Love, Rosie (210 page)

Buttercup:

SingleSam:

Buttercup:

UnsureOne:

LonelyLady:

Divorced_1:

Oh
good
here
comes
the
voice
of
reason
to
sort
you
lot
out.

He’s
a
bloody
bastard
you
know
that?
He
bloody
well
mar-

ried
her.

Oh
well.
Screw
him.

Did
he
contact
you
yet?

No,
haven’t
heard
a
thing
from
him
since
he
told
me
not
to

contact
him.

I
thought
maybe
he
would
have
sent
a
last-minute
invitation.

Not
a
chance,
the
selfish
little—

Well
you
were
very
rude
to
him
Buttercup,
accusing
him
of

marrying
that
woman
for
all
the
wrong
reasons.

I
wish
my
dad
could
give
Tommy
a
job
promotion.
He’d
defi-

nitely
come
back
to
me
then.

Yes
what
a
wonderful
loving
foundation
to
base
your
marriage

on,
very
healthy,
LonelyLady.
So
why
doesn’t
your
dad
jump
in

and
save
you
from
your
misery
by
giving
Tommy
a
promotion?

LonelyLady:

Divorced_1:

Buttercup:

My
dad
is
dead.

Oh.
Sorry.

Imagine
inviting
a
13-year-old
girl
to
Boston
all
by
herself.

The
man
has
gone
insane.
That’s
it;
he
is
officially
no
longer

my
best
friend.

LonelyLady:

Divorced_1:

LonelyLady:

Wildflower:

Buttercup:

UnsureOne:

Divorced_1:

Buttercup:

Can
I
be?

You
sad,
sad
woman.

What
now?

But
would
you
have
gone
to
the
wedding
had
he
invited
you

Buttercup?

Not
if
he
paid
me.

Well
then,
I’m
not
sure
that
I
understand
the
problem.

You
never
do.

At
least
then
I
would
have
had
the
choice
whether
to
go
or

not.
This
way
he
made
the
decision
for
me
and
I
don’t
get
to

make
my
statement.

316

LonelyLady:

Cecelia
Ahern

He
probably
just
didn’t
bother
printing
up
an
invite
because

he
knew
you
weren’t
going
to
attend.
Invites
are
very
expen-

sive,
you
know.
I
remember
Tommy
and
me
going
through

the
wedding
list
together.
We
were
so
happy
then.

Divorced_1:

LonelyLady:

Buttercup:

Probably
because
he
knew
he
wasn’t
going
to
stick
around

long
enough
to
meet
half
of
the
guests.

That’s
unfair.

Well
these
people
are
not
short
of
money,
believe
me,
and

why
else
would
he
invite
Katie
and
not
me,
if
not
but
to
rub

it
in
my
face?
Smear
it
right
in
there
like
an
exfoliating
face

pack
that
scrapes
away
at
your
skin—

UnsureOne:

Buttercup:

Katie
is
his
goddaughter.
He
couldn’t
not
invite
her.

And
I’m
his
best
friend.
Anyway
he
could
have
at
least
included

a
plane
ticket
and
an
offer
of
accommodation
for
the
poor
girl.

She’s
only
13.
But
I’m
almost
sure
their
wedded
bliss
will
be