Page 25 of Best Woman
Fuck, is the jig up that quickly? “I don’t know what you mean.”
She raises an eyebrow. “Come on, Julia, I know you’re very smart, and despite what you might think, I am too.” She is still peeing. Loudly.
She’s not wrong. Rachel is an attorney and by all accounts a very competent one. She might be a bit silly, a bit dramatic, and she has a distinct lack of tact that only comes from a lifeof extreme privilege, but she’s sharp. Those big Bambi eyes see everything, and right now they’re seeing far more of me than I’d like. And she’sstillpeeing. “She’s the maid of honor, I’m the best woman. We’re just…getting to know each other.”
“So you weren’t making bedroom eyes at Ben Otsuka across the bar ten minutes ago?”
Well, that’s not where I was expecting this to go. “First of all, who uses the termbedroom eyes? Did we time travel to the eighties without my realizing it? Is thisMannequin,starring erstwhileSex and the Cityactress Kim Cattrall?” I heave in a breath and count to ten. She’s still peeing. “No, Rachel, I was not giving him eyes associated with any kind of room. Those are just…my eyes.”
“You guys have had a thing on and off for a while, even though we all like to pretend you don’t. I know for a fact that when he stopped by last Thanksgiving to return Aiden’s electric carver, the turkey wasn’t the only thing getting stuffed.”
“Oh my god.”
“Kim is mybest friend,and she might come off all tough and independent, but she’s a highly sensitive person and she’s been through some shit. I don’t think it’s appropriate for you to be wooing the maid of honorandhooking up with a groomsman.”
She’s. Still. Peeing.
Turning away from her, because it’s very hard not to stare directly at her vagina, I grip the sink for support that has nothing to do with my cleavage. “Rachel, this might be hard for you to conceptualize, since you and Aiden have been together for years and are literally gettingmarriedthis week, but Kim and Ben and I are all adults.Queeradults at that, and it’s prettypresumptuous of you to assume that we have the same ideas about monogamy as you.”
“I’m not some basic straight girl you need to educate about queer relationship dynamics. My best friend is a lesbian. I know all about polygamy.”
“Might you mean polyamory?”
“Whatever!”
“I’m also not some chaotic bisexual stereotype who just wants to fuck anything that moves, Rachel. Just because Ihavehooked up with Ben doesn’t mean I’m going to again.” Even though I did so not twenty-four hours ago and, depending on how things go with Kim, I likely will again at some point this week. And even if Iwasin a relationship with Kim—the thought of which causes my heart to beat a little faster—I don’t know that I even believe in monogamy.
“Just don’t fuck with my maid of honor, especially during the most important week of my life. If you’re gonna hook up with Ben, be honest with her about it. There’s nothing Kim hates more than a liar.”
“I wouldn’t lie to her.” Again. Hopefully.
I hear her finally stop peeing and tear off some toilet paper. “By the way, you’re coming to my bachelorette party on Thursday.”
I whirl around, shocked. “I am?”
“Of course. You’re about to be my sister-in-law.” She stands, dress still scrunched up around her torso, panties around her ankles. “A little help, please?”
I help her back into her dress and zip it up for her. “You don’t have to worry about me and Kim. We’re two consenting adults.”One of whom has lied to the other in a bid for sexy sympathy. “Sure, I had a major crush on her in high school, but that was over a decade ago.” And yet every time she looks at me, I feel sixteen again, sweaty palms and all.
Speaking of palms, Rachel grasps my hands, despite having not washed hers yet. Gross. “OK. I trust you.” That should be reassuring, but my heart sinks. She shouldn’t. “Julia, I think part of the reason why Kim and I got so close in college—”
“—is that you were secretly in love with her and now you’re going to leave Aiden for her?” I can’t help but tease, trying to break the tension.
“—is that I’ve always wanted a sister. And after this weekend, I’m finally going to have one.” She smiles at me, moves to wash her hands, and fixes her makeup. I’m gobsmacked and shocked to find my eyes stinging with tears. She catches my eye in the mirror and wiggles her eyebrows. “Should we do a little coke? It usually gives me the shits, but I can’t eat until Saturday if I want to fit into my wedding gown.”
Sisters, amirite?
Somehow I makeit through the rest of the evening without another incident quite as dramatic as my bathroom tête-à-tête with Rachel.
Kim and I mingle, chatting with people she knew from college and people I knew from high school. All night I catch interested glances from across the room, people who knew who I was and everything that entailed. It’s such a different experience from what I’m used to in New York, where I regularly run into people I haven’t seen in a few years and have to update them on my presentation and pronouns. Maybe it’s because I’m so insulated, or perhaps New Yorkers are just that much more cosmopolitan and unflappable. It’s not like Boca Raton is some backwater hick town—the entirety of Palm Beach County is rather progressive—but context is everything, and Florida is such an unbelievably weird and shitty state.
But tonight feels more than anything like wading in, a preview of what the next few days will be like. Because Aiden’sfriends who half remember an old version of me from ten years ago might not approach me with inappropriate and uncomfortable questions, but my extended family would certainly have no problem doing exactly that. I’m already exhausted and on edge in anticipation, which is how Kim and I have ended up here.
…
Hereis the Publix bakery.
Founded in 1930 by George Jenkins, Publix is a chain of grocery stores covering the south: Florida, Georgia, both Carolinas, Virginia, Alabama, Kentucky, and Tennessee. You might think your local grocery store chain is the best in the game, but you’d be wrong. Publix has an unmatched deli—their chicken tender subs are divine. The air of Southern charm extends to the friendly staff, who will walk you to your car and load your groceries into the trunk without expecting or accepting gratuity. But best of all is their cake.
