“I wasn’t allowed to watch LA Law when I was a kid, Hannah,” Bee had said, her voice cracking.

Hannah now placed her hands over her eyes and let out a long groan. “Oh, god, I’m awful. She’s over there, preparing to commit to someone for the rest of her life, and I’m not even paying attention. Just tell me what to do, Dawn. Am I supposed to go over there and fluff her skirt?”

“Hannah! Look at me!” Dawn ordered in her loud whisper, forcing Hannah to uncover her eyes and make eye contact with the maid of honor. Dawn’s voice was softer but became almost vicious when she noticed that Hannah was beginning to cry.

“No. Absolutely not,” Dawn said quickly, using her pointer finger to wipe the first teardrops from Hannah’s eyes before they made their way to her cheek. “No tears. Tears are not an option right now. You have makeup on.” She took Hannah’s hands and laced them in her own.

“Look at me.”

Hannah shut her eyes tight, holding back the moisture.

“Look at me!” Dawn hissed loud enough for Lisa to look over from Bee’s corner of the room, puzzled and concerned.

Hannah silently obeyed. Her eyes popped open. She blinked fast to keep the tears at bay.

“I want you to take a long, deep breath in,” Dawn instructed authoritatively.

Both women inhaled, their eyes locked. “Now out,” Dawn said, prompting them to exhale simultaneously.

Dawn let Hannah’s hands drop limp at her sides.

“Honey,” Dawn said, “you have to cut this out.”

“I’m sorry. I just keep looking for him down there. All this waiting—it’s driving me crazy. I just want to see Tom and get it over with. I want to see him, feel miserable, go back to the hotel, and get on with my life. I’m sorry. I want to be here for Bee…but all I can think about is the fact that Tom is down on the lawn with some other woman. Some…guidance counselor. And when I’m not looking for him, I’m checking my stupid phone. And there’s nothing. No messages. No Natalie Portman. No nothing.”

Dawn cocked her head to the side, not even asking why Hannah had mentioned Natalie Portman. Without warning, she shuffled away from Hannah and over to her makeup case. Hannah watched as Dawn opened the plastic tote and took out a small change purse from which she removed three white pills. Her heels clacked on the wood floor as she returned.

Dawn grabbed Hannah’s right hand, delivering the pills to her palm. “Put those pills in your mouth and wash them down,” Dawn instructed, nodding at a half-consumed glass of flat soda that Hannah had nursed earlier in the day.

Hannah chewed on her lip, eyeing the white tablets.

“What are they?”

Dawn flashed a smile. “Two will calm you down, and the other will keep you nice and alert. I give these to my pageant girls before shows. They help with nerves. These are going to put you in a better mood.”