I try to make myself stop laughing, and snort quietly instead.
“It’s beautiful,” I finally say.
“We won’t even make you pick a best man right now,” says Eli, a smirk hovering around his mouth. “We’ll let you wait until after dinner.”
“I should set up some kind of competition,” Daniel says, deadpan. “Make you guys fight for the honor.”
All four other brothers look at each other, like they’re considering who’d win.
“Certainly not,” says Clara. “I’ve had enough of you fighting to last me three lifetimes. Daniel will choose his best man however he likes and there will be a minimum of complaining from the rest of you.”
“It’s just work, you know,” Seth chimes in. “You have to plan a bachelor party, help with the wedding, keep track of the rings.”
“So you don’t want it?” Caleb asks.
“I’d plan a great bachelor party,” Seth says, grinning.
“No,” says Daniel, glancing quickly at Rusty.
She’s frowning slightly, hanging onto every single word that comes out of Seth’s mouth.
“We’d go out, get steak, have a good time,” Seth goes on, leaning forward, a grin on his face that means he’s needling Daniel. “We could even stay up past midnight.”
“That’s crazy,” says Daniel.
“You could have two drinks,” adds in Eli. “Maybe three!”
“Wow,” deadpans Daniel.
“You’re gonna have fun, whether you like it or not,” finishes Seth.
“Mandatory fun, the best kind!” says Caleb, grinning.
They keep harassing Daniel about his bachelor party, and even though he’s acting annoyed, I can tell he’s secretly enjoying it. Besides, if this were one of them, he’d be right there alongside the others, dishing it out.
We sit. The boys keep talking. Clara tries to keep the peace, but she doesn’t try that hard. At one point, Daniel drapes his arm over my shoulders, and no one says a word about it. They act like it’s normal, expected, routine. I lean back into his warmth, laughing along with them.
And I think: It’s too bad they’re not really going to be my family.Chapter SixDanielEli made spaghetti and meatballs, along with garlic bread, roasted brussels sprouts with goat cheese, and a salad with fennel, asparagus, sesame seeds, edamame, and some citrus fruit. I think it’s grapefruit, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it were something crazy I’ve never even heard of before.
Whatever it is, it’s delicious.
“Have you given any thought to a fall wedding?” Violet is saying, taking some more salad with the tongs. A piece of asparagus falls onto the table, and she picks it up and pops it into her mouth. “It’s a beautiful time of year here and venues tend to be a little less booked, though of course whether or not the trees will be in full color is kind of a crapshoot.”
“We’re considering it,” Charlie says. It’s the most neutral answer possible. “We haven’t really had a chance to actually plan much yet.”
Violet licks some goat cheese off of one thumb.
“Right, sorry,” she says. “Force of habit to quiz brides-to-be about all the details.”
Until last year, Violet was an event coordinator at a high-end wedding venue outside town, so she knows weddings backwards, forwards, and upside down.
If we were actually getting married, she’d probably be very helpful.
Charlie just laughs lightly, winding spaghetti around her fork.
“Right, of course,” she says, and my eyes flick to the ring on her finger. It’s easily the fanciest thing I’ve ever seen Charlie wear.
To put it lightly, Charlie isn’t girly. I could count the number of times I’ve seen her in a dress on one hand — she looked nice, it was memorable — and I don’t think I’ve ever seen her wear jewelry.
She wears a lot of coveralls, mostly for work. She wears a lot of jeans and t-shirts, a lot of sneakers, a lot of cutoff shorts in the summer and men’s button-down shirts in the winter. When we were kids, we ran around the woods together, always getting dirty, covered in sticks and twigs and mud. I used to help her pick the leaves out of her wild hair.
But the ring looks good on Charlie, makes her hands look delicate without taking anything away from her.
I already feel bad that we’re going to have to give it back.
“Have you picked out a dress?” asks Seth.
Everyone looks at him.
“I can’t ask about wedding dresses?” he says, fork halfway to his mouth.
“You can ask about wedding dresses and we can be surprised that the question occurred to you,” Levi says.
“Don’t be sexist,” Seth says, laughing.
“Yesterday you referred to a necktie as a head noose,” I point out. “I’m a little surprised you know the word dress.”
“I had a brain fart and forgot what they were called,” he says. “You’re all jerks. Charlie, take me dress shopping. I’m an expert.”
“No!” I say, more forcefully than I mean to.
Great, now they’re all looking at me, but I can’t handle the thought of Seth being anywhere near Charlie while she’s in a state of undress, and isn’t that what dress shopping is? Getting naked repeatedly and then putting on dresses?