Save the Date(84)

I headed downstairs, the dog now resting comfortably in the crook of my arm, apparently enjoying being along for the ride. When I arrived in the front hall, it was to see people coming through the front door, three burly guys, all of them carrying cables and what looked like black metal suitcases. “Hi,” I said to one of them, a question in my voice, even though they didn’t seem to need any direction.

“Hey,” the one bringing up the end said matter-of-factly as they continued through to the kitchen just as Rodney came out of it.

“Who are they?” I asked.

“They’re rigging the electrical in the tent,” Rodney said. “Did you meet the videographer yet?”

“No,” I said, starting to feel my pulse speed up. “Why is everyone here so early?”

“They’re not that early,” Rodney said. “Plus, they want to capture everyone getting ready, getting dressed, that kind of thing.” He looked from the dog in my right arm to the suit over my left. “Can I have my suit now?”

“Right.” I took a breath, then realized I really didn’t want to do this alone, and that I needed more backup than just Waffles. “Um, just give me a minute.”

*

“What is going on?” Linnie asked five minutes later. We were in the family room—Linnie and Rodney on one couch, me, Danny, and Max on the other, and Mike slumped in the armchair in the corner. I’d corralled Danny into joining us, mostly so that I could have someone on my side, and I’d dragged Mike in here because I thought that Linnie and Rodney might not yell quite as loud if they were in the presence of our very hungover brother. Waffles was also there, though he wasn’t really helping things—he’d jump onto the couch, curl up in my lap, and be peaceful for a moment or two, but that was as long as it would last. Soon, he’d be up, running around the room, looking at the ceiling like he’d been doing this morning, and growling up at it.

“Okay,” I said, realizing that there was nothing to do but get it over with—everyone had too much to do to sit here for very long. “So, here’s the thing. We found someone to marry you.”

“What do you mean?” Linnie asked, looking at Max. She sneezed three times in succession, then shot all of us a look, like she was daring us to say anything about it. “Isn’t Max marrying us?”

“Wait, who’s we?” Danny asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

“Me and Bill,” I said, then felt my face get hot as Danny shot me a look.

“Well, well, well.”

“No,” I said. “No wells. It’s his job. And I’m helping.”

“Sure,” Danny said, giving me a wink.

“Why isn’t Max marrying us?” Rodney asked.

I took a breath to answer as Waffles launched himself off the couch and ran across the room, looking straight up at the ceiling, a low, continuous growl sounding like it was coming from the back of his throat. “Waffles,” I said, a little half-heartedly, since I was pretty sure the dog didn’t know this was his name.

“What’s wrong with the dog?” Danny asked.

“I think it might be a ghost,” I said, shaking my head. “Anyway . . .”

“Are you still talking about the ghost?” J.J. asked, appearing in the doorway of the family room, still holding his bow tie.

“Yeah,” I said, pointing at Waffles. “Look at him. What else could it be?”

“If it’s a ghost, why hasn’t it shown up before now?” Danny asked.

J.J. thought about this for a moment. “It’s a ghost that hates weddings.”

“Did my mom give you the sewing kit?” Rodney asked, and J.J. nodded.

“She did.” He looked around the room. “Now. Does anyone know how to sew?”

“Guys,” Mike said, rubbing his temples, “do I really need to be here for this?”

“Yes,” I said immediately. I looked at Linnie and Rodney. “And I think we should be aware of Mike’s condition and not, you know, yell or throw anything.”

“Why would we yell?” Linnie asked, her voice getting louder with every word. “Charlie?”

“My head,” Mike whimpered.

“What’s happening?” Linnie asked, looking hard at me.

I glanced at Max, who looked back at me pleadingly, like he wanted me to explain this for him, and I nodded and took a breath. “So, Max found out that you can’t perform marriages in Connecticut with online ordination,” I said, and across the room, I could see Linnie’s face pale. “You have to be a clergy member or a judge.”

“What?” Rodney asked loudly, and Mike flinched.

“If we could just . . . ,” he said, shaking his head slowly, “just not . . .”

“Sorry, Mike,” Rodney said, in a quieter voice. “But what?”

“Guys, this was totally my bad,” Max muttered. “I should have checked.”

“Or I should have,” Rodney said, running his hand over his eyes. “God. I should have verified this. If I hadn’t been so busy studying . . .” Linnie reached out her hand to Rodney, who took it.

“But it’s okay,” I said quickly. “Because we found a judge to marry you. It’s all set.”