Page 2 of Tea Leaves and Runaway Brides

"Yep. Pretty chill night. Spot eleven had to move to fifteen because the slope is getting worse, so I'll work on that tomorrow," he says.

"Alright. Thanks, man. I'll see you in the morning."

I leave the campground office, my husky following close behind. The June evening air has a hint of warmth left in it as I walk to my cabin. I double-check the garage to make sure all the doors are locked before heading inside. Kicking off my boots, I grab a beer from the fridge and settle onto the couch. Chief gnaws intently at the bone he's been working on this week in front of the cold fireplace. Playing some Neil Young on a smart speaker, I toss my legs up on the coffee table, releasing a long sigh.

Sure, my life is pretty chill and quiet, but I like that.

I take several sips of beer in the silence. After a minute, I say to Chief, "But I guess I do get lonely sometimes."

He gives me his best husky baby blues and continues chowing down on his bone.

2

Emerson

Riding down the elevator, my best friend Tina looks at me with a concerned expression.

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Like I have a choice," I say, stepping out when the doors open.

Tina attempts to say something back, but my father, of course, is waiting for us as soon as we exit the elevator.

"Took long enough," he says gruffly. His "secretary," Marilou, stands close behind him as he demands, "What's with the face?"

"What face?" I say, hearing Tina behind me quietly let out an annoyed sigh.

"You're not still pouting about this wedding, are you?" He says grumpily, scanning the lobby for my fiance. I don't bother responding, but that doesn't stop him from adding, "You're a single, fat older woman. You should be grateful that someone like Steve is willing to marry you."

Tina's body stiffens behind me, and I position my body to block her from chewing out my father. Or maybe she is about to attack Marilou, who is giggling at my father's slight against me.

"There's Steve and his mother. Come on," my father demands, and I follow behind him with Tina trailing after me, muttering something about how this is all wrong.

Dinner is torture.

After the wedding rehearsal at the church, we meet at the Driftwood Room for the rehearsal dinner. The food is exquisite, so I do my best to focus on it and not on the people surrounding the table. Only Tina is truly on my side here. I mean, there's Steve, and he can be decent to me, but I don't consider him on my side.

When the dessert comes, a delectable chocolate mousse, I close my eyes at the first spoonful, savoring the creamy sweetness. When I open them, I see my father looking at me across the table.

"That should be enough the night before your wedding, don't you think so, Porky?" He says, giving me what he probably considers a playful grin.

Marilou quietly twitters behind her hand, but Steve bursts out with a loud laugh.

Standing up, I toss my cloth napkin over the dessert I wish I could finish.

"I'm going back to the hotel," I announce, turning on my heel and striding out of the room.

I can hear Tina following me from behind. Outside, I look around the parking lot through tears.

"I already ordered us a rideshare," my friend says, looping her arm into mine. "It's one minute away."

I look over at her, and her face falls.

"Oh, baby," she says, wiping the tears that are now falling down my cheeks, then opens her mouth to continue, but I shake my head.

"I'm not ready to talk," I whisper.

When we are back inside our shared hotel room, I rush into the bathroom and take a steaming hot shower, bawling my eyes out. I don't know what the fuck I am doing, but I definitely feel trapped. And without the ability to change my current life trajectory. When I finally come out of the steamy bathroom wrapped in a towel, Tina looks up at me from her bed and pauses the show she is watching.