by Alina Jacobs
Carter gave it serious thought as he packed his clothes the next morning before they left for the wedding rehearsal. What would it be like to be married to Allie? He didn't know if they were in a good place for marriage now, but maybe in the future. He thought about settling down with her.
Maybe Kate was right, and Allie was just stressed with the wedding. Brandy could turn anyone into a gremlin, Carter thought. He actually kind of liked weddings, but Brandy was so off-putting that he was not looking forward to the ordeal.
Carter's tux was steamed and waiting for him on the door of the wardrobe. Brandy didn't want them in their uniforms. Which was fine by Carter—it was too warm to have to wear the heavy wool uniform.
They were a bit late to the rehearsal because of traffic. As soon as Carter stepped out of the car and hurried after Grant and Kate into the historic church in New Cardiff, he heard yelling.
Fernando silently handed him a flask of scotch when he saw Carter, and they watched as Brandy ran around, screaming at the bridesmaids and cursing at the wedding planner.
"I quit!" the wedding planner exploded, throwing down her clipboard.
"You can't quit!" Brandy screamed. "My wedding is tomorrow!"
"You are spoiled and ungrateful," the wedding planner yelled over her shoulder as she stormed out of the church.
Carter winced as Brandy let out a primal scream of pure rage. Everyone froze. No one knew what to do. Even her parents and sister looked shell-shocked.
"Brandy," Allie said quietly, picking up the clipboard, "we only have the church for another forty-five minutes." Brandy glared at her but stopped screaming.
"Please, let's run through this," Allie said to the priest. He cleared his throat, and the wedding party took their places.
"That was… something else," Kate said on the way over to the Holbrook estate for the rehearsal dinner.
The guests seemed subdued as they all headed up to the ballroom, where there were several round tables set with fancy place settings.
"You're sitting with us, dear," Nancy said, handing Carter and his father their name cards.
"This is so stupid," Jack said under his breath. "I bet they don't last a year after their first child is born."
"Hush. You don't know that," Nancy said as they sat at their table.
Carter picked at his food and looked around. After everyone had eaten and dessert and coffee were being served, Brandy's father made a toast to the couple and thanked the Holbrooks for their hospitality.
"Is no one going to mention the outburst?" Grant muttered to Jack.
Carter slumped in his seat and tried not to yawn. The speeches went on and on. At first, it was funny to listen to people dance around the fact that Brandy wasn't that nice, but after a while, it was just uncomfortable.
When there was a pause in the program, Fernando stood up and reached for the microphone, swaying slightly.
"He looks as drunk as a skunk," Grant muttered to Carter.
"He's been pre-gaming," Carter whispered back.
"To my beautiful bride-to-be," Fernando began. "I love the fire and the passion you have!"
Brandy glared at him.
"You should see this woman in bed!" Fernando told the guests. Then he began to sing off-key.
From across the room, Allie gave Carter a look. He drained his wine for some liquid courage then stood up and wrested the microphone away from Fernando.
"You'll have to excuse my friend here," Carter said with the most winning smile he could muster. "He's a bit nervous about the big day!"
That elicited slight laughter, and Carter forged ahead.
"What Fernando meant to say is that he's very lucky to have found someone like Brandy. He doesn't complete her because she was already a fully formed individual, but he hopes that he makes her life a little more interesting, more fun, and more loving. Being around her compels him to be a better man, and from her he asks nothing in return, because she is already perfect."
Everyone applauded, and Carter concluded, "Even if he leaves his socks all over her apartment, which he is very sorry for."
Allie smiled at him softly as Fernando grabbed Carter and kissed him on both cheeks.
Lifting his glass, Fernando announced, "A toast to friends and family!"
63
Allie
Allie had no idea she would be so stressed about a wedding. Brandy was making the pressure a hundred times worse with her constant yelling. As Allie waited for her turn with the hair stylist, Brandy was leaving yet another angry voicemail for the wedding planner.
