The Hangover II || Phil Wenneck

4. Toasts

When I woke up, I had a quick shower to shave my legs and wash myself and my hair and get rid of my disgusting travel look. Then I blow-dried my hair, before I threw on a dark turquoise V-neck velvet cocktail dress, done a smokey eye for makeup and listened and refused to Phil begging me to skip the party and the dinner when he saw me.

We had gone down to the party for nearly an hour, just to socialize and congratulate Stu and Lauren, before it was time for the dinner. We all sat around, listening as Teddy played the cello.

Alan tapped me on the shoulder, and Phil and I turned around to Alan holding his nose and sticking his thumb down at Teddy, causing Phil to just awkwardly chuckle at him, before we turned around to watch Teddy finish his cello piece, before everyone applauded him.

Lauren and Teddy's father then stood up from his seat, clinking his spoon against his glass of champagne to gather everyone's attention.
"Thank you, Teddy." Their father began, "The hands of a brilliant musician, and one day a great surgeon." His father praised, going silent for a moment before he spoke again.

"I admit it. When I first met Stu, I was not quite sold." He continued, looking over at Stu, as a few people, including Stu let out light laughter. "He seemed unattractive. He lacked intelligence and imagination... He was missing that spark you look for in a man." He continued, as Stu looked down, smiling awkwardly. "But then I look into Stu's eyes. He reminded me of my sweet brother, Chaiyo. For those who do not know, Chaiyo is learning-disabled and lives in a group home." Alan let out a loud laughter, while Phil looked over at me and grimaced.

"But! Chaiyo loves chok. And that's when I realised Stu is chok." He finished, as Phil looked over at me with furrowed brows while I just shrugged.
"What's chok?" I heard Stu whisper to Lauren, before her father continued.

"Chok is soft white rice in lukewarm water. It has not taste.. We feed it to small baby and very old people. It is nourishment that everyone can digest." Lauren's father continued explaining, as I looked over to Stu, noticing his embarrassment and shot him a sympathetic look, while Phil looked over to him as well. "The world needs chok. Just as the world needs people like Stu." He pointed to Stu, who looked at him, humiliated. His speech was very passive aggressive towards Stu, which I found unnecessary.

"To my sweet daughter and Stu. Congratulations." He finished, raising his glass of champagne.
"Hear, hear." Phil raised his glass high, as everyone else raised their glasses too.

"Cheers, guys." Doug raised his glass, as everyone murmured indistinctly and awkwardly.
"And now I believe that Teddy has something to say." His father nodded over to him, as Teddy went to stand up from his seat, before Alan stopped him.

"Sit down. I got this." Alan stood up from his chair. "Sit down, boy." He told Teddy, who awkwardly glanced around before lowering himself back down onto his seat.

"That was a great speech, sir. I like the comparisons between, uh, Stu and– and– and rice." Alan complimented, as Stu just looked at him. "I've also prepared a few words. "Hey, everyone, here are some fun facts. The population in Thailand is 63 million people. It is twice the size of Wyoming. It's chief exports are textiles, footwear and rice. Each year, approximately 13,000 people are killed in car accidents in Thailand. The climate in Thailand is–" Alan began reading off a piece of paper, before Doug interrupted him.

"Alan, uh. Alan, why don't you skip to the last card there, buddy." Doug suggested, as I pursed my lips together. "Okay. Sorry." Alan murmured, flicking the cards, before he sighed and began reading aloud again. "None of you know Stu like I do. Not you. Not you. Not you. Not you. Not nobody knows Stu like I do." Alan pointed to a few people, before pausing for a brief second, before continuing. "No one. I can't even tell you what we've been through, 'cause we made a pact more important than blood. What I can tell you is this: This is not Stu's first marriage." He informed, and my eyes immediately widened before I turned to Phil.