Excerpt: Lost Pavement

There was a commotion in the lobby when I came back. It was of course Sydney. She was yelling and swinging her arms around in wild gestures. Michael was trying to quiet her down gently but this seemed to be aggravating her more.
“For crying out loud! What is it now!? Sydney, don’t you think we’ve had enough drama for one day?” I was starting to lose my patience now. I could feel the heat rising up in my neck. Gary seemed to notice the warning signs and jumped to his feet. Annabelle meltdowns are few and far between but they were a force to be reckoned with.
“Sydney just talked to Marley,” he said as he took my shoulders and turned me away from Sydney who was staring at me like I had swung at her. “Seems she is going to Kentucky to participate in a talent show. She…uh…sends her regards to everyone and says she hopes to make it by the rehearsal dinner.”
He was saying this like he was telling me what color socks he planned on wearing tomorrow. He wanted in no way to give the assumption that this was something I should be panicking about. It didn’t work.
“DID ANYONE TELL HER THAT SHE HAS A DEAD UNCLE AND A MOM WHO IS IN A DRUG-INDUCED COMA AND A SISTER WHO IS ONE MINUTE FROM A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN!!!!?”
People from all over the hospital were peeking around corners and creeping down hallways to see what the fuss was about. I didn’t care.
This was not happening on my watch. I had put up with entirely too much today for freaking Marley Lislow to ruin everything. I didn’t care if she chose not to come at all. For all I cared, no one could come except Gary and Sydney and Michael. There would be a wedding on Saturday if it was the last thing that I witnessed on this Earth.
Deep breaths, I told myself. The only thing I could do was keep moving through the next crisis. I had to smooth over the situation.
Amazingly, it seemed to have smoothed itself over while I was deep breathing. People had quickly started moving back to their business so as not to get caught staring now that it had gone awkwardly quiet. Sydney still looked shocked that I had yelled at her and was much, much calmer. Even Michael looked relieved which might have been a first for quite a few hours.
I made my way quietly over to them and knelt down in front of my best friend.
“Syd, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that. This is the deal: I know how important this weekend is to you and I really want to make it happen for you just like you planned. But the important thing to remember is even if it doesn’t go perfectly, which it is looking like might be the case, it is going to happen and that’s what matters. You and Michael will start your life together and everything else is just details.
That being said, it appears someone murdered your Uncle.”