Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 85888 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 429(@200wpm)___ 344(@250wpm)___ 286(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85888 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 429(@200wpm)___ 344(@250wpm)___ 286(@300wpm)
“Everything okay?” asked Lars after taking a sip of his Corona.
“Yes. All good.” And it wasn’t totally a lie. My black crepe fit and flare dress with a plunging neckline was fire. It complemented my Prada heeled sandals to perfection. With my hair up and my new nude lip stain, I looked a treat. It just wasn’t in me to be miserable while wearing a great outfit, eating good food, and listening to live music. I’d met some of my new partner’s extended family and everything had been perfectly pleasant. Mostly.
Tore and Lars exchanged worried glances.
“What’s going on?” asked Ella.
“The neighbors are causing issues for Susie,” reported Tore, who possibly had the biggest mouth on anyone I’d ever met.
“I wondered why he was seated over with his mom instead of hanging out with us.” Ella took a sip of her margarita. “Not that I mind the distance.”
Lars frowned. “Didn’t know you had something against him.”
“Of course not. You can kind of have tunnel vision, sometimes.” She smiled. “His niceness just always felt fake to me, you know?”
“The whole family is like that,” said Tore. “Did I ever tell you about the time I heard his mom talking smack about our mom?”
Lars’s brows rose. “What?”
“Yeah.” Tore nodded. “And they’re supposed to be besties. It was some small-minded judgmental mean-girl shit about our new couch coming from a cheap store. She was wandering around her yard and talking on the phone at the top of her lungs. Not the brightest move.”
“You never told Mom?” asked Lars.
“No.” Tore shook his head. “It only would have hurt her.”
“Plus you told a lot of stories back then,” said Ella.
“That’s true. I had a vivid imagination. But I sure as hell didn’t imagine that.”
“I believe you. The way she’d look down on us when we played at her house,” said Ella. “As if we were going to steal the family silver. But she was always nice as pie to Mom’s face. Why does it not surprise me that that woman raised such a spoiled brat?”
Tore chuckled.
“I knew you two weren’t his biggest fans, but I didn’t know you felt like this,” said Lars with dismay.
Tore shrugged. “You didn’t want to know.”
“Loyalty can be an issue for you, big brother,” said Ella.
As for me, I said a whole lot of nothing. And I sat with my back to the Ex and his mother. All the better to enjoy my evening. A waiter came to clear the table and I passed them my plate. The conversation was turning me off to food, though I’d recover in time to try the coconut flan. I was a stoic like that.
“Let’s talk about something else.” Ella sighed. “Susie, did you know when we were children and it was my turn to pick the game, I would always choose to play royal wedding. I’d seen one on TV in some documentary on England and was obsessed.”
Lars groaned.
“And Lars was always the groom. Weren’t you, brother?”
“Wouldn’t that be illegal?” I asked. “Not only that you were underage but family-relations-wise?”
“Oh, no,” said Ella. “Kat from across the road played the part of the blushing bride.”
“Kat?”
“You’ve heard of her?” Ella laughed, delighted. “She was fun. I wonder what she’s up to these days.”
“I can’t believe you named my cat after a girl you exchanged vows with. Repeatedly.” I gave Lars a look of displeasure. “The betrayal, Lars. It hurts.”
Lars just sighed.
“She kissed him one time, too,” said Ella.
“And then promptly ran away and hid in her tree house. Though I suspect the vows they exchanged weren’t actually legally binding,” added Tore. “Seeing as how I played the part of the priest and was like six and not ordained at the time.”
“Are you ordained now?” asked Ella.
“No.” Tore rubbed at his chin. “But I have been thinking of getting a hobby. Why not choose the church?”
“Cleo, your boyfriend is considering becoming a priest,” reported Ella.
“Is that so?” Cleo sat down beside her not-so-holy partner with a glass of ice water in her hand. “I don’t even know what to say to that.”
“It’ll be great.” Tore grinned. “Rest assured, I’ll be available to hear your sins anytime.”
Cleo just smiled.
“What role did you play in the wedding, Ella?” I asked.
“Flower girl,” she answered. “We’d raid the neighbor’s gardens for bouquets. Made us pretty unpopular.”
Tore’s grin turned wistful. “I forgot how much Lars loved being the groom. He’d stand in front of the mailbox proud as can be.”
“The mailbox was our stand-in altar,” supplied Ella. “His Ninja Turtle also married my Barbie on numerous occasions.”
“How curious that getting married was your childhood dream.” I took hold of his hand.
He leaned in for a kiss. “That’s a bit of an overstatement.”
“Hmm. Back in a minute,” I said, rising and heading for the bathroom.
Deborah and Henning took to the dance floor with much applause as the jazz quartet started playing “Mad about the Boy.” A song that had been on one of the albums I found by Ernestine Anderson. There was something about live music and party lights that made everything lovely, the atmosphere they created. Wedding photos had been set up on a side table. Deborah dressed in a big white ’80s-style wedding dress. High hair with lots of lace and puffed sleeves. Her bouquet was pink carnations surrounded by a circle of the tiny white baby’s breath flowers. Henning looked dapper in his suit despite the overly large shoulder pads. Both of their smiles were wide as could be.