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I huffed out a laugh. “Yeah, something like that.”
“Your turn, girls,” Dad called out and we moved forward to take our shots.
Neither of us were golfers, and my dad quickly gave up giving us tips when we made it obvious that we didn’t care about doing well. We were just going through the motions.
When the golf game was finally over, we all went inside of the country club. The men hit the steam room while the women ended up in the spa area for manicures and pedicures. I was sitting in a chair between Poppy and Sage, Faith’s cousin and bridesmaid. There was a woman crouched in front of each of us, trimming and painting our toenails. I chose a dark silver color that was going to look great with the dress that I was wearing to the ceremony on Saturday.
“I’m glad you came,” I told Poppy. She wasn’t related to us, so I wasn’t expecting her to be here.
“Me too. I had nothing going on today, so I was happy to jump at the chance to come.”
“I thought you were avoiding someone,” Sage said from the other side of me. I looked over to see that she had a knowing smile on her face.
“No,” Poppy replied, suddenly very interested in the work being done on her toes.
“Oh come on, we all understand what it’s like to have guy trouble,” Sage said, and I felt the need to somehow defend Poppy. Or maybe just change the subject.
“Youhave guy trouble?” I asked, raising an eyebrow at Sage to give Poppy a break. “Then, who’s that hunky guy you’ve brought along today. The one that looks at you like you hung the moon?”
A small, sweet grin came over Sage’s face as she blushed, and I felt a stab of jealousy. I wanted that in my life; a man that would put that kind of smile on my face.
“That’s Briggs. He’s my boyfriend.”
All of a sudden, the attention of everyone shifted to Sage and she was being grilled about this new boyfriend of hers by the women. I glanced over at Poppy. She mouthed the words “thank you,” and I gave her a little wink. I had her back. I didn’t want to talk about my tension with Michael and she understood, so I wasn’t going to let anyone push her to talk about whatever she was keeping quiet.
The final thing Faith had planned for us to do today was attend a variety show at a dinner theater. I was beyond excited as we settled into our seats at round tables in front of a large stage. There were red curtains hanging in front, blocking any set pieces from view, but as we were eating our meal, performers came out into the crowd. They stopped at tables and thanked everyone for coming to the show. I felt like I was meeting real celebrities, knowing that these people were about to be on the stage, singing and dancing their hearts out.
Men in tuxedos passed out roses to the women in the audience, and I lifted the red bloom to my nose, inhaling deeply. Then, the lights were turned down low and the stage lights came up. The curtains were pulled open, revealing a staircase and a row of folding chairs.
I barely had a chance to take in the set before that three-piece band set up on stage right started playing the introduction to Cindy Lauper’s Girls Just Wanna Have Fun. Women in funky eighties costumes came out onto the stage from both directions and started singing. They had complicated choreography and I found myself completely engrossed in watching the show.
I loved music, always had. That was the reason that I became a violinist, and I never even considered a different profession. Music spoke to my soul, it moved me. I knew that I was lucky to have a job that I was passionate about. Not everyone did.
The first number turned out to be an eighties medley, and when it was over, the audience exploded in a cacophony of sound, clapping and whoops of approval. I heard Michael’s voice above the others and glanced over to see him smiling broadly. Faith’s head was resting on his shoulder, and I felt somewhat like I was intruding as I watched her look up at him. When their eyes met, I could practically see the love in the air between them.
For the second time in one day, I felt a twinge of jealousy. It wasn’t like me to react this way to happy couples, and I could only think that it had something to do with Levi reemerging in my life.
It made sense, in a way. In my early twenties, back before our falling out, I could never make a relationship work because I compared every man to Levi. I was so enamored by him that I couldn’t get past my crush and give anyone else a chance.
After he became my nemesis, I still had trouble developing a deep connection with the men I dated. Poppy was right when she said that it had been a while since I dated anyone. I had almost given up finding a meaningful connection with any man.
I turned my attention back to the show, happy for the distraction from my complicated love life. I was captivated as the performers sang and danced, and by the end of the show, I felt like the day had finally turned around for me.
We all headed back to the hotel after that, parting ways as we walked to our rooms. Michael was still avoiding me, but I wasn’t going to call him out on that now. We could talk tomorrow, and I hoped that I could smooth things over. The two of us were close, and I hated the idea of fighting with him.
Once I was in my hotel room, I changed into pajamas and got ready for bed. I was brushing my teeth in the bathroom when I heard a knock on my hotel room door.
Three days in a row.I’m awfully popular lately.
I finished brushing my teeth while the knocking continued, the pattern strange and uneven, but mostly constant. Slightly annoyed, I looked through the peephole.
Levi.
I whipped the door open and reached out, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and yanking him inside before anyone in my family could see him. Sticking my head out, I looked in both directions and breathed out a sigh of relief that the coast was clear. No one had spotted him.
Putting the Do Not Disturb sign on the outer doorknob, I slammed the door closed and whipped around to glare at him. That was when I realized he was drunk. He leaned against the wall and watched me with bleary eyes. I could smell alcohol on him, as if it had been spilled.
He had some nerve to show up here drunk like this.
