I passed by Sutton in the kitchen, giving her a quick look and nod before snagging a bottle of wine off the counter. Without a word, I retreated to the back veranda. I didn’t bother with a glass—I didn’t need it.?
I made it to a plush chair tucked toward the back of the oversized porch where a large potted azalea bush offered just enough cover to give me a bit of privacy. The veranda stretched out, overlooking the lush backyard, but from where I sat, I was mostly out of sight—just a hint of the party visible through the gaps in the blooms. I sank into the cushion, pulling back on the bottle, grateful for the small slice of solitude.
“There you are!” Charlie shouted, rounding the corner and instantly drawing attention to me. Heads turned, and suddenly, all eyes were on the woman in the corner, drinking wine straight from the bottle. I shrank into myself, shooting my brother a dirty look.
“I am not speaking to you right now, Charles Abner Pruitt. In fact, I may never speak to you again,” I hissed.?
He squished himself next to me on the chair, yanking the bottle out of my hands and taking a swig. “Ah, you’ve run into Lee, apparently. I’m sorry, it feltlike a betrayal that we were still friends.”
We both aggressively wiggled around in the chair, trying to get comfortable. “I was mad at him because he had given up on your friendship, Charlie. I was pissed at him for not calling you, yet he’s your best customer! And you’ve just been casually hanging out with him from time-to-time. You probably knew he was coming this weekend, and you acted like you had no idea!” I grumbled, pushing against his shoulder to make room for myself on the chair he was trying to hijack. “Hey, by the way, are you calling a piece of furniture you painted metallic orange ‘art’ now? What am I missing?”
He rolled his eyes, handing the bottle back to me. “That’s not the reason you’ve been mad at him, Magnolia. You’ve been stewing all these years because you told him to leave, and you didn’t believe he actually would.”?My brother stood up, watching over me sadly. “And honestly? It’s burnt sienna with a copper overlay and reclaimed copper piping from discarded washer and dryer parts. It reflects the state of the industrial society we’re living in. Don’t you ever listen to me?”?
Sutton found me about an hour later when I had, over the course of that short time, become borderline drunk and irrationally sad.?
“I have a concussion and a broken heart,” I proclaimed, as she handed me a small plate of all of the things the caterers had carried past me, but that I had rejected, hesitant to lose my buzz.
“Eat something before Eunice sees you like this. What are you doing, Magnolia? This is pathetic.” She was right.
I shoveled the food into my face quickly and shot her a spinach-toothed smile.?“Why am I like this?” I laughed with a mouth full of quiche.?
She laughed right along with me. “I don’t know, but Lord, have I spent the better part of my life trying to figure it out.”
I put my head on her shoulder and let her rub my arm.?
“Dane’s been looking for you. I told him you’ve been mingling and that pleased him, of course. Once you let that food sop up all that sav blanc you’ve been guzzling, you might want to get up and do just that.”?
She scurried back to the kitchen, and I took a few minutes to gather myself, trying to shake off the weight of the day’s emotions. The wine had hit me harder than I’d realized, and I burped twice, the taste of grapes and spinach quiche rolling over my tongue. Feeling a bit wobbly, I gave myself a quick peptalk, determined to embrace the role of Dane Wilder’s social and definitelynotsuper drunk girlfriend. With a deep breath and a final glance down at myself, I squared my shoulders and set off to rejoin the party, hoping to blend in despite the swirl of emotions and booze still tugging at me.
“There you are!” Dane crossed the room, politely pushing through the crowd to meet me as I pretended to listen, attentively of course, to a very numbing Daughters of Savannah Civic Society conversation about lemon meringue.?
“Yes, here I am.” I leaned into the kiss he planted on my cheek. “Ms. Hattie Beckett has been telling us all about her secret for the perfect whipped topping.”
“Cream of tartar,” Hattie Beckett leaned in and whispered conspiratorially.
“Gross,” I mumbled under my breath, letting out another small belch.
“How delightful, ladies,” Dane said a little too enthusiastically, guiding me away from the gaggle of women with a gentle hand on the small of my back. “It’s so lovely to see you all here. My momma is so happy to have all your smiling faces celebrating her today.” He beamed his perfectly straight teeth at the crowd, and they ate it up like pie.?
“She sure does know how to throw a party, that’s a fact. We’re all hoping the next one will be in honor of you and Magnolia!” Hattie Beckett was beaming, and Dane went white as a sheet. “Eunice tells us we should have the happy news any day now!”?
?I politely excused myself before rushing toward the back door in search of freedom, fresh air, and a quiet place to vomit.?
I darted down the back stairs, only to realize I was now marooned in the backyard with no clear escape route. I scrambled behind a wall of bushes that lined the fence, trying to camouflage myself in the greenery. There I was, blending in like a desperate, sad chameleon, hoping the plants would somehow take pity on me and shield me from the chaos I was trying to avoid.
“Hattie’s completely off her rocker, Magnolia. Don’t listen to her! Are you dry heaving in there?” Dane’s voice whined from just outside the bushes, confirming that my brilliant hiding spot was anything but. I could practically feel the frustration rolling off him. The shuffle of footsteps on the stairs and the soft murmurs of Charlie and Sutton told me the search party had officially been expanded. Great. Just what I needed—reinforcements to block my dramatic exit.
I had my back up against the cold iron of the fence, trying not to tossmy cookies. I tried to steady my breathing and wipe the last ten minutes of memory from my mind. The thought of Dane proposing after what, four and a half dates—considering I’d practically ghosted him after the last one—was absurd. I mean, what was he thinking? Did he lose a bet or something? Was I beingPunked?
“Charlie, clean this up before Eunice sees or hears her,” Sutton whispered angrily.?
“This is Dane’s mess. It’s his fault, wanting to propose to her after, like, four dates,” my brother growled.?
Wracking, violent sobs overtook me.
“Damnit, Charlie! Come on, baby, come out of the bush. I promise I won’t propose to you.”
“Wait, you were going to do it in front of all these people?” Sutton asked, letting out a sarcastic laugh. “That’s bold. Just what Magnolia loves more than anything, to be the center of attention.”
