Holly's Wishes

by Karen Pokras

  “Thanks,” Holly murmured to her sister as she stumbled toward their empty table, still trying to get her balance back.

  “You seemed like you could use rescuing. What’s with him anyway?”

  “Oh, the usual. Too much to drink, and now he’s making an ass out of himself. Don’t worry. At the rate he’s going, he’ll be passed out before dinner is served. I’ll just prop him up on a chair in the lobby, and you won’t even know he’s here. We can drape coats over him or something.”

  Ava laughed. “Sounds like a plan. Hey, we could put out a tip basket and give the coat room some competition.”

  Holly joined in the laughter as they took a seat at the bridal table. She was grateful for a chance to give her feet a rest. Between walking around all day in high-heels and the nightmarish dance escapade with Jared, sitting felt like heaven. She peeked over to the table across the room. He was back.

  “Hey, Ava,” she started, “do you know—”

  “Oh, Hol,” her sister interrupted. “Have you ever met Cynthia?”

  A beautiful older woman with perfectly styled platinum hair, wearing a gorgeous blue silk gown, approached their table.

  “From the gallery?” Holly asked, her aching feet protesting as she rose.

  Cynthia nodded. “You must be one of Ava’s sisters. She’s talked so much about you both, I feel like I already know you. Now let me guess—gorgeous blonde hair, stunning blue eyes. You must be Holly?”

  “Yes, that’s right. And thank you.”

  “Well, it’s a pleasure to finally meet.”

  “And you as well,” she replied, taking the hand Cynthia held out to her.

  Ava stood up, too. “One of these days I need to make a trip back to Wolfenson to visit. I haven’t been there in so long. I really miss it.”

  “It hasn’t been the same without you,” Cynthia told her, letting some sadness through in her voice. “From what I hear, you’re doing quite well for yourself out in California. It sounds like the Silver Leaf Gallery is the talk of the town.”

  “I don’t know about that, but I do love working there. I still can’t thank you enough for helping me get my job. It’s been a dream come true.”

  Holly could tell by the woman’s warm smile how much she admired her sister. “You wouldn’t have gotten the job if you didn’t deserve it.” Cynthia turned to Holly. “Are you in the art field as well?”

  “Me?” She tried to hold back her laughter. “No. I can barely draw a stick figure. Ava was blessed with all the talent in our family.”

  “Oh, now, my sister is being modest. Holly teaches math to fifth graders. If you ask me, that takes much more talent than anything I do.”

  “Indeed! Well, I’ll let you two get back to the rest of your guests. It was lovely to meet you, Holly, and Ava, I hope we can chat more before you head back.” She kissed each of the sisters on both of their cheeks, in a very high-fashioned style, before walking off toward another group of guests.

  “I can see why you like her,” Holly said. She looked back over to where the mystery man was sitting, now deep in conversation with the man next to him.

  “Ah, so this is where my beautiful bride is hiding,” Max said, leaning in to give Ava a kiss. “Jared seems like he’s having fun, Hol, eh?”

  Glancing over to the dance floor, she braced herself for whatever he was up to now. She shook her head as she watched. He was on the ground, in the center, doing some sort of pseudo-breakdancing move, while a circle of women surrounded him, clapping their hands. In all honesty, it looked more like he was squirming around on his back trying to peek up their skirts.

  “Yeah.” Holly couldn’t keep the sarcasm from her voice, rolling her eyes in disgust as she watched the man she hoped to marry one day make a spectacle of himself.

  “Are you okay?” Ava asked gently.

  “I’m fine,” she answered, curling her lips into a sorry excuse for a smile.

  “Well if you’re sure …” Ava peered over to a group of people Holly didn’t recognize. “Those are some of the artists we’ve hosted over the years at the gallery.”

  “Go. You need to mingle, ” Holly said, squeezing her hands. “I’m good—I promise.”

  “Okay,” Ava said, giving both Max and Holly pecks on the cheek, before sauntering off.

  “Yep, I’m just fine,” she said again. Holly stood there with Max as they watched Ava kiss the artists the same way Cynthia had kissed them moments before.

