“Nope. ”
“Ells, have you talked to Heather? How is she doing?” Ari asked.
Ellie’s smiled faded, and she looked at Gunner.
“I don’t know. Lynda now seems to be having some kind of mental breakdown, so Josh still hasn’t called it off with her. Heather is trying to act like she’s okay, but I know she’s dying inside. She went on a date the other day. ”
“What? Why would she do that?” Ari asked in a panicked voice.
I pulled Ari closer to me and held on to her.
“I think she’s lonely, Ari. She’s so confused on what she should do. She loves Josh, but clearly, Lynda is not going to give up that easily. ”
Ari said, “I think it’s time we kick some ass. Stupid bitch. Why does she want a guy who she knows wants to be with someone else? Douche-twat. Oh, sorry, Gunner. I know she’s your cousin. ”
Gunner laughed and held up his hands.
“Hey y’all!” Heather said as she walked up and hugged everyone. “We’re a back room on the second floor. ”
We all followed Heather into one of the larger rooms. I knew a few of the people, but most were friends of Heather’s aunt, uncles, and cousins or friends of Heather’s parents.
***
We talked, we laughed, and celebrated Heather’s graduation from UT. With the absence of her parents, I could tell that this happy occasion was very emotional for her family. Despite any sad thoughts, her grandfather seemed to be very proud of Heather.
I leaned over to Gunner. “Josh isn’t coming, I take it. ”
“I talked to him earlier. Lynda had some kind of breakdown, and he couldn’t leave her. ”
“Dude, does he know she’s playing him for a fucking fool?”
“Jeff!” Ari said as she punched me in the arm. “Don’t swear in front of the baby. ”
“He’s two months old, Ari. I’m pretty sure he isn’t going to know what fuck means. ”
Just then, Matthew who was sitting on the other side of Ari, called out, “I wanna be a mudder. ”
Ari quickly turned and started to tickle Matt before she whispered something into his ear.
She turned back and glared at me. Gunner let out a laugh, and I had to bite my cheek to keep myself from laughing, too.
Heather’s uncle stood up to make a toast. As he was talking, Heather let out a gasp. She was staring straight ahead, and we all turned to see Josh standing in the doorway smiling at Heather. She got up and walked over to him. He whispered something in to her ear, and the next thing I knew Heather flew into his arms.
I turned around to see everyone watching them.
Then, louder than she meant to, Ari said,
“Shit, it’s about fucking time. ”
Right on cue, Matt started singing,
“I wanna be a mudder fuckin’ cowboy!”
Ari, Sue, and Grace all said at once, “Matthew!”
CHAPTER SIXTY
ARI