Summer Hearts

out in the open

Bea's bachelorette party comes before I realise and next thing I and the girls are climbing into the back of a chauffeured limo.

"Vic, do not, I repeat, do not—"

The girl rolls her eyes beneath her bangs. "Do not make out with any men. Now let's toast!"

"To marrying the most amazing man!" She giggles, the picture of unbridled joy in her short silk dress, a tiara sparkling with her smile.

"I can't believe the wedding is here already," Romy melancholies. "I'll miss you guys."

We clink our glasses and I sip my wine. It feels like so long since I stood on the grass with my bags, staring at the royal castle. We've been through so many things, but it's all ended so good.

We get to our first stop, a nice restaurant in the city that does dinner in the sky. Bea's radiant with joy and I'm so happy for her.

"Wow, you guys," she says with a touched smile when we sit down. "It's beautiful."

We're strapped into our seats and we get our menus. Soon our drinks come and Vic chuckles at Bea's.

"Sparkling water? It's your bachelorette!"

"I can't undo all that time in the spa. I need to look my best tomorrow, that means no alcohol, no soda." She states. "There'll be press."

"Is Caelan a duke or something?" I ask, realising I never did find out.

"His granddad was a duke."

"How exciting is it marrying royalty? It's like Cinderella," I say, dreamily. "He really doesn't have any brothers? Royal uncles?"

"His uncle is 76."

Laughter echoes around the table.

"It's a bit barmy always looking out for men, isn't it?" Roselyn says underneath the laughs.

I roll my eyes, not dignifying her with my words.

The rest of the dinner goes well, despite Roselyn's moodiness. The food was amazing, flavourful and made with attention to detail.

We band into the limo after we've taken pictures and videos to commemorate our evening, off to a Hawaiian pub.

"I want to do the karaoke," Romy cheers and she goes up to make a request.

We order a round of drinks and more food.

Romy does Milkshake by Kelis and we laugh buckets at her exaggerated mannerisms. When she's done, the white light goes dim, restoring the pub to its dim, colourful tone.

A waitress in a lei comes over to us, a welcoming smile in her face, as she drops a drink before Bea. "From the guy over there."

I glance where she pointed and there a guy, with Asian features is smiling kindly at Bea.

"She's getting married!"

We chant, and burst into giggles. I smile, enjoying our female camaraderie.

"I want to go next," Bea says and jumps out of our table.

Of course she sings a sappy song, I muse to myself, as the starting tune to Tamia's Into You starts.

Roselyn taps me and I look over with a weary sigh. How have we ended up side by side again?

"I thought you didn't like Vince. You're so full of it."

"What's your problem?" I ask, truly amazed. "We're here to celebrate Bea and you're obsessing over a guy. Worse, he doesn't even like you."

Her face flushes red. "We were fine till you showed up, with that annoying innocent act of yours. Now you're everywhere with him."