  “She’s become quite the business woman.” A tender expression crossed Max’s face as he watched his wife.

  “It’s nice to see her so excited about her career,” Holly agreed.

  “It’s been a rough road. First she had the difficult pregnancy and then separation anxiety leaving Jenna to go back to work. It was easier when I was helping out with childcare, but I’ve been flying a lot more for work these days, so I’m not around as much. She loves her job, but it kills her to leave Jenna with the nanny. She puts up a good front though, doesn’t she?” Max seemed worried as he watched Ava mingle with their guests. “I should probably go join her.”

  Studying her brother-in-law, Holly pondered the information he’d shared. She had no idea Ava was struggling to balance work and parenting. She’d never mentioned it to her before. But then she supposed if Ava wanted her to know, she’d have said something. Sighing, she glanced over to the other table again. He was still there.

  “Wait. Before you go, do you know that guy sitting over there? He looks familiar to me.”

  “That’s my cousin, Ben,” he told her.

  “Ben … Oakes?” she asked. His cousin?

  “Yeah,” Max said. “You know him?”

  Holly nodded, still watching him from across the room. “We went to high school together.”

  Chapter 4

  “Excuse me,” Holly said hesitantly, standing to the side of where he sat deep in conversation with the person sitting next to him. She hated to be rude, but she knew if she didn’t speak up right then, she’d completely lose her nerve and walk away. “Ben?”

  He glanced over his shoulder, and she saw his lips turn up in a smile. “Ah, so it is you! Holly Haines. I thought it was … I mean, of course, it had to be. Ava’s your sister. You just look so different. Sit, please.” Standing, he pulled out the empty chair beside his own.

  “Ben,” said the man he’d been talking with, “it was great to see you. Glad we could catch up.” They shook hands before he walked off.

  “I’m so sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

  “No, not at all.” He sat back down next to her. “That was an uncle I hadn’t seen in years. To be honest, I barely even remembered his name, and he was boring me to tears going on and on about a trip to Pittsburgh he took to sell dental products. Or maybe it was Cleveland. He lost my attention about ten minutes ago.” He chuckled. “So, Holly Haines. Wow. Max is my cousin. I didn’t crash the party here, in case you were wondering.”

  “No,” she laughed. “I figured you were invited. Does that make us related now?”

  Peering up at the ceiling as if deep in thought, he smiled. “Hmm … I don’t think so,” he said. “So how have you been? I don’t think I’ve seen you since high school. I barely recognized you. You’ve grown up quite a bit. I mean … that didn’t come out right. You look … great.” He shook his head and turned red.

  Holly put her hands up to her face to try to hide her own blushing cheeks. “Thanks, I think, and you look about the same … different haircut. And you used to wear glasses, right?”

  “Yup. I finally made the switch to contacts and got rid of those awful metal frames. The hair probably looks different because I traded in that feathered back rock star wanna-be do for something a little more current.”

  Holly laughed. She had to admit he looked good. Really good. Although she always thought he was one of the cutest guys in her school.

  He picked up his drink, and she couldn’t help but notice he wasn’t wearing a ring
. No date and no ring. Interesting. Stop it, Holly. You’re here with your boyfriend. Your live-in boyfriend, remember?

  She watched as Jared staggered across the floor, tripping over his own feet. The good news was he narrowly missed crashing into the three-tiered wedding cake. The bad news was that he stumbled into an elderly woman instead. She wound up with his drink down the front of her dress … and by the way she was screaming at him, she was not happy. Holly shut her eyes as if trying to erase the scene from her memory.

  “So, do you still live in Forest Hills?” Ben asked, bringing her attention back to the conversation.

  “Hmm? Oh yes, I do,” she replied. “I’m a teacher at West Place Elementary.”

  “No kidding! That’s where I went to school.”

  “Did you? I was at East Place. We’ve got a few old geezers left at West. I’ll bet you know some of them. What about you? Are you still in town?” She was more curious to learn about his present status. They could always reminisce about old teachers later.

