In Over Her Head

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

What the hell happened to those three months?

Suddenly, I am just slapped in the face with the fact that I’ve got two weeks left to go before that blasted get-together and the wedding the following month. And Lorra hounding my heels for the nth time this week is not helping at all

“Hoy, don’t forget this Saturday’s get-together, okay? It’s at Plaza Ibarra along Quezon Avenue. Be there at five in the afternoon—sharp,” she says. I can hear the faint echo of people’s voices and some shuffling in the background. She must be at another media coverage or something.

I scribble a note on the printed manuscript and hand it over to Abby, my phone cradled between my head and shoulder. “Yes, yes, I got your texts and emails. I’m not going to bail out tomorrow.”

“You better. Or else.”

Sometimes I don’t know who’s worse when it comes to fussing: my best friend or my mother.

If three months flew by so quickly, so does the weekend.

I told Lorra to pick me up at my apartment so we could go together. I definitely don’t want to be the first one to arrive just in case he happens to be there early as well. When we get to Function Hall 1, the place is already buzzing with people, mostly with Alex and Nathan’s immediate family. I recognize their parents and siblings and go say my hellos to them before heading over to my friends.

“Oh my God, Erika!” Alex envelops me in a big bear hug, while her fiancé, Nathan, pats me on the shoulder. “I haven’t seen you in years! When did you cut your hair? You look great! We’re so glad you could make it.”

My friends have always known me to keep my hair long, but that day, I decide to skip the old look in favor of a new one in the hope that it would give me a lot more confidence to deal with the inevitable meeting with Richard. I still have a bad case of nerves, so I guess it’s not entirely a successful attempt to boost self-assurance.

Alex drones on about how I look, and despite fretting over me in the same way Lorra does, I just smile and let her do what she wants. We haven’t seen each other in such a long time, which is probably the reason why her comments are a little bit over the top.

“I really like your hair. You look younger with a shorter ‘do. God, I haven’t seen you in ages!” Alex gushes again.

“Thanks. My hairdresser accidentally cut more than half of my hair a couple of months ago. I threatened to tell his boss, so he prettified it up.”

She laughs. “Well, good call on your hairdresser chopping off the years of your face. You look amazing.”

I thank her then turn to Nathan. “Congrats, Nathan.” I lightly nudge his shoulder. “I’m happy for both of you.”

“Thanks,” Nathan scratches his head and smiles timidly. It’s quite amusing to see the very loud and boisterous Alex finally getting married to bashful Nathan after being such good friends and complete opposites of each other’s personalities. Looking at how happy they are right now, I feel somewhat sentimental that two of my oldest friends will soon spend a happy married life together.

After the many months that I haven’t seen Alex, I instantly notice that she’s just blooming with happiness. Alex is the most animated person in our group next to Mike, but today she’s just a picture of contentment. I’ve always thought Alex to be rambunctious and loud, but now that she’s transitioning to a new phase in her life, she seems so…Zen. I would never have thought to put the word Zen and Alex in one sentence.