Wedding Day

The reception was in full swing. Everyone was dancing and laughing and generally having a good time. But not Carter. He sat at the back of the room at his empty table working his way through the bottle of champagne at the centre of the table. Although there was an open bar, he didn't feel up to weaving through the crowd and making pleasantries, so he sat downing the fizzy junk. He hated the stuff but he wanted to get drunk and quickly, so he soldiered on.

Carter was just glad the whole thing was over. He didn't know how he had made it through the ceremony but he planned to use the champagne to kill the memory. Why had he come? He knew it would rip at his heart to see Claire resplendent in wedding gown walking down the aisle. Was he that much of a masochist? Secretly he knew why. He was a coward. He never had the courage to tell Claire how he felt and so he watched the possibility of them together grow smaller and smaller until it vanished. Similarly, he knew he could never disappoint her and not come to the wedding however he secretly felt.

So here he was in the reception, alone and on his fifth glass of champagne. The combination of alcohol and sugar had hastened the process and he was drunk and surly. He glanced up at the head table. It was raised slightly so he could just make it out from the back. he caught a glimpse of Claire and his heart skipped a beat and tightened painfully. She leaned out of view and was replaced by Clark, her new husband. Tall and good looking, he was the rakish manly type. Carter hated him. He was the sporty type and loved outdoor activity. Carter, more of the bookish intellectual, had nothing in common with the man. Except they loved the same woman. And he had stolen her from him.

The rational art of his brain knew this wasn't true since they had never actually been together. But the alcohol subdued logic at this point. He built an image in his brain of Clark, air headed, vacuous and philandering. He simmered and had another glass of champagne.

Finally he was set to boil and decided to tell the prick off. He pushed back his chair and stood up, more than little wobbly. He started threading his way through the crowd towards the head table, swaying as he went. He got about two tables forward when he caught the edge of a table cloth and tripped. He almost fell over but someone caught him and sat him down roughly.

His savior was a young woman, about his age. She wore green cat's eye glasses and had delicate features. Her hair was in a bun and was auburn brown. Her gray eyes sparkled behind the lenses.

"You ok?' she said, a little too loudly. Clearly she'd had a few.

"Just fine..I'm going to give the groom a piece of mind!"

"Yeah? Cheers to that!"

She took the champagne bottle and filled the flute in front of him. She refilled her own and raised it in a toast.

"To speaking your mind! And mine, as a matter of fact."

Befuddled, Carter raised his glass and clinked it with hers.

"But- what do you have against Clark?"

"Well, he broke my heart. And what's worse, he never even knew he did it!"

He was silent for a moment then asked "And with whom am I toasting the groom's demise?"

"How silly of me...Sue. Sue Sim."

"Susan?"

"Noooo....Sue. Sim" she enunciated the words carefully.

"Ah. Sorry. You must get that a lot."

"Would you believe you're the first?"

"Not for a second. My name is Carter, by the way."

"Well Carter By-The-Way, it's a pleasure. But tell me, what do you have against Mr. Clark Richardson?"

"Well-"

"Wait. Don't tell me. I'm gonna tell you mine then you tell yours, ok?"

"Uh...I guess so.."

"Great! Clark and I are old friends. We went to the same kindergarten for god's sake. And even then I had a crush on him. I just never got over it. When I was small and I said I loved him, he just laughed it off like it was absurd. But I was completely serious. I would have married him at 7 if t was possible.

Time passed. We were in the same grade and through some cruel quirk of fate we were in the same class all the way through grade school. When my hormones finally kicked in I added lust to my love and wanted him even more. But any time I tried to tell him about it he just laughed it off or flat out didn't understand what i was trying to tell him. I got so desperate I tried to liquor him up and get a pity fuck. He passed out cold and nothing happened.

That was the last straw. I had planned to dog through college too, but that last incident convinced me I needed to get away.  I applied to college out of state and moved to the east coast. I lived a life for myself instead of someone else. I was happy. Until about a year ago.

Walking the streets one sunny afternoon and who do I bump into? Clark! He says he's just moved here and why don't we have dinner and catch up and it's so go to see me and blah blah blah. So like an idiot I'm all aflutter and agree to go to dinner, thinking at last my time has come.

No dice. We sit and eat diner food at a crummy place up the block and all he can talk about is this girl Claire he's just met. How smart she is, how pretty, etc, etc.

Now, I'm dying a little inside. he's too wrapped up in what he's saying to notice I'm almost in tears. Somehow I get through the dinner and excuse myself saying I feel a little sick. I head home and cry myself to sleep. I don't see or talk to him after that. He tries a couple of times but I'm not having any of it.

Then I get a wedding invitation in the mail. I think, no way, and go to toss it. It hovers over the garbage can but I don't drop it. it goes on the fridge instead, stuck under a puffy frog magnet that looks ominous to me now.

As though I can't stop myself, I watch as I RSVP. I see myself picking out a dress and trying it on. Buying a wedding gift. Before I know it, the day is here and gone so fast I can hardly catch up. It suddenly hit me in between speeches by Aunt So-and-So and Uncle What's-His-Face: I can't deal with this. So I've been downing glass after glass of this soapy champagne trying to blot out my mind. And then you came over!"

She smiled wanly for a moment before looking horrified.

"I can't believe I just told you all that. Now you probably think I'm crazy. But I just couldn't stop once I started, you know? It was like it was out of my control."

Carter felt a chill run right through him and into his heart as she spoke. It was just like what happened to him. Ridiculously close, anyhow.

"No," he said finally. "I don't think you're crazy."

"Well I've shown you mine, now you show me yours," she said with a hint of playfulness.

"I will. A promise is a promise. But first, why don't we get a drink? A real drink, not this fizzy bullshit."

"God yes...I never thought a can of beer would sound so good."

He offered his arm and she took it. They started to weave through the crowd but were holding each other up and so neither one swayed or fell. As they reached the bar Carter thought 'Maybe this is enough' and smiled to himself.