The morning of the wedding was complete and utter chaos. Reese had been woken up and whisked out of bed at an ungodly hour, and forced into a chair, while a crazy woman with hairspray attacked her hair and face. Amy had gone off with her bridesmaids to get ready, so once everything was said and done, Reese just found herself sitting around, doing nothing.

In fact, she'd been slumped on her bed, dress bunched up around her hips, messing around on her computer when her room phone rang. She scrambled to answer.

"Hello?"

'Is this Miss Newhall?"

"Yeah, why?"

Reese tried to not let herself be concerned with the amount of worry in the man's voice.

"There's someone down 'ere for you -- says he's pickin' you up for somethin'."

"Oh," she muttered absentmindedly, "that'd be my date."

"Really?" he exclaimed with feigned enthusiasm, "Well, he's a.... Charmin' man." he trailed off as if unsure of how to wrap up his sentence.

"Er, thanks," Reese rushed, slipping clumsily off the bed and hurriedly smoothing out her dress, "I'll be right down."

She jammed the phone back onto its receiver, grabbed her bag, and sped out the door.

Once in the lobby, Reese had to look around a minute, not sure what the guy even looked like. Just as her heart began to sink when she caught no sight of him, she felt a tap on her shoulder and jumped in surprise.

"Jumpy, aren't we?"

Before she even turned around, Reese registered the man's accent immediately as British. What was her mother playing at?

"Oh," she tried to laugh, "just a little."

The man was indeed good-looking, with a dazzling smile and slick, dark hair, but she couldn't help but feel his suit was just a little too tight, and his eyes were too bored looking for the rest of his face.

"You're Jake, right?"

"Yes, indeed. You look lovely, Rach," he said warmly, pulling her into an awkward side-hug.

Rach? He was kidding, right?

"Um, Rach as in Rachel?" Reese asked, stepping back and crossing her arms.

"Of course, and such a pretty name it is," he cooed, elbowing her, and Reese felt an unpleasant shiver roll down her spine.

"The name's Reese," she snapped as she let him guide her out the door, his hand on the small of her back.

"Reese? Are you sure? Isn't that more of a guy's name?" Jake asked, removing his hand and picking up their pace a little.

Reese shrugged, pushing aside her urge to just dump the guy on the spot and go to the wedding by herself. "Well... you'd better take it up with my mother if you have a problem."

He let out a loud laugh, quite abruptly, sounding more as if a passing stranger had just punched him in the gut, rather than the fact that he'd just heard an unfunny joke that he took to be the funniest thing in the world.

"You're a fiery girl, Reese," Jake said warmly.

She grit her teeth as he said her name again, holding out the E sound much too long.

"Thanks."

Jake stopped in front of a large, black truck, and pulled out a set of keys, twirling them on his fingers as he walked around to the driver's side.

"Get in!" he called to Reese as he slammed the door with a loud thump. Grumbling, she hiked up her skirt, lugged the passenger door open, and pulled herself inside, willing herself not to glare at her date, instead toying with all the reasons her insane mother thought this guy would be good company to a wedding.

Reese would have been perfectly happy to stare silently out the window for the entirety of the car ride, but Jake seemed intent on not letting that happen.

"So, how do you like the car?" he asked. "She's brand new, got a great deal on her too, the guy was practically giving them away, though that makes her sound kind of cheap, but she's far from cheap. Probably as nice as they come, actually, came with spare tires and everything..."

She really just ended up tuning out most of Jake's attempts to make conversation, as they were either about his car or the really expensive college he went to in the UK. Either way, the drive felt years long, and by the time she caught sight of the garden where the wedding would take place, she had to stop herself from jumping out of the car while it was still moving.

Reese walked briskly to the crowd of people, leaving Jake to scramble to catch up. She darted around guests and chairs, desperately searching faces until she spotted Elliot, and felt relief flood her almost instantly.

"Elliot!" she called, jogging over as best she could in heels. He looked up and smiled once he saw her, excusing himself from the man he'd been talking to.

"Sister dear, glad to see you made it."

Reese smirked. "Well, I was bored, and figured I might as well come -- I've got nothing better to do than see my brother get married anyway."

