I'll Stay by Karen Day

Author:Karen Day [Day, Karen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington
Published: 2017-12-11T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 14

It had been a ripple effect. First Susie said she wasn’t bringing her boyfriend and when I said I wasn’t bringing Ben, the others with boyfriends decided to come alone, too. There were sixteen of us at the hotel, out of the original twenty-two who had pledged together, and so from the beginning, the weekend felt more like a reunion than a wedding.

Only three years out of college, we easily fell back into old patterns, especially after a few drinks. It was nice to see everyone and within minutes, I wasn’t sure why I’d been so ambivalent. The first night we were up until two, closing down the hotel bar and laughing in the suite. Because there were so many of us, and because it was the first time we’d all been together since graduation, there wasn’t much time for in-depth conversations. Everyone seemed to be on hyper mode, screaming when someone new arrived, flitting from topic to topic.

Still, by the next afternoon I’d learned a lot. Ducky was by far the most changed. The weight she’d lost—more than twenty pounds—made her cheekbones stand out and her neck long and lean. She was still the same bubbly girl with the blond eyebrows, but she’d traded in her pearls and pink sweatshirts for expensive pocketbooks and trendy skirts. Everyone had jobs, selling office equipment or working in human resources for big companies. I thought about Lorenzo’s comment that people don’t change, but to me everyone looked more stylish, more successful, and more mature than we’d been in college.

Now it was late afternoon on Saturday and Sarah, Lee, Julie, and I had just returned from a long lunch. A group of us were drinking in our room and when we’d polished off the last beers, Sarah said to me, “Let’s go on a liquor run.”

Outside, the skies were overcast but the rain had held off. I had no idea if people would come out for my mother’s talk no matter the weather. Had Logan, who was supposed to be in town until Tuesday, gone to it? I hoped so. I also hoped he had a horrible hangover although I was beginning to feel something I’d overlooked last night. He wasn’t the only one who would miss Elise.

Mary Poppins. I smiled, thinking about Lee’s nickname for Elise. It was perfect, not only because Elise was English but mostly because, like Mary, she made things better whenever she was around. Logan was nicer. My parents were relaxed. She treated me as if I were a peer, a sister. And I loved her observations about our family because they were so insightful and on target. Logan likes to make money to prove to your mum that he’s successful. Your dad enjoys taking care of your mum. You will be a great mum someday.

How did she know so much?

But now Elise was in love with someone else. Did this mean I’d never see her again? Would it be okay to write to her? Would she want to hear from me?

We started down the street.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.