Blink, black. Blink, black. “These are glued on, right? It looks like they might be falling off and interfering with my vision.” Jane and Candace circled me, ensuring that the eyelashes looked great.
“I . . . I can’t do this, sorry. I’m blinking way too much because I’m not used to having things hanging from my eyelids, and the more I blink, the more I notice the skinny black bars and it looks like I’m in jail.”
Silently judging me, the makeup person unglued the lashes without protesting. I just prayed she wouldn’t punish me by giving me tight poodle curls and neon-blue eye shadow.
The next time she handed me the mirror I looked much better. Pretty, in fact. Borderline glamorous. I hadn’t had a makeover like this since high school prom, and the person staring back at me in the mirror looked like a froofy Melody impostor. This fanciful look was nice for a day, but it didn’t feel like me. I couldn’t wait to wash it all off after the wedding and go back to my normal, lip-gloss-and-a-few-pats-of-powder life.
Candace whistled. “Wow, she really enhanced all your features. You look stunning.”
“Thank you,” I said, beaming now.
With great care, we slid into our bridesmaid gowns and helped Jane into her wedding gown. She walked up to the full-length mirror by the bathroom door and slowly turned. A dazzling, picture-perfect bride.
She grinned at Candace and me. “Wow,” she said, admiring her dress detailing on her back. “I look amazing.”
Candace and I looked at each other and burst into a fit of giggles. Jane was something else.
My phone buzzed. Asher. It’s showtime. Groom and groomsmen are ready and in position. Philharmonic is playing! BTW I have a flask in my jacket if you need it.
“Time to head down!” I yelped, and we gathered our bouquets in the hallway. Nolan peeked out of the bridesmaid suite next door. His ruffled hair had multiple cowlicks and he had pillow marks on his right cheek. “You look beautiful, Melody. All of you do! Good luck!”
“Thank you,” I said, blushing as we walked down the hall.
Candace’s eyes bulged at the sight of him and she elbowed me in the ribs. She whispered, “Wil and Nolan hang out all the time now. He talks about you so much.”
I shushed her. “If he liked me that way, he would have asked me out already.”
She responded with a shrug but no words.
A door slammed and someone yelled, “Hold the elevator! I need to ask the front desk for towels. For some reason you don’t have any.” Nolan barreled toward us and made it just in time.
On the ride down, I repositioned a loose curl that had fallen out of Jane’s tiara. When I looked up, Nolan shifted his glance away from me, smiling to himself, like he had a secret he wasn’t disclosing just yet.
When we reached the ground floor, Jane and Candace exited the elevator first. Nolan said, “Um, Melody? Can you wait a second?” Up ahead, neither Jane nor Candace noticed that I broke formation while Nolan pushed the door open button.
The doors started to beep. In a panicky whine, I said, “Oh god, you know I don’t do well in elevators.”
“Oh shit, I’m so sorry!” He gestured with his hand for me to walk out first. He reached out and gently gripped my arm, not letting me join the bridal party yet. “So . . . I’m not an intern anymore.”
My cheeks flushed at his touch. Instant blush, no makeup artist needed. “Yes, that’s right! I should have congratulated you before. Should we go get ice cream?” My heart raced and I couldn’t think straight, so all I could do was kid around. “You know, I should go now. It’s time for the ceremony.” The bridal party had turned around and was heading back toward us.
How was it possible to feel so warm when he simultaneously sent chills down my fingers and toes? Those were some powerful pheromones he had.
He let go of my arm and rubbed his chin. “Uh, not ice cream. I was hoping for something else.”
I blinked rapidly, my mind unable to process his words.
Jane walked in between us and pointed her bouquet in Nolan’s face. “This is neither the time nor the place for . . . whatever this is.” Lowering her flowers, she glowered at him. “I don’t even know who the hell you are.”
He nodded reverently. “Sorry, Jane. I’m Nolan MacKenzie.” He held out his hand and they shook awkwardly.
Her face softened. “Ah, I know you. You’re the intern.”
“Former intern,” he clarified.
She whispered to me, “I like your intern, he’s perfect for you.” She hooked one arm with mine and the other with Candace’s, taking great care to not smush the bridal bouquet. “Let’s go, ladies.” She motioned for Candace and me to start walking. “It’s my big day, bishes! I’m getting hitched!”
