Prompt: Addison's "hen night" (that's bachelorette party for my countrymen/countrywomen); Amelia doesn't get to stay the whole time; Mark plays some sort of role.
Hen Night
She's allowed to go to dinner but not the part that comes after the dinner. That's what her mother ruled.
"What is the part that comes after the dinner?" she asks her sisters, one after the other, as they bustle around with armloads of supplies.
"Nothing you need to know at your age," Mary clucks.
"Why are you asking?" Kathleen probes.
"None of your business," Nancy snaps.
"Derek, what's-" but he cuts her off before she can get any further.
"Come on, Amy, I have a hundred things to do," he sighs. "And anyway, I'm not even invited."
"Why isn't Derek invited?" she asks Mark. He's changing a lightbulb in the TV room, which means he's a captive audience.
"No boys allowed," he shrugs, passing the old lightbulb down to her. "Here, hold this - with the dishtowel, Amy!"
She makes a face but cradles the lightbulb carefully in the thick cloth.
"Mom said I can go to the dinner part."
"Well," he says, screwing the bulb in with one last twist and giving Amy the first smile she's seen today. "Then I'll expect a full report from you afterwards."
The corners of her mouth tug north as she looks up at him. "Okay."
The second smile comes from someone else with whom she shares no blood.
"Don't look!" her sisters squeal as Addison pokes her head through the door. She laughs. "Sorry, sorry, I thought you were ready to go."
"Almost," Kathleen clarifies.
"I'll just go repair the damage from Derek's car." Addison pats her hair, which looks perfect to Amy. "Will you be ready then?"
"I'm ready," Amy steps forward, already in her blue parka. She's been ready for the last half an hour.
"Hey," Addison smiles down at her. She actually looks happy to see her. Amy considers asking her if she can stay for the part that comes after, but then Addison asks her if she wants to help her get ready. She agrees eagerly. She likes her almost-sister-in-law. She has shiny hair and is tall - taller even than Nancy, the tallest of the sisters. She told Amy once that she was smart. She said she always wanted a little sister.
Amy's not a baby, she's practically a teenager, but she knows that that might not be true. Still, it was a nice thing to say.
Addison sits on the vanity stool in the large guest bathroom and Amy watches her the way she always wanted to watch her sisters. But Mary said it wasted too much time and Kathleen didn't wear makeup and Nancy said she was just in the way. Amy watches Addison apply a thin coat of something pink and sticky. It doesn't look sticky on her lips, though, just shiny and glowing.
Addison turns to her. "Want a little?" Her smile is warm and conspiratorial.
"Mom said no makeup..." Amy's voice trails off. She doesn't want to sound like a baby.
Addison just smiles. "Another time, then."
"It smells good," Amy says tentatively. "Can I -"
Addison passes her the tiny black pot. It's got a shiny silver rim and initials in silver along the edge. Amy brings it to closer to her face. It smells delicious, like a whisper of something flowery and wet. A rainy garden.
"It's jasmine. White jasmine. You have good taste."
Amy beams at the compliment. Addison fixes her hair, then uses the brush to make Amy's hair look glossier and longer than it did before.
"Mom says I have to leave after the dinner part," Amy confides as she walks in step with Addison to join her sisters in the living room.
"Then we'll have to make sure the dinner part is the best part," Addison says simply.
X
It's pretty good. She's always relished being somewhere different, and this is nothing if not novelty. Her sisters make Addison wear a silly tinsel crown, and Addison's friends come too. Amy doesn't really know them, but she likes the restaurant, drinking shirley temples and stealing the occasional sip of champagne when no one's looking.
"Party crashers!" Someone squeals. They all sound a little sloshy around the edges of their voices. Probably from all the drinks.
"Hey, no boys allowed!"
"We're not staying." Derek leans over and gives Addison a kiss on the mouth. Amy looks away. "You taste like bachelorette," he laughs and Addison says "Not for long!"
Amy takes advantage of the distraction to swallow another sip of champagne before the glass is whisked out of her hand.
"Time's up, little sis." Mark grins at her. "We're here to liberate you from this henhouse."
"I want to stay!"
"Don't be a brat, Amy." Nancy rolls her eyes. Her hair is sticky-uppy on one side - not in the good way - which gives Amy a mean little glint of satisfaction.
"Can I stay a little longer?" she pleads, turning her face toward Mark. Before he can answer Mary and Derek respond in tandem with a resounding no.
"No boys and no kids," Mary says firmly. "Sorry, Amy. Get your coat and get a move on."
Mark reaches his hand out to her, helps extricate her from the complicated seating arrangement. Addison gives her a good-bye kiss.
Derek's hand is on her shoulder, somewhere between a pat and a push. "Come on, Amy, I'm double parked."
"Later, ladies," Mark calls, taking up residence on her other side.
"Wait, Mark, you can stay," Nancy calls after him.
"What? I thought no boys were allowed." Derek's voice is pretend-sulky and Amy rolls her eyes. What's the point of getting married if you still have to do all that dumb flirty stuff? Sure enough, Derek is looking at Addison and kind of fake-pouting and Amy feels the chips and guacamole she gorged on earlier start to rise in her stomach.
"No grooms," Nancy correct and Addison's blond friend - Amy can't remember her name - nods vigorously.
"Mark's not a boy, he's practically family!" Kathleen explains.
"Plus we need a designated driver," Mary points out practically. "Kath, give Mark the keys to your car."
Mark turns on Derek and Amy with a mock-pleading expression, but it's not annoying when he does it. It's funny. "Take me with you, Derek. Amy, don't leave me here. Please."
Amy giggles and Derek rolls his eyes. "We're not going to win this one. Sorry, pal."
Derek takes her arm as they walk out. He talks to her the whole way home in the car and she drinks in the attention - no sisters, just her brother - but when they get home he gives her a little prod and says he's got a bunch of stuff to do. "Go to bed," he instructs and she pretends to, but then tiptoes down the stairs and out the front door.
Not far. Just to the porch, where she can swing and wait for the others to get back and find out what the part after the dinner was all about.
It's inky dark with stars out, past her bedtime - which she's really too old for anyway. Soft spring sounds lull her, crickets and rustling leaves, as she waits.
X
A gentle shake on her shoulder rouses her.
"Hey. You waited up all this time?"
She rubs her eyes, feeling tired and childish. She'd wanted to stay. Curled on the porch swing, at least she wasn't inside. She could still pretend she was part of the party. She shivers a little now, gooseflesh rising on her arms. It's not cold, but it's cooler than it was when they dropped her off.
Mark looks at her ruefully and gives her arms a little rub. "Here." He takes off his jacket and slips it over her shoulders before lifting her up. "Good thing they decided on a spring wedding."
"Was it fun, after I left?" she asks sleepily as Mark carries her inside and up the stairs. Her head feel heavy as she lolls against his shoulder.
"Yeah," his voice rumbles as he lowers her carefully onto her bed. "It was fun." His hands are warm as he tugs her shoes off and pulls the light blanket up to her waist. He smells of cigarette smoke, the honeyed scent of the drinks he and her brother both like, and something else that she can't quite identify.
He's already left, the sound of the heavy front door announcing his exit, when she recognizes the last note of his scent. Jasmine.