A Quiet Kismet

Chapter Fifteen

AGE 26

 I had only ever been a bridesmaid once, and there wasn't that much effort to it then. Jaimie wanted a quick and easy wedding, and since financially she couldn't splurge she had a backyard wedding. There were no special invites, it was all word of mouth. There was no catering, just a bunch of older women in our family coming over to my Mom's to cook a big dinner. There wasn't even a big reception. We just rearranged all the chairs from the ceremony and rolled out the big tables we had rented and all the adults danced and drank until the wee hours of the morning.

I definitely didn't have to be picked and prodded by a weird old man in fancy trousers.

"You either lied about your measurements or you gained weight." He huffed as he loosened more fabric around my waist.

The dress had bohemian lace and was an olive color, the color looked better than I had imagined. Jules had explained that all her bridesmaids dresses were the same color but different styles. Mine in particular had a deep neckline which made me uncomfortable but the sleeves were mid length and flowey. Like a flower, Julia had mentioned over the phone when we talked about me being a bridesmaid.

"I think you wrote my measurements wrong." I retorted under my breath. Then I felt a pin stab me in the back. I yelped and glared at the old man.

"So sorry." He said, sounding anything but.

When the fitting was over, I had over a dozen pin sticks in my backside. If I wasn't above elderly abuse, that old bag of bones would be well acquainted with my fist. But I'm like a really, really good person.

When I got out of the back, the groom, my brothers, and Derek were still there. Derek and my brothers still needed their fitting, and Leo was apparently going to stay until everyone was finished.

Jorge went next, and the old man looked relieved to get rid of me. I needed a nap, a really long nap but I had a dozen reminders from Jaimie about the wedding schedule. I had a couple of hours to kill before I had to go to the rehearsal dinner.

So I was going to steal Jorge's car and go back to Jaimie's house to work in the comfort of silence. The only problem? Jorge took his keys and my only options were Ruby and Derek. If I was sane and not trying to convince myself that Derek was completely dead to me, I would have asked him to give me a ride to Jaimie's. But since that isn't the case, I was going to take my chances with the deathtrap my brother affectionately called Bee.

"Ruby, let's have a chat." I said gesturing for him to follow. Derek and Leo were huddled up in a corner talking when I caught his eye. He watched me cautiously as I walked with Ruby outside, I turned away and reminded myself he was a dead man. A corpse without a pulse.

"Wassup?" Ruby drawled out slowly when we were outside. I wasn't sure if the edibles were kicking in, or if he was suspicious of me. Either way, I knew he was an easy target.

"Can I borrow Bee? I need to get to Jaimie's place and I don't have a car." I asked as nicely as I possibly could considering I had a hangover and a sore backside from old McStabbins.

Ruby glanced at his Bee, the yellow paint job was patchy and rusted in some places, but he looked at that car like it was a Mercedes straight out of the lot. "I don't know..." He said unsurely, "I mean, Bee is a sensitive old gal."

"She's a hunk of rusty metal." I replied dryly.

"But she's a sensitive hunk of metal." He reiterated.

"Okay fine, she's a sensible, beautiful hunk of metal that I really need right now." I sighed wearily, pinching the bridge of my nose to stop the oncoming headache. I opened my eyes and watched as his attention was already elsewhere.