The ceremony was interminably long.
At first, I resisted the urge to check my watch because I suspected Noah would shank me. But after the third poem and second harp solo performed by Ines, the robotics engineer, I was ready to accept that consequence. It wrapped up not long after and I watched one of the best running backs in the league escort Audrey up the aisle. She said something that made him laugh and he leaned into her, his hand covering the forearm she'd hooked through his elbow. I could admit that I wasn't one hundred percent clear which one of them I was more jealous of.
Though it wasn't the first order of business, I was hoping she might introduce us. Later, of course. After I'd had a minute to explain everything.
Ben herded me toward another section of the farm and put a beer bottle in my hand while the bridal party posed for photos. He had a lot to say about an upcoming festival of some sort as well as the work he was doing on his deck over the summer. I might've agreed to help him out with that. I really wasn't paying attention.
At one point, he convinced a waiter to bring us an entire tray of the appetizers being passed—little triangles of grilled cheese sandwiches, crispy taquitos, pulled pork sliders, bite-sized chicken and waffles, mini corn dogs. We inhaled every crumb, barely taking a breath between bites to sayThese are really fuckin' goodandTry those with the sauce.
If I had signed myself up to work on Ben's deck, I decided I didn't mind too much.
"Here's what you need to know about these ladies," he said. "They'd choose each other over us any day, and they won't be sad about it. Actually, there are times when I think they'd prefer it."
"Do I want to know what that means?"
Ben thought about this for a moment, his brows and mustache furrowing as one. "It means that they're fully aware we're a species known for its flaws, not its features. If we turninto more trouble than we're worth, they'll be happy to send us on our way and out of their lives for good."
I cut a sidelong glance in his direction. "Are you asking if I'm that kind of trouble? Or is this another warning?"
He took a long sip from his beer. "For as long as I've known Audrey, she's held firm on having no interest in another journey down relationship road."
"She's been through a lot."
He bobbed his head, saying, "Yeah, well, every time one of these gals gets engaged, Audrey tells them how to protect themselves in case they need to leave. To keep money in their name, to make sure they're listed on all the major assets, to save copies of their documents in places we won't find."
"She's been through it," I said, though I still regretted not stopping in San Diego to waterboard her ex when I had the chance. There would be other opportunities. "She's smart and she's strong, and she loves those women so she's not going to let anything happen to them."
"You're damn right about that," he said. "Don't be surprised if you find out you're not the center of her universe."
Laughing, I tipped back my beer. "What? Come on. You're not the center of your wife's universe?"
"I'm the star that lights up her nights," he said, completely straight-faced. "Her Big Dipper, you might say."
A beat passed before we doubled over laughing.
"That was bad," I wheezed.
"Are you kidding me? That waselite," he said, tears streaming down his face.
My sides ached. "Dude, no."
Audrey chose that exact moment to appear out of nowhere, a raven-haired woman in a bridesmaid dress by her side. Ben, still cracking himself up and barely able to form coherent words, pulled her into his arms. I moved closer to Audrey, ran a handdown her arm. When I reached her hand, she twined her fingers with mine.
"Do we want to know what's happening here?" Audrey asked, eyeing us.
"No, ma'am," Ben replied.
"Probably a dick joke, then," his wife said. "They don't stop coming."
Ben nuzzled her cheek. "Neither does my?—"
She pressed a finger to his lips. "You're allowed to keep some thoughts inside your head." She held out her hand to me. "Hi. I'm Grace and I'd apologize for anything my husband has said but you seem to be holding up just fine."
"Jude," I said, shaking her hand. "We're doing all right."
"We stole a tray of apps," he said. "They had those little hot dogs, just like the ones from our wedding."
"That's what happens when you get married at the same place and with the same caterer," Grace said.
