19. no-show
no-show
OTHELLO
The dinner is at one of the resort’s five lavish restaurants. The Honu House.
The place has an eclectic vibe, but the touches from the celebrity event planner elevate it completely.
I watch the staff weave around one another, adjusting chairs and straightening napkins that already look perfectly placed.
The dinner tables have been brought together in one long rectangle.
Each place setting has enough silverware to confuse the average person, and those damned itineraries are placed in between every other plate.
Soft jazz hums through the restaurant’s speakers.
Carina’s parents have really pulled out all the stops for this wedding. But I mean, I wouldn’t have expected anything less. Not only did they charter private jets to fly in fifty of their closest friends and family to Hawaii, but they put us all in the finest rooms this resort has to offer.
I scope out the setup playing out in front of me, enjoying the moments to myself before the socializing begins. The few people here are conversing among themselves, paying no attention to me at all.
“Can I get you something to drink?” a waiter asks, interrupting my thoughts.
I order a whiskey neat and head toward the terrace. The ocean stretches out in the distance, the breeze brushing against my face and making me feel more relaxed than I expected. Or do I have Marley to blame for that?
Before I got here, I was a wreck. Anxious about this wedding and having to endure it for an entire week. But surprisingly, I’m calm now. And enjoying the possibility that this trip might turn out to be something more than a week I have to survive.
I check my watch, wondering what time she’ll get here. If she’ll get here. My nerves start to tingle at the thought of her not showing up. She said she’d come. But she could still change her mind.
My drink arrives at the same time as Todd, Vernon, and James. They’re all dressed as if they belong to a yacht club.
Todd, still on his bullshit, smirks and then heads towards the bar. Vernon follows close behind after giving me that subtle head nod. James approaches me, shaking his head. “Don’t worry about Todd. He’s just mad because he thought Gavin was going to choose him to be his best man.”
I let out a short chuckle. “Ah, ok. I thought he was mad because he’s short.”
James barks out a laugh. “Man, that’s wild. I knew I would like you.”
“Othello! Is that you?” A voice calls from the crowd. I turn to see Collette, gliding toward me with her arms wide open. Her husband Jerome trails behind her, looking genuinely happy to see me.
“When Carina said you’d agreed to be the best man, I didn’t believe it,” Collette exclaims, gripping my arms. “But here you are! Still as handsome as ever.”
She pulls me into a tight hug, nearly cutting off my air supply.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” she coos.
“Yes, so good to see you,” Jerome adds, stepping in to give me a brotherly hug.
“How have you been?” Collette asks, clasping her hands together. “We have missed you dearly.”
“Just writing. Working out. The norm. Nothing much has changed.”
Collette’s eyes seem to be piercing through my soul. “I’m glad you’re here despite everything. And I’m so sorry about Mimi. She was a beautiful woman. It breaks my heart that she’s not here to see this.”
“Yeah. Mine too.” I clear my throat and take a sip of my drink, letting the burn numb the ache in my chest.
Jerome grins. “Yes, Mimi was a great woman. Did a wonderful job raising you, boys.”
“She really did,” Collette agrees. “And I know her absence is weighing heavily on Gavin. I see it every time I look at him.”
I almost feel ashamed that I haven’t noticed. And almost more ashamed that I haven’t thought about what my cousin must be going through right now.
For so long, Gavin has only existed as the man who betrayed me.
The cousin who took the woman I once loved.
Somewhere along the way, I forgot he lost Mimi too.
Forgot that this week isn’t just about a wedding.
It’s about the first major milestone in my cousin's life that his mother will never be able to see. I’m sure he was grieving.
And I knew that kind of grief all too well.
“I hope you two were able to make amends. I know Mimi would hate seeing her boys still feuding at a time like this.”
“We’re working on it,” I tell her but that’s not entirely true. We were cordial at the sandcastle contest, but nothing more. Just getting along together to make a good team effort. There’s a difference between building a sandcastle together and rebuilding a relationship.
