Xoxo,
Sienna and Shane
Gag me. Now. With a spoon. Aserratedspoon. No! A spork.
Did my sister just refer to hernuptialsas the ‘event of the summer’?
I eye the trash can in the corner. What would happen if I threw the invitation away? Claimed it was lost in the mail? It would be a lie, but a lie told solely for the purpose of self-preservation surely isn’t as bad as one told with cruel intentions.
Yep. That’s what I’ll do. I didn’t get the invite, therefore I couldn’t book a flight, and nowoh shoot, I’m so sorryI can’t make it. I have a non-refundable trip to Anywhere, U.S.A. planned for that same week.
Except, I can’t.
I knew this invitation was coming. I was one of Sienna’s first five phone calls after she touched ground following the ultra romantic hot-air balloon proposal.
Also, I’m a bridesmaid.
An anvil named reality crashes down upon me, and I resign myself to my fate. I live across the country from my family, but there’s nowhere on earth I could go to get away from this wedding. Soon I will be on an island off the coast of North Carolina, watching my little sister pledge everlasting love to my ex.
My phone rings and I retrieve it from my purse.
Sienna’s name displays across the screen. My stomach drops to my knees. Is that sweat beading at my hairline? Can’t be. It’s January, for crying out loud. It’s sweater weather even here in sunny Scottsdale, Arizona.
Sienna’s name continues to flash angrily. I know where this is going, and there’s only way to face it. Head on.
Another swig of wine and I’m doubly fortified. I got this. I’m good. I’mfine.
I tap the screen, and without me greeting her, Sienna’s exuberant voice fills my kitchen. “Hellooooo did you get the invite?”
“No.” I didn’t intend to lie, but it’s a damn smooth delivery, if I do say so myself.
“Oh,” Sienna says, disappointed. “Check your mail. Mom received hers two days ago, so yours should be there. It doesn’t takethatlong to go from North Carolina to Arizona. It’s not like it’s being ridden on horseback.”
I wish it were. Maybe it would’ve taken an unfortunate dive out of the postman’s saddle bag.
“It doesn’t matter if you get it, because obviously you’re coming.” Sienna pauses, giving me the opportunityto chime in with an appropriate response, something likeWell, yes, I’m a bridesmaid!
Here’s the thing about my sister’s relationship with my ex: it’s my fault. I could’ve put a stop to it from the beginning. But on that day when she’d called to tell me she ran into Shane, I was too shocked to use my words. My ears were in working order, so I listened and nodded my way through her almost unbelievable story.
There Sienna was, sauntering over the tree-lined streets in downtown Raleigh, the fall leaves scattered over the sidewalk, when she bumped into Shane.Can you believe it?she’d said with an incredulous gasp. I thought she was going to tell me he looked awful, that I’d dodged a bullet when he broke my heart two years prior,blessing in disguiseand all that jazz. I didn’t need my ego stroked, only pacified.
“He moved here from Phoenix about a year ago. He looks great,” she’d said, and it was the way she infused the word ‘great’ with a smile that told me all I needed to know. Across the miles, I heard the want in her voice. “He asked me out. I said no, of course.” She took a deep breath. “But Pais, I kind of want to.”
I felt as if a cartoon rubber mallet swung from off-screen and walloped me over the head.
We should’ve been laughing about the fact he asked her out, mutually agreeing about his cretin status. Sienna shouldnothave been holding her breath, waiting for me to give her my blessing.
And that’s when it hit me. She’d do what she wanted, no matter what. My choice was to make a fuss, or acquiesce.
“You can go out with him if you want to.”So mature! So agreeable! Paisley never causes problems or makes waves!
Deep down, there was a part of me hoping she’d change her mind. That she’d choose me and our sisterhood over whatever attraction she felt toward Shane.
But, no.
And here we are. I’m cordially invited to the event of the summer being held at my favorite place, my sanctuary, my childhood hamlet.Bald Head Island.
So I say what Sienna is waiting for me to say, because what else is there to do? “Of course I’ll be there, Sienna. Obviously.”
