But he keeps talking.
Some joke about cake or centerpieces or how it’s the “right thing at the right time.” He stands and squeezes my shoulder like we’ve sealed some pact.
Then he leaves.
The room feels colder the second the door clicks shut.
And for reasons I can’t explain, the wedding announcement hurts more than any other promise he’s broken with me before. Maybe because this time, he didn’t even try to hide the choice he made.
He chose himself.
He always does.
23
You are cordially invited to the wedding of
Heather O’Hara
&
Aidan Dawson
at two thirty in the afternoon
on the private date enclosed
The Dawson Residence & Estate
1432 Blue Inlet Drive
Southampton, New York
A four-day itinerary is enclosed & our lovingly blended family looks forward to seeing you
23A
EMILY
The doors of the White Magnolia Bridal Shop are pink with frosted glass. Their company slogan,“First Comes Love, Then Comes Your Dress,”is etched in tiny cursive that makes the word “dress” look like “mess.”
Any other time, I’d laugh about that, but I haven’t eaten in four days, and I haven’t been able to sleep.
All week, silk-wrapped boxes and designer wardrobes have arrived at the estate for my mother, all bearing well wishes for the marriage. I’ve tried to tune out as much of the planning as possible, but remnants of the inevitable find me.
I’d even feigned a headache for today’s dress appointment, but Mr. Dawson’s butler put together a box of frozen juices and medicine. So here I am—trapped in pink walls and perfume, flinching at the faint sound of champagne flutes clinking behind closed doors.
Everything here smells like roses and dreams. None of it smells like reality.
“Why are you being so quiet out there, Emily?” my mom calls from the other side of the door. “Talk to me while I’m finagling this lace!”
I swallow.
I honestly have nothing to say.
“She shared her vows when you arrived,” one attendant whispers and points to the envelope in my lap. “She probably wants to know what you think.”
“Good idea.” I tear the flap and pull out the handwritten sheet.
