Jennie
"Another Dirty Muddy!" Irene calls out to the bartender beside me.
I quickly roll my phone over onto its face so she can't read my texts and then shove my phone into my purse.
"Having fun?" I ask her casually.
Irene lets out a breath of a laugh. "Yeah. It's great."
I might be tipsy, but I'm not so tipsy that to ignore the warning signs. Most of the bridesmaids are drinking to celebrate. Irene? She's drinking to get drunk. There's a faraway look in her eyes as she stares morosely down the bar.
Time to do some recon. I slide up beside her. "It must be crazy." I say. "Watching your childhood friend get married... I mean, that has to be full circle, right?"
"Is that what they're calling it?" Her tone is blade-sharp, and she tucks her thick, curly hair over her shoulders.
"What would you call it?" I ask.
Irene sighs. Finally, she confesses, "We've dated once, you know."
No surprise there. I nod sympathetically. "You and Bambam?"
"Yeah." The bartender sets her drink down on the bar, and she takes a sip from it. "It was... a long time ago. We were just kids... we were each other's first kiss, first you-know-what. All that cheesy stuff."
She's vague about it, but I'm willing to bet that she has a very distinct memory of each and every time Bambam Bhuwakul kissed her. Love can be crazy that way, always burning the best and worst memories in the backs of our skulls. "Do you love him?" I ask bluntly.
Irene lets out a quiet laugh and then sidesteps my question. "It's just hard. You spend your life thinking one way... that you'll eventually get back together, get married, have kids, and it's all a done deal. And then... something knocks you sideways."
I let out a puff of a breath. "I can relate." I tell her. "But listen... in a couple of days, this will all be over. Maybe it's just the closure you need."
"Yeah..." Irene says, "... that is if he goes through with it."
My eyebrows knit. "Did he say that he wouldn't?"
Irene shrugs. "No. But if someone objected at the wedding..."
My heart sinks. Oh no. I've already got Lisa ripping this wedding apart at the seams; I don't need Irene dropping a bombshell in the middle of the ceremony.
"Irene." I say urgently. "You can't. Not if you really care about Bambam."
Irene gives my shoulder a pat. "Don't worry about it. Those things only happen in movies, right? Hey! You hear that?" Irene draws a smile. "I love this song."
Before I can grab her, she ducks out and moves toward the band. Crap. I've got a sinking feeling that drops straight down to the pit of my stomach.
