“Lena,” he said. She turned with the same irritated expression she’d worn since I climbed out of the pool. “What?” “What did you just say to Sophia?” Lena glanced at Sophia, then back at him. “Nothing.” “I heard you.” The laughter disappeared from her face completely.
My mother was still trying to wrap a towel around me without touching my right shoulder. Dad had gone to find ice. Guests stood in loose circles, pretending not to listen while listening to every word.
Caleb lowered his voice, but I was close enough to hear. “You said you knew she wouldn’t be able to catch herself on that side.” Lena stared at him. Sophia looked down. “You said that was the point.”
Something cold moved through me that had nothing to do with the water dripping from my dress. I looked at Lena. “What does that mean?” She shook her head immediately. “It doesn’t mean anything. I was talking about the joke.” “What joke?” Caleb asked. “The pool, obviously. You told me you just did it.” “I did.” “No, you told me it was spontaneous.” “It was.” “Then why were you talking about her shoulder like you had thought about it before?”
My mother stepped in. “Everybody is upset. This is not the time to start accusing people of things.” Caleb looked at her. “I’m asking my fiancee a question.” “And I answered it,” Lena snapped. “I pushed Tessa into a pool. I didn’t push her off a roof.”
My shoulder throbbed so hard I felt sick. “You knew I couldn’t catch myself.” She turned toward me. “I knew you were injured. That is not the same thing as trying to injure you.” That distinction would become her favorite sentence for the next several days.
Caleb rubbed both hands over his face, then looked toward the garden where rows of white chairs waited for a ceremony supposed to begin in less than half an hour. “I can’t do this right now.” Lena blinked. “Do what?” “Stand up there and get married while you’re lying to me.” Her face changed. “You are not serious.” “I need the truth.” “You have the truth.” “No, I have three different versions in ten minutes.”
The venue coordinator approached carefully. “We need to know whether the ceremony is still happening.” Caleb looked at Lena. “Not today.”
Guests began understanding before anyone made an announcement. Conversations dropped to whispers. The venue manager asked me whether I wanted an ambulance and whether I was willing to complete an incident report. I said yes to the report and no to the ambulance — Dad could drive me. She also told us there were security cameras covering most of the courtyard. Lena heard that. “Good,” she said. “Then everybody can see I barely touched her.”
I looked at her wet fingerprints still darkening the back of my dress. Caleb said, “That is what you’re worried about?” She turned on him. “I’m worried that ninety people are standing around acting like I committed a crime.” Nobody answered. For once, the silence around Lena did not rush to protect her.
I tried to lift my right arm again. Pain shot from my shoulder into my neck. I stopped. “I need to go get this checked,” I said. My mother nodded too quickly. “Of course, your father can take you. We’ll sort this out here.” Lena laughed once without humor. “Unbelievable.” I looked at her. “You know I didn’t mean for you to get hurt.” I waited for the old response to come out of my mouth — “I know.” Instead I said, “I don’t know what you meant.” That was the first thing I did differently.