Chapter 3 - White Wedding
Marie drummed her fingers on the white linen tablecloth as she watched the couples on the dance floor swing in time with the music. She was bored and miserable. She was at her parent's country club for a wedding. She knew the bride, but wasn't that close to her. She was only there because the family invited everybody in her family. They were trying to make it the social event of the month, or probably the whole year. She swore they invited everybody they knew.
Marie looked over where her dad stood. With a cigar in one hand and a drink in the other, he was listening to one of the men he was standing with. She wondered if her dad was truly happy, if he enjoyed this life. She remembered when she was around eight, her dad would get both her brothers and her up early in the morning to go skating at the local rink. It was their time, he would say, to be them, to have fun and to be happy. However, it all stopped a few years after that when he started getting more cases that took his time up.
Deep down Marie knew if his knee hadn't been injured, he would have played in the NHL. Guaranteed, he would have been a lot freer and a lot happier because he would have been doing what he loved. Being a lawyer was just a back up plan. He probably thought he'd go into it after years of retiring from the NHL.
"Do you know where the wedding will be?"
Marie turned her attention to her mother who was chatting away with one of her friends. Now for Abigail Harris, she acts happy, but she never really truly shows her real feelings. She was nineteen when she married John Harris. After twenty-six years of marriage, Marie wonders if she's still in love with her dad. She has put up a lot with him, her brothers, and her. So Marie wonders if her mother's appearance is just an act, like she doesn't know any other way to be.
"Marie, are you seeing anyone?" Mrs. Albertson, her mother's friend, asked.
Marie was about to tell her that no she wasn't when her mom asked her friend if her son was still available.
"Jeffery isn't dating anyone. You two would be cute together," Mrs. Albertson gushed. "Here let me give you his number."
"What is he doing these days?" Mrs. Harris asked.
Marie just sat there not believing this was actually happening. She politely took the number and sighed. She looked over at her brother, Josh, and he smiled at her telling her he felt her pain.
"At least you have Sophie," Marie whispered to him.
Josh smiled at his girlfriend's name. "I just wish she was here right now."
"No, you should be wishing you were with her right now instead of being here," Marie quietly said.
Josh shook his head and chuckled. "Marie… as we get older… I never want you to change."
Marie smiled. "That's my plan."
"They're thinking five bridesmaids and five groomsmen," Abigail Harris said.
Marie looked over and sighed again. She had to get away from the table. Getting up, Marie pushed her chair in and was about to step away when her mom asked her where she was off to. "Just going to walk around," she replied. Marie felt like she couldn't get away from the party fast enough. When she passed a waiter, she snatched a glass of champagne and headed outside onto the balcony. It was quiet out there. There were a few small groups in corners, but other than that, quiet.
"Marie Harris?" a male voice questioned.
Marie looked back at the French doors leading to the party. "I'm sorry… do I know you?" she asked when she didn't recognize the guy.
"Simon… Michaels. We went to school together. Don't tell me you don't remember me? I haven't changed. You certainly haven't changed," he said while putting his hand up to his chest.
Marie let out a small gasp. "Oh my… Simon Michaels. You have changed a little. I barely recognized you. How are you?" Marie asked him.
Simon replied, "I'm not bad. I'm surprised you didn't cause last time I saw you, I believe you had a crush on me."
Marie blushed. "You knew about that?" Marie hide her face in her hands.
"It's nothing to be embarrassed about," he insisted. "I thought it was cute at the time."
Marie groaned and looked out to the golf course. "Cute… at least you didn't say I was pathetic."
Simon walked up the rest of the way. "So how are you? Are you still in college?"
Marie replied, "I'm good. I have this last year before I'm done. I'm getting my degree in Marketing."
"That's good. What school did you end up at?" Simon asked. "I would have thought you would have gone to Princeton or Harvard."
"University of Minnesota," Marie said. "I put my foot down and said no to a prestige school. I had looked around at universities and I liked what Minnesota had to offer."
"That was the one thing that I liked about you. No matter who you're parents were, you insisted not being like them. You hated all the dances the club put on. You hated all the rich girls. You didn't like any of this."
"I'm still like that."
"I didn't know that you were close to Janice Seymour-Banks," Simon said pointing into the room.
"I'm not. My mom insisted that I come to this wedding. She didn't give me a chance to back out. Sometimes I think she thinks if she forces me into doing stuff, she has some power over me. I tried fighting it, but I could get out of it," Marie explained.
Simon nodded. "My parents got invited. I wasn't even going to be in town this week, but at the last minute I was. My mom called Mrs. Seymour to see if it wasn't too late. I guess, the more the merrier, huh?"
Marie smiled. "So what was your choice of a career?"
"Business Management," he replied. "I'm helping out with this store here to open a chain in Michigan. I travel over there a lot."
"Gee, you must get a lot of discounts," Marie joked.
