I never actually saw Hannah’s date. I never learned his name. He’s a phantom that blended in with every other face at the wedding. I only heard his angry voice through the wooden shades, a silent witness to their discord, and I won’t see him outside after he disappears into the blackness of the night.
I wait another couple of minutes before emerging from the coat check into the deserted hallway. When I make it back out onto the front porch, Bowen’s leaning against the railing, my beige clutch at his side and his other hand in his pocket, looking more comfortable carrying it than I ever did.
Moments later, Hannah appears in front of him, “Can you drop me off at my apartment?” I hear her say as I arrive at his side.
The audacity.
He casts her a blasé look, “Where’s your man?”
“He left.” She’s curt and to the point. “It doesn’t matter.”
“Can’t.” He’s also curt and to the point.
She scowls at him, “Why?”
In her effort to ignore me, Hannah doesn’t notice my head and eyebrow movements as they volley back and forth between her and Bowen, making a mockery of her plight. But Bowen sees it, evident by the twitch in the corner of his mouth as he tries not to laugh.
“Did you ask Hildy?” he asks, glancing around for his sister.
“No.” Hannah mumbles as she gazes off into the distance.
Right then, Hildy and Jay appear on the porch with Bowen’s parents, Leona and Rick. Leona looks like she’s ready to hit the next party in her black strappy heels and tight, pink maxi dress. Rick looks like he just wants to go home and sleep.
Hildy stops in front of Bowen, “Are you ready to go?”
He reaches for my hand and starts down the brick steps, “Yep.”
All of us descend into the parking lot and head toward the back corner where Bowen’s truck is parked. I remember Hildy and Jay’s SUV is parked in the same direction. As my heels click against the asphalt, all I can think about is how amazing it’s going to feel when I take them off.
Bowen turns to me, “Why don’t you drive?”
At first, I don’t register his question. But when I do, a sense of dread washes over me.
My head falls back in exasperation, “Please don’t do this.”
“Why?” He sounds mildly insulted.
“I don’t want to drive your truck,” I whine forlornly.
I assume Bowen’s implying he’s had too much to drink. Not only do I not want to drive his tank of a truck after a night of partying, but it catches me off-guard that he would even suggest it. He never lets anyone drive his truck. I’ve only driven it twice; once when Bowen dared me that I was too scared to drive it, and the other time I moved it when it was blocking someone else in the driveway. And when he came out to leave for work the next morning, it looked like someone ran it off the gravel driveway in a drunken stupor and ditched it in the yard.
Bowen stops as we reach the corner of the lot, “Fine,” he turns to me, “then just drive yours.”
“Did you forget you drove here?” I snicker.
Bowen tosses something at me and I flinch as I catch it against my chest. It’s a set of keys.
“I told you I don’t want to drive your truck,” I say, holding the keys back out to him.
Bowen lowers his voice, “Why don’t you check out those keys?”
When I finally look at them, I realize it’s my pink carabiner with my condo keys, my bike rack key, and my key ring cards for the grocery store and library. But something is missing...
Instead of the car key for my old Impreza, there’s a Chevy key fob in its place. I look up at Bowen in utter confusion. He bows his head and motions over my shoulder. When I turn around, I come face to face with the back of a bright white Tahoe with a bike rack—my bike rack—affixed to the hitch. I look at Bowen, back at the Tahoe, and then back at Bowen again.
He stares back at me with a half-smile, “Your birthday’s coming up, I figured this would be a good time to surprise you.”
My mind is racing and I have no idea what to think.
“What?” I finally shriek, my mouth hanging open while cheers and laughter erupt behind me. “You bought me a car?”
He nods, his Cheshire Cat grin spreading across his face.
“Happy birthday!” Hildy cackles over my shoulder.
I whip around to her, still in shock, “Did you know?”
“Of course, I did,” she rolls her eyes, “who do you think drove it here?”
I remain in the middle of the parking lot, dumbstruck as both Hildy and Leona embrace me on both sides, squeezing me between them. After finally composing myself, I turn and jump into Bowen’s arms, knocking him backward.
“I love you, baby girl,” he presses his cheek to the side of my head, speaking into my ear, “now you don’t even have to take your bike off the rack if you don’t want to.”
I laugh to myself, impressed that he would even remember such an insignificant complaint about limited backseat and cargo room. One thing is for sure, I definitely never would’ve anticipated this. The Tahoe isn’t as big as his F250, but it’s still big. Not a barge, but maybe just a shrimp boat.
Over Bowen’s shoulder, I steal a glance at Hannah, and our eyes meet for a split second.
To anyone else, it’s a casual exchange, regarding the people standing around me. But the eyes betray emotion. And while I’m filled with exhilaration, the look of forced happiness on her face is overwhelming. The lack of glimmer and smile lines in her expression tells the real story. But a second later, it doesn’t matter. Once I’m sitting in the driver’s seat of my brand-new SUV, I forget all about everything else. Except one thing.
