“Yes.”
“How much do you think Dante paid?”
“Are you pocket watching?”
“No, I just … he comes in off the bench, there’s no way he could afford something like this.”
“I’m not supposed to know this, but he doesn’t own the house. It’s a long-term rental.”
“How do you know that?”
“A simple MLS search can tell you a lot.”
“Does Anika know?”
“I don’t know that she cares. Not owning doesn’t equate to broke. He’s paying ten thousand a month in rent and really should just buy at this point. Maybe Anika can help him with that.”
“Shit is never what it seems.”
“You have to swear to keep that between you and me.”
“Cross my heart and hope to die.”
Inside Anika took our coats. “Welcome to our home. Aldi, there are drinks and appetizers in the dining room. Dante can mix up whatever you want. You know if he wasn’t a star basketball player he’d make one hell of a bartender, just like Tom Cruise in that one movie.”
Squeezing Aldi’s hand, I asked, “Do you want me to come with you?” I didn’t know how this worked and if being around others drinking was approved recovery behavior. The last thing I wanted to do was put him in a precarious situation.
“No, I’m good. Catch up with Anika.”
When Aldi walked away to join Jemini and Dante, Anika dug her nails into my arm. “What was that for?”
“I’m just so nervous. You promise to have my back?”
“Yep, remember this is your wedding and you get to call the shots. Jemini can object but she can’t do shit to change it.”
“What if she gets mad and starts throwing things?”
That was a real possibility. “She won’t cause I won’t let her. The throwing things part. I can’t control her mood.”
“Dante thinks I’m making a big deal over nothing, but he doesn’t know Mom like we do. When she doesn’t get her way, she can be vicious.”
“Aldridge and I are in your corner and who knows, maybe we are making a mountain out of a molehill.”
After a tour of the house with light refreshments, we sat down to eat, and my mother wasted no time jumping right in. “Have we set a date?” Anika shoved a forkful of food in her mouth. “We need to pick a date so we can start making plans.”
“We? Don’t you mean they, Anika and Dante?” I asked.
“Yes, the wedding is about Anika and Dante, but it’s also about me and our friends and family.”
“We do have a date in mind.”
“When?” My mother, Aldridge, and I all said in unison.
“The twenty-seventh.”
“Of?” Jemini prodded.
“June.”
