"I-I-I-I-" Raquel's hiccups interrupted her stuttering. She swayed, obviously impaired. "I love you." She blurted out while hanging onto me in the bathroom.
After she had popped the question, I had no choice but to say yes. I was going to be a bridesmaid. Again. This was definitely a collusion of sorts. A conspiracy. Curse. Definitely not a coincidence at this point.
"Bleghhh!" Raquel turned in time to throw up in the toilet we were hovering over.
We both got wasted for two very different reasons. She was happy and beyond excited to go through with this random wedding. She was happy that we agreed to being her bridesmaids and wanted to start planning it tomorrow.
One glance at her and I can tell that it won't be happening in the morning. Probably not even the afternoon the way we were going.
I held back her long hair as she continued to empty out the contents of her stomach. "You know...you don't have to get married so quickly..." I rubbed her back as she coughed up some phlegm. "You guys could try long distance. Or maybe, he'll get a job and get a permanent visa that way."
She continued to gag, cough, and throw up what was left.
We definitely overdid it tonight. From the Rose lounge we started to bar hop with Raquel's fiancé following us around. I started to loosen up the more we drank, but Chrissy turned into an interrogator, quizzing the man on his life.
Alex was 25 and interested in working for an insurance company outside of L.A. He had a younger brother going to college in New York and both his parents were thinking about following their sons to the states. Chrissy didn't let up in the slightest and asked him twenty questions about Raquel. She was probably still going at it as I was stuck with Raquel in the bathroom.
I didn't mind though. I was dizzy myself. It was getting late and I was losing my fun. Her throwing up had a sobering effect on me.
She slowly straightened up, moved out of the stall and towards the sink, narrowly missing other drunk girls. She turned the sink on and rinsed her mouth the best she could.
"Gum?" I offered her a stick of gum from my purse.
She snatched it out of my hands and quickly unwrapped it before putting it in her mouth. "I don't want to do long distance." She told me clearly, leaning up against me. "I want love and I want it now."
"This isn't how you get love..." I told her.
She didn't pay anymore attention to me though. She was wasted. With a sigh, I helped hold her as we stumbled out of the bathroom. There, Chrissy and Alex were waiting.
Alex met me halfway, pulling Raquel into his arms easily. He was tall and had the build to be able to support another human. "I've got her. I'll take her home. Do you two need a ride?"
My lips twisted, unwilling to let her go off with him just like that.
He noticed. "Don't worry, her brother is staying with us for spring break. I'll have him text you a picture that she made it home okay."
Chrissy waved. "Go home. Drive safe. Make sure she washes off her makeup before sleeping in her bed." She stood beside me. "We'll order an Uber in a few."
He nodded politely. He turned to go, but then stopped. He looked back at us. "I really like her, just so you know. This isn't some ploy for a green card or to steal all her money and ruin her life. I like her and I want to try to make it work." He didn't wait for us to reply. He left swiftly, taking Raquel away.
"Like? Like??" Chrissy repeated. "You're going to just marry someone you like??" She looked up at the ceiling. "She has got to be out of her mind."
I nodded in agreement, getting dizzy by my own movement.
Chrissy grabbed my wrist and pulled me along, through the crowd, and out the front. She took out her phone and ordered an Uber from the app. "You good with crashing with me tonight?"
"Hmm? Yea." I yawned. "At least I'll be able to sleep in with you. Are your roommates going to be alright?"
She sneered. "Those girls break the rules all the time. Who gives a shit?" She glanced down at me. "I know Raquel didn't say it specifically, but one of us will have to be the maid of honor."
I groaned. "You can do it. I won't hold a grudge. Pleaseeee??"
She laughed. "Wow. What a quick decision. Guess you had enough of it from last year?"
My eyes opened and I looked at her clearly. "Chrissy....with Raquel, I am now a bridesmaid for three different parties. There's no way I can be a maid of honor. They have to do even more of the planning and coordinating. Please give me this break? I love Raquel just as much as you do, but I don't need the title."
She was shocked. "What? How? Who are you a bridesmaid for?"
"I told you about Brittany and Dean a few months ago. They got engaged during Christmas time." I rambled. "They're doing a destination wedding. In Hawaii. Then there's Karina and Justin, my old college roommates. That's going to be in Florida. I'm going to be flying all over the place, and I don't even know when or where the bachelorette party will be."
"You've got it tough." She patted my shoulder. "I'm sure Raquel will understand. And she's probably happy that we won't fight over the maid of honor spot."
"Just so you know, I won't fight her to be your maid of honor either." I stuck my tongue out at her.
"You should just pray that I don't go find some man to marry in the next few months either." She joked. "Wouldn't that make it a crazy year for you?"
I laughed at the horror. "It's already crazy. I don't want to imagine any more nightmarish things." I shivered.