“I heard you brought a lovely young woman here with you,” Jerome interjects, thankfully changing the subject.
“Yeah, I did. She’s not feeling too good right now, but she may show up later.”
Collette’s eyes light up. “Oh, I hope so. It was so good talking to Marley, and I’d love to learn more about her. There’s something very genuine about her energy. It’s refreshing, honestly.”
“She is a dream,” I tell her. Something behind me sparks Collette’s attention.
“Oh! Excuse us, Othello.” Then, to her husband, she says.
“Jerome, come with me. The Langstons just walked in.” They leave me standing there alone with James, but that’s short-lived because no sooner do they disappear into the crowd than Gavin approaches.
“Y’all good?” he asks.
“We should be asking you that,” James says, looking Gavin up and down.
My cousin looks good. Dressed well. Haircut to perfection. But there is a melancholy look on his face that’s all too familiar.
“I’m good,” he says, his face morphing into a grin.
“Yo!” Todd’s voice is loud and boisterous. He and Vernon are back, both of them holding a beer. “I’m hoping you two are discussing what we’re going to do about the rest of this week,” he says. He snatches an itinerary from his back pocket.
“Why? What’s wrong?” Gavin asks.
“What’s wrong?” Todd shoves the card in Gavin’s face. “This is what's wrong. There’s no bachelor party on this itinerary. Why is that?”
Vernon nods. “Yeah, I’d like answers on that too.”
After his comment, Todd, James, and Vernon’s eyes shift towards me. When I realize they’re waiting for me to respond, I hold one hand up in surrender. “I don’t have anything to do with that.”
“Aren’t you the best man?” Todd pushes. “I thought it was your job to plan a bachelor party.”
“Yeah, I was asked to be the best man, but I was also told all I had to do was get fitted for a suit and show up.” I lift my whiskey glass. “And here I am.”
“Collette planned everything,” Gavin interjects. “The joint party was her and Carina’s idea. They didn’t want anything tacky.”
“Well, with all due respect, bro, the bachelor party has nothing to do with her. The tits and ass are for us,” Vernon chimes in.
“I say we have one anyway.” James grabs an extra itinerary off the table and scans it. “I’m sure we can squeeze it in between afternoon tea and snorkeling.”
I drop my head into my hand.
“You should work on finding some strippers,” Todd adds, shooting me a pointed look.
I peer through my fingers at him and scoff.
I don’t know how to tell them that watching women flaunt themselves in front of men isn’t really my thing.
I love women. What man doesn’t? But the whole thing is degrading and costs too much money.
Watching some random woman give me a boner just to walk away, leaving me with a hard on, is a hard no.
Before I can say anything, Gavin holds up his hand. “Guys, the coed party will be fine. Trust me. I don’t need a stripper. I’m good.”
“Yeah, you don’t need a stripper! But what about us?”
“We traveled all the way here for some excitement,” says Vernon.
“At Mr. Sterling’s expense,” Gavin laughs shortly. “You didn’t drop a dollar on the flight or the suites.”
“Okay, maybe not. But I wanna drop a dollar on some ass, bro. How about that?”
The guys snicker while I check my watch again, brows knitting together.
“You got somewhere to be?” Todd sneers.
“No. I’m expecting someone.”
I figured she would be here by now, but her headache must really be taking a toll on her. For all I know, she may end up being a no-show.
“Your date?”
“Damn,” Todd mutters under his breath. His eyes move past us, and we collectively follow his gaze.
Marley.
She walks with grace as she comes through the entrance. Her skin glows against the peach dress clinging to her curves, and her long locs and curls cascade over her shoulders and down her back. She’s like a breath of fresh air in a smoke-filled room. I want to pull her close and breathe her in.
I don’t waste any time excusing myself, eager to be near her. To feel her. Smell her. Kiss her.
These damn rules are going to be the death of me.