The Other Side of the Glass

Emma adjusted her catering uniform, the white fabric stiff against skin that had known softer fabrics in another lifetime. She balanced the tray of spinach artichoke dip with practiced precision, moving through the crowd of guests who had no idea she'd once slept with the groom.

The reception venue featured an indoor pool, its blue water rippling under ambient lights that danced across the ceiling like trapped stars. Children ran shrieking along its edge while adults pretended not to notice how ridiculous they looked in formal wear beside chlorinated water.

"Emma?"

She turned. David stood there, a drink in hand, his hat—a vintage fedora that had been his trademark through college—now sitting slightly askew. The sight of it hit her like a physical force. She'd bought that hat for him at a thrift store on their third anniversary.

"David. Congratulations." Her voice didn't tremble. She'd practiced this moment in her shower for six months.

"I didn't know you were working tonight." His eyes searched hers, and for a terrible second, she thought he might say something that would unravel everything.

"Just picking up extra shifts." She gestured with the tray. "Can I get you anything?"

"No, I—" He stopped. His wife, Sarah, appeared beside him, her hand possessive on his arm. "This is Emma, from college."

Sarah's smile was polite, incurious. "Nice to meet you. Have you tried the dip? It's got spinach in it—David hates spinach, but I think it's lovely."

Emma watched them move away, their backs creating a closed door. She set down her tray and walked to the pool's edge, watching her distorted reflection ripple across the blue surface. The water smelled of chemicals and artificial freshness, everything the real world wasn't.

Her phone buzzed. A text from her current boyfriend: *miss u. dinner later?*

She typed *yes* and slipped the phone back into her pocket. Picking up her tray again, she turned toward the next table. The guests were laughing, drunk on possibility and expensive champagne. They had no idea how quickly it could all become a story you told someone else's wife about.

Emma smiled professionally, her heart beating its steady, survivable rhythm, and offered them spinach dip.