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"Alicia, come back here. Listen to me. It didn't mean anything."
Alicia ran towards her car, refusing to turn and look at Peter. "You are such an asshole! Just get away from me."
"We came together in one car. How the hell I am supposed to get home?"
She was already unlocking the car door, and climbing into the driver's seat. "I really don't care, Peter. Ask your new girlfriend."
The next morning when she came downstairs for breakfast, her mother said Peter had already called four times. She didn't tell her mother, or her brother what had happened at the wedding reception, How she'd gone to the bathroom, and discovered Peter in a dark corridor with one of the bridesmaids.
When she went back to school after winter break, she didn't tell Will that she had more or less broken up with Peter. She simply scrawled a note on the memo board they had on the fridge. "I Hate Him. It's Over. Again."
She tried not to think about him. She concentrated on school instead. Peter had been trying to convince her to transfer to Northwestern, or U of C for her second year. She knew why. He wanted her as far from Will Gardner as possible.
One day in February she came home between classes and found Will in front of the TV watching as Desert Storm unfolded. For the past three weeks, students had been huddled around TV sets in dorm rooms, off campus apartments and bars watching the war on CNN like it was a game of Nintendo.
"My mother actually called last night and begged me to come home. According to her, Washington is sure to be the target of some terrorist attack. I've never heard her so emotional about anything," Alicia said.
"I guess if we're going to die, we to have sex soon then," Will said
She playfully slapped him on the back of the head. "You really are impossible. I'm getting a beer. I'm assuming you want one?"
She went to the kitchen, got two beers, and slid on the couch beside him.
"I want to ask you something. I got an invitation to my fraternity's alumni formal. It's in April, but they already sent out invites. I'd like you to go with me, Alicia."
Ever since she'd broken up with Peter, Will had hinted that he wanted a more "serious" relationship with her. Alicia had tried to tell him she wasn't ready yet. She needed time to reassess things.
"Why would I want to go to a fraternity formal? I went to my high school prom six years ago," she said.
"Trust me; this is nothing like a high school prom. Do the words "open bar" mean anything to you?"
"Will, I don't know. Surely, there are other women you can ask. Every girl on this campus would be dying to go with you," Alicia said.
"I don't want to go with anyone else. I want to go with you. Come on, Alicia. We'll have fun. It's held at this beautiful golf club down in Virginia. We'll make a weekend of it."
"Okay, fine. But we're getting separate rooms. Or at least, separate beds," she told him.
She went home for spring break two weeks before Will's formal, still refusing to talk to Peter. One Saturday afternoon, she went to Marshall Field's downtown store to look for a dress. Owen ended up tagging along with her.
Alicia was not fashion-conscience back then. Her wardrobe tended toward oversized sweatshirts, and baggy jeans. Her brother could not help reminding her of this.
"Girl, I know you have boobs somewhere underneath those bulky sweaters you wear.'
She ignored him as she looked through another rack of dresses, all deemed unsuitable. "Peter liked the way I look. So does Will."
"Peter sees you as a diamond in the rough. Someone he can mold into the consummate political spouse. As for Will, I do not know him, but it sounds like he adores you. You could be dressed in a plastic bag, and he'd still worship you."
She pulled a blue satin dress from the rack. It was short, sleeveless, and had a V-neck.
"Is this too sexy?" she asked Owen.
"No. That is perfect. By the way, I sort of "borrowed" Mom's Amex card. Let's find you some hot shoes to go with that dress."
She looked at her younger brother, horrified. "Owen! Please tell me you're joking!"
"Don't worry. She approves of this mission." He proceeded to speak in an imitation of his mother's voice. "Alicia, you are such a beautiful girl. Why do you hide your light?"
"Mom won't be happy until. I drop out of law school, marry Peter, get pregnant right away, and spend the next twenty years raising kids.'
"So what exactly happened between you and Peter anyway?" Owen asked.
She hadn't told Owen, her mother, or Will. "We went to that wedding. His college buddy. During the ceremony, he whispered in my ear, 'that's going to be us some day". I was so touched, It was such a sweet thing to say. Then at the reception, I caught him in the hallway…how do I put this? Getting serviced by a bridesmaid."
"I'm not surprised. You dumped him. It was the right thing to do. Now, try on that dress. Will Gardner is not going to know what hit him."
On the Friday before the formal, Will and Alicia went to Washington Union station to catch the train to Fredericksburg. Will's former roommate and fraternity brother Tim Fitzgerald met them in the All American Bar.
Alicia liked Tim right away; He bought round after round of drinks for the three of them, as well as half the other patrons in the bar. He upgraded Will and Alicia's tickets to Business Class so that they could all sit together on the train. He obviously had money to spare, but didn't appear to be snobbish about that.
"Alison is driving down and meeting us there." he said once they were seated on the train.
"So you and the ice queen huh?" Will said.
"Give her a break, Will. You don't know her like I do," Tim said.
"Who is Alison?" Alicia asked.
Alison was apparently Tim's girlfriend, but it sounded like she'd been involved with everyone in the frat house at one time or another.
Tim took three glasses, and a bottle of champagne from his carry-on bag, pouring a glass for each of them.
"Cheers! I am so happy to finally meet the stunning Alicia! Will has talked about you endlessly!"
When Alicia got up to use the restroom, Tim asked Will about their "relationship".
"You mean to tell me you two are living together, and you aren't f****ing her? What is the matter with you, Gardener?"
"She just broke up with her boyfriend back home," Will said.
He didn't want to go into the details with his friend. All about how he was giving her 'space", and how and how he respected her too much to pursue something so soon after Peter. Will Gardner respecting a woman? That wasn't something his fraternity brothers were familiar with.
"You could be having hot rebound sex night after night, Will. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid."
"This place is gorgeous How can you afford it?" Alicia asked as they checked into the elegant Colonial Bed and Breakfast.
"Senator Fitzgerald got rooms for all of us," Will said.
Alicia finally put two and two together. "Tim Fitzgerald is Thomas Fitzgerald' son? The Maryland Senator?"
"The one and only. Oh, God. Alison is here."
The two of them walked outside and watched as she exited her red Mercedes convertible, Alicia's first thought was that Will's description was correct. "Ice Queen" was a perfect moniker.
To Be Continued….