Page 58 of When the Smoke Clears

We turned toward the minister, who had whistled to get everyone’s attention.

“If I get hitched, I’m eloping in Vegas,” I mumbled under my breath.

Through my peripheral vision, I caught her big grin.

“Sounds like a good idea. Sadly, even if I elope, I’ll have to go to India for a second wedding with my father’s family. And it will be a huge deal with lots of people I don’t know. Also, I couldn’t rob my father of the opportunity to walk me down the aisle. Besides, there’s something special about the symbolic letting go. A father trusting another man to care for his daughter. I might miss that if I eloped.”

“Is Reichart an Indian name?” I whispered as everyone quieted down to listen to the minister.

“No. Since my parents never married, I took my mom’s surname. It’s what’s on my birth certificate. Boring, huh?” She giggled, earning her a scowl from Victoria. I elbowed Everleigh, which made her laugh again, but she held it in as her body silently shook.

Everything was easy with Everleigh. I wore a permanent smile. And she was shaping up to be the most interesting woman I had ever met.

After the minister ran through rehearsal twice, everyone gathered inside for dinner. Old chandeliers hung from the rich wood ceilings. A friend of the family played his acoustic guitar near a brick wall, where there were engagement pictures of the happy couple. As luck would have it, I was seated at a round table next to Everleigh. We tried to be on our best behavior, pretending to listen to whoever was talking about God knows what.

We smiled and nodded.

We ate a few bites of salmon and twice-baked potatoes and drank wine and beer on cue.

But then she slid her foot next to mine, and it had a domino effect. I spread my legs wider so our knees touched. She rested a hand on her leg and so discreetly placed my hand on hers, and we interlaced our fingers. Everleigh blotted her mouth with a cloth napkin and then draped the napkin over our hands. I guided our hands up her leg.

She gulped her wine and then her water. “Excuse me while I use the ladies’ room,” she said, releasing my hand and scooting back in her chair.

No one at the table seemed to hear her. They were too busy laughing, eating, and drinking. I waited a minute before escaping, knowing that no one was paying attention to me.

Would we have sex in the ladies’ room if no one else were in there? Was there a dark corner or janitor’s closet where we could mess around? All the possibilities played in my mind as I eased open the door to the ladies’ room, praying that Everleigh would be the only one inside.

Sure enough, two of the three stalls were empty. When I ducked to look under the third stall door, I saw her metallic silver heels. For a second, I wondered why they were facing the toilet, but then I heard a gag, a cringey retching, followed by a splashing sound. A short cough. Another gag. More vomit splattered in the toilet. As I took a step closer, the sour smell hit me.

“Oh, Everleigh.”

She spat twice before whispering, “Please go away.”

“Open the door.” I pressed my hand to it.

“Please go,” she repeated before sniffling.

I sighed and murmured, “Okay.” Then I opened the door and let it shut without leaving the room.

The stall lock clicked as she opened it and stepped out, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, face wet with tears.

She caught my reflection in the mirror before ducking her head and turning on the faucet. “Will, I don’t want you to see me like this.” She splashed her face with water and blindly reached for the paper towels.

I grabbed several for her and placed them in her hand.

She blotted her face and opened her bloodshot eyes. “I don’t feel well.”

“I can see that. I’m sorry. Let’s get a cab to your place.”

“What? No. Absolutely not. Just go. It was nice knowing you.”

“Nice knowing me?” I chuckled despite her discomfort and the few dots of vomit splatter clinging to the hair around her face. “I think knowing me might be the best thing that ever happened to you.”

She cupped her hand under the water and rinsed her mouth out several times before clawing at more paper towels to blot her lips. “How do you figure that?”

“Tomorrow is the best day of Victoria’s life, and she’s about to be down a bridesmaid if I don’t make magic happen in the next twelve hours. And you don’t want to be the one to spoil her day. Enter yours truly to save the day. It’s what I do. I put out fires, save lives, just things like that.” I blew on my fingernails, then rubbed them on my shirt.

My confident smile faded when her crestfallen face turned ashen again. Her cheeks puffed out, and she dove back into the stall.