By the time I made it back to the girls, they had changed into pajamas and were well into a bottle of wine. They both just smirked at me as I went to get cleaned up a little and get into my own PJs. They had been loud and laughing before I opened the door to come inside. However, my arrival had forced them into quiet whispers and giggles. What is it with girls and stuff like this? Guys don't snicker at each other like children. At least I didn't think they did.
I managed to make it back to the living room, plopping down on the comfy sofa. Mary Margaret handed me a very full goblet of wine.
"So, Ruby," I said, trying desperately to remove the knowing glances from their faces. "What happened with Graham?"
"Well, I was just telling Mary Margaret that he is quite handsome. I had hoped to snag Killian, since he and Milah've split up," she took a drink of her wine, staring at me over the rim of her glass. Her eyes twinkled with pure, unadulterated mischief. She and Mary Margaret had been talking. God, I hated gossip!
"Alright, you two. That is enough of your cattiness. I refuse to fall for your silly game, because this is our last night. We need something better to talk about than…"
"Than what?" Ruby broke in. "What could be better than tales of you getting yourself fucked silly by our delicious best man?"
"Fucked silly? Really?" I tried to sound indignant. The flush creeping up my face, I'm quite certain, did not help my cause.
Mary Margaret snorted into her wine glass. "Emma, you did look quite disheveled when you walked in the door. Unless you and Killian were out in a hurricane…" Her slurred voice trailed off as Ruby burst into fits of giggles.
"You two skanks are drunk, aren't you?"
"Well," Ruby said in between giggles. "We had to do something to occupy ourselves while you were getting your groove on."
I downed my wine and grabbed the bottle off the coffee table. "I'm going to need to get drunk for this."
They both burst out laughing.
David knocked on my door around 9:00 A.M. He cracked the door open just enough to see through, obviously checking to see if I was alone.
"She's gone, mate. Back to the hen house," I said. I was bone tired. I hadn't slept a wink after she'd snuck out hours ago.
He opened the door fully at my response. "I know you're going to say you're fine, but if you need to talk…" he let his statement trail off. "You still up for golf this morning?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just need a shower and some coffee," I told him, rolling out of bed.
He nodded at me. "Coffee's perking in the kitchen. Should be done by the time you're out of the shower." He closed the door behind him.
I grabbed my toiletry bag and some clean clothes then headed down the hall to the bathroom, praying a hot shower would wash away the melancholy that had seeped into me when Emma left. Hands spread against the front wall of the shower, I let the hard spray wash over me, easing my tense muscles. Our tee time was at 10:00, so I didn't linger long. I finally turned the water off, dried myself, and got dressed for a morning on the links.
It was finally "wedding day," and I woke in the plush luxury of our little cottage. Mary Margaret and David would be staying in it for their wedding night, the rest of us would have the other cottage. Sleeping arrangements, I'm sure, would be interesting, as Ruby and Graham had apparently hit it off the night before. Ruby was still in bed, but Mary Margaret was in the kitchen making coffee. Breakfast had been delivered, pastries and such, hours before. Mary Margaret was humming some tune or another under her breath as she sipped a mug of hot chocolate and read a book.
"Good morning," I said, as I wandered in and grabbed a croissant. "Is there more hot chocolate?"
"Yep, it's in the cabinet over the microwave. I put hot water on a little bit ago, but it probably needs heating again."
I turned the burner back on under the teapot before grabbing a mug and digging in the cabinet for the cocoa. "Cinnamon?" I asked, turning around to find her holding it out to me with a big grin on her face.
"Whipped cream is still in the fridge. I didn't want it to get warm," she said, tears glistening in her eyes.
I took the cinnamon from her and sat it down on the counter by the stove. She grabbed me around the waist in a bone-crushing-Mary-Margaret hug. "I'm gonna miss you, Emma, so much," she said. "You had better stay in touch."
I hugged her back with as much force as she directed at me. She was more like a sister than a friend, and I was going to miss her, too. "I will. I promise. Now stop this before we both end up sobbing uncontrollably and look like crap at your wedding," I said, trying to make my voice sound grouchy and stern.
She giggled at me and pulled away, wiping at her eyes. "That's what Preparation-H is for," she said, pushing me towards the whistling kettle on the stove. "We'd better get Sleeping Beauty out of bed. Our appointment at the spa is in half an hour."