14. Jo
Chapter 14
Jo
First Year of Residency
8 Years Ago, August
“ D ammit, Kels, you look like a freaking princess!” I can already feel the tickle of imminent tears while I watch her inspect her pristine makeup.
I lock eyes with her reflection in the bridal suite mirror, and she smiles the brightest smile. “I’m so glad you’re here, Jo.” She turns to face me, and I can’t help but let my mind wander down memory lane. Kelsey and Kyle have been through so much over the last few years.
They deserve their happily ever after.
Stepping towards me, Kelsey reaches out her hand to cup my cheek. “I need Andrew to get his shit together and propose to you already!”
“One day!” I fake a smile, knowing that day will never come. It’s hard to even picture a happily ever after on the horizon for me.
I was done with Andrew. I really was. The cruel behavior during our stint of long-distance faded when Isaac walked out of my life, and I vowed to myself that I would give it one last shot. He’s been great.
Until today.
After finding out that Isaac was acting as the best man, he refused to even show his face at the reception.Not even to support me.
The bustle of bridesmaids putting the finishing touches on their hair and makeup can be heard from beyond the suite door, and I hand the massive bouquet of pink lilies into Kelsey’s awaiting hand. Between the inevitable happy tears and the flowers, waterproof mascara was a non-negotiable.
When Kelsey lost her older sister in a car accident our first semester of med school, she made me promise I would stand beside her whenever the day came that she got to marry the love of her life. We could have never known then how our lives would look now, or that Isaac and I would have grown so apart, let alone that she would be marrying Kyle. This is a much different celebration than the one I envisioned for our medical school graduation.
“Ladies, twenty minutes 'til showtime!” The shrill voice of Beth, the wedding planner, bounces off the walls in the suite as the rest of the girls gather to grab their florals. I reach for the matching set of lilies, but Kelsey’s second cousin grabs my arm. “Hold on, you have a special one. Beth, where’s Jo’s bouquet?”
Beth throws up her index finger to signal us to wait, and opens a cardboard box sitting next to the white leather couch. She pulls out an assortment of pink and white roses, tied together with a bow that matches the one on Kelsey’s bouquet.
“But, how? Why?” I stammer, taking the flowers from Beth. Kelsey emerges, looking smug. Turning to look at her, I raise the flowers in the air.
“Did you do this?” I wave the bouquet in the air in front of my face. “Roses?”
“Don’t sass me on my big day, woman! I should be upset with you for letting me pick the one flower you’re allergic to! Were you just planning on sneezing through my whole wedding?” She plants her free hand on her hip, staring daggers right through my soul.
“Well, no, but you love lilies! It’s your day!” I cower, hugging the flowers to my chest. Only my family knows I’m allergic to lilies. The realization hits me and my jaw drops just enough for my lips to part. My family…and Isaac.
Tears begin to well in my eyes once more, and Kelsey nods and shrugs, setting her flowers on the table. “He knew you wouldn’t tell me.” My heart skips a beat.
She pulls me towards her by my shoulders, crushing me to her chest in a bear hug. “I know today is going to be hard for you, Jo, but I can’t thank you enough for being here for me.”
“Alright alright, let’s get this show on the road!” Beth picks up Kelsey’s flowers and pushes them into her open hands. “We need to get you girls lined up to walk!”
Wiping a small tear from the corner of my eye, I straighten up and take my place in the line of incredibly beautiful women. Three of Kelsey’s cousins, their strawberry-blonde hair curled into long spirals, start the procession towards the church vestibule. Carmen follows closely behind them, turning her head just enough to catch my gaze and wink. “Don’t trip.”
“Ugh, I hate you,” I whisper, gently shoving her forward.
The doors to the church open and the processional begins, all heads turning to watch our entrance. Kyle stands proudly at the altar, shifting his weight from one foot to the other as he waits.
My eyes scan the pews for familiar faces, landing on my family. Mom, Dad, and Chloe all smile brightly as I step forward into view. Dad’s face looks more sunken, but I brush it off. Happy tears only today.
I can’t help but laugh watching Carmen play the crowd, winking and waving at every woman she sees. She stops just before the end of the aisle, leaning down to give Grandma Betty a kiss on the top of her head before taking her place next to the altar.
A gentle hand on my back signals my turn to journey down the aisle.
One foot in front of the other.
I feel the tips of my ears begin to burn as the attention of the room turns to me.
One foot in front of the other.
I feel him before I see him. Forcing myself to look up from the ground in front of me, my gaze is drawn to Isaac. He’s standing just behind Kyle with his hands clasped in front of him. The moment our eyes lock, he smiles. One stupid dimple appearing just like it always has.
