Page 27 of On The Rocks

A lump formed in my throat at the feelings of gratitude washing through me.

All week, I’d been terrified of leaving New York, my friends, and especially Paddy, but knowing I’d have Aislynn made an unfamiliar feeling of comfort hit my insides.

The prospect of having a simple conversation where every word I said wasn’t pulled apart and criticized instilled a sense of warmth I’d never experienced before.

It was a profound emotion because I hadn’t felt it since the day I moved into Patrick’s house. Paddy loved me and had no problem showing me, but it wasn’t the same love I got from my parents.

Then Orla took a dislike to me, and I’d battled to not break apart ever since. I couldn’t wait to breathe easy again. It would be sad to lose Paddy, but I’d gain Maureen, Callum, Donny, and T. I’d also have Ash, and it was clear already that she’d be more of a sister than Shannon and Erin ever were.

But first, I had to wash off this ridiculous circus makeup.

Then, I had to get to the church on time if I wanted to marry Callum and leave Orla and my stepsisters behind.

Placing my cell on the shelf, I turned on the faucets, waiting for the water to turn lukewarm before grabbing a cloth and covering it with facewash. I scrubbed my face clean and immediately felt more like myself.

Aislynn instructed me how to scrape my hair back into a bun at my nape and smooth down the flyaway hairs until it looked neat. I showed her the results through FaceTime, and she gave me an approving nod. “That looks great. Good job. Now for the dress.”

The air thickened around me as a realization dawned. “Orla saw to it.”

The line fell deathly silent before Ash muttered, “Sweet Jesus, Maeve, I’m not sure I even want to see.”

I stared through the camera, biting my lip nervously. “She wouldn’t. Would she?”

Aislynn smiled encouragingly. “Just go rip the Band-Aid off. We don’t have a choice.”

“Why did I trust her?” I cried. “The last time she bought me a dress, she put me in a shit-colored meringue.”

Ash burst out laughing. “I don’t think you can get meringue in the color shit.”

“Aunt Orla managed to,” I muttered before letting out a resounding sigh. “Why did I trust her? I’m so stupid.”

“No,” Aislynn argued. “They’re to blame, not you.”

“I just wanted it so bad,” I murmured.

She furrowed her eyebrows questioningly.

“The dream,” I explained. “I just wanted a normal wedding day with my mother and sisters helping me get ready. All my life, I’ve dreamed of having a day like in the movies, with gorgeous white flowers and matching sashes swathed across the back of the chairs. I’ve yearned for music, dancing, feeding each other wedding cake, and a car with cans tied to the back bumper declaring my husband and I were ‘just married.’ For once, I wanted the dream.”

Tears sprung to Ash’s eyes. “You’ve got some of that, Maeve. You’ve got me and Mam, and you’ve got Callum.”

Aislynn’s statement was partly true. Even though Callum didn’t love me, he was kind. There was no doubt in my mind that Aislynn and Maureen would be special to me because they’d already proven they were more than I’d had before.

“Maeve,” Ash prompted. “The dress.”

My stomach clenched as I remembered, and I breathed, “Oh Jesus. The dress.”

“It’ll be okay,” she assured me. “Whatever happens, we’ll make it work.”

Chewing my lip, I muttered, “I’m scared to look.”

“We’ll make it right,” Aislynn promised. “This is the last day you’ll ever have to deal with them. Just do it.”

I swept toward the closet with my phone still in hand. “It was my mom’s dress. She looked so beautiful in her wedding pictures.” I laughed self-depreciatingly and began to babble nervously. “I’ve got her hair, well, at least the color. Hers wasn’t frizzy like mine. As you can tell, I’m not very beauty-minded. My hair is all I have left of her, and her wedding dress is the one thing she kept for me. If Orla did something to it...” My voice trailed off, the catch in my throat stopping me from saying the words, from even thinking them.

I reached up, took the zipper in my fingers, and slowly dragged it down the white plastic cover, all the while holding my breath.

What if they’d ruined it?

---