TWENTY
The morning after wasn’t pretty.
It was a little before noon Sunday morning when Nick, bleary-eyed from playing poker until dawn and drinking way too much beer, walked into the kitchen in search of caffeine. Noah and Michael were sitting at opposite ends of the table. Michael was reading an article on Dylan’s laptop, and Noah was slumped over the table, guzzling orange juice. Feeling dehydrated, he had already gulped down two large bottles of water. Neither Nick nor Noah had showered or shaved yet. They both felt as bad as they looked.
Michael, on the other hand, looked as though he were ready for a photo shoot. He had showered, shaved, and wore crisp khaki pants and a dark blue polo shirt. Unlike Nick and Noah, Michael had on shoes. He was the only one in the room without bloodshot eyes. But then, he’d known when to stop drinking.
Nick found a clean mug, filled it with coffee, and took a drink. Then he leaned back against the island and said, “What in God’s name was I thinking?”
Michael understood what he was asking and answered. “You thought you could keep up with the MacAlisters. A rookie mistake,” he added, flashing a grin.
“If they stayed an entire week, we’d all need liver transplants,” Noah said, his voice a scratchy whisper. “The last time I drank this much was when I was at the university, and that was a long time ago.”
“Same here,” Nick said. “I forgot how bad a hangover can be. This is brutal.” He dragged a chair out and sat down at the table. “Where is everyone?”
Michael answered. “Laurant, Kate, and Jordan left a while ago with Mom and Dad.”
“Where were they going?” Noah asked on a yawn.
“I don’t know. I didn’t ask. Michelle and Theo left for the airport real early.”
“Yeah,” Noah agreed. “I was going to bed when Theo was coming down with their luggage.”
Nick sat staring off into space while he waited for the coffee and the two aspirin he’d taken to kick in so he’d start feeling human again.
“Good afternoon,” Regan called from the doorway. She walked into the kitchen, looked at Nick and Noah, and started laughing. “Have a little too much fun last night?”
“Last night actually ended this morning,” Michael told her.
“We all stayed up way too late,” she said. “Isabel was the smart one. She left the party around eleven.”
“Why so early?” Michael asked.
“I believe Amanda had a little something to do with Isabel taking off.” She then told them about the conversation Amanda had had with Isabel.
“She said what?” Michael shouted. He was furious.
Regan patiently repeated, “Amanda asked Isabel to sing at your wedding. She said, ‘Michael and I would just love it if you did.’ According to Isabel those were Amanda’s exact words.”
“You’re engaged now?” Noah asked. “If you are, I think you should know you’re marrying a real bitch.”
Nick nodded agreement. “You don’t belong with her.”
Michael was outraged. “I’m not marrying Amanda. We haven’t been involved in a long while. Honest to God, I don’t know what I ever saw in her.”
“She obviously isn’t ready to move on,” Nick said. “Why did you invite her to the party?”
“I didn’t.” Michael shoved the chair back and stood, muttering an expletive.
“How did Isabel react to Amanda’s question?” Nick asked.
“Yeah, what did she say?” Noah wanted to know.
“She said, ‘I don’t do weddings.’ Then she laughed.”
“That’s our girl,” Nick said.
“She’s not your girl,” Michael snapped.