"She's not coming back," Allie finally snapped at Brandy. "We already know what needs to happen. Liz and I will make sure the wedding goes smoothly."
"You'd better," Brandy said coldly. "This is my wedding. I want it to be perfect."
"I just can't believe we all have to wear matching bridesmaids' dresses," Kate complained to Allie as she stood up from the stylist's chair and looked at herself in the mirror. "Ginny's wedding was so much more tasteful."
Allie hadn't been at Ginny's wedding, but she believed that anything would be better than Brandy's wedding.
When all the bridesmaids had their makeup done and their hair styled, it was finally Brandy's turn. The bride-to-be watched in the mirror, visibly annoyed, as the stylist fixed her hair.
"No!" Brandy yelled at the hairdresser. "I want volume! Let me do it. I can't believe I'm paying you. This is terrible. I already told you exactly what I want, and I expect to get what I want."
The bridesmaids all hovered around as Brandy fixed her own hair and then applied her own makeup.
"I am so sorry," Allie said to the hairdresser.
She smiled. "She's just another bridezilla; nothing I haven't dealt with before. Don't even worry about it. After this, I'm having a drink and a nap."
Allie wished she could join the woman. But they still had the ceremony and the reception to survive.
As they lined up at the chapel, Brandy plastered a smile on her face.
"How is my beautiful daughter?" Brandy's father said, leaning in to hug and kiss her.
"Don't touch me, Dad. I don't want my dress, hair, or makeup messed up."
Her bridesmaids looked around nervously.
"All of you need to look happy!" Brandy snarled. "This is my wedding day."
"This is so exciting!" Stacy said, jumping up and down.
"Who is going to give me the signal?" Brandy hissed. "I don't have a wedding planner."
"Brandy, just wait in this side room," Allie ordered. "Your father will let you know when it's time."
Stacy seemed giddy to be a bridesmaid. "This is so beautiful! Look at the flowers! Look at the decorations! It's so magical. I want this!" She waved her ring around. "And I will soon." She smiled.
"That’s great, Stacy," Allie said absently as the guys showed up.
"Fernando is drunk," she hissed to Carter.
"He needed fortification," he muttered back. "At least he's here."
"You're not walking with me?" Stacy pouted at Carter.
"You're with Jean-Claude," Allie said to Stacy as she pushed everyone in line.
"Mademoiselle," the European said and kissed Stacy's hand.
She giggled obnoxiously.
The music started, and Allie tried to look pleasant walking down the aisle, but she was on pins and needles, wondering if Brandy was going to blow up or if Fernando would come to his senses and walk out in the middle of the ceremony.
As the musicians transitioned into the piece for the bridal entrance, Brandy started the walk down the aisle. She did look lovely, Allie had to admit. Her dress was a classical silhouette, with folds of lace and satin.
Allie fluffed out Brandy's dress when her father led her to stand in front of the preacher.
The ceremony concluded without a hitch, then there were pictures, and then they sped over to the clubhouse for yet more photos.
"These had better turn out great," Brandy said. "This is mainly why I'm doing this. I
want nice pictures."
"The photographer is really good," Kate said. "I used her for my wedding, and my pictures are lovely."
Allie breathed a sigh of relief when they were released for cocktail hour. Carter already had a drink and a small plate of snacks for her. The men had finished their pictures a good half hour before the bridesmaids.
"I think you've earned this," Carter said as Allie took a grateful sip of the wine.
When cocktail hour was over, they all went into the reception area. The DJ announced them, there were the first dances, and then Allie felt as if she could finally relax. She grabbed another drink and listened to the toasts. Jean-Claude gave one for Fernando, and Ginny gave one for Brandy.
Then Fernando's brother gave a speech. Allie hadn't planned on two people giving a speech for Brandy, but the DJ was looking around at the bridesmaids for their second person. Stacy stood up and tottered up to the microphone.
It took a second for Allie to register what was happening, and she looked around wildly. What was going on? What was Stacy doing?
