Their Days of Nights

34 : Guest

Benjamin

I wake up to the sound of an old song. I straighten up on the car seat and check the time on my watch. Four-thirty p.m.

I look past the windshield and watch the road, the trees on its sides, houses here and there, and slight traffic. Then I run my hands on my face.

My dad whistles along to the tune playing on the stereo.

I check the time again. It's still four-thirty this Saturday afternoon. Four thirty-one. I continue staring at it until the time changes again. Reality check. Four thirty-two. I drop my hand and watch the roadside from the window.

Dad is driving us to George's wedding in Lake City. It's about an hour-and-a-half south of the Metro and is near the biggest lake in this mainland.

I haven't seen George in years. He's our old neighbor, from when we lived in that small town in the province. His family and ours are good friends. He's like a big brother to me and my sisters as well. We keep in touch, mostly through Facebook. But he's also a private person, so I was as surprised as my parents when we received the invitation weeks ago.

I take my phone from the pocket of my jeans. No notifications, so I put it back. I grab the light-blue envelope lying on top of the dashboard instead. I open it, unfold the parchment inside, and read through the program.

The ceremony started at three. We'll just head straight to the hotel for the reception, which starts at six.

I notice a name on the bride's entourage.

Wait a second.

I read the whole page again.

"Did you know whom George is marrying this whole time?" I ask my dad.

He stops whistling. "Why? Didn't you?"

"No."

He laughs a little. "I thought you did," he says.

"No."

He laughs again. "She didn't tell you?" he asks after a few silent seconds.

"Not exactly. She mentioned her cousin's wedding," I say as I put the card and envelope back on top of the dash. "But I'm not sure if she knows George."

"So, she doesn't know you're going to be there as well?"

"Probably not." I go back to watching the road ahead.

My dad continues whistling. And I recall the silly mini-argument Kim and I had over text messages a week ago.

I was sort of hoping then that she'd invite me to go with her this weekend. I'd trade this one for hers, I thought. But she persistently told me that I didn't have to. And it registered to me at first that she didn't want me around. It took two whole days for things to go back to the baseline.

I laugh to myself at how funny things turn out right now. I should have just read the invite first. Oh, well. Lesson learned, so to speak.

Dad takes the car right to a private road. And then we're in the vicinity of the hotel. I look around as he finds a spot to park.

The estate sits on a hilly side that overlooks more than three-fourths of the whole lake and what surrounds it. We can see a side of a chunk of the Metro from here as well.

As we make our way through the reception of the hotel, I see a bunch of strange people near the garden area, lobby, and hallways. Presumably, the guests at the wedding.

It's now five-o-five on my watch. I wait for my dad to open the door of our room while I stand in the middle of the second-floor hallway. Our whole family originally planned to stay here until tomorrow. But there's a sudden change earlier, and the room's already paid for.