Best and Honor

Chapter 9

Sophie

My hand is aching from writing down each gift she is given as she opens them. There are so many women here at her bridal shower that I'm beginning to think I might still be here tomorrow finishing this list and then trying to unbury her from the pile of wrapping paper that is building up around her feet. I smile up at her when I hand her the next one, taking a minute to stretch my cramping fingers.

She looks beautiful in her long coral colored maxi dress. I'm sure she picked it out with today in mind. She's always been like that. She throws her hair over her shoulder and begins to read the card out loud. I watch her face light up as she lets us known that this one is from her grandmother. With a small wave she thanks her and then begins to slide the ribbon from the package.

It takes her two hours to slowly open and display each gift that was brought here for her today. By the time I stand up from the small chair I've been sitting on, my back is aching and my toes are a little numb. I pull my navy dress down a little, fixing my belt that lifted when I stretched my arms up above my head. Rachel is handed another champagne and she starts to make her way around the room thanking everyone for coming as the cake is cut and served by the staff at the hotel. I take this moment to grab my purse and head for the bathroom.

A few women are already inside so I smile as they look at me through the mirror while washing their hands. Finally I shut the door of the stall and turn my feet so it would appear that I'm using the facilities. Instead, I reach into my purse and pull out my phone. I'm hoping there is a text from Andrew, but when I pull up my messages I only find a few from my roommates and of course one from my mother who just watched me flee the front of the room. She's worried about me and I know that she thinks I'm going to crack at any moment.

Maybe if I hadn't run into Andrew I would be closer to falling apart than I am right now. It's hard to sit up there knowing that most people in the room know the story of Rachel and Evan, including my embarrassing dismissal from our relationship. I hear my mom call out my name above the stalls and have to bite my lip not to yell at her to go back to the party and leave me to pee in private.

"I'm in the middle stall mom. I'm fine and I'll be out in a minute." I pull out the seat cover from over the toilet. I can see her feet outside the door when I finally sit down. "Mom, really. Please go back to the party."

"I'm going to wait out here for you." Her feet don't move and I give up on the idea that maybe I could stay in here for a little while before heading back out with my plastered on fake smile. When I'm finished I make sure I'm smiling as I emerge from the stall and head to the sink. I can see my mother searching my face for any signs of a crack.

"Ok. Let's get back out there." I march past my mom and grab a paper towel, wiping my hands and tossing it into the trash before swinging open the bathroom door and waiting for my mother to catch up. She says nothing even though I can see that she has a million questions for me. This morning I ran to my parent's house to say hello to her and my father. She tried to ask a few questions then, but my father had told her to leave me alone.

"Are you sure you're alright?" She finally asks as I stop next to her nearly empty table.

"I'm great mom. I'm going to get back to Rachel. Make sure you come give me a hug before you leave." Reluctantly she nods and I excuse myself to go find my friend. The rest of the shower I spend helping to make sure the hotel staff knows where to put the gifts and making the trip out to the parking lot to open her mother's car so they can be loaded.

My mom finds me on the way back from my last trip out to the hot, sticky parking lot. She opens her arms and pulls me in for a big hug. In my ear she whispers, "I'm so proud of you for doing this. I know how much it has to be hurting even if you're not going to admit it. I was young once too and had my heart broken. I couldn't have done what you're doing." She places a kiss on my cheek and I close my eyes when I feel my chest constrict with the love I feel in her arms.