After I Stopped Waiting, She Begged Me to Stay

"Phyllis, I..."

"Ha!"

The phone landed on the couch where she'd tossed it.

She stared at me, her gaze ice-cold.

"You know I hate being pressured more than anything. I never said I wouldn't marry you. Why do you have to keep pushing? If you're so desperate to get married, go find someone else who catches your eye and drag her to the altar. There is no way I'm agreeing to marry you next week."

"Phyllis!"

She ignored me and turned to leave.

The door slammed shut behind her.

I clenched my jaw.

What were the odds?

Just one letter off from her name.

I stared at the invitation and let out a sigh.

Forget it. It wasn't her anyway.

Once this reunion was over, she and I would have nothing to do with each other.

When I returned to the party, everyone was crowding around something, whooping and cheering.

Hilary and Phyllis had been shoved so close together they were practically pressed against each other. A glass of wine sat in front of each of them.

"Lovers' toast! You have to do the lovers' toast! That's the King's command! You two are doing the full wedding ceremony right here, right now!"

Phyllis laughed and raised a hand to wave them off.

"Okay, okay, this is getting out of hand. I'll just drink. Worst case, I'll take Hilary's penalty drink too..."

She stopped mid-sentence.

She'd spotted me standing not far away.

The hand she'd raised in protest slowly lowered.

She picked up her glass instead. "Well then. Lovers' toast it is!"

"Yes! Drink the lovers' toast, and your bond will last forever! Drink up!"

"You guys are too much..."

Hilary was jostled toward Phyllis, stumbling slightly. But the grin on his face was radiant. He willingly linked his arm with hers.

Sidney and the others scrambled for their phones, snapping pictures of the two of them drinking with arms intertwined.

"Perfect!"

A confetti popper burst open out of nowhere.

The girls had produced a length of red silk from somewhere. They swept it over Phyllis's head in one swift motion.

"Once you've done the lovers' toast, you have to get married!"

"Lovers' toast, happiness everlast!"

Phyllis laughed. "You guys are taking this way too far."

But when the silk blinded her and she stumbled into Hilary's arms, she pressed herself tight against his chest.

Something like this had happened before, at a company outing.

The dice had landed on me and Phyllis for a lovers' toast.

Phyllis had smiled and declined.

"We're colleagues of the opposite sex. It wouldn't look appropriate."

"Oh, come on! Director Farley is a total workaholic. He doesn't think like that! It's just a game, Ms. Sullivan. Relax, nobody takes it seriously."

I'd gripped my glass, looking at her with open expectation.

"Still no."

She'd turned away and clinked glasses with one of her male subordinates instead.

"Going forward, these kinds of games are canceled."

I'd set my glass down, smile fading into something sheepish.

Back in the present, the crowd refused to let up until Hilary lifted the veil from Phyllis's head.

Then everyone noticed me standing off to the side, uninvolved.

"Norman."

Hilary held the red silk in his hand. "It was just a joke. Nobody took it seriously. Don't take it to heart."

"I don't." I smiled. "Whether it's real or fake, it's got nothing to do with me."

Phyllis glanced at me.

Hilary grinned. "Really? Well, that puts my mind at ease."

"At ease? At ease about what?"

"Oh my God! So our boy Hilary actually fell for her!"

"You two aren't getting out of this wedding! When are you treating your old classmates to the reception?"

The crowd erupted into another round of teasing.

I didn't join in.

I lowered my head and scrolled through the details of the wedding arrangements on my phone.

Hilary was being shoved around by the group again. He stumbled sideways and caught himself right next to me.

Just in time to see my screen.