I got out of the car and headed up to the door. The door opened automatically, and I found two women standing at the door to welcome me in. I nodded. “Hello!”
They said their greeting, then ushered me to hostess podium.
When I got up there, the woman gave me a curious look, as if to point out that there was no way in hell I belonged there. She was right. There wasn’t, but I had to assure her that I was in the right place.
“I’m here for the Maxwell and…” My voice fell off, I couldn’t recall Michael’s last name. I thought about it, then it slowly dawned on me. “Oh yeah! I’m here for the Maxwell and Vandingham’s engagement party.”
“Oh yes…of course,” the woman said. She smiled halfheartedly and then directed the way for me to follow her. We wrapped around several corners, until she led me into a room.
The room was set up to be inviting and looked very much open to being a lively party. There was a pool table off to the side, along with its only personal bar and bartender. Plus, there were also slot machines in the corner that provided the perfect atmosphere they wanted to convey.
I looked at Sydney and she squealed and ran over to greet me. I wondered if that was how this stuffy club wanted their members to act. I put on a smile and hugged her. We hadn’t seen each other for a week, as she had gone to New York to be with Michael and his family, before both Michael and Sydney headed back to Maine.
“Good to see you!” I said, pulling her to me.
“I’m so glad you could make it!” She pulled back and she had a huge smile on her face.
I laughed. “I wouldn’t be anywhere else in the world.”
She smiled and turned to the man that was gawking at us and looking a little awkward. He definitely looked like the lawyer type. A little nerdy, but very distinguished. He walked up to us. “Jasmine, this is my fiancé Michael. Michael, this is my bestie, Jasmine.”
He smiled and I put out my hand, expecting a handshake. Instead, he surprised me by hugging me.
“I have heard so much about you, Jasmine,” he said.
“I have heard a lot about you, too,” I said. I lied, because I figured it was the only thing to do in that moment. When we parted, I smiled. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”
He looked over at Sydney and she was beaming at him. “Likewise,” he said.
I then looked past them and saw a few people had arrived. I dismissed myself from the future bride and groom and went off to talk to some more of my friends. We chatted for about ten minutes, before we noticed staff coming in and asking to take our drink orders, then we all took a seat around the elongated table.
Michael and Sydney stood at the end of the table and Sydney tapped the glass of water in front of them. “We want to thank each of you for coming out and spending the night with us in celebration of our upcoming wedding.”
I looked around the table and all eyes were on Sydney. She did seem overly excited as she talked about their plans on getting married. A date hadn’t been set, but she said we should all look for that to be announced within the coming weeks.
The whole time, Sydney did all the talking and when she was finished and we were seated, I surveyed the happy couple a few times to find that he seemed quieter and more reserved than she was. I didn’t know if he was standoffish, or just quiet, maybe a little bit of both, but he definitely seemed different from the friend I had grown up with.
The drinks were delivered and then they took our orders on how we wanted our steaks prepared. When the staff was all gone, we were able to talk more freely. “Are you thinking of a summer wedding?” One of the women asked.
Sydney looked at Michael and he seemed almost unfazed. She then looked back at the table. “I don’t know. We honestly haven’t really gone over it, but I think a June wedding just seems appropriate.”
I wanted to ask if she was referring to June of this year, because that would mean that in three months my friend would be walking down the aisle, but I refrained.
“June is definitely a beautiful time of year,” Mary said.
Sydney smiled, but Michael looked almost white and barely made an attempt to smile. A few more questions were fired out there and I kept wondering if Michael was really into this wedding. It just seemed like he had very little emotion about it and that concerned me. I would never say something to get in the way of Sydney’s happiness, unless it was the marriage that would eventually get in the way.
The meal was delicious. Even better than I anticipated it would be. After we ate, the wait staff came in and started clearing our dishes, as if we were the only customers they had to wait on. It was clear that this was a high society place. When the dishes were all cleared from the table and they made sure everyone still had a drink, we all went about talking, eagerly learning more about the man we had all just met.
During the course of the evening, he had opened up a little, perhaps because of the drinks he consumed, or the fact that he was getting more comfortable with everyone.
Some of the friends were reaching out to ask him questions. “What kind of law do you practice?” Brian, Mary’s boyfriend called out.
“Criminal,” Michael simply replied.
Everyone talked eagerly about how exciting that would be and he continued to mention more about his job. We were engrossed in listening to what he had to say that I barely noticed when someone else joined the room. He cleared his throat, which brought us all out of our conversation.
I looked up and at first glance, I frowned. He looked vaguely familiar, but in the moment I couldn’t place him.