“Well the pageant answer would be strawberries. They’re wholesome and sweet, and healthy. But the real answer is glazed doughnuts. I just really,reallylove doughnuts.”
“Why doughnuts?” Jonah asks me.
“Once, when I was nine, I slept over at a friend’s house. My parents hardly ever let me do that, but they were going out of town for the night so it worked for them. I had three glazed doughnuts after dinner. I still remember the taste of them, and how they melted on my tongue. My friend and I played with her pack of tarot cards with a flashlight until we came down from the sugar high. In the morning, I felt sort of sick but it was all worth it,” I tell him.
“That’s a good memory,” he murmurs.
“One of my best. I did my first Little Princesses pageant the year after, and sweets became a thing of the past.” Jonah’s face turns murderous for some reason, so I quickly smile and add, “But hey, at least I’ll get to eat a wedding cake on Monday, right?”
“Right,” he says. “I guess we do need to have a cake.”
“Candice said she’d figure it out for us. I hope you don’t mind a bit of a celebration? I know it’s just a marriage of convenience but I couldn’t pass up the offer to have a little bit of fun while we’re at it.”
“No, it’s absolutely alright. If we don’t celebrate at all, it might make things look suspicious.”
“I hadn’t thought of it that way, but you’re probably right. I suppose it is better if things between us look real.” I give him a placid smile, but on the inside, I’m starting to spiral. I didn’t think atallabout making our marriage look real. Is there some way my parents could declare our marriage invalid? Probably not? I mean it’s not against the law to get married for money, and I’m pretty sure the terms of the trust don’t say I need to marry for love.
What if they try and use this marriage against me in the lawsuit, though? I take a deep breath in, and then release it. I need to calm down.
“Here,” Jenny says, thrusting a drink at me. Her and Candice are back from the bar, and with them is a tray of snacks and a round of rainbow cocktails.
“Thanks, sugar,” I say, taking a long sip of the drink. I immediately cough. “Oh my word, Ronda made them strong tonight, didn’t she?”
“And she’s my hero for it.” Jenny takes a big slurp of her own drink and then smiles.
“Back to your table,” Candice says to Jonah, shooing him away with her hand.
“Fine, fine,” he grumbles, and goes to join Nathan and Beau.
On stage, the next queen is getting started, and hilariously, she’s dressed as a pageant queen. Her evening gown is a pale pink concoction with ruffles and sequins, and she has on a white sash with Miss United States written across it.
“Ladies, gays, and theys,” she says. “I am Miss Grace, and welcome to the Miss United States Pageant!” She starts lip syncing to the Miss United States theme song and dancing, perfectly balanced in her platform heels.
“This is perfect,” Jenny chortles. “You should go join her, Winnie.”
I sink down a bit lower in my chair and grip my drink like it’s a lifeline. “Absolutely not. My one time at Miss United States did not end well.”
“Only because your mom is a bitch and made you feel bad about not placing,” Candice says.
“Cheers to Winnie’s mom being a total b,” Jenny crows.
“Honestly? You’re so right. She really is a bitch.” I lift my glass and clink it against the others, and I don’t even feel bad about it.
Miss Grace finishes lip syncing her song, and then, with a flourish, rips her evening gown down the center using what must be hidden buttons, and reveals a bikini underneath, as well as another sash. Her crown stays on throughout the entire thing, and the crowd is cheering and laughing.
After the drag show finishes,I swing by the bar to deposit some of our empty glasses and then I go to the bathroom. For a dive bar, it’s honestly pretty clean in there, and I take a few extra minutes to freshen up my lipstick and fluff my hair. I’m still getting used to the short bob, but I’m finding ways to make it feel like me. I’ve been using a curling wand and rollers to make it bouncy and dramatic.
I step out of the ladies room and come face to face with Jonah.
“Oh, hi,” I say. “What’s up?”
“I saw two drunk guys head towards the bathrooms as soon as you went, and I wanted to make sure you were okay and that they didn’t bother you. They left already.” He shrugs, like it’s no big deal. Like it’s completely normal for him to watch out for me like this.
“I don’t need your protection, you know,” I say, wincing internally at how harsh the words come out. But I can’t tell what his protection means, and I have trouble trusting people who might try and control me. “I could have handled them on my own.”
“Sure, but you shouldn’t have to,” Jonah says easily.
“But I could have,” I insist. “I have a lot of experience with men who think they’re entitled to my time. I have a tried and true method of getting them to leave me be.”