Elliot humored her with a chuckle, followed by a sip of his drink and was just about to shoot back an equally sarcastic reply when Jake walked over, wheezing as he went.

"Man you're fast," he managed, stopping to stand by Reese and pat her on the shoulder. When his hand lingered too long, she shoved him off and reached behind him to grab a frozen glass of champagne. The only way, she decided, she would make it through the evening with her escort, was to keep the drinks coming, just enough to put a pleasant fog over her head.

"Who's this?" Elliot asked, not even bothering to hide his amusement.

"Er, this is my date," Reese sputtered through her drink. "Jake. His name is Jake."

"Well, nice to meet you, Jake." Her brother stuck out a hand, but Jake just stared at it blankly, like he was being offered a severed head instead of a polite gesture.

"Yes, you too. Now, where would I find one of those?" he pointed to Reese's glass, nodded once at her, and took off across the lawn, calling back, "I won't be a moment, darling!"

As soon as he was out of earshot, Elliot let out a loud snort. "Well, he's a charmer, where'd you find him? Pick him up off the side of the road on the way over, or something?"

"No, mom chose him for me, isn't he lovely?"

Elliot chuckled again. "You're a very lucky girl, Reese, and I wish you the best having to sit next to him during the ceremony. Him and mom." He tipped his glass and took another long swig.

"Yeah, well, I'll live. If you don't hear from me tomorrow, send out search parties. He might have killed me and hidden my body somewhere."

Elliot nodded, absently checking his watch. "Oh, geez, you have to sit down. I'm not even supposed to be over her, now go," he ushered her towards rows of chairs, pointing her towards the front. "Mom's over there, so's her husband."

Reese's mother waved at her violently, chunky bracelets whipping around her wrists, looking about ready to fly off and hit someone. At the last minute, she grabbed Jake's arm, and pulled him over a few chairs early, forcing him down next to her. Her mom barely had time to look confused before the music started, and she was forced back around by her husband, who was looking slightly embarrassed. Reese waved at the back of their heads, grinning widely as she caught her brother's eye; he looked like he could barely contain his laughing fit.

Reese could now say, with complete enthusiasm, that receptions were ten thousand times better than the actual ceremonies. Case in point: Cake, booze, actual talking, no crossed legs, cake, hiding places from your crazy mother, cake, etc. In fact, she had gotten to her third piece before her mother found her hiding at an empty table behind two talkative women in gold cocktail dresses, who thankfully hadn't moved all night.

"Ah, Reese, I've finally found you!" she exclaimed, and Reese shrank back, her fork halfway to her mouth.

"Mom," she said curtly, not even bothering to object when her mother sat herself down.

"Honestly, I feel like you've been avoiding me all day! You were supposed to sit with us during the wedding, you and Jake."

"Well... now I know, for future reference" Reese shrugged, shoving the last big bite of cake into her mouth.

"What future? It's not like I have another child to marry off!" she said like it was the most ridiculous thing in the world.

"What about me? I might get married some day."

Her mother scoffed. "Please, and that'll be the day your grandmother claws herself out of her grave and has a screaming fit because you didn't send her an invite."

Reese tossed her fork onto her plate, and it landed with a loud clatter. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Well, what am I supposed to expect? You've been avoiding Jake since the ceremony, though he's a perfectly nice guy-"

"Mom he's horrible," Reese spat, "I don't understand how you expect me to-"

"Don't interrupt me when I'm speaking to you young lady," her mother snapped, holding a finger up in front of her face. "I picked him out for you under the impression you would actually be considerate towards him. Instead, I find you've hardly spoken a word to each other, and he's off chatting up another girl while you hide over here and stuff your face!"

"Mom, he's stuck up, and spoiled, and didn't even know his date's damn name! You really expect me to be charmed by him? Maybe if I was deaf, then all I would have to do is look at him!"

"Don't raise your voice," her mother hissed, "you're going to cause a scene."

"Have you even met the guy?" Reese asked, hardly bothering to speak quietly. "Have you had one conversation with him? Funnily enough, he's told me all about that fancy college he went to, but try to have an intelligent discussion with him and he'll just look at you like you're crazy!"

