The meet and greet was in full swing. Leslie and Island had made it. Leslie kept her attire super simple with a plain white v-neck tee, dark wash jeans and some white Converse. We were all sitting around chatting, drinking and eating appetizers when Daisy rose from her fiancé’s lap to make an official announcement. 

“Excuse me, may I have your attention please?” Once we all quieted down she continued. “Izzy and I want to thank you all for coming out tonight and for being a part of the wedding.”

“She did not just use the nickname you had for him,” Island muttered to Leslie. 

“Shh…” Leslie tried to quiet her best friend down. 

“No, Isaac has always hated nicknames and when you stepped on the scene with a nickname for him he didn’t complain. Even then he still didn’t let his own family call him anything but Isaac. Now all of a sudden he’s cool with her calling him by a nickname that you gave him?! Oh hell no!” She fumed about to stand up and address her brother, but Leslie held her down. 

“Would you sit down?! Please don’t make this more awkward than it already is. Isaac and I are over with. If he’s okay with his fiancé calling him by a nickname that’s not my business.”

“This isn’t right, this night should have been for you and Isaac, not Southern Belle Barbie,” Island declared as she sipped her margarita. 

Callie and I eyed each other. That was one more ally we had on deck. Daisy continued introducing everyone and told us how the bride and groom knew everyone. We honestly could have done without the speech because we made our own introductions, but Daisy loved being in the spotlight. 

She finally stopped talking and everyone was holding their own conversations. I decided to learn more about Island besides the fact that she was the mother of the twins’ babysitter, Quinn. “So Island, Leslie told me that you recently became the head librarian at Kennedy.”

Island smiled, “Yes, I did. Even though I’m still on probation, I’m happy for the promotion.”

“That’s great. I don’t remember seeing you around the halls at Kennedy when we were in school, did you go to the private school Albright Academy?”

“No, I was sent off to boarding school. Which is a long and boring story. Now let’s talk about something more interesting,” she grinned mischievously. 

“What would that be?” I asked amused. 

“A little redheaded princess told me that you were in a relationship with one of Laurel Springs’ top five most eligible bachelors, that just so happens to work in law enforcement.”

I looked over at Leslie, who was trying not to laugh at Island’s inquisitive nature, pushing her bone straight red hair behind her ear. Though I wasn’t expecting the inquiry, I wasn’t pressed about it either. 

“The princess was right,” I confirmed. 

“You really, dated thee Gunnar Brock?!” She leaned into the table, “Girl, do you know how many women have thrown themselves at him and he turned all of them down? Actually there is one lady that he hasn’t turned down yet, at least, that’s what she tells me. But I honestly haven’t seen him with anyone else publicly,” she said spilling tea that I was trying my hardest to stay away from.

“He's a grown man. How he spends time or selects his female company is none of my business. He doesn’t belong to me,” I sipped my drink trying to look unbothered. And now I was also curious to know who the mystery lady is. 

“If I were you, I’d climb that modern day Viking god like a tree and remind him of who he once belonged to. Don’t get me started. Do you know what it’s like to see him run past your house on his morning runs? Muscles all glistening and shit. And then he has the nerve to run shirtless too,” she fanned herself. 

“It’s his eye for me,” Callie added. 

“He definitely has a nice swagger, a true gentleman,” Leslie commented.

“No. It’s his ass. He’s always had a nice one. Still does.” I stated. Then I turned to look in his direction, his back was towards us and he was at a different table talking to some people. The way his black Henley top stretched over his back and his distressed jeans covered his lower half so perfectly, I got chills. Our group was quiet, I took it as they were admiring the work of art too. 

“I see what you mean, sis. You definitely need to go climb that tree,” Leslie blurted out and then quickly covered her mouth. 

We all stared at each other for a second and began to laugh so hard everyone started looking at us trying to figure out what we were talking about. 

Callie rose from her seat, she saw Penelope had just come in and waved her over. “Penelope, it’s so great to see you,” she exclaimed hugging the natural redhead. 

“Same here, thanks for the invite. It’s not that often that I get to go out and have some fun with people outside of my family,” Penelope answered honestly. 

Callie introduced us to her former high school classmate. After taking a seat, Callie went to go order a drink for Penelope. 

