“But Nat's only half an hour from her start time, and we can't break with tradition or it'll bring bad luck. Duane was worried she'd go hungry, so he went to get her something to eat. He told me to keep an eye on you and make sure you don't get out of the car and cause trouble for Nat.”
Just as he finished, Duane came back, a five-tiered insulated lunch carrier dangling from one hand.
My best friend, still gently blowing on the cut on my forehead, boiled over on the spot.
“Duane, you've got time to stand here keeping your old flame company for half an hour, but no time to carry Lorraine up first?”
“And you won't even let her go eat anything? What is this, house arrest?”
“Before we came, she wanted a piece of bread, and you were the one who said the food was already prepared and rushed her out the door. So this was all just to keep her starving here, so you'd have time to carry that woman up?”
Before Duane could open his mouth, Natalie poked her head out of her own car and said with a smile:
“Lorraine, don't blame Duane. He's just afraid of wasting his strength on you and then dropping me later.”
Beautifully put.
But what I'd wasted on him was far more than just strength.
Duane handed me a plastic bag. Inside were a few buns, long gone cold, obviously left over from the day before.
“The bride can't set foot on the ground herself before the ceremony. Flat ground means poor ground. It'll ruin the family's fortune.”
“Just wait nicely in the car. Have these crab-filled buns first to tide you over.”
I didn't take them.
I only looked at him, almost amused.
“Duane, we've been together five years. You don't know I'm allergic to crab?”
Duane's face shifted, and he gave two uneasy little coughs.
“I've been too busy these past few days. I forgot.”
“I'll check later whether Nat has any leftovers, and bring them to you. Her bridal suite is too far from here, she can't make the trip on an empty stomach. When I get back, I'll take you out for a big meal.”
Natalie called to him from over there in a soft voice: “Duane, are you done talking? I'm so hungry.”
Duane hurried over and lifted out the steaming pastries from the insulated carrier one by one.
Every single one was something Natalie loved.
Afraid of smudging her makeup, he even thoughtfully fed them into her mouth for her.
A laugh nearly rose in my throat at how absurd it was.
There was a time I ran a high fever and couldn't get up, and I'd coaxed him to feed me.
He'd brushed me off, called it childish.
So it turned out it wasn't that he was unwilling. It was just that the person hadn't been me.
Even the so-called food he'd prepared was prepared for Natalie. I was only fit to eat her leftovers.
The spare one had always been me.
My phone buzzed. It was my childhood sweetheart, sharing his live location. He was already on his way.
In less than half an hour, this farce would be over.
Soon the car door was pulled open again by Duane, and the cold wind slapped me full in the face.
“Lorraine, get out.”
I thought he'd had a change of heart and wanted to carry me upstairs.
Before I could ask, Duane spoke again:
“The AC in Nat's wedding car is broken, it can't put out any heat. Swap with her and go wait in that car.”
I lifted my eyes: “Didn't you say the bride can't set foot on the ground herself?”
Duane frowned:
“Special circumstances, special handling. As long as you don't go into the bridal suite, it's fine.”
My best friend wasn't having it.
“Do you even hear yourself? It's December. It's more than twenty below outside.”
“We're not the ones who broke that woman's car. Besides, doesn't she have her Canada Goose? That thing's the warmest there is.”
“It's only because you were in such a rush to get here that Lorraine didn't even get to put on a coat. You want her to wait four hours in a car with no heat? Are you trying to freeze her to death?!”
Duane pinched the bridge of his nose impatiently, a note of warning in his voice.
“Lorraine, I'll leave you a pack of hand warmers.”
“ Don't make me drag you out. It won't look good for either of us.”