"Reese, I'm only trying to help," her mother said, reaching out for her hand. Reese jerked it out of reach and tucked it behind her back. "I know you haven't been on a date in ages -- I just was under the impression you had no one else to go with. Did you?"

Reese shot her a hard glare and crossed her arms. "I have friends if that's what you're asking. I wouldn't have had to come alone, and now I'm desperately wishing I had!"

"I just want you to be happy -- like me. I've settled down with a nice man, and I think you should do the same."

Reese scoffed loudly. "You want me to end up like you? So I could abandon my husband and daughter without a second thought, with a man who's probably seeing four other women?"

Her mother took a deep breath, and Reese knew she'd struck a chord. She just didn't know if she'd regret it later. "You will not speak to me like that! I happen to be very happy-"

"But what about dad, huh?" Reese burst out, pushing herself to her feet. "What about me? I have work! I have a life! I don't have time to take care of him all the time, so now, some stranger does it for me! It should be you, down there. You know, he's still hung up on you -- hasn't even thought about dating since you left him."

To her surprise, Reese's mother sat back in her chair, and didn't say anything, instead chose to stare down at her hands in silence. "Ryan paid to put you in good schools," she breathed. "He put you through university."

Reese laughed harshly. "Like he wanted to. You asked him, mom -- and I hated those schools! I don't know one other person who went to a preschool that was harder to get into than college!"

"That doesn't matter! The point is, you're well educated, and a perfect match for some man out there, though your attitude could use some work."

"Really now, is that all? Nothing else wrong with me you want to point out?"

"Well, if I were you, I'd go a little easy on the cake -- your thighs won't thank you for it later-"

"Gee mom, thanks for pointing out how fat my ass is. This has been a real enlightening conversation!"

Now, it was her mother's turn to stand up abruptly, shoving the table forward as she did so. The dishes clattered, and the two chatty woman paused in their gossiping to look up. "I will not be spoken to like this. Now, go find Jake, I'm sure he's been looking all over for you."

With that, she slung her studded purse over her shoulder, shot the two staring woman a sweet smile, and stalked off, leaving Reese to glare at the back of her badly permed head.

She sat down again, hard, crossing her legs and fiddling with the tiny fork. Her mother always jumped on the opportunity to point out everything wrong with her. How she had slightly larger thighs than her mother would've desired, or a disproportionately short torso, or that her hair wasn't sandy blonde like her brother's. How she wasn't at all like her mom -- but Reese was glad for it. The last thing, at least.

"Reese, darling!"

Reese inwardly groaned as Jake appeared by her side, smiling widely. "I've been looking everywhere for you!"

"Well," she mumbled, throwing her hands up in the air, "you found me!"

"Listen, there's someone I want you to meet." He said, gestering to a blonde woman who had seemingly materialized by his side. She was at least two inches taller than him, with a vacant smile on her face and way too much mascara that danced on the line between wedding guest, and hooker. "This is Abigail, she's one of Amy's bridesmaids."

"Wow, cool," Reese said halfheartedly, getting to her feet for the second time.

"Hey," Jake dropped his voice, stepping closer to Reese. "She says she wouldn't mind you know, coming home with us. We could all just open a bottle of wine and... see what happens?"

Reese bit her lip to keep from laughing in his face. "Excuse me?" But as he opened his mouth to repeat himself, obviously confused, she put a hand up to silence him. "I won't be going anywhere with you, honey, so you guys go enjoy yourselves."

He caught her hand as she made to leave, and she hastily yanked it out of his grip. "C'mon, Rach, you're beautiful, I'm not too bad if I do say so myself, and Abby, well, just look at her. Just give me a chance."

"Jake," Reese started, almost at a complete loss for words. "I am not, and was never planning to go home with you -- or Abigail -- so have fun. Oh, and the name's Reese." She slapped his cheek playfully, spun on her heel, and walked off.

"Wait, don't you need a ride?" Jake shouted after her.

"I'll catch a cab!" Reese called over her shoulder, not caring if he heard her or not. All she could focus on was getting home as quickly as possible and taking a long shower.