now let’s have the dancing!” Krystal says into the microphone.
Music plays and couples stand to dance. I stay where I am and wait for Drew to come back, but he’s caught by a woman and pulled to the open floor. I should not feel disappointed, so I pretend I’m not. It’s unfair to expect Drew to stay next to me all night.
Mallory’s gaze scans the tables. When she sees me, her face scrunches with her signature grin and she skips over to my table. I stand and she gives me the best hug. She hasn’t forgotten me. I’m limp with relief.
“You look beautiful,” I say. “I’m so happy for you and Caleb.”
After what I heard from GG, I need to make sure she understands that.
“I didn’t think you were coming,” she says. “I’m glad you’re here!”
“This party is amazing. And it’s so good to see you! How are the wedding plans coming along? And school? How are your students this year?”
I expect a good catch up session, even if it’s short, but Mallory’s attention is on someone behind my shoulder. She smiles and waves to whoever it is.
“Give me a sec,” she says, and walks past me.
I stand frozen in surprise. I’ve been dismissed.
I turn and watch her chat with a coworker. I wait seconds that add up to minutes. More friends from work join them.
The last time Mallory and I spoke, she said that I was one of her best friends, yet evidence says otherwise.
She has so many friends, more than I can keep track of, but I’ve always been on top.
Until now. Somehow I’ve fallen to the bottom.
She removed me as bridesmaid without telling me; allowed gossip about me and my “love” for her groom to spread unchecked; and walked past me after fifteen seconds to talk to someone she probably saw today at work.
That isn’t how you treat someone you love.
Caleb comes up beside Mallory and lays his hand on her lower back.
She leans into his side. They’ll be happy and build a life and a family.
I wish I’d be there to see it, but this is goodbye.
I can’t go from Mallory’s best friend to inconsequential.
A clean cut will be easier on my heart. She won’t even notice.
It’s time for me to leave. Just as soon as my legs start working.
“Will you dance with me?”
I don’t realize Drew’s come up beside me until he asks again.
“Stella, do you want to dance?”
What I want right now is to be held tightly, specifically by Drew.
Which is when I realize something else terrible has happened: I like him.
He’s my knight in shining armor, swooping in to save me from Krystal’s brand of humiliation.
But he’s just being nice. A modern day gentleman.
Something I apparently can’t resist. That’s how I got in this mess in the first place: my reading more into Caleb’s kindness than he felt.
I have learned my lesson. Kindness does not equal attraction.
I glance around at Drew’s family. His uncle Neal has reunited with his wife Peggy and they’re showing off impressive moves on the dance floor.
Diane and Roger have their heads together talking as they finish dessert.
Diane holds Benji, because Lauren and Brody are swaying as if the song is slow instead of upbeat. GG is reading her book.
Every single one of them believes that Caleb has broken my heart. They’re wrong. It’s Mallory who did that.
The fallout of my ill advised crush on Caleb is that I’ve lost my best friend and subsequently our whole friend group. It makes sense why the group chat has been so silent—they started a new one, and I’m too oblivious to have realized earlier.
“Stella?”
Drew’s voice jars me out of my thoughts.
“I’m going to head out. Thanks for everything. I had a lot of fun getting to know your family again after all these years.”