Heads or Tails

Chapter 14

I wake up relieved that today is Jessica's bachelorette party. Dropping a bag of penis accessories on the living area sofa, I move to the bedroom and pull a sundress from my luggage. Holding it up in front of me makes me feel my first pang of uncertainty. It looks like it shrunk after washing it and tossing it into the dryer. I hope it will fit.

Luckily, it fits, but it doesn't look any bigger once it's on. The top half of the dress pushes my breasts together, though, giving me cleavage I don't think I've ever had before. The bottom half is cute and flares out, ending a few inches above my knee. I slip on a pair of flip-flops and walk into my bedroom.

"Rise and shine, Michelle," I say, clicking on a light switch.

"Oh God," she groans, pressing her head into a pillow. "What is wrong with you?"

"Time to wake up," I tell her. "It's bachelorette day. We need to be at the Spa in thirty minutes."

"So early," she groans.

"I'm leaving you in charge of waking up, Stephanie," I tell her. "I'm heading to Jessica's villa. Meet us at the Spa. Hurry up."

I walk to Jessica and Michael's villa, coffee in hand. When I stepped onto the porch, I saw their front door was slightly open, and I could hear two voices arguing.

I push open the door, letting myself inside. I see Jessica rummaging through a drawer, shouting at Michael, saying, "Keep looking."

My eyes darted to Michael, standing in the middle of their room, fingers running through his hair, eyes wide, nostrils flared. He looks exceptionally agitated. What did I walk into?

"I told you to be more careful," he says.

"I am careful," she shouts.

I step backward, thinking I should slink away from their argument, but Jessica spots me.

"Oh Megan, thank God you're here," she says, voice breaking on my name. "I lost my engagement ring."

Michael kicks over a garbage can, mumbling a few swear words.

"I had it on last night at the bar, put it on my nightstand before I went to bed, and then when I woke up, it was gone," she says. "I don't understand where it went."

I watch red-faced Michael rip the bedsheets from the bed and toss them to the floor. "Stop talking and start looking, Jess," he says. "We need to find that ring, or my mother will have a fucking heart attack."

She starts to cry. "Stop being such a jerk. I didn't mean to lose it."

Michael mutters something under his breath and turns his back to her, searching on a nearby desk. She flips him off and then turns to face me, "Please help," she says.

Somehow, I find myself searching for Jessica's engagement ring on my hands and knees.

To say this ring is spectacular is an understatement. It's been in Michael's hoity-toity family for five generations. It's a stunning two-carat, radiant-cut light orangey-pink diamond with two honking white diamonds on either side. She has been able to wear it safely every day for the past year, so how she lost it the day before her wedding is beyond me.

My arm was wedged underneath a dresser when I heard Jessica shout, "I found it."

Michael runs a hand over his face and lets out a relieved sigh. Without another word, he walks through the living area and into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.

"What's his problem?" she asks, slipping the ring onto her finger. "I found it. The ring must have slipped. I found it behind my nightstand."

I glance at the clock on the wall, seeing we only have five minutes until our spa appointment. "We need to go," I tell her. "We can't be late."