64
Carter
Carter grabbed another cocktail for the road as the guests filed into the large, historic hall for the reception. After that picture session, Carter wanted out of the tuxedo, and he wanted food and alcohol. There was a screen behind the DJ's booth that had pictures of Brandy and Fernando as children, and pictures of them taken during their short courtship and engagement.
During the speeches, during which Carter mentally counted down for the food to arrive, he watched Allie from across the room. She seemed anxious and was trying to maneuver through the crowd, toward the DJ's booth for some reason. Then he saw it—Stacy was at the microphone.
"Good evening, everyone," Stacy said, teary-eyed. "Though I have known Brandy only a few short months, she is such an inspiration. I hope to have a beautiful wedding just like hers, but I’m not sure if I can. As you know, Harris Holbrook and I recently found out we were blessed to be pregnant. It makes me so sad to have to say this though, but I have a confession to make. The baby isn't Harris's."
There were gasps in the audience. Carter snickered. Brandy looked furious.
Allie finally pushed her way to Stacy and grabbed the sleeve of her dress. Carter heard it rip.
"Of course it's not Harris's," Allie hissed. "I doubt the old drunk could even get it up."
Carter chuckled to himself. He didn't think Allie meant for people to hear that, but the microphone picked it up.
Stacy dabbed her eyes then leaned into the microphone. "No, the baby isn't Harris's. It's Carter Holbrook's."
"What the fuck!" Carter yelled out, the smile gone from his face. "I never!"
He looked around. Everyone was staring at him.
Then there were more gasps as people pointed to the screen. Instead of the carefully curated photos of the newlyweds, there was grainy video footage of Stacy and Carter. He recognized one from his grandfather's apartment when Stacy tried to seduce him, and the other from the night Stacy had jumped into his bed in the Hamptons. Both looked damning, but they conveniently cut out before he threw her off of him.
"We were having an affair," Stacy said into the microphone, twisting her body so Allie couldn't tear it out of her grasp.
"No, we weren't!" Carter shouted. "Allie, tell them!"
"He was very drunk," Stacy continued.
"Stacy, stop lying!" Allie screamed.
Carter was mortified. This wasn't happening. Allie finally wrestled the microphone from Stacy then practically dragged her friend out of the dining room.
Grant grabbed Carter by the upper arm and ushered him out as well.
"Get her out of here!" Jack roared at Harris when they were all out in the hallway. "I never want to see that bitch again!"
"We have to keep Stacy around until we figure out whose baby it is," Nancy said tiredly.
"It's not mine!" Carter said, looking wildly at his family.
"Yes, it is!" Stacy said.
Harris didn't seem all that upset.
"If it is yours, Carter, I'll still raise it," Harris told him. "Can you believe it? Another Holbrook! Probably better yours than mine. You've got those young swimmers—"
"She. Is. Lying." Carter said emphatically.
"I bet she's telling the truth," Jack said coldly. "Carter is out of control."
"We can't know whose it is until we have a paternity test done," Nancy said.
"Why are you all even acting like this is a real thing?" Carter demanded.
"Because I know you," Jack sneered. "You're just like Walter—you make terrible decisions, and then you lie about it. It's Danielle all over again."
"Hey now," Walter said. "Let's all calm down—"
Jack threw a glass at Carter. "You've been trouble from the day you were born. You're done, Carter," Jack said. "I’m done with you. This is the last straw."
Not wanting to suffer the abuse anymore, Carter walked off. He heard someone running behind him. Allie.
"I didn't do it," he said, giving her a pleading look. "I'm not that stupid."
"It's okay, Carter. I'm going to figure this out," Allie said, rubbing his arms reassuringly.
She guided him outside, and he gulped the fresh air.
"Maybe she stole it out of your trash can," Allie said. "I bet you weren't flushing the condoms."
"I can't be a father, especially not with her." Carter moaned then doubled over and puked. "I can't do this."
