“Whatever.” His voice drops with a rare moment of sincerity, “Today was probably hard on you, and I wanted to check in.”
“Thanks, but I doubt it's for my mental health.”
“Well, every time you’re in a shitty mood, I get scheduled for a colonoscopy. The last two times the appointment was canceled after I finished taking the shit juice.”
Hehehehe.
“Well colon cancer is a serious threat to a man of your age. We can’t be too careful.”
“Go to hell,” he grumbles. Normally he would hang up right about now, but he lingers. “You didn’t answer the question. How are you feeling?”
“I’m fine.” It's been my mantra all day.
He’s silent on the other side of the phone, then, “Take care of yourself, King.” Hmm, he’s come a long way in the six years I’ve been watching him. Check another box in the success column.
The wedding planner opens the door and gives me the signal. It’s time. The air smells like booze, sugar and sweat in the reception hall. Lance lost his tux jacket hours ago, and his bowtie hangs loose around his neck. The man hasn’t stopped smiling all day. He sees me and drags his new wife over, shouting, “ALANA!” the whole way. He’s also very drunk.
Izzy’s perfect updo has fallen slightly, and her makeup has faded into a more natural version of herself. Her train is in a bustle, and she switched to white crocs after the pictures were taken… which is a choice. Not one I would make, but to each their own.
“I LOVE YOU!!!” Izzy screams. She’s not drunk, but lost in bridal bliss, which will make what I have to say and tomorrow morning a billion times better.
Do not evil laugh—keep it together.
I glance over at the DJ who turns down the music. The four kids, Drew, Ian, Shae and Maria all stop mid weird kid dance moves. Seriously, how do they move their bodies like that? It looks like ooze getting electrocuted.
Izzy wraps her arms around my shoulders and whispers, “Thank you.” She’s acutely aware of what I’m losing tonight because it’s everything she’s gaining. I take her hands off my body and squeeze them.
“When you’re going through your gifts, you won’t see one from me,” I say. Izzy smiles, but that’s not the answer she wanted, and her shoulders lose a bit of their energy.
“You’ve given us so much already,” she says.
I reunited her with her family, got her kid in the best private school on the East Coast, got her a job and a husband. And of course, I notarized Lance’s official adoption of Drew. I should stop there, but I’m on a roll.
“Well, I figured now that you're an official family, you should probably go on vacation. The sooner the better.” I pause and watch the confusion spread on Lance’s face. “And I think every princess should spend a night in a castle or at least a castle adjacent. I hear there’s a place in Florida where you can do that.”
Izzy gasps and it draws her son’s attention. Drew pushes his sweaty hair off his forehead and walks slowly over to his mom, like if he moves too fast it might break the spell I’m clearly under. The kid is smart. I’ll give him that. He lights up when he figures out exactly where they’re going.
“Wait, are you sending us to…”
I wave to one of the staff at the back of the reception hall who shifts a bellhop cart with three bags of luggage into the room. There are squeals of excitement radiating out of Izzy. It’s like his brain is buffering, because Lance furrows his brows and finally connects the dots.
“When?”
“Wheels up in an hour and half.” I love the joyful and yet confused expression on Lance’s face. “Relax, you're still going to Geneva but a few days later. I adjusted your reservations.” Well, I didn’t, that was all Macie. The happy family showers me with gratitude and “you shouldn’t haves.” Lance sounds more frustrated and irritated than the rest.
“I was also thinking, while you’ll love the times in the parks, maybe you might not want to share a hotel room with your twelve-year-old son during your honeymoon.”
Yep, that’s what Lance is annoyed about. Drew’s upper lip curls to his nose and disgust washes over his face. He doesn’t want that either. At this point a crowd has formed around the bride and groom. I clap with a dramatic flair.
“Where could Drew go at night that won’t have him in therapy until he’s in his fifties? Then I remembered that Ian has been in the US for five years and still hasn’t gone to Florida to meet some famous mice. So, Drew could hang out in Ian’s room as long as that's okay with Dimitri and Katya?”
Stunned silence falls over the crowd as Dimitri stammers, “What?” Is there anything better than when a giant Russian man is lost for words? Katya protests, but I know what she’s worried about. I’m her boss after all.
“I already gave you the time off and reassigned your client list.” I tap my head. “Then I remembered that we only have six more months before Shae is a teenager, and she’s going to think all of this is uncool. So, she, her big sister, and parents should probably go too before that happens. And I don’t think Waverly’s boyfriend has ever been there either, so that needs to be rectified."
“Um…” Lukas pales as he says, “Wave and I are supposed to go on a trip in a few weeks.” Yes, you’re going to propose, and you’re already stressed out about leaving both of your businesses for a few days. Calm down.
Honestly, they were the hardest to work around. Lukas’s tattoo shop is booming, and the hotel has events every night into the next calendar year. But they both also have staff who adore them and don’t mind the extra work.