“Good idea, I’ll come too!” David yells.
“No, it’s fine, you stay,” I say hurriedly. “I’ll be right back.”
He shifts on his feet nervously, biting his lower lip and looking distinctly like a little kid who’s about to get in trouble.
“What?” I ask, pinching the bridge of my nose. “Why are you being weird?”
“I know something,” he says, “And you’re not supposed to know about it, and you’re not supposed to know there’s anythingtoknow, and I’m not supposed to let you out of my sight.”
Letting out an exasperated huff, I try to keep a patient tone. “What are you talking about, David?”
“That’s the thing, man, I can’t tell you.”
“Tell me what?”
“Nothing. Nothing to tell. Anything you wanna tell me?”
I’m going tohit him.
“Hey man, do you have a sec?”
David’s saving grace comes in the form of Abby’s husband, Aaron. I hear David audibly sigh in relief behind me, and I close my eyes for a second to regain my composure.
“Sure, what’s up?”
“They want me to set up a second drink table out in the gardens, but all my guys are swamped right now. Think you could help me?”
“Yeah, no problem,” I say, shooting David a glare to let him know he’s not off the hook about…whatever it is he’s not telling me. I follow Aaron to the kitchens, taking the box of glasses he hands to me before making our way to the gardens.
After setting the glasses out on the table, I turn to head back inside, but Aaron stops me.
“Uh, hey, wait,” he says, stepping in front of me to block my path. “Have you uh, seen the rose garden yet? They did a pretty cool job with all the blast-from-the-past stuff.”
“Nah, but I’ll make sure to check it out before I leave,” I say, moving to step around him when he grabs my arm.
“No, you should definitely go do it now. Like right now.”
What the hell?
Every step I take, he follows suit, continuing to block me until I say, “Okay, fine, geez, I’ll go check out the gardensif it’s that big of a deal to you. Did you help set it up or something?”
“Uh, no,” he stammers, looking around wildly like he’s trying to find something to stall for time. “But uh…Abby did. Yeah, Abby helped. Gotta support my wife and all, you know?”
Shooting him a bewildered look, because he’s clearly lost his mind, I give in and begin down the path to the hedges. When I get closer, I see Jack and Abby standing at the entrance like guard dogs, whispering to each other furiously.
“Howdy,” I say, announcing my presence with a wave. “Abby, your husband has gone insane. He basically held me hostage and forced me to come out here to support you.”
“Support me?” she says, brows furrowing in confusion.
“Yeah, since you helped with the memory walk or whatever.”
She and Jack share a look that I can’t quite read, and I get the feeling that it’s not just David who knows something I don’t.
“What the hell is going on? David’s stuck to me like a barnacle, Aaron trapped me, you guys are clearly plotting something. Anyone care to clue me in?”
“Oh stop it, you drama queen,” Abby says, rolling her eyes. I swear, she rolls her eyes more than anyone I know.
I wonder if it ever gives her headaches.
