I told them I was bringing a friend from work to the wedding, so they reply to Violet with a nod, a wave, and a 揾i,?respectively, without thinking anything more of it.
The musicians tee up their instruments and begin to play. Dean, Jason, and Garret are stationed at the trellis on the dock, beside Lainey抯 sister Judith who got certified online to officiate the wedding.
Lainey抯 mother walks down the aisle beside one of her sons-in-law, followed by her two other sisters wearing matching short-sleeved, light-pink gowns, escorted by their husbands.
Dean and Lainey are outgoing people, so it makes sense that their daughter, Ava, is unbothered by the hundreds of eyes trained on her as she wobbles down the aisle, throwing rose petals from her basket with chubby hands, her baby-soft blond hair pushed back from her smiling little face with a pink-and-white polka-dot band.
Once Ava gets a kiss from her dad and is seated next to Grams, the bridal march begins and all the guests stand. Lainey walks down the aisle on her father抯 arm, her hair flowing around her in loose, golden ringlets. She抯 wearing an ivory, form-fitting, beaded, backless gown that, judging by the look on his face, knocks Dean抯 socks off. He has an elated expression of pure adulation and devotion. Like he can抰 quite believe he抯 the guy who gets to have her, hold her, and keep her, forever.
I remember that. The hope and love and thrilling eagerness of starting a new life with someone, for all the beautiful moments and memories you抣l make together.
I miss it sometimes in a way I can抰 really describe. The bonding and sharing梩he knowing that even if everything else falls apart, you抣l still have each other.
After Lainey抯 dad gives her a peck on the cheek, he shakes Dean抯 hand and turns away toward his seat梬iping his eyes with a handkerchief the way older, tough guys do.
Then Dean and Lainey only have eyes for each other as they stand beneath a flowered arch and become husband and wife.
*
Dean and Lainey decided to outsource what I personally think are the most crucial parts of any wedding梘ood food and good music. She hired a professional DJ and a white-gloved catering and bar service to keep her guests entertained, well-fed, and happy.
Throughout the cocktail hour, mounds of hors d抩euvres are consumed, thousands of pictures are taken, and the drinks flow like water. I抦 on my way back to Violet from the bar, carrying a white wine for her and a Jack and Coke for me, when I抦 intercepted by Dean.
I set the drinks down on the table and give him a back-pounding hug.
揅ongratulations. I抦 proud of you.?
His smile is so big it almost hurts to look at him.
揟hanks, man. I should stop off for some lottery tickets on the way to the honeymoon梚t doesn抰 get any luckier than me right now.?
Then he slips out a set of keys from his pocket. Aaron抯 keys.
揝o listen, the bartender抯 not carding and Aaron asked me if I was okay with him and the girlfriend having a few drinks. I told him it was fine with me as long as it was good with you. And I told him he had to give up his keys.?
I take the keys from Dean.
揧eah, that抯 fine. Aaron won抰 get stupid.?
One of the most lethal things in the world to kids is curiosity. I think it抯 vital to let teenagers have some experience with alcohol before they抮e let loose onto a college campus. They should know how a few drinks affects them and梞ore important梬hat their limit is.
Once the cocktail hour concludes, we take our seats at our assigned tables. I hold Violet抯 glass and pull out her chair as she sits down. There are champagne toasts from Jason and Garrett and Lainey抯 oldest sister.
Then Dean and Lainey dance their first dance to 揑 Am Yours?by Andy Grammer.
It抯 a good song梚t fits them.
After Lainey dances with her dad and Dean takes Grams for a few spins around the dance floor, the salad and pasta courses are served.
While Violet and the boys dig in, I glance across the room and spot Garrett and Callie talking to another couple. My brother抯 arm is draped across Callie抯 lower back, his palm on her hip, his fingers mindlessly stroking as he speaks. They were always like that, even when they were kids in high school梙olding hands, arms entwined, leaning against each other, fingers hooked. I don抰 think they even realize they抮e doing it. It抯 just natural for them to be connected.
Stacey and I were never like that. Even in the early days, we were never . . . effortless. Our relationship took work and thought and sometimes brute patience. I used to think it meant something梩he fact that we were both willing to put so much energy into staying together.
But now . . . I just think it never should抳e been that hard. Loving someone, making a life with them, should feel easier.
揥hat happened to your head??I hear Brayden ask Violet, when the breeze off the lake brushes her bangs to the side, revealing the neat row of black stitches.
揑 walked into a wall.?
Bray nods. 揃een there.?
He points to the thin white line that extends from his upper lip to the base of his nostril. 揝ee this scar??
She nods.
揥hen I was nine I was walking and drinking from a water bottle and I tripped. Jammed the bottle right into my lip and split it open. That抯 a mistake you only make once.?
Spencer joins in the ceremonial trading of war stories.
He lies across Brayden抯 lap and dips his chin to show Vi the back of his head.
揟here抯 a patch back here that will never grow hair. I hit it on the corner of a drawer that Aaron opened without telling me while I was getting something out of the bottom cabinet.?
揧ou should抳e been more careful.?Aaron smirks, sitting beside his girlfriend across the table.
For that comment, Aaron gets a tongue stuck out at him.
揥hat about you, Connor??Violet asks. 揂ny battle scars??
I shrug. 揂 couple on the knees I抦 pretty proud of. Old football injuries from high school.?
揂nd he抯 got a bite mark on his butt,?Brayden volunteers helpfully.
Violet抯 eyebrows go high.
揇og bite??she guesses.
I shake my head.
揂 patient bite.?
She snorts out a laugh, covering her mouth.
揘o!?
I grin sheepishly. 揈xam Room Three. I got in between a drunk woman and the boyfriend she抎 just discovered was screwing around. When I turned around to tell him to wait outside, she went in for the kill. Thankfully, the rabies test came back negative. But I have the scar to remember it by. Upper left cheek.?
Violet laughs again, her cheeks flushing prettily.
揟hat must be . . . something to see.?
While the waiters clear the plates away, the DJ temporarily shifts from an elevator-music-type playlist to classic pop staples. When 揢 Can抰 Touch This?starts playing, Violet bounces in her chair梞aking her breasts jiggle phenomenally.
揙oh! This is a good song. We should dance!?
Before I can explain that Daniels men go by a strict slow-dance-only-when-sober code, Brayden answers for all of us.
揇ancing isn抰 really our thing.?
Vi is undeterred.
揟hat抯 the beauty of weddings! It抯 the chance for everyone who can抰 dance to dance anyway, because it抯 the one place no one cares that they can抰。 And this is a great song. I抳e liked MC Hammer ever since my eighth-grade formal, when it was down to me and Annie Burgler in the big dance contest and ? Legit 2 Quit?put me over the top.?
揥ho抯 MC Hammer??Brayden asks.
Violet whips around to give me an accusing look.
揧our kids don抰 know who MC Hammer is??
揑 . . . guess not.?