Rory woke up to a busy house later than she wanted to, and there was no doubt that her mother was going to give her grief about it.

Lizzy was already awake and was in the shower. Maybe I should go talk to them about the money now before people start showing up.

“Mother, where’s Dad?” Rory asked as she walked down the stairs.

“He’s gone out,” she replied and then turned to face her. “Dear Jesus! Rory! Why aren’t you cleaned up? It’s your sister’s wedding day—the most important day for this family and you haven’t even taken a shower? God, what do I do with you!”

Rory remained silent. Didn’t take much for her mother to ruin someone’s day.

“When Dad’s back, will you tell him that I need to speak with him urgently?” she said.

“Yeah, yeah. First, go and get washed up and hurry!”

Even today she’s not willing to be nice to me. Rory had figured her mother would’ve been overjoyed beyond expectations on her favorite daughter’s wedding day, but apparently not. At least, not when Rory was around. Today more than ever, Rory did not exist in this house. It was all about Tara, not that Rory complained.

“Look at you, you’re not even out of your pajamas yet,” Lizzy laughed as Rory entered the bedroom. “C’mon, we have to go to a wedding. It’s gonna be fun.”

To Rory, it seemed that Lizzy was almost back to her usual self. Of course, a part of her had changed for good, but it was a positive sign.

“I’m just gonna put on that hideous bridesmaid’s dress and go through the motions,” she said with a pinched expression.

“Oh, Rory. Please don’t be like that. They are your family after all, and she is your only sister.” Lizzy got no response from Rory. “We’ll have a lot of fun, I promise.”

“Fun with these people? Haven’t you seen how they are?” Rory sneered.

“I know. But this day will surely end better than it has started.” Lizzy smiled, her eyes glued to her phone. She was busy texting someone.

Rory opened her laptop and got into the daily morning ritual. Checking emails, replying to them and checking her T-shirt sales account. Let’s see if I have made any money at all today. When she had started with the T-shirt business, she used to love checking her account in the morning. Nowadays she dreaded it since the sales were usually low.

There were no emails, except one from Tara sending her a link to a YouTube video of Rory making a fool of herself outside that club. Rory quickly deleted it.

“Rory, you gotta go and at least get into the shower. Your hair will take a while to dry,“ Lizzy told her, still glued to her phone.

“Yeah, yeah, I know.”

The account screen finally loaded and at first Rory thought her eyes had gone bad. She rubbed them and looked again. The numbers remained unchanged. She was in shock and felt tears welling up her eyes. Rory felt like she was crumbling. The shock was too much for her to take.

There were 698 people who had placed a T-shirt order. Compared to the average of three or four orders daily, this was way beyond incredible. Rory took the hand that she had used to cover her mouth in astonishment and wiped away the slight tear that fell from her eye. This was a record earning for her.

How did this happen? Is this a mistake? Some system error? Rory went to check details, and all of the sales were legitimate. Some people had even left comments. Strangely most of those orders were for just one T-shirt design. The space camper van. The one Arsen had worn at the award ceremony concert the night before.

Then it dawned on Rory. It was because of Arsen wearing that T-shirt that it suddenly became so popular. Her design went viral because of him, and that was why there were so many sales.

Rory was against everything Arsen stood for. She despised celebrities like him. Yet, one slight gesture from him had changed her life. Rory wasn’t sure how she felt about it all. Are they buying it because they like the design or because Arsen Ford wore it? The dilemma ate at her.

But it was not as if she could refuse the orders. They were already paid for and the money would be transferred to her checking account in a day. It was then that the realization hit and a huge smile came upon Rory’s face. I don’t have to ask my parents for money anymore.

The grin grew and Rory couldn’t help but laugh out loud. It felt as if she was freed from jail. For her, this little success and the financial freedom that would result from it was more amazing than anything else. She was relieved as now she could keep her grandmother’s house without having to grovel to her parents, without the threat of her sister taking it over.

“What’s so funny? Why are you laughing?” Lizzy asked, finally prying her eyes away from her cellphone screen.

“Maybe you were right,” Rory said as a huge smile spread across her face. “Perhaps this day will end better than it started.”

“Of course it will. I just know it. But before that, please go and get ready.”

“Yes, I will. Right now, I’m willing to do anything. I am so happy I could cry.”

And for a moment, as she stood in the shower, Rory did cry a little. A huge weight had lifted off of her shoulders. Maybe this was just a one-time windfall or maybe it would expose her work to a large number of people; it didn’t matter. She was just thankful that for now, she was safe.

Instead of worrying about the future, as had become a secondary habit to her, Rory decided to focus on the present and enjoy the day as much as she could. Nothing could spoil her good mood today, and since she had a party to go to, Rory decided to make the most of it.

Lizzy was done with her own makeup as Rory stepped out of the shower and instantly, she sat Rory down in the chair and started doing her up too.

“I don’t need this, Lizzy. It’s not my wedding!” Rory protested.

“Yes you do. You should be the best-looking person at the wedding.”

“Er… shouldn’t that be the bride?”

“No,” Lizzy replied sternly, focusing only on Rory’s face, juggling between different makeup brushes.

“Seriously, how are you even so good at makeup, Lizzy? Who taught you?”

“Well, there is this little thing called the internet. Also if you don’t keep quiet and let me work, I will paint you like a clown.” The way Lizzy was taking it so seriously made Rory chuckle. She just closed her eyes and ran an image of all the money she had made in her head again. This is how it must feel to live without worry.

When Lizzy was done, Rory could not believe what she saw. She looked stunning. It was subtle, natural makeup, but Lizzy just knew how to accent Rory’s best features. The cheeks, the brows, the hair, everything was perfect.

