The Morning After the Wedding Before. Laura Ziepe

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       Holly

      As Holly looked around, hypnotized by the scene in front of her, she had a good feeling about this trip. It wasn’t as though she hadn’t been to a pool party on holiday before; she’d been to dozens when she’d been in her early twenties. It was just she’d never been to Las Vegas before; the swimming pool was absolutely enormous, the sun blazing, music blasting, the place was heaving with young people and it was a twenty-four-hour party paradise. She felt so pleased that her college friend, Emma Langford, had chosen Vegas as her wedding destination. Holly being a single mother to two young children, it was exactly the kind of place the doctor ordered. The wedding was the perfect excuse to escape toddler tantrums for this oasis of indulgence.

      ‘Emma?’ Holly called out hesitantly, as she made her way over to the slender girl in the white bikini taking a selfie. The girl she was calling had her back to Holly and hadn’t heard her voice over the loud music. Holly knew Emma had lost tons of weight, but they hadn’t seen each other in six months. Was that really her?

      Emma turned round, her pretty face exploding into a huge smile. ‘Holly, you came!’ She laughed, gripping her in a tight hug, pushing her sunglasses back into her long, dark hair. ‘It’s so good to see you. I’m glad you found us okay, especially seeing as this place is so packed. Where’s Kim?’ she questioned, suddenly noticing that Holly was alone.

      ‘She’s taking a nap in the hotel room,’ Holly explained. They’d only landed about two hours ago and her best friend, Kim, had felt too tired to venture out. Kim was also a mother to two children: Mylo who was three, and Willow, nine months. They were a similar age to Holly’s children, Lottie and Jacob. Kim had been more excited about catching up on some sleep than anything else and had sprawled out the moment they got into the hotel room and discovered their giant beds. ‘I’m hoping Kim will come out later. You look amazing, Emma, honestly, absolutely stunning. I hardly recognize you,’ Holly told her earnestly, her eyes sweeping up and down in admiration. ‘I can’t believe you have nearly half a million followers on Instagram now too; it’s absolutely amazing. You must be so proud of yourself.’

      Emma was a lifestyle blogger; Holly often checked out her page, lusting over the exotic trips abroad Emma posted about. It had all started with Emma sharing an image of her weight loss and after gaining thousands of followers during her journey, her page had since changed to her general lifestyle. Emma posted about everything: from her new outfit, to the food she was eating or her latest make-up routine. Her Instagram page followers continued to increase, and at a rapid rate too. Emma’s images were flawless and aspirational. Sometimes Holly couldn’t believe Emma was the same person as the plus-size, curvy teen from college she’d met all those years ago. She appeared to have the dream life and was now making a career just from posting on social media; it was quite incredible and Holly was so happy for her friend who used to have such low self-esteem. Emma was now tiny, Holly realized, astonished by her transformation; she guessed she was now a size eight or maybe even a six. Holly was aware she’d lost even more weight since she’d last seen her, judging by her Instagram feed, but she had always imagined Emma had tweaked her images a little. Taken them from a flattering angle and perhaps added a filter or adjusted the lighting. But here Emma was, looking every bit as polished as she did in her posts. Her hair was glossy, her skin was glowing and Holly couldn’t take her eyes off Emma’s toned abs. It was almost impossible to remember what Emma had looked like when she’d been a size eighteen. Like when your children grew up and you forgot the memories of them being a newborn baby; Holly simply couldn’t imagine it.

      ‘Thank you,’ Emma replied, her cheeks reddening with the compliment. ‘I wouldn’t have been able to do any of it without Charlie though. He’s always helped manage my Instagram page and somehow my followers have climbed to half a million. It’s been such a mad year. Having a fiancé who is a personal trainer has obviously helped me get into shape, and the wedding has been the motivation I needed too,’ she explained before changing the subject. ‘That’s a shame about Kim, but perhaps she just needs a bit of rest after the long flight. Come, let me introduce you to some of the others.’

      Emma introduced Holly to some of her friends lying on the large round sun-bed next to her and she was pleased to see some familiar faces when she noticed Fran and Danni, two girls from college, were also there. She’d never met Charlie, but Holly felt as though she already knew him just from Emma’s Instagram. It was strange feeling as though you knew someone just from seeing them on social media. He too, looked every bit as perfect as Emma often displayed, and flashed Holly a warm, welcoming grin.

      ‘This is Frankie, Charlie’s cousin,’ Emma introduced the man next to Charlie. ‘He practically lives with us back home,’ Emma laughed good-naturedly, ‘we can’t seem to get rid of him. He’s like part of the furniture.’

      Frankie shot Emma a mock-offended look. ‘You don’t complain when I’m cooking the dinner,’ he chuckled.

      ‘To be fair, he’s an amazing cook,’ Emma flashed him a natural smile. ‘You’ve been a massive help with the wedding too,’ she added sweetly, ‘even more than Charlie I’d say.’ She raised her eyebrows at her fiancé, but it was clear to see that Emma wasn’t really bothered.

      ‘Hey, I’ve done loads of organizing,’ Charlie retorted without conviction. ‘Frankie’s just better than me at planning things, that’s all,’ he shrugged, ‘he seems to like all the girly stuff.’

      Frankie elbowed him playfully.

      ‘Come, let’s go to the bar and get a drink,’ Emma suggested to Holly merrily, ‘we have so much to catch up on.’

      Holly felt a buzz of excitement as she followed Emma. She hadn’t drunk alcohol in the daytime for ages. It felt rebellious and completely alien to her. It was hardly a regular occurrence since she’d become a parent and she felt so free having no children to think about while she was here. No noses to wipe, faces to clean or nappies to change; Holly was determined to enjoy every second and appreciate just thinking about herself for once. This was so far from her usual Wednesday afternoons at Lottie’s swimming lesson, chasing after Jacob as he toddled closer and closer towards the swimming pool and trying to feed him as many snacks as possible to keep him occupied.

      ‘Thanks so much for coming all the way out here for my wedding,’ Emma said, looking grateful as they ordered some cocktails. ‘I know it’s not exactly close to home and it must be difficult for you with the children. How are they? I haven’t seen them for ages. We must start making sure we meet up more often when we get back,’ she said guiltily.

      ‘Definitely,’ Holly agreed. Before she and Kim had become parents, they used to see Emma all the time. It wasn’t anyone’s fault that they didn’t spend as much time together any more; it was just one of those things. Their lives had gone in different directions. Kim and Holly often met at the local park or farm with their children, while Emma was extremely busy enjoying her successful career. They’d invited Emma out a few times, but Holly wasn’t surprised that Emma had turned their invite down for whatever reason; Holly couldn’t imagine she would want to spend time at a soft play if she didn’t have kids. Their nights out seemed to have stopped as soon as Holly and Kim had become pregnant, and Holly couldn’t even remember the last time they all went out together and had fun like they used to. It was so difficult getting Kim to agree to do something in the evenings without the children, and Holly guessed she’d since just given up asking. Kim was such a worrier. She hated leaving her children alone, even if her husband, Andy, or her mum was watching them. They did need to make much more of an effort though and Holly vowed she would in future. She didn’t even know the man that Emma was marrying; it had been far too long.

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