“Do my eyes deceive me or is Callie flirting with Theo?” Leslie asked, as we observed her bent over the bar and smiling seductively   

I nodded, “Yeah, we met him briefly at Lucinda’s the other day.”

Leslie shrugged her shoulders, “God help her. I know his looks screams bad boy, but he’s actually quite the opposite.”

Penelope chimed in, “Agreed. Theo is a true sweetheart, but he’s a nerd and there’s no mistaking it once you see him in his true element. It’s cute though. I hope Callie’s into that type of thing.”

Leslie giggled, “We will certainly find out by the end of the night.”

Before we could continue our conversation, we were interrupted by the bride-to-be, “What are you ladies doing over here?”

“Oh, you know, just regular old girl talk,” Island answered. 

Daisy nodded her head and looked over in my direction and just as quick as I saw her eyes widen, she played it off smoothly and acted as if she wasn’t phased. “Penelope, what are you doing here?” She asked. 

“Oh,” Penelope began shifting in her seat nervously and not giving eye contact almost as if she was intimidated by Daisy. “Callie invited me. She wanted to catch up on old times. I hope that’s alright. I don’t want to intrude on your event or anything,” she answered bashfully. 

Before Daisy could respond, I stopped her. “Don’t be silly, Penny. A friend of Callie is a friend of ours. Isn’t that right, girls.” They all nodded, Daisy included, but her smile was tight. “Now that that’s settled let’s get some shots!” Leslie, Island and Penelope cheered.

We left our seats and headed to the bar. Callie was sitting at the bar with a perplexed look on her face. Though we came in the middle of their conversation it sounded like Theo was explaining to Callie about the prohibition era. 

This was definitely a new speed for Callie. I couldn’t wait to see how it played out. Once Theo finished his history lesson he addressed us. “What can I get for you ladies?”

“We’d like to order some tequila shots, with some salt and lime slices, please,” I requested. 

“Coming right up,” he saluted and headed off to prepare our order.

“Congratulations,” I beamed, smiling at my younger sister. “You found a man with a brain.”

“I hope he’s good at giving it too,” she huffed. 

I laughed at her dismay. “Seriously, Sophie. That man is fine as hell, but he’s super smart. I’d ruin him. I can’t have that on my hands.”

“Give him a chance, sis. You never know what could happen.” I tried to encourage her, but she shrugged her shoulders. 

“Here you go ladies,” Theo announced, bringing the shots, salt and lime to us. 

We toasted to a great night ahead of us, licked the salt that was sprinkled on our hands, drank our shot and sucked the lime. I noticed Callie hadn’t taken hers. “I can’t get too crazy tonight,” silently hinting about our mission. “Leslie, drink this in my honor.”

Leslie shook her head. “No, I can’t.”

We all began to chant her name until she gave in. With that settled, I shouted “Let's dance!”

We made our way to the dance floor and it felt like all eyes were on us. Though the music was a mix of every genre, old and new, we were still able to vibe and have a good time. “My Babe” was playing. I was still dancing with the girls when I felt someone twirl me around. The secret object of my affection whispered in my ear, “One dance won’t hurt, will it?”

I allowed him to pull my body close to his. His arms wrapped around my waist and mine around his neck. “I guess not.”

Leslie and the rest of the girls danced with other patrons of the bar. Callie was dancing around the entire floor working her magic dancing with couples and singles, her ability to blend in while she worked was astounding. She winked at me flashing Penelope’s work ID and concealing it seconds later. I gave her two thumbs up behind Gunnar’s back while continuing our dance. 

“I saw that,” he mused. 

“Stay out of it,” I warned. His only response was a chuckle. 

The music slowed down and Ne-Yo’s voice blared through the speakers singing “Good Man.” It appeared that the majority of the bridal party was on the dance floor. I noticed that Daisy and Isaac weren’t too far from Leslie and one of the groomsmen, named Matt. 

She looked like she was enjoying herself. There weren’t any romantic vibes between them. It was clearly two people just dancing and chatting. They stood a good distance apart with their hands in respectable areas. 

“You think it’s a good idea for them to be that close?” I asked Gunnar. 

“Who?” He asked, confused. 

“Leslie and Issac.”

He turned his head observing the couples. “They should be fine, but Isaac better be careful. Daisy will notice him giving Leslie those pitiful puppy dog eyes.”

“And nobody wants that,” I concluded. 

“Did you and Montell ever try to make things work once we ended things between us for good.”