Alright Jo, keep it together.
We hate him.
Or he hates us?
I don’t even remember anymore.
I swear to God, if you trip now, I will never forgive you.
My internal monologue continues as I reach the end of the mile I just walked. I’m out of breath. I’m parched. Someone get this girl a glass of water immediately.
Perhaps something stronger than water.
My foot hits the ground with a thud as I step out of our limousine. The ceremony was beautiful, minus Isaac. I couldn’t go even a few seconds without making eye contact with him the whole hour we stood at the altar. The weight of unspoken words sits heavy on my bare shoulders. One look at him, and I want to forget every mistake. I want to start fresh like the day we met four years ago.
The rest of the bridesmaids clamber out of the limo, careful to hold their dresses out of the puddles on the concrete. It must’ve rained while we were in the church, but the sun is shining brightly in the middle of the sky as we gather to take photos on the golf course.
Carmen hops out of the limo last, pulling a beer from under her forest green, floor-length gown. “Where the hell did you have that hidden, and how long has it been there?” I shake my head. “You know what, nevermind.”
She grasps the screw top and pops it open without much effort. “Jo, you simply do not want to know.”
Our limo pulls away and is quickly replaced by another. Before I can react to why or how, a beer can is flying in the direction of my head. I fumble with my bouquet, reaching out to snatch the can in midair before it can give me a concussion.
“Let’s go, Jo!” A groomsman, whose name is completely escaping my memory at the moment, hangs out of the side window as they roll to a stop in front of us. The passenger-side door swings open and Isaac makes his appearance.
I hate him. I hate him. I hate him.
Do I hate him?
After what felt like four hours of flash photography, our requirements for the evening were complete, and the group’s shift into party mode was palpable. As we walk towards the entrance of the elaborately decorated clubhouse filled with the couple’s friends and family, Carmen bumps my arm with her elbow. “Hey, you hanging in there, kid?” She glances between me and Isaac, who is downing a miniature plastic bottle of Fireball whiskey.
I smile, genuinely trying not to think about him or the fact that there will inevitably be slow dances tonight that I will have to sit out. “Yeah, great, perfect, spectacular.”
She squints her eyes at me, clearly not believing a word coming out of my mouth, but doesn’t press any further. Truthfully, acting like everything is normal when I haven’t seen Isaac since graduation is a little harder than I imagined it would be. But alas, this is Kyle and Kelsey’s night, and I will absolutely not make it about me.
Thousands of soft white twinkling lights greet us at the entrance to the reception hall. Luckily for me and my social anxiety, Kelsey decided to forego the typical bridal party entrance, so I follow Carmen and the rest of the girls through the crowd of guests towards the head table. A few hoots and hollers are directed towards us, and I turn to see Chloe waving two wine glasses in the air, pink liquid sloshing around inside.
I can tell by the looks on my parent’s faces that she’s already at least a bottle of rosé deep, and will be spending the rest of the night looking for a single groomsman to hit on. Respectfully, of course.
I turn back towards the entrance and notice Kyle and Kelsey entering, looking just slightly more disheveled than they were ten minutes ago. Atta girl, Kels.
Dinner proceeds, and the decibel level of the groomsman at the opposite end of the head table continues to rise with each beer consumed. I try my best to focus my attention on Carmen, who has decided to take a page from Chloe’s playbook and look for someone to spend the night with. I play with the green beans on my plate as she picks out prospects.
“Ooh, what about her?” Carmen points with her fork towards a fiery redhead at table four. “I have always had a thing for soulsuckers.”
“I don’t know how you do it, Carm.” I respond quietly, setting down my fork to take a swig from my beer bottle.
She shoves a potato wedge into her mouth before turning to face me. “Well, for the five thousandth time, if you would just let your inner lesbian out, you would understand.”
I snort, nearly choking on my lukewarm beer. The clink of silverware on glass begins for the fifth time of the night, signaling that the crowd demands another public display of affection from the happy couple.
“Kiss! Kiss!” Semi-drunken yells come from all edges of the room. The attention turns to Kelsey and Kyle as they share a short, but heartwarming peck on the lips. A genuinely happy smile overtakes my face watching Kelsey scrunch her nose in embarrassment as the room cheers their satisfaction.
By the time the room has settled, Carmen is gone.
“Well, where the hell is she?” Kelsey’s mom yells angrily over the live band’s rendition of “Don’t Stop Believing”. The steam coming out of her ears has nothing on the anxiety I’ve been feeling since I realized Carmen had disappeared from the reception. Unfortunately for all of us, Kelsey’s eighty-six-year-old grandmother is also missing.
I swear to God, it’s always Carmen.
