Up & Out - Ariella Papa [21]
“You can’t call him,” Kathy says.
“Shh!” says Lauryn. We are getting off the subway.
“I know. I couldn’t find my sandals. My bra was all twisted because he didn’t take it off. It’s impossible to get a cab at that time of night on Barrow Street.”
“Barrow Street’s nice,” Kathy says.
“Shh! What did he say?”
“Well, he ran out of the room and I thought maybe he was going to get psycho or something.”
“Did he?” Kathy is horrified.
“No, he came back with the leftover pasta I got from Esca.”
“That’s funny,” Lauryn says.
“And thoughtful,” Kathy adds.
“I know. I felt like a big loser. I kept saying I was going to call him, but I can’t.”
“Sure you can,” Lauryn says.
“No, you can’t,” Kathy counters.
“Do you have any idea where we are going?” Lauryn says to Kathy, who shoots her a look. “I can’t believe you’re still so into Tommy.”
“I know,” Kathy says.
“I’m not. I mean. I didn’t think I was. It’s just I sort of forgot, you know, what it’s like. I mean, I can’t believe I’m going to have to be with a guy you know, like that, again. It seems so weird. You know, all the sounds, the messiness, the general awkwardness.”
“The fucking, the fun,” Kathy says.
“The orgasms,” Lauryn adds.
“The cuddling,” Kathy says cutely. Lauryn and I roll our eyes.
“I miss all that stuff, I do. I want it. But the getting to it is just so strange. What if I can’t?”
“You can,” Lauryn insists.
“You have to,” Kathy adds.
“I wish I could go out and just pull like we used to, you know?” Lauryn nods, Kathy makes that stupid settled-down face again.
We are finally at the bridal shop. No sign of Beth. There are women waiting to assist us, to pin us and maneuver us and stand in the room while we change. There was no more talk of my disastrous date and there was no sign of Beth.
“Where the hell is she?” Kathy says for the third time. She is obsessively looking at her cell phone. “This isn’t like her.”
Finally, Lauryn checks her cell and there is a message from Beth saying she isn’t feeling well and can’t make it. It was calculated. What the hell was her problem?
“I can’t believe she would do this. How could she? Now we have to come back,” Kathy says, on the verge of tears. Lauryn and I exchange looks. We are not doing another bridesmaid day. We have to draw the line.
“Look, Kathy. She can’t help being sick.” What she could help was playing cell phone games. “She said we should just pick whatever dress we like and she’ll go with it.”
“But then, we’ll never know how it looks on her.” Kathy is usually so confident in her style and decisions, but when it comes to the wedding, she is a wreck. I can’t take it anymore. I have tried on every dress in every color. I’ve had more seamstresses see my tits than I choose to remember. I am not leaving this store without a decision. I will boycott the wedding if necessary.
“Listen, Kathy.” I decide to be calm. “We know how all these dresses look on her in various colors and styles. I really don’t think we should wait any longer.”
“Yeah,” Lauryn says. She’s going to work with me. “We don’t want to get to a point where we wait too long and the dresses can’t be ready for the wedding.”
Nice job, Lauryn. She’s playing on Kathy’s constant fears.
“Exactly,” I say. “Let’s just get this one.”
Kathy finally agrees to get the red dress with spaghetti straps and a low-back empire waist. I know Beth was against thin straps, but that is her problem. She likes red the best, so she will have to deal. Besides, Kathy’s sister, Dina, was going to pick out thin jackets or wraps for us to wear in the church.
“Crisis averted,” Lauryn whispers while Kathy harasses the salespeople about when the dresses will be done.
“I just couldn’t, Lauryn,” I say. “I could not.”
“I know. Just think, we’ll only have to come here a minimum of two more times for fittings.”
“Yippee.”
I have no idea how I’m going to get through the rest of this wedding planning, let alone the wedding itself.
Since we are already in Queens, I figure it’s only natural to take advantage of some of the indigenous cuisine.