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My friends caught me gazing at the corsage.
“You’re disappointed,” Colette stated.
“No way. You two better get some lip balm ready—we are totally kissing good night,” I teased, making them giggle.
Lorelai swatted me. “Honey, you’re pretty, but you’re not that pretty.”
“Oh fine. But, honestly, thank you. I couldn’t have done this without you. I don’t deserve friends as good as you.”
“In a couple of years, I will expect payback when it’s my twentieth reunion.” Colette winked.
“I’m there for you.”
“I wouldn’t be too sure, darlin’.” Lorelai wagged her brows. “You’ll probably be married by then with a bun in the oven.”
“That’s wishful thinking.” But, oh, was that my wish.
Lorelai tilted her head. “I thought Brooks was a possibility?”
That was the million-dollar question. “He’s been gone most of the week, but he’s called me every night.” We had talked for hours about everything and nothing. He would tell me about his conference, even though he seemed hesitant to, like he was afraid his profession would turn me against him. It worried me, obviously, but I was proud of him. I’d even made him rehearse his presentation for me. He had been scheduled to present a couple of hours ago; I hoped it had gone well. It was quite informative and scary. Spouses really could be awful to each other. The way they hid or sold off assets before they filed for divorce was downright spiteful. No wonder Brooks was afraid of the M word. We hadn’t talked about only him during our calls. Honestly, we’d talked more about me. He was either fascinated with my life or he was a really good actor.
Colette snapped her fingers in front of us. “No more talk of men tonight. We are going to rock this place, and if we’re lucky, we’ll witness Morgan trip on her self-absorption while walking in.”
“Ugh,” I groaned. “I really hope she doesn’t show up.”
“Honey, she has to prove something to you,” Lorelai wisely stated. “She’ll be here with bells on, I guarantee it.”
Colette tapped my nose. “You keep your head high. She’s jealous of you, as she should be. I mean, her own brother chose you over her.”
Julian was also someone I didn’t want to think about. I’d had so many flower deliveries and cards from him that had all gone in the trash. I was sorry he had grown up in such an awful family, but he knew full well that when he had asked me out, it was wrong. Still not sure what powers Morgan possessed to manipulate people the way she did, but it was frightening.
The DJ started playing some tunes like it was 1999. He started out with some “Livin’ La Vida Loca” by Ricky Martin. It only reminded me of Brooks, though, since he had paid for DJ Jack in the House. His setup was incredible, and the sound was amazing. The place was thumping.
I gave the ladies another hug. “Save all the dances for me. I’m going to go check to make sure our greeters are set up. People should be arriving any minute now.” It gave me some butterflies in my tummy. All our planning and the blood, sweat, and tears were about to, hopefully, pay off.
“If one of your classmates is hot and single, I’m totally ditching you.” Colette applied another layer of red lipstick that looked killer with her dark pixie hair and those classic cheekbones of hers.
“I’ll point them out if they exist.” After twenty years, most of us were married.
“We’ll check on the buffet table,” Lorelai offered.
“Thank you.” I sauntered over to the check-in table where all the name tags were neatly arranged in alphabetical order. Jackie and Kimmy were manning the table. We had all been on the cheerleading squad together. They were both still cute as a button and had kept their peppy attitudes. They thought later that night, for old times’ sake, we should get together and do a cheer routine for the fun of it. I was down.
“Hi, ladies. Thanks so much for helping out.”
Kimmy adjusted her sleeveless dress, as it was having a bit of a hard time keeping her girls covered. Perhaps we shouldn’t do a cheer routine later on. “It’s the least I could do.”
“The place looks amazing,” Jackie gushed.
“I can only take a little bit of the credit, but thank you. I’m happy you love it. It’s really good to see both of you again.” They had both come in from out of town. “Please let me know if you need anything. And make sure to let everyone know there is no assigned seating and there is a two-drink limit at the bar.”
“Will do,” Kimmy sang.
I was about to go check on Sean, a.k.a. the prom king, who had put together a slideshow highlighting our senior year, when Carly and her husband Dillon walked in looking dapper. Carly was in a red chiffon gown, and Dillon wore a dark suit and tie. They were a stately-looking couple. Both tall, with striking features. Looking at Carly had me longing for her twin to be here.
