The Wedding Date

Stupid Garden, Stupid Party

"Dianne? Wow, is that you?"

Dianne froze, hovering over her chair, the loud string quartet seeming to reverberate in her brain as every one of her senses felt like it was going into overdrive. His voice brought back every single memory she'd tried to push away for the last two years... all in an instant.

"Wow, Dianne, your hair! It's really...red," Will continued to drone on behind her and she realized she'd have to eventually turn around and face the man who had broken her heart all those years ago.

"Will...hi," she greeted him, slowly standing upright. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Joe take a small step closer to her.

"Hi, you!" the tall, blonde, muscular man in front of her gave her a wide grin with open arms, and before she knew it, he was pulling her in for a hug.

It wasn't what she had been picturing...he smelled the same. He looked the same. But his arms around her felt oddly foreign, and she felt her spine stiffen in response.

Thankfully, Will released her within a second or two. She wondered if maybe he also felt the strange awkwardness that had descended around them, or if he was still as clueless to all human emotion as he had been when they dated.

"How are you?" she managed to choke out, her voice sounding tight as he pulled back. She watched him give her a quick once over. Innocent to anyone else, but Dianne knew he was subtly checking her out.

"I'm good...yeah...good. How are you?" he gushed, his Australian accent sounding stronger to her, "Wow, it's been...a long time, huh?"

"Two years," Dianne shot him a tight smile. "Two long years."

"You look...great," Will eyed her up and down again, and that was when Dianne felt Joe's hand on her waist.

"Thanks," she muttered, before turning to make quick eye contact with Joe who had stepped up beside her. "Um, Will...this is Joe. My...boyfriend."

Joe smiled warmly at her ex, extending his hand, "Nice to meet you, Will."

"Oh!" Will's eyes widened as he looked between the pair, "I didn't realize you were dating anyone."

"Yeah," Dianne tried to smile but it felt more like a grimace. "For a few months now."

"And you're both here," Will laughed awkwardly, grasping Joe's hand so tightly his knuckles went white, "In Australia. For Pen's wedding. Together. That's...great."

"It may seem a bit soon, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to meet Di's family," Joe pulled her closer to his side, and without thinking, she reached up to rest her forearm on his shoulder, letting her fingers dance across his long neck in what she hoped was a stance a newly in love couple would do.

"Ah, yes," Will peered around the pair, clearing his throat nervously as he made eye contact with Mark and Rina who were watching the interaction closely. "Hey Mark...Rina."

Dianne had to bite her lip to hide her smile as her dad calmly sipped his drink, staring unblinking  at her ex. Her mum took the kinder approach, murmuring a polite "hello" in response.

"Must be nice to be reunited," Will returned his attention to her and Joe, and Dianne noticed a few beads of sweat on his brow. "Have you been back since you moved?"

"Last year for Christmas," Dianne replied stiffly, not failing to notice the way Will's eyebrows shot up.

"You were?" he stuttered out. "I didn't know...I mean, I thought I'd have heard from Pen and Leo..."

Dianne pursed her lips, but before she could respond, Joe had interjected.

"I just love weddings," he sighed happily, causing both Will and Dianne to look up at him in confusion, "Don't you, darling? Fun to get ideas for the future."