After changing into black gym shorts and my light pink KATIE’S LAST SPLASH shirt, I followed the chorus of voices downstairs to the kitchen. The bridesmaids were gathered around the marble waterfall island, everyone in their matching bachelorette T-shirts and chipping-and-dipping while sipping margaritas.
“You are so specific about your salt rims!” Reese said to Katie, who was sitting on the island and glowing in her crop top and biker shorts with a BRIDE-TO-BE sash and tiara. “Mads!” Reese called. “How serious do you want your salt rim?” She held up the bride’s glass, whose rim was heavily coated with pink Himalayan salt. “On a scale from one to Katie?”
I swallowed. My parents had told me I could drink a little this weekend, but I wasn’t really feeling it tonight. “Give her a chance to hydrate first, Reese!” Meredith said, as if reading my mind. She appeared out of nowhere, wearing what looked like an XL T-shirt. The hemline almost reached her knees. I’d learned that Austin affectionately called her “Tink,” and I couldn’t say he was off base. She did look like a little fairy with her sun-streaked hair in a topknot and gold ankle bracelets.
“How strong are Reese’s margaritas?” I asked after she handed me a bottle of water.
“Strong enough that I’ll confiscate your keys if you drink one,” she replied, then shifted from one foot to the other. “Actually, I’mgoing to confiscate your keys no matter what.”
I almost laughed.Where am I going to go? We’re in the middle of nowhere!
“I’ll go grab them,” I told Meredith. “They’re upstairs in my backpack.”
“I appreciate it,” she said kindly, but her expression was solemn. Remembering Austin telling me about Meredith’s sister dying in a drunk driving accident, I suddenly was overcome with the urge to hug her. She squeezed me back when I did. “Just chuck them with everyone else’s in Yaz’s and my room…”
Later, Paige was properly booed as she preheated the double ovens for the six frozen pizzas she’d supplied for dinner. She took it in stride. “What do you want from me? You guys know I don’t cook!”
We brought our dinner and a couple bottles of rosé out back to eat, and the second I stepped onto the deck, I understood why we’d splurged on this house. The property was idyllic, with a grassy-green lawn and pebbled beachfront, and beyond that was nothing but the seemingly endless and stunning Seneca Lake. A dock stretched out into the glistening blue-green water, complete with lounge chairs, kayaks, and paddleboards. My heart leapt. I’d always wanted to try paddleboarding.
Everyone was a little tipsy by the time the sun set and the pizza had been polished off, so there was a lot of giggling as Amanda directed us toward another patio across the lawn. It had a sheltered outdoor kitchen, where Paige was redeeming herselfby setting up a make-your-own-ice-cream-sundae station. A white tarp had been mysteriously strung up, but it made more sense when Amanda flicked on a projector. “This weekend is all about our sweet Katie,” she said once we’d settled on the couches with our sundaes. “Tonight, we’re relaxing with some of her favorites…” She took a bite of her banana split. “And tomorrow evening, we’ll get down to business.” She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively as Meredith whistled and Reese went, “Ow, ow!”
A wave of relief washed through me. Dinner had been fun, but I wasn’t prepared for any games tonight. It had been a long day of driving, and the one glass of rosé I’d been nursing hadn’t exactly loosened me up enough to find out Katie and Austin’s favorite sex position.
Ew, I cringed, even though my salted caramel sundae was delicious. Details about my brother’s sex life were pieces of knowledge Ineverneeded to acquire.
Amanda soon hit play on Katie’s favorite wedding-themed movie:The Hangover.Courtney groaned. “Katie, you are soweird. This is so not a wedding movie!”
“I told her the same thing,” Amanda said after Katie shushed her cousin. “I made her agree to a double feature. The next pick is way better.”
Bleh, I thought, predicting something likeWedding CrashersorBridesmaidswas on deck. I’d never seen Katie watch an honest-to-god romantic comedy. They weren’t my favorite, either, but sometimes I wanted a guaranteed happily ever after.
Especially when it came to weddings.
***
I remembered Meredith taking the video and later texting it to me, but I must’ve been so tired that I didn’t really recall sending it to other people. Per its 12:13 a.m. timestamp, I’d dropped it like a bomb in several text threads, and when my alarm went off the next morning, I saw a handful of notifications. Mortified, I felt my cheeks burst into flame.
YOU ARE AMAZING, Natalie had replied, and Connor:How drunk are you?
My club field hockey group chat—twenty girls total—was going absolutely wild with emojis and GIFs, so I didn’t do more than skim their messages. Instead, I tapped into theGood Genesthread.Funny, Dad had written,I was under the impression you were celebrating Katie’s bachelorette?
Dad had the most acerbic texts.
A girl only has a brief window to connect to this song, Da said.I forgive you.
I tapped on the video, only to be treated to thirty seconds of myself singing and dancing along to ABBA’s “Dancing Queen.” Katie’s second movie selection had surprisingly beenMamma Mia!Her fake rhinestone-encrusted tiara had somehow ended up on my head, and there I was, standing on the outdoor kitchen’s island and showing off my moves. Shimmying my shoulders,shaking my hips, and even attempting some gymnastics.
It was quality content, but…
Why the hell did I send this to my family?!I thought while watching myself inappropriately running my hands along my body.
I promise I wasn’t drunk!I quickly texted my parents.Ice cream sundae sober. Literally.
Oh, we know, Dad replied.You never would’ve pulled off that handstand otherwise.
Just be careful, Da added.No more attempts to steal Katie’s thunder…
“I wasn’t—” I grumbled but cut myself off when I glanced at the nightstand’s alarm clock. Shit, 8:30. I had to roll out my breakfast spread.
