Thanks to my amazing beta Mike!
It was amazing how four little words could leave Alicia astonished. She saw Will get down on one knee, open a box holding a giant diamond ring and ask, "Will you marry me?" Suddenly she was on the verge of tears. Crap, she had promised herself not to cry, if it ever came to this.
Hearing the cry 'Yes!' escape Laura's lips took her out of her state of shock. She started to back away hoping neither of them had noticed her. She headed straight to the bathroom, stumbling through the hallways of Lockhart/Gardner, to recompose herself as the tears flowed down her cheeks.
Alicia had gone to Will's office intending to let him know about her win in court that day. She was almost through the open door when she witnessed him propose to Laura. She knew they had been dating, but didn't think Will was ready to take it to the next level.
...
She and Laura had become friends after Alicia helped the military lawyer in court in a civil suit against an accused rapist. They weren't best friends like Kalinda and her had been and were becoming once again, but the two lawyers had a get-a-drink-after-work, have-lunch-occasionally kind of friendship. It was uncomplicated and Alicia liked it. Until Laura had started dating Will. She had to admit that those drinks and lunches had become less and less frequent ever since. It was weird, even if she didn't know how much Will had told Laura about their history.
Ever since the engagement, things had become even weirder and she had been avoiding the happy couple as much as she could. Alicia took matters to Diane as much as she could and walked the hallways of the courthouse always in a hurry. Until one day she was distracted, checking emails on her Blackberry and literally bumped into Laura.
"Alicia! Haven't seen you in a long time! Even when you're here, you're always busy. Hey, I have some great news. Why don't we catch up after work? My treat." The ASA said happily.
Alicia had been unprepared for the encounter and was still looking for an excuse. Laura took it as an acceptance of her invitation. "Great, 18:30, our usual bar." She said over her shoulder already rushing off somewhere.
...
As Alicia arrived, a half hour late, the bar was crowded. She was almost ready to give up and turning around to leave, when she finally spotted Laura sitting by the counter at the end of the bar. In order to get there, Alicia had to squeeze through the crowd, feeling the air filled with the smell of alcohol and the noise of various different conversations.
"I'm sorry, I had to finish some pressing matters for your boyfriend's case tomorrow morning." She said sitting down on the stool next to Laura's.
"Actually, my fiancé!" She corrected Alicia, shoving the diamond ring in her face. "That's what I wanted to tell you! He proposed two weeks ago. I was surprised, though, when he told me he hadn't told you, yet. You being old friends and all." Laura added motioning for the barman to pour Alicia a shot of tequila. Perfect timing. She drank it in one sip.
"Well, we haven't seen each other very much these past couple of days. Too busy." She managed to cover. "But, wow! Congratulations! Have you set a date, yet?" Alicia asked the barman to refill her glass.
"Next month. We want a spring wedding." What? A month? Alicia picked up her just refilled glass from the counter and downed her second round in one shot again. She motioned for the barman to fill it a third time. "Actually, Alicia, I wanted to ask you something. Will you be my maid-of-honor?"
"Oh God." Alicia felt sick, but was sure it wasn't the effect from the tequila, yet. So she drank her third shot. Alicia was tempted to ask for another refill, but controlled herself. As much as she felt she needed as much tequila as she could get, having this conversation drunk wouldn't be a good idea. She had a tendency to over talk when she'd had too much to drink.
"I know it's a lot to ask, but I don't know a lot of people here in Chicago and you being friends with Will, too, I think it would be a good fit." Alicia let a chuckle escape her. The future bride-to-be didn't know how bad a fit it was. She also, clearly, didn't know anything about her and Will. Alicia didn't think any woman would ask her fiancé's ex-lover to be their maid-of-honor.
The problem was she couldn't say 'no'. What reason would she give for her decline? Her only choice was to smile and nod. And have another shot of tequila, of course.
