Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 98324 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 492(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98324 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 492(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
“I believe it,” I say. “And I hear his brother was pretty incredible, too. I wish I’d had the chance to meet him.”
“He was.” Her smile fades, and she looks out at the ocean. “Can you keep a secret?”
“Like a vault.”
“Danny was my first love. He saved me in so many ways. But he was in a rough place when he asked me to marry him. And I was only nineteen. I knew we weren’t really ready, but I was afraid to say so.”
“Oh, heck.” That’s more of a secret that I was really bargaining for. “Does Patty know that?”
Maribel shakes her head. “She’s never acknowledged that Danny was spiraling. He was drinking way too much, and his behavior was out of control.”
I flinch.
“We’d been fighting about his drinking, and his proposal—during a family barbecue—was some kind of grand gesture. So I said yes. I loved him, and I was afraid of what would happen if I stepped on the brakes. I lived with them, too. If I’d turned him down, I wouldn’t have had anywhere to go.”
“Oh God, Maribel.” I reach over and squeeze her hand. “I can’t imagine the pressure.”
She smiles again and shakes her head. “I’m not telling you this as a sob story. I’m telling you because I’ve made peace with that time in my life. My relationship with your brother is completely different, though, because I met him after I’d had a chance to grow up.”
“How did you meet him?” Nobody ever thought to tell me this story.
“I pulled over in a rainstorm and changed the tire on his car.”
My hoot of laughter rises into the twilight. “That’s priceless! You rescued him?”
She grins at me. “I did. He was standing there in the pouring rain, staring at the tire on this old minivan, which was full of balloons. Theo’s best man—Reggie? It was his van. His son was having a birthday party, and Theo had volunteered to pick up the balloons and the cake. The tire popped, and since it wasn’t Theo’s car, he didn’t know where to find the spare.”
“But you did? And since when is it okay to stop for a strange guy in a van? Serial killer movies start like that.”
She laughs. “Yeah, but I’m glad I did. Theo was just so grateful. He made me laugh while I was explaining how to use the jack. I just liked him immediately.”
“And he was smart enough to get your number?”
She shakes her head. “I told him I worked at a bike shop. He went to six different bike shops the next week to find me and ask me out.”
I put my hand over my heart. “What a story. So romantic. You’ll be telling your grandkids that story someday.”
“Probably.” Smiling, she nudges me with her elbow. “And you’ll be telling yours how you met Eric at work.”
My heart drops, because it’s not true. I feel so guilty for passing us off as a couple. “That’s not something I think about. Eric and I are just… casual.”
She gives me an assessing glance. “I don’t know if I believe that. You two are great together. He seems really into you.”
I smile because there’s no polite way to explain how we’ve been trauma-bonding at her wedding. “We’d better get back to the patio, right? Everyone must be wondering what happened to the bride.”
Chapter 33
Hello, Young Man
Eric
The string quartet is on their hundredth round of “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring,” and I’m almost out of programs.
It’s five minutes to three in the afternoon on Saturday, and the wedding chapel is nearly full. I’ve been ushering guests to their seats for an hour already. But my date hasn’t arrived at the chapel yet. Where could she be?
“Hello, young man,” says my next guest. She’s an elderly lady who must be less than five feet tall, even with her feathered hat. “Is there room for another?”
“Of course,” I say, offering my arm. “Where would you like to sit?”
“Up front, where I can see the kiss. Sometimes it’s just a peck. But sometimes he really lays one on her. I wouldn’t want to miss it.”
I hold back my smile. “I haven’t been to that many weddings,” I admit as we head down the aisle at a very slow pace. “Are you a big fan?”
“Who isn’t?” she asks. “I’ve been to forty-seven weddings in my eighty-one years, and let me tell you something—they’re all different, but they’re all exactly the same. The bride always thinks she’s the first woman to fall in love, and the groom always looks like he might faint or bolt. The women cry, the men look too warm in their suits, and somebody always gets too drunk at the reception. I love every minute. All those slow songs after the meal is served.”
“Looking forward to those,” I admit.
“Of course you are.” She pauses to catch her breath, patting my arm. “It will be grand, even if we all know that half of all marriages end in divorce. But today, nobody cares. That’s the magic of it, isn’t it? All these people gathering to watch two fools promise impossible things to each other, out loud, in front of God. Some people would call it foolish, but I call it brave. Commitment takes courage. It’s worth getting dressed up for. Even in these hose.”