“Sophie?”
That’s his voice. Over my shoulder. I freeze.
“Is he talking to me?” I mouth to Cara.
She communicates “yes” by opening her eyes super wide.
I calmly turn in my seat and feign complete surprise.
“Daniel!” I say, maybe a little too high-pitched. “Hi!”
“Hey, so weird that you’re here. Hi, Cara.”
“Hello, Daniel,” she replies, looking pointedly bored by his company.
I bite the bullet and turn to Francesca, giving her a big enough smile that she doesn’t think there’s any ill will, but not so big that she thinks I’m being overly friendly to compensate for secretly hating her. Without a mirror handily hanging on the wall anywhere nearby, there’s no way to tell if I’m pulling it off.
“Hi, you must be Francesca. I’m Sophie.”
“It’s really nice to finally meet you,” she says, a little too enthusiastically. She’s very petite, with an oval face, big green eyes, and adorable slightly pronounced front teeth. I know her face very well. A long time ago I stared at her picture, comparing her every feature to mine. “Do you work around here?”
“No, but Cara does.”
“Ah, amazing. We’re here for a friend’s birthday,” she explains. “I think there’s a private area somewhere, but I’m not sure. It’s so big in here.”
“It’s upstairs,” Cara says, pointing at the flight in the corner of the room.
“That must be it.” Francesca nods.
“Congratulations on your engagement!” I exclaim, glancing down at the emerald on her left hand. It’s even more sparkly in real life.
“Thank you,” Francesca says, looking embarrassed. “That’s so lovely of you to say.”
She’s nice. Really nice.
DAMN IT.
“We got your RSVP,” Daniel says suddenly to me. “I was kind of shocked that you said no. You never say no to weddings. Why can’t you come to ours?”
Cara’s expression turns thunderous. Francesca shoots him a sharp look. Nobody likes it, but the question has been asked. It’s out there, hanging in the air.
I have to answer. “It was kind of you to invite me,” I begin, wondering if I should just be honest. Would it really be that bad to explain that it’s much too awkward to attend the wedding of an ex-boyfriend? Surely not. I should never have been invited. I should never have been put in this position. Anyone in the world would agree that it would be inappropriate for me to go.
I should calmly explain the honest and reasonable truth.
“I’m going skydiving that day,” I blurt out.
Daniel looks baffled. “What?”
“I’m skydiving,” I say again, more confidently this time. “I’m so sorry to be missing out.”
“Oh, my God, that’s so cool!” Francesca says, impressed. “I’ve always wanted to do something crazy like that, but never had the guts to book it.”
“You should,” I encourage.
“Hold on, you can’t come to the wedding because you’re skydiving,” Daniel repeats, trying to get his head round it. “You?Skydiving?”
“That’s right,” I say, to myself rather than anyone else. “I will be going skydiving.”
