9. Hannah
CHAPTER 9
HANNAH
“ O h my gosh, I don’t think I’ve ever needed a margarita more than I do right now,” I groan as I slide into our usual booth at Maracas on Monday night.
As usual, Caroline and Margaret are waiting for me to begin our weekly tradition of Monday night margaritas. Caroline and I started this tradition years ago when we were first year teachers as something to look forward to at the start of each week, and I don’t think we’ve missed a week since.
“I saw you pull in the parking lot and ordered you a peach one. It’ll be here in a second,” Margaret informs me. “I want to hear about your day in a minute but first I am dying for the tea. What the hell happened on Friday night?”
“God, it was a disaster,” I groan. “I’ve never seen anything like it. One minute we were watching the game, and the next Caroline and I were sprinting toward the squad and trying to get them to the bus in case anything got even more out of control. To be honest, I didn’t see much more than the first punch. But from everything I’ve heard, Will, Theo, and the other coaches did a great job keeping the situation from escalating any further.”
“That is wild! I still can’t believe that happened,” Margaret says, while Caroline and I just nod. “But anyway, I’m so glad you’re both okay. How was school today?”
“My day was okay,” Caroline responds while the waitress hands me my drink, and I take a long tequila-filled sip. “Between the fight last week and Homecoming this week, it was like herding cats trying to get anything done, but I guess it’s all in good fun. I can’t wait to see Theo’s face when he looks out to our yard this week and sees all of Springside High throwing toilet paper around his trees. He said he’s sleeping in his jeans so they don’t catch him off guard and he can run out at them as soon as he knows they’re there.”
Margaret and I both burst into a fit of giggles at the thought. “Yeah, I’m going to need a video of that one,” Margaret says with a smile.
“Yeah, I agree,” I interject. “I’m not looking forward to the cleanup of my yard, but as long as they stay out of the fields I don’t mind it too much. This was one of my favorite weeks in high school. But I agree with Caroline, the combination of Homecoming and last week made today tough. I’m exhausted. Anyway, it’s nothing a little tequila and a girls’ night can’t fix!”
We clink our glasses full of peach margaritas and spend a moment sipping our drinks before Margaret asks, “Caroline, how is Michael doing?” referring to one of Caroline’s students who had become a problem at the beginning of school, but has quickly turned into someone who comes to her for advice and help.
Immediately, her face softens and she replies, “He’s actually doing so much better. We’ve been working with the social worker, and I think we’ve gotten him on a good path to getting caught up in school. He’s actually with Theo now, helping him out around the farm. I never imagined the way those two would hit it off, but I think they’re really good for each other.”
Margaret smiles at that, and I can’t help but feel incredibly happy for my best friend. She and Theo might have had some ups and downs early in their relationship, but I can’t imagine anyone making her any happier.
Too bad you won’t ever have anything like it… My inner voice snarks at me but I try to tune it out as I listen to Caroline and Margaret talk about wedding planning.
“Yeah, we want to keep it as small as possible. Obviously, I want the two of you to be standing with me, and Theo will probably ask Will and Seth to be his groomsmen,” Caroline says before taking another sip of her drink.
“You know we wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. I just cannot believe how good this move has been for both of us. A year ago the idea of my brother not only having a fiancée but also a group of friends that want to celebrate with him would have seemed impossible, but here we are. I just really can’t thank you enough for bringing him back,” Margaret whispers, and I can hear the emotion clogging her throat.
Caroline’s eyes water a bit too, and they share a quick hug while I distract myself from their emotional moment with the basket of chips in front of me. When they moved to town, Theo was battling with a good bit of PTSD over the loss of his parents and brother, but Caroline had given him the push he needed to work through some of his trauma with a support group, and even I could see the changes in him over the last few months.
“You know I’ll do anything I can to make sure you have the most perfect day,” I tell her honestly before adding, “please tell me Theo has a hot cousin or something for me to walk down the aisle with.”
Caroline laughs and grabs a handful of chips before answering, “Well, actually, the only people we plan to have in the wedding are you two and then Will and Seth.”
“Oh, well, that’s fine. Just don’t pair me up with Will,” I say, causing the other girls to share a look of amusement.
“We’ll see. I mean, I would prefer that the church is left standing when we’re done with it, and I’m pretty sure the two of you would find a way to bring the place to the ground with the way y’all fight,” Caroline teases before adding, “but we can figure all that out later.”
“So I know I’m the newbie here, but I still can’t quite figure you and Will out. Sometimes you act like you hate each other, and others I’m pretty sure you’re about to rip each other’s clothes off,” Margaret adds while dipping her chip in the queso in front of her and waiting for an explanation.
Caroline chuckles while I roll my eyes at Margaret, hoping that it hides the fact that I don’t hate that idea at all. “Oh my gosh, can we give that a rest already? Even if I didn’t find him absolutely repulsive, he probably couldn’t handle me in the bedroom anyway. I bet he’s as boring and selfish there as he is outside it,” I say, hoping that they don’t hear the lie in my voice.
“Whatever. Anyone with as much sexual tension as the two of you have is just like a can of gasoline waiting on someone to throw a match on it. And when it happens, you’ll end up taking down everything around you,” Margaret teases playfully.
“Stop, Caroline, tell her she doesn’t know what she’s talking about,” I argue, turning to my best friend sitting next to me.
I expect her to jump to my defense immediately, but instead, she hesitates for a moment. “Welllll, I don’t know.”
I look at her incredulously before bursting into a bout of uncontrollable laughter. “Gosh, how many margaritas did you two have before I got here? ’Cause clearly neither of you are thinking clearly.”
And with that, while my friends continue to giggle about the possibility of my supposed nemesis and I dating, I try to ignore the twinge of sadness over what almost was.