“Oh Lizzy, my Lizzy. This is amazing!” Rory said.

“Thank you. This is the least I can do for you,” Lizzy smiled.

“I feel so bad putting on that hideous dress with such good makeup.”

“As you yourself told me, it’s just one day. Let’s just get this over with and we can get back to our nice, beautiful life in Montcove. I, for one, can’t wait,” Lizzy sighed.

“Amen, sister. Amen.” As she slipped the dress over her head, and Lizzy zipped it up, she was thrilled that it closed. And it didn’t look quite as bad as she’d feared, though it wasn’t the most comfortable.

Rory decided not to travel to the church with her sister’s entourage. Every moment away from Tara and her parents was a relief and she didn’t want to spoil her good mood.

As Rory and Lizzy entered the room the bride’s party had been assigned, all they heard was Tara’s voice, ordering everyone around. She was still getting last-minute things fixed and was an absolute nervous wreck. Rory had never seen her like this before and knew enough to get out of her sister’s way.

“Could’ve come even later,” Tara said sarcastically, as she spotted Rory.

“Hello to you too, sis. You seem to be in a chirpy mood.” Rory smirked, making Tara roll her eyes.

“Not today, Rory. Not today, okay? Please!”

“Stop bothering your sister and go do something useful instead,” Rory’s mother said from behind her. Even today, she has to pick on me. Whereas otherwise, such comments made Rory frown, today she just grinned. She was in a happy place and nothing could destroy that.

As Rory went to sit in one corner, wearing the ridiculous dress, she pulled out the phone and checked her sales page again. T-shirt sales had been increasing steadily and she realized that she had plenty of money to live comfortably for the next few months. Rory smiled as she thought about how she was going to fulfill all the orders. This is a welcome challenge, she thought.

“What are you smiling about?” Lizzy asked her, visibly uncomfortable in the surroundings.

“Well…” Rory paused.

“Well what?”

“I finally sold a whole lot of T-shirts,” Rory excitedly whispered in her ear.

“Wow. Really?”

“Yes. See.” Rory showed her the phone.

“Oh my God, Rory! I’m thrilled. Finally, things are happening for you. Oh my God! This is so awesome.” Lizzy hugged Rory, but was careful enough not to spoil her hair or the dress—that one Rory was so worried about fitting into.

“Isn’t this the T-shirt Arsen wore at that gig?” Lizzy asked.

“Yes,” Rory replied sheepishly. She didn’t want to even think about Arsen, let alone say a kind word about him.

“That was nice of him, don’t you think?”

“Whatever, Lizzy, I don’t think he was knowingly doing me any favors. He probably didn’t even know what T-shirt he had on. You know how these rockstars are. They couldn’t tell you what day it was if you asked them.”

“But Arsen isn’t like that.”

“They’re all like that. They don’t seem like that, but they are. Have you not learned that lesson by now?” Rory was getting slightly irritated.

“Yes.” Lizzy blushed. “Still, I don’t think Arsen is like the others. I bet he wore that T-shirt purposely.”

Rory chose not to reply. Arsen Ford was out of her life for good and as for the T-shirts that she had sold because of him, she considered them a thank you for all the things she did for him and his band while they were in Montcove.

With Lizzy constantly busy typing into her phone, Rory decided to wait out the hours quietly without getting in anyone’s way. She sat in a corner, and when they were told to head out for the wedding ceremony she followed obediently and did as she was told.

“Finally, you look presentable,” her mother said, as she looked her elder daughter up and down. Rory knew that this was as close to a compliment as she was going to get.

“Thanks, Mother.”

“Now you know what to do, right? I don’t suppose you go to too many weddings on that island of yours.” Her mother raised a brow.

“Yes, Mother. I’ll just stand there quietly. You don’t have to worry about me ruining it.”

“Don’t be sarcastic. It’s all about Tara today and I want it to go as perfectly for her as possible.” Is it ever not about Tara? Rory wanted to ask.

“And Rory, Mr. Carroll’s son, who works in New York, is in town, so I invited him as well. He’s a good boy with a good job and I think you’ll like him.”

Here it comes. The unavoidable matchmaking.

“Mother. It’s okay. I can...”

“No, you can’t. It is high time you had a family of your own. Isn’t it embarrassing enough that your younger sister is getting married before you? People are beginning to ask questions.” Her mother had a dark look on her face. She’s nine minutes younger, Rory wanted to protest.

“You aren’t capable of finding the right man for yourself and that’s why even in my old age, I have to do all the work. All I ask is please be nice to that boy. Don’t make a fool of yourself and I will pray that it works out. You cannot be alone all your life. Are you gonna die a spinster? See what happened to your Aunt Melissa? The wretched woman died with nothing but cats surrounding her.”

Rory stood silently. If it were any other day her anger would’ve reached its peak, but not today. Just one more day and I will be back home.

Rory decided to go through the whole ceremony and the party as silently as possible. She had decided long before that she would stick to the shadows and not interact much with people. It wasn’t a difficult task to lie low considering how many people were invited to the event.

She put on a smile as Tara walked down the aisle, clapping as her new husband Paul kissed her. Rory even stood in the crowd of women when Tara threw the bouquet, but made no effort to catch it.

Just a wedding party to get through and you will be done with this. Just a little more time, she reminded herself as yet another relative of hers asked her about her own wedding plans. You don’t see these people ever. Doesn’t matter what they say or what they think.

Rory was content and she liked this feeling. She didn’t need a big wedding or the spotlight like her sister did to feel happy. Small things in life, like not worrying about the future and being able to fend for herself, were good enough for her.

Rory pulled out her phone and smiled. The sales were still increasing. She was so happy she could cry, but she did not want to spoil the amazing makeup job that Lizzy had done.