I stared at him wondering where this was coming from, but I had nothing to hide so I answered honestly. “You know, there were times I really considered it, but he was so unstable and always hanging out with shady people, I didn’t want to be a part of that lifestyle.”

He didn’t respond, he was just listening as we continued to sway to the beat. There was something that was bugging me, that I had to find out about. “Is it okay for me to be dancing so close to you? Rumor has it that there’s a lady that’s interested you and you might be too.”

Gunnar turned to look me in my eye. I could tell he was deciding how to respond. I preferred the truth, he knew that, but if he hesitated any longer I would know for myself his relationship with this woman was a lot more serious than anyone in Laurel Springs really knew. 

We continued to sway as we stared in each other’s eyes. I didn’t want to be led on by a taken man and the more silence he allowed between us the more I knew it was time for me to make my exit. “See you around Gunnar. By the way, she’s lucky to have you.”

I left him standing there. He owed me no explanation even if I secretly placed a childish dibs on him. And once again it was the proverbial splash of water on my face to wake me up and remind me why I’m still in this little country town. I needed to help Leslie and then get out. 

******

Monday Afternoon - Kennedy High School

“Would you tell me the results already?” I begged Callie as we stood outside of Leslie’s classroom. 

“No. You have to wait. It’s better you find out with Leslie so she doesn’t feel left out.”

“Fine. How did you give Penelope her ID back?”

“Once, I photographed Daisy’s paperwork, I left out the back of the office and came around to the front to return her ID and told her I found it in the car since I was the designated driver and took all you drunk heffas home.”

“That was a good plan,” I complimented her. 

“That was child’s play,” she said disappointedly. 

The school bell rang indicating the end of the school day had come. The hallway was suddenly filled with teenagers boisterously headed towards their lockers. Once Leslie’s class cleared, we came in and closed the door behind us. “Hey, sis!” I announced 

She turned from the dry erase board she was clearing of math equations, “Oh, hey y’all.” She looked over to Callie, “Did you get it?”

“Duh.” Callie answered. Pulling out her phone she unlocked it to get to the pictures she took of the file. We gathered around her eager to find out the results. Either it was impatience or she needed a closer look, but Leslie snatched the phone from Callie. 

She was silent as we stared at her back as she looked at the phone. “What does it say? Is pregnant or not?” I asked my sister. 

“She’s pregnant,” Leslie turned to us with a blank look on her face. “For once she actually told the truth. And now that that’s settled we can go back to getting this show on the road so I can be done with the both of them forever.”

Handing the phone back to Callie, Leslie went to her desk packing up her items. “Say something!” Callie whispered harshly to me. 

I was at a loss for words. “Les, I know this must be tough, but we still have your back. You have nothing to be ashamed of,” I offered. 

“I know you mean well, but you don’t have to bother with the pep talk. I feel stupid for honestly thinking that I had a chance with Isaac in the first place. He was way out of my league to begin with. I got so happy and comfortable with my life that I forgot that the upper class, in this town, hold on to old traditions and don't care if the lower class get caught in the crossfire. They can break hearts, promises and whatever else they want just because they have money and a family name to back them up.”

She had a point. 

“Maybe we can regroup tonight and come up with a game plan, we can still sabotage some of Daisy’s plans,” I suggested. 

“No! No more. I’m done. I refuse to give her any more of my time or energy. The wedding is this next Friday, meaning I won’t have to deal with them much longer and then I can finally move on with my life.” Callie ran out of her classroom before we could stop her. 

I sighed, “I hate to admit this, but she’s right. We can’t argue with facts. We have to let it go and be there for our sister especially when she needs us the most.”

“Are you serious?” Callie asked incredulously. “I snuck into a doctor’s office file room for nothing?” 

“It wasn’t for nothing, we got the answer we needed and though it wasn’t the answer we wanted, we have to deal with it.”

Callie sat quietly for a few seconds with her arms folded and jaws tight. “She won’t get away with this. One way or another, Daisy Montgomery is going to pay!” She headed for the door. 

“Where are you going?” I asked. 

“For a walk. I’ll see you at mom and dad’s.” And with that she was gone. 

Left alone in the classroom, I felt like I was at a loss. I had no clue on how to help or what to do. I knew when to throw in the towel, but because of who we were dealing with, something told me to not give up yet.