"I wish, but it's all good considering I'm doing what I love," he replied. "Where are working?"
Marie smirked. "I work at a bar. I'm a bartender."
Simon nodded. "I'm impressed."
Marie smiled. "Are you?"
Simon said, "Of course."
"So is there a Mrs. Michaels? Because didn't Sara and you get engaged the last year of high school?" Marie asked curiously, yet hoping they weren't.
Simon scratched his cheek and said, "We went off to Yale together, but after that it slowly went down hill. A couple months ago, we actually finally ended it. Been with someone for so long, sometimes you realize the best thing is to be friends and hope they have a wonderful life."
"I'm sorry," Marie said.
"It was for the best," Simon replied. "Listen… I was about to leave when I saw you and I thought I'd come out and say hi. Can I call you sometime?"
Marie nodded. "Of course, but let me give you my number. Don't want you calling the parents." They got a napkin and a pen and exchanged numbers. When Simon was out of earshot and sight, Marie squealed. "Oh my God. Yes!" She put her hand to her mouth and started to laugh. When she finished being all giddy she headed inside.
"… but we should watch the stock because it'll be…"
Marie sighed. All business and no pleasure, she thought. She went up to the group her father was talking with and put her arm through his. John Harris looked over and smiled. He gave her a kiss on the cheek that surprised her. Maybe it's a thank-you-for-coming-to-my-rescue kiss, she thought, yet it probably isn't anything.
"What have you been up to Marie?" Mr. Lawrence asked her.
"You know the usual. Work and hanging out with friends. Waiting for school to start up again," Marie answered.
Mr. Lawrence nodded. "Are you almost done with school?"
"This is my last year," she replied.
Marie's dad spoke up. "I'm proud of her. She's actually going into something she loves."
Marie smiled, but was curious about the comment.
Another one of the men spoke up. "That's what it's all about. You don't want to end up in some career that makes you miserable."
Marie politely smiled.
Mr. Harris told them, "She's friends with Rob McClanahan, the centre for the hockey team at the University. He made the Winter Olympic team for next year."
"Oh yes. I heard about that. How do you think they'll come out? Are they ready to beat the Russians?" Mr. Lawrence asked.
Why, she thought, so you can bet on it? "Right now, from what I've seen, they're working out all the kinks. They're slowly becoming a team and I'm sure they'll be ready to play against them. You never know, they could. Anything is possible," Marie replied and she did believe that.
vvv
Later on that night, when she entered her apartment she shares with Connie, she was surprised to see some of the guys sitting around the living room. When they saw her in her elegant, black dress they whistled their approval.
"I knew why I bought this dress for a reason," she quipped.
"So how was the wedding?" Connie asked. "Meet any single guys."
Rob leaned over and put hand on her shoulder, jokingly replied, "I'm sitting right here."
"So did you?" Connie asked real fast ignoring her boyfriend.
Marie's face lit up when she smiled. "Remember me telling you about Simon Michaels freshman year?"
Connie nodded. "Yeah."
He was there and we talked. We exchanged phone numbers," Marie gushed. "I just hope he calls."
"Wait… is this Simon Michaels an ex-boyfriend?" Pav asked.
Connie actually took the question. "No. A crush she had on for about three years in high school. He had a high school sweet heart back then."
"Why not just call him?" Jannie asked.
Marie hesitated. "I don't want to act desperate. What if he's not interested in me that way?"
"Was there flirting?" Rob asked.
"A little," Marie replied.
Rob said, "He's interested."
Connie asked, "What about that girlfriend?"
"Over, a while ago," Marie answered.
Mark Johnson put in his two cents. "Hey Marie, if he wasn't at all interested, he wouldn't have asked."
Mike Ramsey replied, "When I exchange numbers, I make sure she gets mine because sometimes if the girl really wants to, she can call me. Some guys like it when the girl makes the first move."
"I'm not that aggressive," Marie replied. "Besides… I don't even know if he's interested."
"Call him. If you don't, he won't. Then you'll never know and it would have been just a waste of time exchanging numbers," Buzz said.
Rizzo finally spoke up. "Is this more about Will?"
"Rizzo know what happened with Will?" Connie asked quietly.
Marie replied, "Only that we dated."
"Are you scared he's going to hurt you?" Rizzo asked. "Are you letting that interfere?"
Marie shook her head. "No."
"Then what's the problem?" Steve asked.
"Call him."
Connie said, "You know what, this is something Marie has to decide on her own. I know her better than all of you. She'll do it if she wants. For her it's better to wait and see."
Marie smiled at her best friend. She was sometimes a "wait and see" kind of girl. This is the exact same thing she did when she met Will. When it comes to guys, she is never sure if are interested. God, why can't I get the courage to call first, she thought, I'm such a chicken shit. With that thought, she went and changed.
