Chapter 13 Mira
I lunge forward, gripping onto Hudson’s shoulders, as he stares down at me in concern, his hands pressing against my back to keep my steady. For a moment we stay there, his face mere inches away from mine.
Falling into his arms is an involuntary response to almost going overboard, but enjoying the way his fingers move against my spine, sending goosebumps down my arms, is just the universe’s way of punishing me for my sins.
I shouldn’t have these feelings. I shouldn’t want to move the stray hair from his forehead, or breathe in the scent of rain against his skin.
But it’s not like I knew he had a girlfriend.
If I had, I never would have entertained the idea of us.
I would have gotten my drink, read my book, shot the shit with Lilah, and gone home.
I would have never texted him, or flirted, or stayed late at the bar.
And I definitely wouldn’t have daydreamed about us going to farmers’ markets or whiling away rainy afternoons on the couch in each other’s arms. If anything, these lingering feelings are his fault.
He wormed his way into my psyche, into my life, into my heart, and for what? A one-night stand?
I knew men would go to great lengths for sex but this felt too much.
“Do these people know how to arrive anywhere without causing an accident?” Vanessa snaps, as I push myself out of Hudson’s grasp. I wipe at a few stray water droplets on my face as I follow her through the crowd and onto dry land.
Our destination is a bit more barren than I expected.
With only a few picnic tables, overgrown grasses, and no shade coverage, getting the photos Meredith wanted is going to be tricky, but on the bright side there is enough space here that Hudson and I can always stay at least a hundred feet away from each other.
“At least now I can take this fucking thing off,” Vanessa says, removing her life vest and throwing it to the ground with a heavy sigh.
I go to remove my own, realizing that my bra is completely visible through my shirt. Great. Guess I’ll be wearing this for the rest of the day.
“Ah. Now that I don’t feel like I’m being waterboarded, why don’t you tell me what’s really going on between you and Hudson?”
“There’s nothing going on,” I say, moving to take a seat at one of the picnic tables.
“Girl, y’all just had a moment.”
“That wasn’t a moment,” I argue.
“Really? Because from where I was standing it seemed like you two didn’t hate each other.”
Panic radiates through my body. The last thing I need is for Vanessa to think that I’m sneaking off with Hudson for a romantic rendezvous with his girlfriend just feet away, so I pivot.
“I’m just really clumsy.”
Vanessa holds her hand to her chin in mock contemplation. “Mmhmm.”
“Seriously. The boat hit something and I slipped. He just happened to catch me. It’s not a big deal.”
Vanessa is readying another question when Derrick breaks the tension.
“Anyone up for a dip?” he asks, stripping off his shirt like he’s posing for the fireman-of-the-year calendar.
“Ugh, put your clothes back on,” Vanessa scolds. “There are elderly people here.”
“Everyone needs something to live for. Even the elderly,” he says, sprinting towards the river and hopping in with a splash.
“Guys, life jackets please,” Bo says, running towards the shore and tossing Derrick his jacket.
“Sorry, bro,” Derrick replies, strapping himself in. I watch as he bobs along the river, climbing into one of the inner tubes Tonya’s hooked onto the side of the boat.
“Mind if I hide out with you guys?” Meredith says, joining us at the picnic table.
“Not much of a hiding spot, considering we’re out in the open,” I reply.
“Susan doesn’t do direct sunlight. For me this is a safe zone.”
“Here, you can take my spot,” Vanessa says. “I’m going to go see what the food situation is.”
Meredith sits down beside me, her arms falling to the side with a heavy thump as if she’s just run a marathon. Her usual sunny disposition is gone, replaced by an air of defeat.
“Rough day already?”
“You can say that,” she says, giving me a half-smile.
“It’s just, when I thought about my wedding day, I imagined all my closest friends and family having fun together.
Doing all the things I never got to do as a kid.
I never thought I’d be bowing down to the whims of a woman determined to make my life hell. ”
“If it makes you feel better, I’ve seen worse.”
She eyes me skeptically.
“I’m serious. Until she actually burns down the wedding venue with a stress cigarette, you’re golden.”
My anecdote earns me a smile.
“At least you’re off the hook,” she says as we watch Jocelyn and Angie jump into the river.
“What do you mean?”
“Susan couldn’t care less about photos right now,” Meredith replies, glancing over her shoulder at her mother-in-law, who is currently hiding under an umbrella, dark sunglasses covering her face as she gesticulates towards Meredith’s aunt, Vivianne, who looks like she’s being tortured.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if she calls a search and rescue team to evacuate her out of here.”
“Those are like eighty thousand dollars.”
“I’m sure it’d be worth it for her,” Meredith replies, taking another sip of her drink, and I hate that she has to deal with this. “I really tried to like her but that woman gets under my skin. And I work in customer service.”
“Some people are so unhappy in their own lives, they can’t allow others to be happy either.”
“I really thought this was my chance to make a new family. To finally feel like a daughter again . . .” She trails off, her eyes cutting towards Susan. “I didn’t realize there was something worse than being an orphan.”
“At least complaining about in-laws is a pretty universal experience.”
“You’re right,” Meredith chuckles. “And I won’t have to deal with her for much longer anyways.”
“Oh? Did you put out a hit? I won’t tell,” I reply, holding up three fingers. “But I will be taking notes for the future podcast special.”
“We’re moving actually,” Meredith explains. “Grant took a job at a startup firm in Asheville. He’ll be managing their financials and investments and I can expand my holistic healing business. It’s not like we’re cutting her out, but a two-hour distance means no more casual pop-ins.”
“I can totally see you living there. Between the tourists and the locals, I’m sure it’s the perfect market for you.”
“It really is,” she gushes. “And it’s better for our lifestyle.”
With Meredith’s penchant for home-brewed kombucha and hand-dyeing her own clothes, I know she’ll thrive there.
“You’ll have to come visit,” she says, nudging me on the shoulder. “I’m sure you shoot weddings there all the time, right?”
“Not so much anymore,” I reply, since the few I had scheduled just canceled.
“For a girls’ weekend then,” she says, before Grant calls over to her and I’m left alone with nothing but my growling stomach.