The Plus-One

The wedding was great. I hated it.

Don’t get me wrong, the bride and groom were such a sweet couple, the decorations were fantastic, and the church was one of the best places I’d ever been to in my entire life (not counting Disneyland, of course). Everyone was happy, sharing laughs and jokes, dancing with their partners, and singing songs at the top of their lungs. Everyone except me.

I didn’t belong there. I was a plus-one.

They even had tables set aside for us. Tucked in the back where no one could see us, with faint decorations and fewer food options. It felt like the losers’ table from high school, but worse, because here, I knew no one. I sat next to a girl named Kelsey—or maybe it was Kerley?—who was also a plus-one. At least she knew someone at the wedding other than the person who had invited her. I was there because of my boyfriend, Jake. And when I say boyfriend, I mean we’d gone on five dates, and he hadn’t ghosted me yet—a win in modern dating.

“So, how do you know the bride?” asked Kelsey—or maybe Kerley?—as she fiddled with her fork, giving me a faint smile.

“I don’t,” I answered too quickly. She nodded like she understood, but I could tell she didn’t. She seemed like the kind of girl you would find making friends in the restroom line or at the McDonald’s drive-thru and then say, “We should totally hang out sometime.”

She asked me lots of questions, which I answered with the coldest responses. I wasn’t trying to be mean or a wet blanket. I just wasn’t made for this. And besides I was very angry with a guy named Jake. I played with the wedding cake, moving my fork from side to side and hesitantly taking a bite. It felt wrong.

I sipped some cold water and excused myself to the bathroom. Kelsey-Kerley didn’t seem to mind; she was chatting with another girl at the table in a matter of seconds. Gosh, I had been replaced that quickly.

The mirrors in the restroom were even decorated with white flowers and cute little bride and groom figurines. They had a flawless look that made everyone appear great, except for me, of course. My makeup was running down my cheek, and my hair was doing a thing where it couldn’t decided whether to stay straight or curl up. A disaster. I tried to fix it with water but of course it didn’t work. I looked so ugly.

Meanwhile, Jake was having a great time somewhere on the dance floor, catching up with some high school friends and telling them all about his track and field experiences. I hated that too. He had invited me to this wedding so “we could chat and get to know each other better.” Yeah . . . we were chatting so much that my throat was about to give out.

“Are you having fun?” asked the bride—I recognized her from her reflection in the mirror, not because I knew her voice. I jumped in surprise and tried to give my best smile.

“Yeah, having the best time.”

Of course, she looked beautiful. The white dress glowed with elegance. She smiled at me—it was incredible that she could still smile after taking all those photos with distant cousins and family members she probably didn’t even know existed.

“You’re Jake’s date, aren’t you?” I nodded. “Nice to meet you, I’m Rebekah. What’s your name?”

I didn’t bother pointing out that I knew her name from all the posters and gift cards. I just gave her mine and shook her hand. “Natasha.”

I thought the conversation would end right there in the restroom, but it didn’t. Full-on strange things happened. “I was once a plus-one,” she confessed. “It was about seven years ago when I had just met my now-husband.”

“I’m not a plus-one,” I insisted.

She smiled gently, reminding me of my grandma reflected in such a young face. “I know you are. Don’t feel embarrassed by that. I know how you feel. That time, Daniel left me at a table with no one to talk to, with nothing to do. I felt awful, but in the end, it’s just something you have to live with.”

She smiled again and headed to the toilet, but my voice stopped her. “Wait.”

She turned around. “Yes?”

“Do you think Jake . . . Jake will . . .?”

“Don’t worry about him. He’s a good guy, and I guess you’re a good girl too. So go out there and enjoy the party.”

I didn’t want to go back to the losers’ table with that girl Kerley—I could proudly say I had met someone in the restroom—but I also didn’t want to spend the rest of the wedding staring at myself in the mirror while women came in and out.

As I stepped out, I immediately spotted Jake, who held a glass of wine in his hand. He spotted me too and gave me a warm smile. His hair fell in perfect waves, almost movie-like, and did I mention how attractive he looked in that suit? He looked like all my Hollywood favorites combined to make a perfect, better version.

He walked up to me, dodging people dancing, not stopping by to talk to other people, whilst trying to keep the glass of wine on his hand. It was just me who he had on his sight.

“Hey,” he said, giving me a gentle kiss on the lips. “I’m sorry for not being with you. I had a lot to catch up on with my high school friends.” He glanced back at them. “So, what do you say we spend the rest of the night together, and then cuddle up after”

It’s important to note that I was angry with him at that moment. Angry for leaving me alone all wedding, angry for hanging out with his friends, and angry for not keeping his promises. But for some reason, that didn’t seem to matter. I returned his kiss and embraced my arms around his shoulders. “I say yes.”