Girls in White Dresses - JENNIFER CLOSE [59]
When Lauren hired a woman to come to the party and sell sex toys, Kristi turned to her and said, “This seems like something you would want more than I would. I mean, I have Todd now and we’re getting married, so I don’t really need a vibrator. But it’s fun for the single girls, I guess.”
“Last night I added up all the money I spent on weddings this year,” Lauren said in a dreamy voice. “It was over five thousand dollars. I could have gone on a trip to Belize and then bought a new wardrobe.”
“I realized yesterday that my credit card bill is never going to be paid in full. Never,” Isabella said.
They weren’t really talking to each other. It was the same conversation they’d been having since the weddings started. They finished their cigarettes in silence.
“We should go back in there before Mary never forgives us,” Isabella said.
“Fine,” Lauren said, and drank the rest of her mimosa in one gulp.
The food at the showers was always the same: ladylike salads, teeny sandwiches, cut-up fruit, white wine and mimosas, mini cakes for dessert. Lauren piled an alarming amount of mini sandwiches on her plate. “I would kill you for a cheeseburger,” she whispered to Mary.
“I might just kill you for fun,” Mary said. “How could you leave me in there alone? I had to write down all the presents by myself. And they kept asking me if I was dating anyone. Then, one woman who was hard of hearing said, ‘What? Who are you dating?’ And I had to yell loudly across the room, ‘I’m not dating anyone!’ ”
“Shut up.”
“Swear to God, it happened.”
One of the bridge friends clinked her glass with a spoon until the room quieted down. “Welcome, everyone! I just wanted to say a few words about our lovely bride-to-be, Kristi!” Everyone in the room clapped.
“Why are they clapping for her?” Lauren asked. “She didn’t do anything.” Mary and Isabella both shushed her and she just rolled her eyes. The woman talked about Kristi and how she had watched her grow up. Lauren shoved a whole sandwich in her mouth and chewed while the bridge lady spoke. When Mary gave her a look, she swallowed and said, “What? I’m hungry.”
“Our theme for today is ‘My Favorite Things,’ ” the woman continued. “I hope that everyone is ready to explain the special meaning behind her gift for Kristi!” Then the woman started singing, “Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes,” and she raised her arms for everyone to join. All of the women in the room chimed in, “Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes!” They kept singing and started swaying back and forth. Abby was standing unfortunately close to the woman who’d started the singing, and the woman wrapped her arm around Abby’s shoulders, forced her to move in time with the music, and looked at her with an encouraging smile until Abby started to sing along with her. A few of the women were snapping their fingers. Lauren looked at Isabella and Mary and said, “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me, right?”
They struggled through the lunch and chatted with all of the women. They cleaned up balls of wrapping paper and stray ribbons, helped clear the plates and glasses, and then carried all of the presents to the car while Kristi thanked her guests. Abby told them that she had an appointment in the city that she had to get back for. “Go,” they all told her. They almost pushed her out the door. “Get out while you can.”
Mary arranged the presents in the back of the car. “It’s almost over, right?” she muttered to herself. “Please tell me this is almost over.”
Kristi asked them to help drive the presents back to her parents’ house, so that they could unload. Then she insisted that they all come inside so that she could show them pictures of what the centerpieces were going to look like. They sat on the couch and tried to admire the pictures. Lauren leaned her head back and closed her eyes. Isabella was sure she was sleeping.
“So, we should probably try to get the next train,” Mary said, as though it had just occurred to her.
“You guys aren