My sister nudges me in the ribs and I love Saturdays. None of her snobby friends around. No one she thinks she has to impress. Not even our parents comparing every move we make, rooting for me most of the time because I am the older, more levelheaded one only to ultimately lean in Kate’s favor because she’s…Kate.
On Saturday nights, it’s just us. We don’t talk work. We don’t talk weddings. When I’m lucky, we don’t even talk about my nonexistent dating life. We talk Gossip Girl, which means I guess, I have to choose.
“Jenny,” I finally give in.
“Jenny? Seriously? If I didn’t pick Serena, I would go for Blair or at least Georgina. But Jenny?”
“I like Jenny,” I defend my answer while snagging the popcorn bowl out of her hands. “She’s edgy. I like edgy.”
“I’m aware,” she yanks the bowl back.
“And she does what she wants. Not what everyone wants her to do.”
Kate chews for a moment while we watch the show that we can basically lip sync at this point. I take a sip of prosecco and melt further into the couch. “This is nice.”
“What is? This episode? This episode is a shitshow, remember. Just wait for it.”
“No, I mean this. Us. Me and you spending time together without worrying about everything else going on in life.”
She nods and grabs a handful of chocolate covered almonds. “Listen. I am elated to be getting married to Paul. I mean after year five of being exclusive, I thought he was never going to ask. But all the wedding preparations are exhausting. And, of course, the men aren’t involved at all. They just stand around playing golf and talk about investing or whatever. Meanwhile, us girls are over here shoveling out money to pay the wedding planner who I really don’t think understands what I want.”
“Do you even know what you want?” I ask and her mouth pops open.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
I just laugh. “Well, you’ve changed your mind about the location of the rehearsal dinner like six times. And you want both indoor and outdoor for the reception, which I am not sure will work without a tent of some sort. And you can’t decide if you want a mermaid or trumpet dress and I can’t tell the difference.”
“You can’t tell the difference because you’ve never looked at wedding dresses before! Also, the rehearsal dinner really matters. It’s like the elite dinner before the dinner you are obligated to invite everyone to. Being the one in the spotlight is exhausting, Amanda. I know that sounds prissy, but it really is. And Paul is so…rich…”
I spit out a laugh. “You can’t be serious right now.”
“I don’t mean it as a good thing! I mean of course I don’t hate that he makes a very plump six figures. But with that comes all this…face time. Dresses always. Perfect make-up always. Not to mention I am expected to order salads, drink only white wine and never ever slouch which might be good for flattening my stomach but it’s hell on my lower back.”
I blink, setting my glass down and reach for my phone. “So why are you marrying him?”
Kate looks at me, almost alarmed. Like she didn’t just hear everything that came out of her mouth. Like she doesn’t everthink about the thoughts that live in her head, puppeting her through her life.
“I’m marrying him because I love him. He treats me well. He takes care of me. And…who else would I marry?”
“I know math was never your strong suit, Katy, but there are a lot of men in the world you’ve never met. There could be one out there that would love to sit on the couch with you, eating flavored popcorn and watching shows you loved in high school simply because nothing they’ve made in the past 15 years has been as good. Someone who loves something you love, and you connect with them on a deeper level than you can with anyone else.”
If it makes her think, she doesn’t show it. She pours herself some more wine and shakes her head. “Someday, you’ll be in love. And then you’ll get it.”
I look at my phone just as a text pops up. I swallow, intending to just shove it aside and read it later. But Kate sees the screen before I can tuck it away.
“Your boss is texting you on a Saturday night? He does know you are allowed to have time off, right?”
“Of course he does. I doubt it’s important.”
“Well, I wanna know what he’s got to say at 6pm on your day off.”
I shake my head with an exhale, knowing she isn’t going to drop it. So, I pull up the text stream.
Callum- Hey, I know it’s girls’ night with your sister, but any chance you’d want to grab dinner?
“See? He’s just asking about a business dinner. Nothing over the top.”
I go to toss my phone aside but before I can, Kate grabs it.