  “Yup, I can’t seem to get away. I manage the plastics plant in the industrial park.”

  “You don’t say. My dad worked there for years.”

  “I know,” he said with a smile. “He’s the one who hired me as his replacement.”

  Holly cocked her head and grinned. “Small world. Well, I have to warn you, he left because of the stress. His blood pressure was through the roof. He’s got a nice cushy desk job now.”

  Ben nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  “It’s funny I haven’t run into you all this time. You know, I still have that picture of us from the dance during our sophomore year.”

  “Get out!” Laughing, she admitted, “So do I. Our outfits were something else, weren’t they?”

  “I don’t know who had more ruffles, you or me.” He cringed in shame before breaking out in a belly laugh with her.

  “They wouldn’t have been so bad if they weren’t pastel yellow. We looked like two sticks of butter … ruffled butter. Maybe we should destroy the evidence ASAP. You don’t suppose there are more copies floating around, do you?”

  “I don’t know,” he said, “but I’m all for getting rid of them. I’ve got a shredder all ready to be fired up for those suckers.”

  What’s it been—ten years since that dance?”

  “Just about, yes.”

  Taking a sip of her drink, Holly tried to think of something else to say. They’d reached the point of awkward silence after discussing high school, bad fashion, and what they currently did for a living. She’d purposely left out Jared. He wasn’t really worth talking about, especially after his behavior tonight. Scanning the room, she searched for him. He seemed to be missing. Maybe he’d already passed out in the lobby. Hopefully someone made sure he was on a chair or couch and not sprawled out across the floor.

  Ben hadn’t brought up a significant other either. So what now? The weather? She watched the bubbles in her champagne while listening to the band.

  “This kind of reminds me of that dance,” Ben said, breaking the silence between them. “… minus the bride and groom part, of course.”

  She looked around at the crowd on the dance floor. “It kind of does,” she agreed. “With a lot less ruffles, thank goodness.”

  The sophomore dance, the Soph Hop, was the big social event in tenth grade. Holly had been feeling depressed because no one had asked her to go. Specifically, Ben hadn’t asked her to go. After much prodding from Ava, she’d decided to invite him instead. It had taken every last ounce of courage to work up the nerve, but she finally did it, and had been thrilled when he said yes.

  The night of the dance had been a dream come true for her. From start to finish it was like a fairytale. Then, at the stroke of midnight, her prince dropped her back home with a gentle kiss to her lips. She’d thought her life couldn’t possibly get any better than it was at that moment. Sadly, the next day he barely spoke to her, completely breaking her heart.

  “I had a really good time with you that night. I … I wanted to ask you out after, but I was so painfully shy back then. I didn’t actually know how to act around girls. I hope you didn’t think it was because I didn’t like you or anything.”

  She looked up at him in shock. All this time—she wished she had known. “You were my first kiss,” she said, smiling bashfully.

  Gazing at her, he grinned. “You were my first kiss, too.”

  She sat for a second, staring into his eyes. She’d always thought he had the most amazing eyes. He still did. “I’m glad you told me, and for the record, I would have gone out with you.”

  “Damn,” he said, shaking his head.

  “Talking about that dance sure does bring back a lot of memories. Hey, remember that girl who jumped on stage and started doing some weird dirty dancing impersonation? The football team was pretty bummed that the chaperones pulled her outside before her top came off. What was her name? Mindy?”

  “Michelle,” he said.

  “That’s right, Michelle. Michelle Floyd. Now I remember. She had quite a reputation through high school, didn’t she? I wonder what ever happened to her. Do you know?”

  “Yeah,” he said. “She’s my girlfriend.”

  Holly opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the lead singer of the band. “If everyone could please take their seats, dinner is about to be served.”

  “I’m— I didn’t mean—” she managed to stammer before whirling out of her seat and running off. Seems Jared wasn’t the only one to make an ass out of himself that evening.

  Chapter 5

  “What is the matter with you?” Tessa asked, a snippy tone in her voice. “You’ve barely said two words since we started eating. I have to say, you haven’t been a very fun date. Are you still upset about Jared?”

