Page 16 of My Stepbrother's Wedding
With our immediate needs met, the helpless sensation of being lost in a foreign land returned in force. There was no sign of Will, so we started toward the hotel, frustrated andsolemn. The red sunset over the water was so pretty that it looked photoshopped. How ironic one could feel downcast in such a beautiful place. Elizabeth sobbed quietly, and Dad groaned that he was going to bed when we made it back. I felt as miserable as they looked but was too wired to sleep. I opted to hang out downstairs for a while. Maybe watching strangers enjoy their holiday would improve my mood.
At first I considered lounging in the hotel’s café, but the herd of strange men sipping coffee gave me second thoughts, not to mention the cloud of cigarette smoke. The only inviting space was a couch in the hotel lobby. I plopped down there, rubbing my temples to relieve a stress headache. Where was Will?
As I sulked, a beautiful Shakira look-alike marched into the lobby, holding hands with her boyfriend. Curly blond hair glistened in the twilight over her olive skin. The men in the adjacent café gawked, like Cupid’s arrows had struck them. It was the same look all the boys gave Lori at the pool right before they asked me to make them nachos. I would’ve felt a hint of jealousy, but I already had enough things making life miserable.
Her boyfriend picked up the lobby phone and dialed. I stared off vacantly out the window, wondering if it was too early to sleep, when I heard a familiar voice.
“Mom! Yes, we’re here in the lobby.”
I did a double take as I registered that the voice was my stepbrother’s. He was holding hands with the stunning young woman. His sun-beaten skin and Euro-style clothes made him look like a local. My mouth fell open, and I rose on wobbly legs. I’d never been so happy to see this loser.
“Will!” I called out.
He turned and smiled. “Wini! We’ve been looking for you everywhere!”
I ran across the room and hugged him, ecstatic to be rescued from the strange paradise.
“This is Irena.” He motioned toward the beautiful girl.
I extended my hand, and she pulled me in for a two-cheek kiss.
“How was trip?” she asked in an accent thicker than half-dried cement.
“Good … I mean terrible … I mean …” I struggled to speak. “It’s so good to meet you!”
Dad and Elizabeth hobbled off the elevator. Elizabeth’s face looked like she’d just won the Powerball. Dad followedbehind her, grinning and straightening his fanny pack. Their exhaustion seemed to be replaced by the joy of being rescued.
“She’s so beautiful,” Elizabeth said, staring at Irena.
Irena blushed and gave her the double-kiss treatment.
“You look good, kid.” Dad shook Will’s hand.
I hated to agree, but he did. His acne had cleared up, and he’d replaced his chub with muscles. He almost matched the gorgeous bride-to-be fawning at his side. It felt surreal that the basement troll had become a charming European man, like something from Dad’s oldTwilight Zonereruns.
“We’ve got a cab waiting to take us to Malegonia,” Will said. “It’s waiting outside with Kyle and Mark.”
Kyle and Mark. Two of Will’s nerdy friends from high school. They’d always hung out on the side of the cafeteria where the freaks and geeks roamed. My most explicit memory of them was their awful high school band called Swamp Butt—a fitting name. Needless to say, I’d avoided them at all costs.
“Wonderful,” Elizabeth said. “How far until we get to our destination?”
“It’s just across the border,” Will said. “We should be there in less than an hour.”
Dad rushed to the counter and explained we were checking out. I didn’t pay much attention to the conversation, but I think he was making an unsuccessful bid for a refund. Will went upstairs to get our luggage with his mother, leaving me in the lobby with Irena. I gave her a long look from head to toe. Her pearly white teeth matched her cream blouse, and her tight jeans revealed a figure clearly out of Will’s league. How could a girl this pretty actually like him? I was suspicious, but she looked at him with moonstruck eyes that screamed puppy love.
“Are you angry?” Irena asked.
I gaped in confusion. “Why would I be angry?”
Irena paused, as if she were deep in thought. “I means, are you hungry? You eat something?”
I realized she had meant to sayhungrythe first time. “Oh, no, we had gyros.”
Irena nodded, and I wondered how much English she understood. “How do you and Will communicate?” I asked.
“Will speak very good Malegonian. He know all the words.”
I startled at the revelation, although it shouldn’t have been a shock my dorky stepbrother had a knack for foreign languages. He’d learned Klingon when he was fifteen. He’d triedto practice it with me, but I’d refused to play along with his nerdcraft.
