Jennie
If Irene senses the shift in the air, she doesn't let it bother her. "Aww, aren't you a sweetheart? I'd love that. C'mon, let me show you to the room."
There's a peach-coloured curtain dividing the two rooms, and we step through it and into a spacious back room. At the long table sits the final piece of the bridesmaids' party. Bambam's sister, Lena, a sweet girl with a pretty smile, introduces herself to us.
We all sit down, Bambam and Mina at the centre of the table, the two sorority sisters perched together like parakeets in a small cage next to Mina, while the rest of us fan out around them. Across the centre of the table are five large slices of cake, cut up into pieces so everyone can have a taste, with place cards in front of them.
"Isn't it darling?" Tzuyu says.
"I could eat the whole damn cake." Lena jabs Bambam in the side, and the both of them laugh.
"Attention, everyone!" Mina stands up and clicks her fork against her water glass to get everyone's attention. "I just wanted to thank you all for coming here today... it's so nice to see my bridesmaids all together!"
She gets applause for that.
"My girls... my sorority sisters, who I've known forever. And then Lena and now Irene... I can't wait to get to know you and love you like I know Bambam loves you. I know this was short notice for everyone... it was short notice for us. We met five months ago at a friend's party... and it's been a whirlwind of a ride." Her hand rests on Bambam's shoulder, and he reaches up to give it a squeeze. He doesn't take his eyes off her, not once, and my heart patters in my chest. "We just wanted our wedding to be like our courtship... we didn't want to draw it out or make it too insane. When you know, you know, so..." Mina smiles and extends her hands. "Let's eat cake!"
Everyone agrees with whoops and cheers.
"Also!" Momo jumps up to her feet and lifts a hand to get everyone's attention, and the table settles down again. "Bridesmaid party this Thursday night at Magpie Tavern. It's the only place in this town that received four point eight stars on Yelp. Be there or be dead."
At that rousing little addendum, everyone grabs a plate and starts to pass the cake around. "You'll be there, won't you, Jennie?" Mina asks, while leaning over the table to look down at me.
"Of course." I smile. "Wouldn't miss it." Apparently, I'm an honorary member of the bridesmaids' club now.
A piece of carrot cake comes my way, and I pluck a square off the plate with my fork and set it down on the small tasting plate in front of me. Carrot cake isn't great for weddings, but I like it, so I'll indulge even if I know I'm going to vote no on this one.
"Are any of these gluten-free?" Tzuyu asks.
"Or vegan?" as Momo.
"Oh, um..." Mina starts flipping through the placard. "I'm not sure. Let me see..."
"They have gluten. And they aren't vegan, unfortunately." Irene says. "Good news is a cake's a cake. It's not gonna bite you."
"Processed sugar and yeast..." Tzuyu shudders. "I'll have to work out twice a day for a week just to work this off."
"Don't get me started." Mina chuckles. "You should've seen the breakfast that Bam's mother made this morning."
"What was wrong with Mama's breakfast?" Bambam defends. He's still smiling, but there's this sharpness in his tone that I haven't heard before.
"Nothing, honey, it was just... all artery clogging. Bad for your blood pressure."
"This conversation is bad for my blood pressure." Irene groans loudly, and she and Bambam share a laugh.
This is taking a bad turn. Sure, bringing worlds together is hard, but I'm not about to let the bridesmaid party, let alone the bride and groom, divide over an argument about counting calories.