When the speeches came, I sat back and sipped some wine. I didn’t normally drink in front of my family—I was always so desperate not to embarrass them in any way—but today, something fundamental had changed in me.
I vowed to live my life for myself and my son, not for anyone else.
The speeches were carried by Cruz, who was Wyatt’s best man, and Gabriella, the maid of honor.
Cruz went first.
He delivered the perfect speech, starting with Wyatt’s description as a chubby, cherubic baby, his embarrassing, wannabe-Jon-Bon-Jovi adolescence years, and even glossed over that unfortunate marriage in a highly entertaining manner.
He had the guests in stitches, but also in tears, and served his captive audience with what must’ve been one of the best speeches to be carried at any wedding, at any time, in the history of the world.
Good luck to you, Gabriella.
When Cruz sat down, I saw Trinity and Gabriella exchanging hushed words. Gabriella smiled in embarrassment, nodded, and walked back over to her side of the table.
I arched an eyebrow.
She didn’t bail on that part, too, right?
Because everyone knew wedding speeches were like obituaries. Nobody wanted to do them, but someone had to.
“Nessy?” Trinity turned in my direction, all smiles.
Oh, no.
“Yes?” I replied with coldness that shocked even me.
“Would you care to make a speech for me?”
“I would not, actually. What happened?” I couldn’t help but bite back. “Gabriella got cold feet again?”
“Actually,” Trinity tried to muster another smile, but this one was a little wonky, a lot sad, “I told Gabriella I wished for my sister to carry the speech for me. I know it’s very last minute, but I figured…well, I’ve been really horrible to you, haven’t I? I made you feel like you were less-than, and on top of that, didn’t choose you to be the maid of honor, even though you certainly pulled your weight. So I thought…I mean, I was hoping…”
A rush of adrenaline ran through me.
This was her way of apologizing.
But it was too little, too late.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea,” I said tightly, sitting back in my seat. “I don’t have anything written, and I’m Messy Nessy, remember?”
“You’re my sister,” Trinity maintained. “I like your mess. Your mess is great. Perfect. And you know me better than anyone else.”
“I don’t want to embarrass you,” I shot back, a little anxious now.
Everybody was looking at us.
Everybody.
It was becoming clear she was asking me to do it, and that I didn’t want to. Funnily enough, I didn’t mind being the bad guy anymore.
“You’ll never embarrass me.” She handed me the microphone, her eyebrows shooting up to her hairline. “Please.”
I snatched the mic from her hand, standing up with a low growl. I was going to make her pay for it. A round of applause came from our audience as everyone took me in.
I put the microphone to my mouth, sighing. “Don’t be so happy, you still haven’t heard what I’m about to say.”
A roll of nervous laughter swept over the open-spaced room. People clapped again. I looked around the room, drawing a breath. I felt Bear’s fist curling around the hem of my dress, tugging.
I looked down.
He smiled and mouthed, “You’ve got this.”
I looked at the familiar faces, realizing that they all blurred together in my vision.
“First of all, I was tasked with giving this speech exactly two seconds ago, so my guess as to what’s about to leave my mouth is as good as yours, but knowing me, I suspect it will at the very least be entertaining.”
More laughter.
I stole an anxious look at Cruz. He sat back like he was made out of stone, taking a long sip from his beer, checking his phone.
The jackgass.
“Trinity and Wyatt. Wyatt and Trinity.”
I played with one of my earrings, buying time. Saying their names in different variations wasn’t going to do me much good. It wasn’t an essay I was trying to fill with words to hit a word count.
“Who would’ve thought, huh? Not me, that’s for sure. I always thought she had a huge crush on Justin Kent.” I winced. “Sorry, Justin, who is here. And his wife, who is also here…it worked out fine for everyone. Other than Wyatt, obviously.”
This really made people laugh.
Everyone, including Trinity herself and Wyatt, who leaned into her and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. As far as I was aware, this was the first time he’d shown her any type of warmth in public since they’d started dating.