Free Holly's Wishes by Karen Pokras

Shelley and Ed Oakes, their son Ben, and his girlfriend, um … I’m sorry, tell me your name again.”
    “Michelle,” she said, with a tone making it sound as if she received the greatest insult of her life.
    “Yes, his girlfriend, Michelle,” Patricia continued, either pretending not to notice her rude attitude or not care … perhaps both.
    “The Oakes’ are Max’s cousins. I thought it would be nice to have them over since we’re practically family now, and Sunday is family dinner night. Isn’t it funny? All these years in Forest Hills together, and we never ran into each other. These are my girls, Tessa and Holly.”
    Holly and Ben looked at each other and smiled. She wondered how long it would take their parents to figure out they went to the Soph Hop together in high school.
    “We met Ben at Ava’s wedding,” Tessa offered.
    “Oh, did you?” Patricia asked.
    “Yes,” Holly said. She tried not to sound too thrown off. Her heart raced as he continued to smile at her. “It’s nice to see you again.” As if in a trance, she continued to gaze into his eyes for a brief moment, forgetting everyone else around her … until she felt the tug of Jared’s hand .
    “This is my boyfriend, Jared,” she introduced. “I don’t think you had a chance to meet at the wedding.”
    “No,” Ben said, holding his arm out. “I don’t believe we did.”
    Well, that’s because he was already three sheets to the wind, she thought to herself. Of course, Ben already knew about Jared’s embarrassing behavior that evening. Thankfully, he was discreet enough not to mention it.
    “Nice to meet you,” he said, shaking Ben’s hand.
    “It’s nice to meet you also, Mr. and Mrs. Oakes,” Holly added, “and hello, Michelle.”
    Michelle silently nodded and stood to the side while the rest of the guests said their hellos and made small talk. Holly and Tessa discreetly cleared away the dishes, leaving just her and Jared’s half eaten meals.
    “Please … sit,” Patricia finally offered when the table appeared presentable.
    Clearing her throat with an obnoxious and loud sound, Michelle continued to stand as everyone else took their seats.
    “Right,” Ben said, standing back up, looking defeated. “I’m sorry to be rude, but I’m afraid we have to run already.”
    Holly’s mother stood up again. “It’s no problem, Ben. Your mom told me earlier you’d only be stopping in for a few minutes. She said you were going to a concert or something?”
    “That’s right. A band I like is playing at Farrell’s Pub,” Michelle said. Turning the corners of her lips up, she stared directly at Jared, bypassing Holly along the way. “You should come with us. You’d like them.” Tilting her head, she wrapped a strand of her hair around her finger as she continued to stare at him.
    Holly glared at her. How would she know what Jared likes?
    “Thanks,” Holly said, letting Michelle know that whatever invitation she extended to her boyfriend would also include herself. “But we just got here. We haven’t even finished dinner.”
    “Aw, come on, Hol,” Jared said, keeping his eyes on Michelle a moment longer than he should have before switching his attention back to his girlfriend. “It sounds fun. I don’t think your parents would mind. Would you?” He glanced over to Patricia who only shook her head. “Besides, we need to celebrate.”
    Holly turned to her mother to try to get a read on the situation, but was unable to make eye contact. She sighed. “Are you sure it’s okay, Mom? Dad?”
    “Oh, it’s fine,” Bob said. “You don’t need to hang out here with us old folks. Go and have fun.”
    “Well, in that case,” Tessa said, getting up. “Would you two mind dropping me off at a party on your way out?”
    Holly glared at Michelle again. In less than five minutes flat she’d managed to ruin her parent’s family visit. She couldn’t help but notice Ben didn’t look happy about her actions