Point of Retreat(88)

We're all sitting in the living room. Lake couldn't wait to tell Eddie so she called her immediately to tell her the news. Eddie and Gavin were here within an hour.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm super excited for you. I just don't get it. Why so sudden? March 2nd is only two weeks away."

Lake looks at me and winks. She's snuggled up next to me, sitting on her feet. I lean in and kiss her lips. Like I said, I can't help it.

Lake turns back to Eddie and answers her. "Why would I want a traditional wedding, Eddie? Nothing about our lives is traditional. None of our parents would be there. You and Gavin would be our only guests. Will's grandparents probably wouldn't even show up…his grandmother hates me."

"Oh, I forgot to tell you," I say. "My grandmother actually likes you. A lot. It's me she wasn't really happy with."

"Really?" Lake says. "How do you know?"

"She told me."

"Huh." She smiles. "That's nice to know."

"See?" Eddie says. "They'll show up. So will Sherry and David. That's nine people right there."

Lake rolls her eyes at Eddie. "Nine people? You expect us to pay for an entire wedding for nine people?"

Eddie sighs and falls onto Gavin’s lap in a defeated slump. "I guess you're right. It's just that I was looking forward to planning a big wedding someday.”

"Well, you can still plan your own," she says. Lake looks at Gavin. "How many more minutes until you propose, Gavin?"

Gavin doesn't skip a beat. "About three hundred thousand or so."

"See, Eddie? Besides, I still need you to do my hair and makeup,” Lake says. "We need witnesses, too. You and Gavin can come and Kel and Caulder will be there."

Eddie smiles. She finally seems a little more excited once she finds out she’s invited.

I was hesitant at first with Lake's plan, too. But after hearing her logic…and especially after hearing how much money it would save us not having a wedding, I was easily convinced. The date of the marriage was a given.

"What about the houses? Which one will you guys live in?" Gavin says.

Lake looks at me and nods. We've been talking about it for two weeks now, even before the proposal tonight. After having her stay here, we both knew it would be impossible to live in separate houses again. We came up with the plan about a week ago, but tonight seems like the perfect night to share it.

"That's one of the reasons we wanted you guys to come over," I say. "I had about three years left on my mortgage and no less than two weeks after Julia passed away, the title came in the mail. She paid it off before she died. She paid the rent on Lake's house through September, that's when her lease is up. So now we'll have an empty house with six months of pre-paid rent. We know you guys are looking for a place before the baby comes…so we're offering you Lake's. Until September, anyway...then you'll have to sign your own lease."

Neither one of them says anything. They just look at us in shock. Gavin shakes his head and starts to protest. Eddie slaps her hand over his mouth and turns to me. "We'll take it! We'll take it, we'll take it, we'll take it!" She starts clapping and jumps up and hugs Lake, then hugs me. "Oh my god you guys are the best friends ever! Aren't they Gavin?"

He smiles, not really wanting to appear desperate, but I know how much they need a place of their own. Eddie's excitement eventually outweighs Gavin’s modesty and he can no longer contain himself. He hugs Lake, then hugs me, then hugs Eddie, then hugs me again. When they finally calm down and sit back down on the couch, Gavin's smile fades.

“Do you know what this means?" he says to Eddie. “Kirsten's about to be our parallel neighbor."



Friday, March 2nd, 2012.



It’s worth all the aches,

All the tears,

the mistakes…



The heart of a man and a woman in love?

It’s worth all of the pain in the world.



Chapter Eighteen


I’ve spent the last two weeks giving her every opportunity to opt out of doing things this way. Lake insists she doesn’t want a traditional wedding, but I don’t want her to regret her decision someday. Most girls spend years planning out how they want their wedding to be. But then again, Lake’s not most girls.