Tamar finishes washing dishes and hands me a plate of cheesesambousekand mushroomkibbeh.
“What’s everyone wearing tonight?” I hum my appreciation with my first sip of this delicious wine before turning to Tamar who describes her outfit in detail. My sister has a real appreciation for couture that is completely lost on me. But, I smile and nod as if I have any idea what she’s talking about.
We then take turns describing our outfits while we sip the wine and nosh on the savory pastries. When there’s just over an hour before I need to leave for the venue, I head back to my room to spend it with my niece. I know from her parents that Emunah’s nervous about staying here with the other kids. After a bit, Michelle comes by with her youngest, Etty, and asks Emunah if she’d like to oversee looking after Etty tonight. She doesn’t have her own phone yet, so I gave her mine and showed her how Michelle’s number is programmed there.
“So, if she wakes up or is fussy, you can call me and keep me posted, okay? And after Shabbat I’ll pay you money for helping, okay?”
Emunah looks uncertain until we explain we already have her parents’ permission. She and the toddler play on the floor together while I get dressed, and then she follows Michelle to put Etty to bed.
Tonight, I’m wearing a square neck coral dress with a fitted bodice, three-quarter sleeves, and a mid-length flowing lighter coral skirt with gold strappy sandals. When I finished getting ready, I found Emunah sitting, with my cell phone and the baby monitor, next to the two college-aged girls that were hired for tonight’s gig.
“Emmy, anything you need with babysitting tips, these two ladies are ready to back you up. Okay?”
She nods and looks so proud—it’s making my eyes tear.
“Let me unlock my phone for you.”
I unlocked the phone and changed the code to her birth year for tonight. I texted Josh to let him know that Emunah has my phone and not to text anything that my niece shouldn’t see. Then I blocked Ellen’s number because Em doesn’t need to see anything Ellen would send me. As I hand the phone back to Emunah, I hear Georgette talking to Nona on the sofa behind the movie room we are in. I walk over and sit down.
Georgette and Nona both stop talking and just smile at me. While Josh and I decided we’d keep our redefined relationship quiet for now, we each had a few exceptions—people we just had to tell. Of course, Nona and Georgette know everything.
“You were right.” I say to Georgette. “Hello Nona.”
“How’s that?”
“About Josh.”
“You don’t say.” Then she actually winks at me.
“We’re kind of keeping it to ourselves right now, because the wedding is not about us.” I probably don’t need to remind them, but I feel protective of this wedding after all of our hard work.
“Well good luck with that dear,” Nona chimes in. “He is a very good-looking boy. My prediction—two drinks and you’ll lose your resolve. But good luck.”
“Nona!”
Just then, there’s a knock at the front door, followed by Josh’s voice. Merely the sound of his voice melts my heart like butter on pancakes.
“If you’ll excuse me, I hear my ride is here.”
Both ladies wink at me.
I walk over to the foyer as I hear Josh explaining to Arjun that he and I need to arrive early as the event coordinators. He is mid-sentence when he sees me and stops speaking, then breaks into a smile.
“You look so beautiful, Lily.”
Arjun looks between us, a look of inspection playing out on his face.
“Thank you.” I grab my shawl and my clutch. “We should go.”
Josh and I walk out to his truck. He’s walking ahead of me and then opens my door. He looks stunning in a light grey suit and crisp white dress shirt. His clothing is clearly tailored for his body, and he removes his suit jacket before he climbs in. The climb into his truck is showing off perfectly toned arms and thighs. God help me.
He starts the drive and, the minute we are out of the driveway, I reach over and grab his hand. He threads his fingers between mine.
I’m so happy for a moment—and then it hits me. This week is coming to an end. Sunday, I have to go back to Lincoln. Roselyn had wanted to stay a few extra days, but at the time, I begged her not to. So, I’m leaving and this proximity will be over. My heart quickly goes from warmth to hollowed out. I release my hand from his and move to touch my make-up in the mirror. I feel him glance at me, but if he reads my mind or my mood, he doesn’t say a word.
We check with the venue coordinator when we arrive and then it seems like there are endless event related tasks ahead of us. The photographer is late, scaring both of us into a nightmare scenario where we’re trying to capture the night with our smartphones. I was so happy to see her. I didn’t care whether she was late or why.
Guests start to arrive, and true to form, my sisters arrive early, followed by Ellen and my father. He strides over to me to tell me how beautiful I look.
