11 - Austin

11

Austin

I loved weddings. How could you not? Weddings were the happiest moment in folks' lives, the culmination of years of dates, courtship, and kisses. I'd played my guitar at hundreds of weddings, and every single one had felt special.

I felt the opposite about this one.

I swirled the ice around in my drink while nodding along to whatever Uncle Robert was saying. I was actually looking over his left shoulder, watching Marisa and Bradyn talk to another guest. What did she see in that guy? He was pudgy, and balding. His family had a lot of money, I guess. If that counted for anything.

"Absolutely," I replied to whatever Uncle Robert had said. I raised my glass to my lips, but the ice was all stuck together, and when it finally became un-stuck a stream of vodka poured down my chin.

"That's going to leave a mark!" Uncle Robert said with a chuckle.

I grabbed a nearby napkin and dabbed my shirt. "No stain. It was only vodka and ice."

"It's just a figure of speech, buddy." Uncle Robert clapped me on the arm and walked away laughing.

Weird guy.

"You doing all right?" Marisa's sister Carol asked me.

"Apparently I'm a cheap date. Half a drink and I'm already spilling it all over me."

She smiled, but it was forced. "I was asking about the wedding. You okay with all of this?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

Carol looked at me.

"Stop it," I said.

"Stop what?"

"Stop looking at me like I'm a sad puppy dog. Marisa and I dated a long time ago. We've been best friends for a decade."

"I couldn't do it," she said. "Being here, and playing the guitar during the ceremony? You're a good guy."

I was not a good guy.

I'd been by Marisa's side for years. I was the friend she confided in. The shoulder she cried on as boyfriend after boyfriend broke her heart, each one worse than the last. Throughout it all I'd been biding my time, waiting for her to figure out that I was the one for her. Even now that we were older, and she lived across the country in Oregon, I was still waiting for her to realize that true love was right in front of her all along.

When she invited me to the wedding, of course I said yes. When she asked if I would play the guitar during the ceremony, I told her nothing would make me happier.

But I had other plans.

Marisa and I might have gone our separate ways in life. I had pretty much given up on ever winning her heart.

But I could still stop her from marrying that sorry son of a bitch Bradyn.

I swirled the ice around in my glass, avoiding taking another embarrassing sip while I watched the room. I was good at staying quiet and watching from a distance. You learned more about people that way. Saw things everyone else missed.

Landon was like the more attractive version of Bradyn. His girlfriend Joanna was also a hot little thing, and she knew how to wear a pencil skirt. I had never met either of them before tonight, but I was pretty sure there was something off about the way they were interacting. They'd probably had a fight before coming here. That's why she was late.

I was seated at the "leftovers" table: guests who weren't part of the wedding party or close family. That was fine; it allowed me to watch the wedding party from afar without anyone noticing.

Marisa looked nervous. Bradyn kept trying to comfort her, but she wasn't receptive to it. I smiled to myself.

"And there's the Best Man!" Danicka said at the end of her speech. "Better late than never. Everyone welcome Teddy Manafort!"

Theo—who some of the guests called Teddy—was well-loved by everyone I had talked to. He was a goofball that Bradyn knew from college, a party animal who coasted by with C-grades. Big and dumb, but the kind of guy who would give you the shirt off his own back if you needed it. Nobody knew what he did for a living; someone said that he took odd jobs here and there, bartending or doing repair work. Since he was friends with Bradyn, I immediately decided that I hated him.

Then something interesting happened. When Joanna saw Teddy, she immediately jumped out of her seat like a critter had crawled across her foot. Everyone else was still sitting while she stood there, staring at Theo with big eyes. Eyes full of fear .

Theo stumbled when he saw her, but quickly recovered and hugged the groom's mother.

Landon gently pulled Joanna back down and whispered something. She waved off his question, then suddenly became very interested in her salad. Everyone else at their table was greeting Theo, but she was hunched over her salad. Theo sat down and stared at her. He looked like he'd seen a ghost.

Something happened between the two of them. And it wasn't hard to figure out what.

I smiled and dug into my salad. The Best Man sleeping with the groom's brother's girlfriend? Maybe there was a way to ruin this wedding after all.