"We just don't know," Allie said, rubbing his back.
"You know I didn't sleep with her," he said.
Allie was silent. "I don't believe you willingly slept with her. But maybe she drugged you or… I don't know." She ran her fingers through his hair.
While they stood there, Jack and Nancy walked outside. They stood in front of the clubhouse in silence as a car pulled up, and Jack pushed Carter inside.
He hated his family, and he hated that they believed Stacy and not him.
More miserable than he'd ever been in his life, he stared out of the window as they pulled away from the clubhouse, and he watched as Allie went back inside.
65
Allie
Carter's family had whisked him and Stacy away, and it pained Allie that she couldn't be with Carter. He looked so upset!
Unfortunately, Allie still had to oversee the rest of the reception.
As soon as Allie returned to the dining room, Brandy ran over to her, hauling her huge white dress with her.
"You ruined my wedding!" Brandy yelled at her. "Stacy is your friend, and she ruined my wedding!"
Around them, the topic of conversation was Stacy's announcement and the inevitable fallout. Allie could hear the whispers and see the obvious stares of people gawking at Brandy's reaction.
"Stop it," Allie hissed. "You're making it worse."
"You don't want to look crazy in your pictures," Liz said, leading Brandy to the powder room. She and Allie hurriedly tried to fix Brandy's hair and freshen up her makeup.
Then Allie sat the bride down next to Fernando and brought her lots of drinks. After motioning to the DJ to hurry the evening along, Allie told the caterers to make sure the alcohol was flowing freely. Maybe if everyone was good and drunk, they would forget about what had happened.
"I don't know who we're kidding," Liz said to her. "This is going to be the talk of the town for the next year at least."
"Why couldn't Stacy at least do it at the end of the evening?" Allie groaned.
Allie was sure his family blamed her for this. How could this happen? She was going to kill Stacy. How had she even hijacked the computer for the videos?
When she saw him at work the next week, Carter seemed depressed, Allie thought.
"We can't know until the baby is born," Allie said, trying to reassure him.
He shrugged her off. Carter didn't come over to her apartment in the evenings anymore. Allie hoped he wasn't mad at her.
"He just needs some space," Liz said.
All
ie tried to be understanding, but over the next few weeks, as the weather grew colder, so did Carter's attitude toward Allie. He never smiled at her and barely said a word he didn't have to. The tension in their workspace was palpable. Carter would show up to work late or hungover.
Stacy continued to grow as well. It cemented Allie's suspicions about the source of the pregnancy. Jack was so sure that it was Carter's, though.
"Maybe she's just getting fat," Liz said.
"I think she's just wearing tighter clothes," Allie replied.
"The scandal has spread like wildfire," Liz told her over lunch one day. "It's all anyone is talking about. The newspapers are having a field day. Carter's going out to clubs is making it worse. Look," she said, holding out her phone to Allie.
Allie grimaced as she saw Carter slumped against a wall, clearly intoxicated.
She needed to go talk to him.
Deciding it would be unprofessional to confront him in the office, she went over the Holbrooks' penthouse that Saturday morning.
"Allie!" Kate exclaimed when she opened the door. "I'm glad you're here. Carter just mopes around the apartment all day."
"And drinks all night," Allie finished.
Kate nodded.
"How's he doing?" she asked as she hung up her coat in the hall closet.
"Terrible," she heard Carter say from the living room.
Allie walked into the room and saw him slouched on the couch.
"This is unacceptable," Allie said.
"My parents don’t believe me. My life is over."
"You didn't sleep with her. Once she pops the kid out, you will be vindicated. But don't ruin your life over her lies," Allie said sharply.
"It's not fair," Carter said.
"You are an adult man," Allie snapped. "You have a job, for now, until you piss it all away."
"I just wanted my father to—"
"To what? Love you? Tell you he's proud of you? Children need external validation—adults make their own. My parents sucked, and you know what? I cut them off. Best thing I ever did."
