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Thanksgiving Dinner with the Wedding Party

Meredith rolled a roasted potato around her plate with a fork. The conversations at the banquet table that had stacked up to a head-splitting roar faded to a weighty silence. She was grateful for the relative quiet, but it wasn’t serene. It wasn’t the subtle murmur of friends and family chatting. It was fraught with tension.

She looked around the ridiculously long table to see if she was the only one who felt it.

She wasn’t.

Meredith thought it would be fun when Ivy invited her to be a bridesmaid. She’d never been anyone’s wedding guest, much less a bridesmaid. Now here she was, having Thanksgiving Dinner with a bunch of strangers who had apparently exhausted their reservoirs of small talk.

As painful as the roaring tides of conversation had been, this million pound lull was worse. She made a show of continuing to eat as she scanned the crowd. Even Ivy’s nieces were victims to the oppressive silence.

“Hey, Chelsea!”

The little girl looked up, excited to hear her name.

“Knock, knock.”

She giggled. “Who’s there?”

“Norma Lee.”

“Norma Lee who?”

“Norma Lee, I don’t eat this much!”

Chelsea threw her head back and squealed with delight. Even her studious older sister smiled and shook her head.

The tension at the table resolved into clusters of light conversation. Crisis averted.

As Meredith reached out for a roll to dab her gravy up, she noticed one of the groomsmen looking her way. She turned her head to see if something was going on beside her, but no, it seems he was looking at her.

He was a burly guy with a mop of sandy curls and a trimmed beard. It made him look like a cross between a viking, an angel and a teddy bear. His grin revealed dimples in his bearded cheeks.

She tore the roll in half and locked eyes on her plate. There wasn’t a lot of gravy there, but it was too tasty to go to waste. She focused intently on cleaning up the plate and was about to take a bite of the saturated roll.

What if he’s still looking? She didn’t want to look like a hog, noshing on a gravy-soaked half roll. She could pinch a dainty piece off at a time, but then she’d have gravy all over her fingers. Was that worse?

Would he be more repulsed by her biting into a soppy roll or licking gravy off of her recently manicured fingers?

Was he even still looking? What if she peeked at him and he still was?

Well, what of it? Who the heck is he to judge someone eating Thanksgiving Dinner? Thank goodness for long bangs. She could probably peek at him without being noticed.

Whew, he wasn’t looking anymore. He must have been looking past her after all.

She wasn’t sure how she felt about that, so she pondered it over a quarter of a gravy-soaked dinner roll.

“Meri, are you okay?”

Meredith dabbed at the corners of her mouth and looked for the source of the inquiry. Ivy was leaning over her shoulder.

“Me? Sure, why wouldn’t I be?”

“Well, I know this is a lot more commotion than you’re used to.”

“Hmm, that’s for sure.” She realized how that sounded. “I mean, not that it’s a bad thing-”

Ivy laughed. “Don’t worry. I get it. This is a bit much for me, too. Want to go get some fresh air?”

“But your guests…”

“They’ll be fine. Let’s go walk off some of this crazy feast.” She held out her hand and Meredith got another closeup of that magical rock.

It wasn’t huge and ostentatious. She’d seen some girls wearing engagement rings that looked big enough to be an extra knuckle. Ivy’s was more subtle and sized in proportion to her finger. Despite its humble charm, it was a beautiful mystery to Meredith. She never expected to have one.

She followed her friend and colleague out of the banquet hall. “Ivy, I’m sorry.”

“Sorry? What for?”

“I don’t want to embarrass you. I’m not great in crowds.”

“Meri, you know me well enough to know I’m the same as you. All that commotion? That’s one hundred percent Holly.” She grabbed a winter coat from a hanger in the hallway. “Ian and I would have been just as happy with a couple of pizzas, hanging around someone’s living room.”

“Even so, I appreciate you inviting me.” Meredith retrieved her coat and followed Ivy toward the hotel lobby. “Ooh, can we go through the spinning door?”

Ivy smiled as she twirled around to grab Meredith’s hand. “I thought you’d never ask.”

They laughed as they crowded into the wedge of the rotating front door and emerged in the cool evening air.

“I’m glad you agreed to come, Meri. I was afraid you’d already made plans.”

“No plans. Same as every year. Frozen turkey dinner and sappy chick flicks in my apartment.”

Ivy’s jaw dropped. “You’re kidding. I thought you went home for the holidays.”

“I tried that for a couple years, but after my parents downsized…” She hugged her coat tight against her. “It wasn’t where I grew up, so it wasn’t really home. You know?”

Ivy studied her friend. “I’m sorry. I wish I knew. I would have-”

“Hey, I’m not a charity case. I know frozen dinners aren’t everybody’s idea of Thanksgiving, but I like the independence.”

“And the quiet.”

“Definitely the quiet.” Meredith looked back at the hotel. “I don’t know if I can go back in there.”

“Well, you’d better. Dessert is supposed to be fantastic.”

“Dessert? I’m about to explode so as it is. Last thing I want to do is make a spectacle of myself.”

“Why? What does it matter? You’ll probably never see most of them ever again after the wedding.” Ivy rubbed her arms and stamped her feet to warm up.

“I don’t know. I worry about things like that.”

“Nobody’s going to judge you if I have anything to say about it.” Ivy said. “Let’s get back in there before we miss dessert.”

“And before we freeze. Why is it so much colder where you live?” Meredith headed back to the rotating door.

“Fresh mountain air, my dear. You should get more of it. Empire City is too stuffy.”

“Well, not all of us can get swept off their feet by a charming landscaper, Ivy.”

“Hmm.” Ivy packed into the rotating wedge behind her friend. “You might have to give that a try while you’re here, Meri.”

“Oh, please, like that’s going to happen.”

“What? Ian has a lot of nice friends we could introduce you to.”

“Ivy, no. Please don’t start playing matchmaker. I’m here for you. Okay? I’m here to help you with your wedding, and that’s all.”

Ivy threw her hands up. “Yes, ma’am. No matchmaking, ma’am. Message received.”

Meri shook off the cold as she hung her coat up and waited for Ivy to do the same. “You’re totally going to be matchmaking.”

“I totally am.” Ivy flashed a devilish grin as she pulled on the door to the banquet room.