Yelling catches the attention of a few groomsmen on the dance floor, but the only one sober enough to respond is Isaac. He crosses towards us in a few large strides, eyeing me curiously.
“Is everything okay?” His eyes bounce from me, to Kelsey’s mom, and back. I suck in a breath when Isaac’s eyes land on my neck. I’m certain he can see the erratic pulse that only seems to appear when he’s within ten feet of me. I need my body and my brain to get on the same page here.
“No! It is most certainly not okay!” She shakes her cell phone at him accusingly. “My mother is missing!” She goes back to vehemently striking buttons on her phone with no apparent plan to find the missing women.
“Carmen,” I mouth to him behind her back. He responds with a disapproving shake of his head.
“It’s always Carmen,” he adds under his breath, verbalizing my thoughts from moments before.
“Mrs. McDonald,” I smile, taking her phone from her grasp. “Why don’t you let Isaac and I find your mom.” Looking to Isaac for approval, I continue, “You deserve to sit down and enjoy the evening as the mother of the bride!”
A buzzing sensation spreads across my chest, and I reach to pull my phone out of where I had stashed it in my bra. Isaac eyes me with a curious grin and I shrug, unlocking my phone with my passcode. It buzzes in my hand twice more.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” I exclaim, opening the text messages from Carmen. “This bitch crashed another wedding!”
I turn my phone around to show Isaac and Mrs. McDonald the blurred images of Carmen cheersing shot glasses with Grandma Betty and two men I’ve never seen before. I can’t quite make out everything in the background of the photos, but it’s clear they are somewhere on the premises.
“Where in the world is Carmen?” Isaac heads towards the door, glancing back to see if I’ve chosen to follow. “Keep up, princess. Every day is an adventure!” I start a slow jog to catch up and immediately regret moving any faster than a snail’s pace in my heels. I reach him just as he exits the door of the venue. He turns abruptly and I follow his gaze.
“Uhm. No.”
He huffs a laugh, grabbing my wrist and ushering me towards the golf cart.
“No way. I’m serious. I’m not getting on that thing with you after you were shooting Fireball. I value my life, you know.”
Tugging gently on my wrist, he propels me forward, and I stop myself just before I collide with his chest. Maybe I’m the drunk one. He leans down, and I can feel a tinge of warm breath against my ear. It’s the cold air and only the cold air making me shiver.
“I’ve had one beer and one shot in ten hours. I would never put you in danger.” Shit, it’s not only the cold air. Despite everything, the prospect of working with Isaac to achieve a common goal has my delusional brain on high alert. It’s almost like we’re friends, teammates, again. I desperately want to capture this moment and that smirk on his face when he eyes the golf cart.
He stands to his full height, gesturing for me to climb into the passenger seat. “Let’s go save the wedding.”
I take my seat, placing a hand over the skin on my chest. There’s no reason in hell that interaction should’ve spiked my heart rate. Fucking alcohol.
The weight of Isaac’s body shifts the golf cart just slightly as he sits down and cranks the engine. I stash my phone back in my bra for safekeeping, and fight the urge to look over at him.
“Look!” I point over a hill on the golf course to flashing purple lights in the distance.
“Is it an armadillo?” Isaac glances at me and smirks, turning the cart slowly to follow my sightline. My arms cross tightly over my chest, attempting to fight off the sudden chill in my bones. This dress simply does not lend itself well to the post-sunset temperature drop.
We slow to a stop in front of another course clubhouse just in time to see Grandma Betty throwing back another shot of an unknown brown liquor. I shiver once more while Isaac helps me off the cart, not sure if it’s the wind or the thought of how much alcohol has been consumed since dinner. To the right of the main entrance, two young boys in suits are kicking a soccer ball back and forth.
Isaac raises an eyebrow to me in silent question, but I just shrug and continue towards the door, striding quickly to where Grandma Betty is about to accept another shot from a strange man. “Grandma Betty!” I yell over the music—a song I’ve never heard before. A large screen above the bar plays a professional soccer game.
They must really love soccer.
“Grandma Betty,” I attempt to grab her attention once more. “Where’s Carmen?”
She looks up at me with a wide, toothy grin. “Well darlin, she’s right over there!” Pointing to the dance floor, Grandma Betty downs one more shot, a clear liquor this time, as Isaac reaches us. I squint trying to locate Carmen and gasp, grasping his arm.
“What? What’s wrong?” Isaac scans the dance floor quickly to find the reason for my panic. Her back may be turned to us, but I already know that Carmen’s tongue has found a dance partner. “Oh damn. She hooked one.”
Grandma Betty interrupts the chaotic energy with a hiccup. “Honestly, you two make a cuter couple than Kelsey and what’s-his-face.”