THANKFULLY, THE CEREMONY was short and sweet, and there was so much going on I could forget about my strange encounter with Nolan outside the elevator. The bride and groom said their lines without stumbling, and no one tripped down the aisle. They exchanged a few lines of noncustomized vows and went straight into the final kiss. Sean did one of those movie kisses where he tilted Jane back, and she lifted her foot as they smooched. Cute stuff. The crowd loved it. So did the photographer.
The start of the reception was pretty typical, too, except for when the bride’s dad gave a speech that sounded more like a rundown of Jane’s résumé: he rattled off all her academic and work-related accomplishments. I wasn’t sure what her perfect math SAT score had to do with her meeting her soul mate, or what her acceptance into Wharton Business School had to do with love.
Luckily Jane had the foresight to ask Asher and me to forgo our maid of honor and best man speech duties because she knew her dad would ramble on for the total allotted speaking time. It wasn’t a huge deal to me either way whether I did or not. Whatever made Jane happy that night was fine with me. Bored to tears, my thoughts drifted to Nolan, replaying the day’s events. Maybe after the wedding, he and I could sit down and talk about where things stood between us.
I had just ordered a lychee martini at the open bar when the DJ squawked on the microphone, “Laaaaaaadies and gentlemen! It’s time for the best man and the maid of honor to help get this party started!” With Miley Cyrus’s “Party in the USA” playing in the background, he whooped, “Melody Joo! Asher Jennings! Come onnnnn down!”
I searched the crowd for Asher but couldn’t find him. The DJ continued yammering into the microphone. “It’s a wedding tradition! Melody and Asher, it’s tiiiiiime for you to dance! Don’t be shy!” Everyone turned around in their seats, looking for me. A handful of people pointed to the bar. “Oh, we found her! Everyone please give Melody a warm round of applause for being an amazing maid of honor today, and to encourage her to come up here and dance, dance, dance!” He clapped along to those last three words.
“Dance, dance, dance,” the crowd chanted.
With a plastered smile hiding my distress beneath the surface, I waved to the crowd and made my way to the front. The wedding-goers blocking my way to the dance floor moved their legs so a clear path opened up magically, like Moses parting the Red Sea.
Wearing my dreadful toga dress, I looked at the hundreds of wedding guests, who were waiting for me to dance, dance, dance to Miley’s anthem.
Asher still wasn’t there. I stood all by my lonesome in front of two hundred people. Just Miley Cyrus and me.
“Paging Asher Jennings! Report to dance floor, stat,” the DJ joked.
Asher, where the fuck are you?
The DJ, hired to make the night go smoothly, filled the airtime. “While we wait for Asher, everyone, this is Melody Joo, friends with Jane since graduating from college. And, gentlemen, there’s no riiiiing on that left haaaaaand!”
I wanted to flee but my knees locked and froze in place. I could usually muster a quip to say in awkward moments like these, but this time no words came out. God, please, don’t let me cry up here.
I searched the audience for Asher and found Candace, her mouth agape, with a look of pity and horror on her face. She, too, had no words.
My chest tightened and blood rushed to my face. Hotness swept across my body.
I blinked back tears.
I had about ten seconds before the waterworks show would begin. My thoughts muddled and I didn’t know what to do. My choices appeared limited: I could run out the door and ruin Jane’s wedding plans, or stay here and cry in front of everyone.
Jane shot a panicked look at Candace and me. She would have to change plans. And for control-freak Jane, that was just too much to handle on what was supposed to be the best day of her life.
The doors near the DJ booth flung open and Wil charged in, wearing disheveled athletic wear head to toe. He nudged the DJ aside. “Sorry, everyone, a slight change in the itinerary. Asher wasn’t feeling well, but lucky for us, we have a suitable replacement.”
Wil looked at me and grinned. “Nolan MacKenzie, would you please do the honor of joining Melody on the dance floor?”
A spotlight moved to the doorway and a freshly showered Nolan walked in, waving and smiling sheepishly at the wedding guests, like he was in a parade. The crowd erupted in applause as he joined me on the center of the dance floor.