  “What?” Holly answered, too distracted to pay much attention to what her sister was saying. “No.”

  As predicted, Jared never made it to dinner, although he wasn’t propped up on a chair somewhere in the lobby as originally planned. Instead, Max and Ava decided it was time to let him sleep it off in the honeymoon suite for a bit. He couldn’t get into any trouble in there … at least Holly hoped not.

  “I’m okay. Embarrassed, but okay.” She felt bad her lousy mood was affecting Tessa.

  She watched as Ava and Max glided across the dance floor. Did they ever have problems, or was their relationship always as perfect as it seemed to be?

  “Oh, don’t worry about Jared.” Tessa wrapped her arm around Holly’s shoulder. “We’re all used to him. It’s part of his charm,” she said with a reassuring squeeze.

  Holly furrowed her brow. Was she joking? It wasn’t charming at all. Anyway, her boyfriend had little to do with her state of embarrassment at the moment. Truth be told, as much as she hated his behavior, she was sadly used to it. That didn’t mean it was okay or charming, it just meant she wasn’t surprised by it anymore. She’d deal with him later. Right now she had other things on her mind.

  “See that guy over there?” Holly asked, motioning to Ben’s table.

  “The one who keeps staring at you? He’s a hottie.”

  “Don’t look at him! Pretend you’re eating. I know him from high school. We went to this dance together when I was in tenth grade, the Soph Hop. You probably don’t remember—you were just a little kid.”

  “Oh yeah,” Tessa said, trying to adjust her body so she wasn’t directly facing him. “I do remember! You wore that crazy yellow dress with all the ruffles. I thought you were Lil Bo Peep’s long lost sister or something. Not a flattering choice. He looks different without the glasses and pimples.” She glanced over at him quickly. “I know I’m not supposed to be looking, but um, he’s headed this way.”

  “What?” Holly squealed, sinking into her seat. “Oh crap.” She ducked down, her head under the table, pretending she’d dropped her napkin.

  “Holly?” Ben asked. “Did you lose something?”

  “Huh?” She bumped her he
ad as she came up. “Shit.”

  “Are you okay?”

  “Yes,” she muttered, trying to shake off both the physical pain and lingering humiliation from their earlier conversation. “Have you met my sister, Tessa?”

  “Ah,” her sister said, “so this is the Soph Hop date. Ow!” She yelped in response to Holly’s kick under the table. “Nice to meet you,” she said, grinning through gritted teeth. “Again.”

  “Nice to see you again, too,” he said, a smile playing at the corner of his lips as he turned his attention back to Holly. “Would you like to dance?”

  “Oh. I don’t know if I …”

  “Just go!” Tessa ordered, shoving Holly’s chair out with her foot, practically dumping her out of her seat in the process.

  “Um, sure, thanks,” she said, glaring at her sister. Following him to the front of the room, she hoped the song the band chose to play wasn’t a long one.

  Holly reached one hand up to his shoulder, allowing him to take her other in his. They stayed an awkward distance apart as they moved to the music. Even in heels, she was still considerably shorter than he was. She’d always been the shortest of the three sisters. Somewhere in the gene pool, she’d lost out in the height department. If she looked straight ahead, she’d be staring at his neck, so she decided to look off to the side instead.

  “I’m sorry—” they both began at the same time.

  “No … you go,” they both continued. Their light chuckles seemed to be exactly what she needed to relax a little. Turning her head, she gazed up at him.

  “Please,” Ben told her, “go ahead.”

  “I just …” Holly began, closing her eyes for a moment. “I feel terrible about what I said, about Michelle. That was sixteen-year-old gossipy teenage me talking, not twenty-five-year-old mature adult me. To be honest, I didn’t know her at all in school, and it was a long time ago—I’m sure she’s a great girl. Besides, I’m not exactly one to pass judgment. My boyfriend is upstairs sleeping off his drinking binge. He was the guy on the dance floor who slid into the band earlier? Yeah. I’m going to pull my very large foot out of my mouth now.”