- 3.
I still held the mushrooms, staring at the girl
with a smile as bright as the sun. My chest
constricted. It felt like a hammer blow.
100
“Hi everyone, I’m Emily, David’s wife. Welcome
to Seabrook!”
Reynolds and Lisa introduced themselves.
Emily was bubbly, complimenting everyone. She
turned to me. “Nina, you’re so pretty! And so
thin! I’m so jealous! Your hair is amazing. Not
like mine, I’m practically bald.” She turned to
David. “It’s definitely the way you dry it. Be
careful, or I’ll be a bald bride next week!”
He ruffled her hair, chuckling. “Okay.”
Looking at her clear, untroubled eyes, full of
JI
<
excitement for her wedding, I saw myself.
“Wedding?” Lisa asked.
“Yes! Next Wednesday. We hope you can all
come!”
I cracked open another beer. Emily reached for one, but David intercepted. “No, you can’t.”
She pouted. “Just a sip.” She kissed him
quickly, ignoring us. “Come on, David, just one
sip!”
“Drink this.”
He offered a white mug filled with rose tea.
Emily wrinkled her nose. “Rose? David! I’ve told
you a million times, I don’t like floral tea! How
do you always forget?”
“I don’t know… I just… make it automatically.”
<
I looked away, draining my beer.
I hated water. In high school, I’d overused my
voice studying, sometimes losing it completely.
David had tried everything to get me to drink
more. Floral teas, fruit teas, oolong teas, he’d
cycle through them all. In the winter, he’d make
me apple cider and pear soup. Every extra glass
I drank felt like a victory for him.
Seeing me drinking beer, Emily continued her
campaign. “See? Nina’s having a whole can!
Maybe that’s her secret to great hair.”
“You’re being silly.”
I looked at the beer in my hand, smiling bitterly.
“My ex–boyfriend never let me drink beer. I’m a
lightweight. He was really strict with me.”
Emily looked at me sympathetically. “So, he
wouldn’t be happy with you drinking now?”
