“Sure, what is it?”
I lean over, running a hand down histhigh. “Just that I love you.” And I laugh.
“Cookie,” he growls. “You’re going to payfor that one.”
Thankfully, the Rehearsal dinner is asmall affair—close family. Tables and chairs have been set up in the back yardof the vineyard house and not down in the big barn.
We greet everyone. I haven’t had time totalk to Olivia or Preston. I kind of forgot about Olivia. “Preston, Olivia, I’mglad you made it. I hope your flight was okay.” Preston kisses my cheek, andOlivia and I just smile at each other. Cole sees me talking to her and leavesCooper and Luke, making a beeline for me.
“Hey baby.” He comes up next to me,putting an arm around me, kissing my cheek.
“Kate was asking about our flight.”Preston nods to Cole. “It was fine, Kate dear.”
“That’s good. Are you headed back to LasVegas after this?”
“One night is all, thank goodness.”Olivia says, taking a sip of the drink she’s holding. “Then it is back home toNew York, and I’m more than ready.”
“Cole told us you are going to stay inLas Vegas until sometime next year.” Preston says.
I glance at Cole. “That’s the plan. Cooperis going to finish his MBA at Harvard, so Alan doesn’t bludgeon him to deathwith his cane.”
“I heard that.” Alan smiles, pointing hiscane at me as he passes us, my grandma Alice on his arm.
“Tell me I’m wrong.” But Alan just shrugsand keeps walking. My mother doesn’t make any speeches or make anyone else givea speech, which I’m very grateful for. After dinner, though, we all split. Thewomen head into the house and the men all hangout outside. I grab onto Laura’shand as we walk into the house. “Is it bad that I’m nervous about the bridalshower or whatever it is we’re doing?”
Laura laughs at me, then gives me adeadpan look. “You should be.”
“Well shoot, you don’t have any booze onyou?”
“No, but I saw Kit and Cooper carrying acase of beer and a couple of different kinds of liquor around back.”
“Oh, I think we need to go hang out atthat party.”
“Good luck with that, chick.”
“Kate, there you are,” my mother chimesin, pulling me away from Laura. “Here, this seat is for you.” I sit down in achair covered with crepe-paper flowers and a few balloons. I take a deepbreath. The bachelorette party, that was only Laura, and I was perfect becauseit was just the two of us. I’m not good at being the center of attention. I gettoo nervous and end up making a fool of myself.
The bridal shower was amusing. Thanks tomy mom, I got mostly cooking supplies. Pots and pans, cookbooks, recipes, andother assorted cooking implements I don’t even know how to use. Which is whyI’m sure my mother did it. My Aunt Ruby gave me a delightful gift: a stay in ahotel for our honeymoon. My mom assures me she let Cole know, and he’s planningon it. After the bridal shower, I give Cole a kiss goodbye and tell him I willsee him tomorrow night but he winks at me. Him, my dad and the rest of the guysare still hanging out drinking,the lucky jerks.
Kurt and I stop at the grocery store andpick up reinforcements. Licorice, a few Monster energy drinks, chocolate,Oreos, and a couple of pints of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream. I pull the Dart intomy driveway. “Why don’t you go and change and I will see you in front of the TVin ten.”
“No way.” Kurt is adamant. “If I go home,mom won’t let me come back.” He has a point, one that is probably a hundredpercent accurate.
“Okay well, you can’t sit around in yourboxers, that’s gross.” I climb out of the car, groceries in tow.
“I’ve got it covered. I stashed a shirtand shorts at your house earlier today.”
“Way to think ahead.” I ruffle his hair.Inside, I dump the bags on the counter and head to the bedroom to change. Ihave clothes and toiletries spread across my unmade bed. It’s a good thing I’mnot getting married until tomorrow evening. It’s going to be a long night. Isweep everything into my suitcase and shove it in the corner. I open my closet.“Oh, my clothes.” I grab a handful, hugging them and taking a deep breath. Isearch through a drawer and find my favorite pair of holy gray yoga capris andmy faded blue shirt that says ‘Go Bruins’ from high school. It has severalholes in it. “Oh, now I feel whole.” I breathe. I stick the new sheets in thewasher, grab my fuzzy blanket and an energy drink off the counter, and jump onthe sofa next to Kurt.
“Okay, I’m ready.”
“It’s about time. I thought maybe youfell asleep.”
“No such luck, Captain.” Kurt starts themovie and I down my energy drink and a handful of Oreos. About twenty minutesinto the movie, Kurt makes a snorting noise. I look over and he’s sound asleep.Good grief. I pull my blanket over him and take the drink out of his hand so hedoesn’t spill it all over him. I leave the movie on for background noise andget up to move the sheets into the dryer. If I’d known Kurt was going to fallasleep, I wouldn’t have had the energy drink. I text my dad and tell him Kurt’sasleep and it’s just as well he stays here. He texts me back with a smileyface. I guess that’s okay, then.
To kill time, I rummage through mycloset, pulling out clothes I want to take with me to Hawaii, and thenrearrange my suitcase to accommodate them. I pack up my things and make sure I haveeverything ready that needs to go with me to the Vineyard tomorrow, andremember, I don’t really have a gift for Annie. Everything I think of seemsinadequate. A gift, even a big gift like paying off her car or the mortgage onher house, those are nice but they don’t convey what Annie means to me as asister. I sit down on my hope chest and lean my head against the wall. I don’tknow. I pound my fist on the chest with frustration and glance down at it. Iget off, kneeling in front, and open it. Sitting there on the top is just thegift for Annie. It’s old, but it is an accurate representation of my sisterlylove for her. I tuck it in my bag with a sigh of relief.
The dryer buzzes and I remove the sheetsand go to work making the bed. Once it’s all made, I stand back, admiring myhandy work. I almost don’t want to unmake it to sleep in it.
