“Most of them are young men,” Susan said.
“If she’s anything like I was, sh—”
“She’s probably blown half of them already.”
“Shush,” Mom told her. “You’re drunk.”
“And you aren’t?”
Gina covered a smile with her hand.
Mom ignored Susan and said to me, “We’re going home.”
“To fool around,” Susan added.
My father swayed.
“You okay?” I said. “I can drive you home if you like.”
He shook his head. “’M fine. C’n drive with m’ eyes closed.”
“C’mon, Dad. You’re slurring your speech.” I took his car keys.
He swiped them back. “’M not slurring m’ vision.”
Susan snickered.
Dad realized what he’d said. He heaved an eighty-proof sigh and extended the keys.
“Thanks.” I pocketed them.
I went looking for a pay phone, but found that the Coulters had already contracted a local taxi company to have cars on call.
“The ca’erers’ suggestion,” Chris told me. He took another drink of Scotch and raised his glass in a boozy toast. “Good t’ see you an’ Gina t’gether again. Jus’ gimme a couple’a years t’ pay off this wedding ’fore you pop th’ ques’ion.”
“Don’t worry,” I told him, “your checkbook’s safe for a while.”
“Is it? Liz’beth had it las’ I saw.”
“You’re a good guy, Chris.” I patted him on the shoulder and returned to Gina.
She and I escorted Susan and my parents across the lawn and decanted them into the back of a taxi. I gave the driver the address.
Mark, Leah, and Erin appeared almost immediately. They weren’t as drunk as my parents, but they weren’t feeling any pain either.
“Hey,” Mark said. “We’re going with a bunch of people to the Limelight.
An after- after-party.”
Erin had a guy in tow. She silently dared me to say something. She looked like she could handle herself, so I simply nodded.
“Y’all wanna come?” Mark asked.
“Please, Paul,” Leah said. “You too, Gina. You’d love it.”
I looked at Gina.
She gave a slight shrug and left it up to me.
“Maybe some other time,” I told them. “Thanks, though.”
“Okay. I un’erstand,” Leah said. She flung her arms around me and gave Gina a hug too. “Love you so much. Can’t believe I was such a bitch earlier.”
“It’s okay,” Gina said. “I love you too.”
They said goodbye and climbed into the next taxi.
“A lot of people will be coming back for their cars tomorrow,” I said to no one in particular.
Gina and I returned to the reception and found a group of diehards around the bar. The bartenders had announced last call and were packing away the remaining wine and liquor. The waiters and waitresses were cleaning up too, and the house staff had half of the chairs already folded and stacked.
A small group from the wedding party—Stacy and Jason, Sydney and Woody, and Ty and Julia (the best man and his wife)—were gathering flower arrangements and setting them next to a long table piled high with wedding gifts.
“I know it isn’t very sexy,” I said to Gina, “but we should probably help.”
“Being a responsible adult is kinda sexy.”
“Oh. Well. Then I guess I’m screwed.”
Her eyes glittered with affection. “If you’re lucky.”
We joined the others and helped with the flowers and centerpieces. I thought we were done, but we still had to load all the presents into Elizabeth’s station wagon.
I took one look at the hoard and realized that it wouldn’t all fit. Not with the flowers too. I told the others I’d be right back. Then I wrapped Gina in my coat, gave her a kiss, and jogged to my car.
The guys had Elizabeth’s car halfway loaded when I returned. The girls were sitting to the side on the last four chairs in sight. They were all wearing their dates’ coats, which made them look even smaller than they already were.
I gave Gina another kiss—because I could—and opened the back of the Land Cruiser. Ty helped fold down the rear seats. Then he and I filled the car with flowers. Jason and Woody loaded Elizabeth’s to the headliner but still didn’t have enough room. I looked at the remaining pile of presents.
“We can fill the passenger seats and footwells,” I suggested. “That should do it.”
“Only one problem,” Jason said. “Stacy and I are supposed to drive the station wagon to Kara’s parents’ house.”
“She can drive it,” I suggested, “and you can drive my car.”
“How will you get home?”
I pulled out my dad’s car keys.
“Oh. Well. That’s convenient.”
We loaded the remaining presents and left enough room for the drivers, but that was about it.
“Okay,” I said at last, “are we ready to blow this popsicle stand?”
“Not quite,” Jason said. “We still have to get our stuff from the tents.”
“I don’t know about you all,” Ty said, “but I don’t feel like changing clothes. I’m fine to wear this back to the hotel.”
I looked around and realized that I was the only one not wearing a tuxedo
or bridesmaid’s dress.
“Yeah, let’s just get our stuff and get out of here.”
We trooped down the stairs to the terrace lawn. I stood around while the men disappeared into the groomsmen’s tent and the ladies went into the one for the bridesmaids.
When everyone emerged, Stacy and Jason said goodbye to us and climbed the stairs to the front driveway. The rest of us walked to our cars. I carried Gina’s dress bag and a small overnight bag. I hefted it and gave her a speculative look. She looped an arm through mine and leaned against me.
“Thanks for all your help,” Ty said.
“No problem.”
“It was great to see you again,” Sydney said. She stood on tiptoe to kiss my cheek. “You’re next.” She glanced at Gina and held up her wedding ring to make sure I understood. “Oh, and enjoy the drive home.”
I furrowed my brow and shook hands with Woody as the girls said goodnight. They climbed into their car and drove away.
I stowed Gina’s things behind the seats in my dad’s Corvette. She took off my coat, folded it neatly with the boutonnière on top, and added it to the back. Then she lowered herself into the passenger seat and smiled up at me as I closed the door.
My dad was several inches taller than me (which still annoyed me sometimes), so I had to move the driver’s seat forward. I slid the key into the ignition but didn’t turn it.
“Sorry about tonight,” I said. “I know it wasn’t what you planned.”
“How do you know that?”
“I dunno. It wasn’t what I planned.”
“Oh?”
I watched her out of the corner of my eye. “I wanted to sweep you off your feet. Seduce you with my charm and wit. Tempt you into bed with me.”
“And…?”
“Well, let’s see…” I counted things off: “We had crazy relatives, a crowd of drunks, flower clean-up, a truckload of gifts, and then a long walk to the car.” I sighed. “On top of all that, pretty much everyone tonight assumed we’d be getting married next. Like we don’t have any say in the matter.”
She unbuckled her shoes and tucked them under the seat.
“I mean, sure, we’ve known each other since we were kids, but we haven’t seen each other since Christmas. We’ve been apart longer than that. It
takes some time to get to know someone again. Worse, I just assumed you’d be coming home with me. I know we’ve been flirting all night, but I didn’t even ask if that’s what you wanted.”
“I was wondering if you’d realize that.” She studied my face. “You’ve grown up a lot since we broke up.”
“Had to happen eventually,” I muttered.
She nodded.
“So,” I said at last, “take you home?” I moved to start the car, but she stopped me with a gesture. “What? Did we forget something?”