He disappeared into the auditorium and shortly returned with her mom.
“What’s going on?”
Retta retold the sequence of events as fast as she could.
“Oh, dear God,” her mom said before moving into action and heading into the main part of the church.
Duncan grabbed her hand, and they followed, stopping right behind the pew closest to the door. There was no need to take a seat.
“This is so bad,” Retta whispered as she watched an uncomfortable version of telephone unfold where her mother whispered into the wedding planner’s ear who then walked over to Irene’s mom. All three of them then approached Mrs. Washington, who then went up to her son to deliver the news.
The auditorium held a stable hum of chatter, but the noise increased as people sensed something was off.
Meanwhile, Retta knew she would’ve keeled over from the anxiety of watching all of this go down if Duncan hadn’t been holding her. She appreciated the comforting circles he was making on her arm.
Chris might be her ex, but watching his face drop when his mother told him the news was something she couldn’t find glee in. She knew what it felt like not to be chosen. And it sucked.
Moments later, he stepped front and center on the church stage. Everyone fell silent save for a baby who wailed like she knew what was coming.
“There will be no wedding today,” Chris said, his voice booming through the sanctuary.
There was a collective gasp and a beat of silence before fevered conversation commenced. Stepping off the platform, Chris strode out of the auditorium with his mother and a few other relatives in tow. As he passed them, Retta’s hand automatically reached out, but he was too far away and too focused on his exit to have noticed.
As the pastor of the church approached the microphone, Retta turned to Duncan and said, “We need to go.”
Duncan and Ms. Edie sat next to each other and across from Retta at the dining table. They’d broken down what had happened at the wedding to the older woman, but now they were in a meditative portion of the conversation where Retta would once in a while say, “I can’t believe it” and take a sip of her tea.
However, Duncan could believe it. And both Irene and Chris should consider themselves lucky that it happened now and not several kids and thousands of fights later.
“If you ask me, he got what was coming to him,” Ms. Edie said.
“Granny, not now.”
The light admonishment made something twist in Duncan’s stomach. Retta had reached for Chris as he’d stormed out of the church. She felt protective of him despite who he’d planned to marry. That much was clear.
Ms. Edie let out a long-suffering sigh. “Well, okay, then. What’s the plan? Are you two leaving tomorrow or heading back today?”
“I’m cool leaving tomorrow morning,” Retta said, looking at him for confirmation. “There’s no point in rushing out of here now.”
Duncan nodded. “That works for me.” He might be sleeping in the smallest bed imaginable and surveilled by a cat all through the night, but there was something comforting about being in this house.
“I’d planned to order pizza while you were at the wedding, so if you want any, you’ll have to pitch in,” Ms. Edie said.
“I can throw together some cocktails to make it a real party,” Duncan said.
Ms. Edie pointed to him with her thumb and spoke to Retta. “I love this boy.”
Her granddaughter smiled and rolled her eyes.
“All right, I’m going to take Levi out for a walk,” the older woman said.
In the meantime, Duncan and Retta cleared the remnants of their lunch. He then moved to his makeshift bedroom to get some clothes he could change into.
When he entered the kitchen, he found Retta leaning over the counter, studying her phone. The pretty dress she wore paired with the house slippers were oddly adorable.
“Look,” Retta said, holding up her phone. “We’re adding Earl Grey éclairs to our fall menu. Omar sent me some of the photos he took for the website.”
Duncan drew closer and looked at the stylistic overhead photos of the oblong dessert. “It looks really good.”
