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Miller stands. “I gotta do suicides. I’ll see you in a bit.”
I spend the next hour with my physical therapist, working on strengthening the muscles around my healing shoulder.
I hit the hot tub afterward and then the sauna before I shower.
Back outside, I toss my bag in Darren’s trunk and drop into the passenger seat. “We gotta stop at Miller’s before we go home.”
“Everything okay?” Darren asks.
“Yeah. He’s got a copy of Sidney and Skye’s wedding video.”
“Marriage is a complicated beast,” Darren says.
“Seems that way. Violet’s who I want, though, so I need to figure out how to make this easier for her.”
“Yeah. You two are good for each other. Sometimes people get tied to the wrong person, and then they can’t figure out how to get free again.”
“Is that why you and Charlene aren’t getting more serious?”
I know they see each other a lot, but Darren keeps most people at a distance. I’ve met his parents once in all the time I’ve known him. Icy is a good way to describe them.
“My parents have been married for thirty years, and they hate each other. They have bedrooms on different floors of the house. I don’t see the point in changing things when it’s working fine. Plus, Charlene has her own stuff, so we’re good the way we are.”
He pulls up to Miller’s condo building and lets the valet park the car. Neither of us says anything more about it. The guy at the front desk buzzes us in, and we take the elevator to Miller’s.
Boxes line the wall in neat rows with Sunny’s flowery printing on them, indicating the contents. On the coffee table are several magazines, most are hockey, but there are new ones with babies on the front as well. And there’s a parenting book with little Post-it notes hanging out like tiny pink tongues.
“Sorry about the mess. You know how it is. You guys want a beer or something?”
“Sure, thanks.”
Miller grabs beers, and we join Lance and Randy in the living room. Lance is setting up the Xbox, and Randy is sending texts while smirking. I’ll bet my left nut it’s Lily getting the messages.
“You two gonna play?” Lance works on untangling the controllers.
Darren checks his phone. “Nah. We’re not staying long.”
“We’re just having a quick game. Then I gotta go home and get ready for a date,” Lance says.
“A date?” Randy sounds as shocked as the rest of us look.
Lance doesn’t look up from the controllers he’s still messing with. “Why is that such a surprise?”
“Uh, maybe because you don’t date.”
“I set up a Tinder profile so I don’t have to go to the bars since all you assholes have your dicks nailed down.”
Randy chokes on his beer and puts a protective hand over his balls. “Dude, not a nice image.”
“Shit. Sorry, man. Bad choice of words.”
“I’m going to point out that Tinder isn’t a dating site. It’s a hook-up site,” Miller says as he roots through the cabinet in the entertainment center.
Lance shrugs. “This way I’m guaranteed no bullshit. I’m gonna get naked and come, hopefully more than once, and in as many holes as I can.”
Darren coughs. “You’re a classy bastard, Romero.”
Lance smiles, but it’s stiff. “The classiest.” He turns to me. “Anyway, it looks like you’re really going through with this whole wedding thing, aye?”
“The date’s set. We’re just finalizing details and ironing out the guest list.” I glance around the room. “Obviously you guys are all invited.”
Lance goes back to messing with the controller. “You uh…invitin’ Tash to your shindig?”
I figured the Tinder hook-ups meant he was over that, but maybe not. “Violet still talks to her, so she might extend the invitation. You gonna be okay with that?”
“For sure. We’re long over.” The tips of his ears go red, and he chugs the rest of his beer in three long swallows. I have a feeling there was a lot more going on between them than Lance ever owns up to.
“Found it!” Miller holds up a CD case.
On the cover is a picture of Sidney and Skye in their wedding outfits. Skye’s dress is…very Skye. It’s off-white, short, and tight. Violet gets her body from her mom. They’re both petite with big boobs. Skye wasn’t doing much to rein hers in for this picture.
“What’s that?” Randy asks.
“My dad and Skye’s wedding video.” Miller passes it to me.
“Just put it on.”
“Uhh…are you sure you want me to do that?”
“It’s fine. You were teenagers, right? It can’t be that bad.”
“If you say so.” Miller slides the CD into the slot, and we wait for the video to cue up. He fast-forwards through most of it until we get to the speeches.
“Nice tux, Butterson,” Lance says. “Where are you, Balls? Didn’t you two hang out in high school?”
“I was already in Toronto then. I got drafted to the farm team out there in my last year.”
