“They finished it. Liam texted me ten minutes ago, said they were headed to a steakhouse.”
Jane exhales, “That’s such a relief,” Her face relaxes to her general serene expression. She leans over to chat with her college friend, all worries about Charlie gone.
“Liam texts you?” Caroline asks in a quiet, strained voice. She’s sitting on the bench beside me.
“Yeah.” I now feel terrible about the comments I made earlier.
“I feel so dumb.” She puts her head in her hands. After a minute, I realize she’s silently crying. Caroline climbs out of the hot tub and scurries away. I sit for a moment, unsure what to do. I generally want people to chase me when I run away crying, but not always. Sometimes, I just need to ugly cry by myself. But something tells me Caroline doesn’t need any more alone time. I chase her down and find her in the dressing room. She’s already changed out of her swimsuit into jeans and a black cashmere sweater.
“Caroline, I’m sorry... I should have told you about Liam... but we’re not officially dating.”
“I don’t care about Liam! It’s not that.” She sits on the bench in the dressing room. “I never expected Charlie to get married before me.” Her beautiful face contorts. “I mean, they just met. I dated him for six years—six years!”
“Who are you talking about?” I ask as I pull on dry sweatpants.
“Gregory, my fiancé. My ex.”
“You were engaged?” How did I not know this?
Caroline nods, tears flowing from her reddened eyes. “This is my first wedding since he dumped me in May. He left me three days before the wedding.”
“Oh! Caroline! That’s terrible. I’m sorry.”
“Me too!” I awkwardly put an arm around her. “Some of my family had already flown in for the wedding. Many of them are here today. And I can’t face them.” She gulps back fresh sobs.
“Sure, you can. We’ll go back, and you’ll have a good cry. And tomorrow, you’ll be brave, and I won’t leave your side.”
“Why are you so nice to me? I did my best to sabotage you and Liam?”
The real answer is complicated. I do feel bad for Caroline. But also, tomorrow is Jane’s Day, and I’m going to do everything I can to keep Caroline’s broken heart from ruining it.
“You really weren’t that bad,” I say.
“I was terrible. The things I said behind your back. And just today, I was trying to make you think Liam and I were a thing. And I was always trying to convince him that you weren’t good enough for him.”
“Thanks!” I say sarcastically.
“Not like he ever listened. He’s always talking about how competent you are, and how funny you are, and he’s, like, obsessed with your eyes.”
“That’s better than clavicles.” This poorly thought comment catches her attention.
“What?”
“Colin, my date to the engagement party, said I had the world’s best clavicles.”
“Ew! That sounds obscene.”
“Not obscene, just odd. It’s the technical term for a collarbone.” Caroline doesn’t even crack a smile. She seems deep in thought.
“Colin was kind of cute, and he’s a doctor. Is he still single?”
“Caroline,” I say sternly. “He’s not a viable option. You can do so much better.” Her now splotchy, yet somehow still beautiful, face crumples.
“I’m desperate. I just want to be married and have kids. It’s all I’ve ever wanted.”
I am out of my depth. Jane is the one to comfort. But right now, Jane is happy and celebrating with her other friends. The only thing I can do for her is help her future sister-in-law. I want to tell Caroline she’s fine without a man. I think of Charlotte laughing at the idea of marriage. If only I could give Caroline some of that energy.
Caroline is the definition of conventional beauty, with shining blonde hair and big, startling blue eyes that seem even bigger full of tears. It’s tempting to tell her she’s so gorgeous that she’s bound to find someone, someone better. But my instincts tell me to rein in that impulse. Instead, I stand and reach for her hand.
