The hell of it was that I couldn’t even fault him for that. I couldn’t call ‘hos before bros when it was my own sister we were discussing.
I was sure Giff knew something, but how much was anyone’s guess. But he wasn’t going to make me crack. I stared him back down as I answered his question.
“Why does that matter? Why do you need to know?”
He lifted one shoulder. “So I know how many people will be in the receiving line and can plan accordingly.”
I scowled at him. “First off, the receiving line deal is just family, right? So even if I had a date, she wouldn’t be part of that.”
Giff began to contradict me. “Well, certainly, your date would be welcome to be part of it—”
“Second,” I went on as if he hadn’t spoken. “I don’t have a date for the wedding. I’m not bringing anyone with me.”
“Because he doesn’t want to settle down, so he’s going to die alone.” My mother added her two cents to the discussion.
“Exactly,” I agreed. “Because I’m twenty-eight and not bringing a date to my sister’s wedding, that automatically means lonely death. Thanks for the reminder, Ma.”
“Any time, son.” She favored me with beatific smile. “Okay, so after the receiving line, everyone comes back here, right? And the food is served, dancing starts after dinner, cake about an hour into the dancing ...” She glanced at her notes from Ava and frowned. “One thing I didn’t consider yet. Someone needs to come back to the restaurant right after the ceremony, to make sure everything’s set up before the guests get here. Otherwise, people will leave the church and come right here, and we might not be ready.”
“I’ll do that,” I volunteered. “I wasn’t excited about the whole receiving line gig, anyway.”
Ma nodded. “Thanks, Vince. That would be good.” She swiveled in her chair, facing Giff again. “Now about the tablecloths and the centerpieces ...”
The conversation droned on around me, but I pulled out my phone and managed to tune most of it out. Even my mother couldn’t make a good case for me being involved in that discussion.
Finally, when there was a momentary lull, I saw my chance. “Ma, we got that early party coming in tonight. I need to get started on the ladyfingers, or the tiramisu won’t be ready in time. Can I be excused, please? Pretty please?”
She ignored my sarcasm and nodded. “Oh, that’s right. Sure, hon, we’ll let you get back to work.”
With no little amount of relief, I fled the dining room, retreating to the safety and quiet of my kitchen. I had about twenty minutes of blissful silence before the door swung open again. This time, it was Giff coming in.
“Sorry to bother you, Vince, but I wanted to double-check on the cookies you’re doing. The ones Ava requested. You’re doing three trays of them?”
I shook my head. “Ava wants a plate at each table, so people can eat them with their coffee without having to get up.”
“Oh, that’s right.” He waved one hand, as though his memory had just been jogged, but I knew better. This man had a mind like a steel trap, and he didn’t lose details like that, no matter how small. I kept working, waiting for the other shoe to drop. I didn’t have to wait long.
“So how’ve you been, Vince? I haven’t seen you since the engagement party, I think.”
I grunted and reached for a pastry bag, carefully spooning the ladyfinger batter into it.
“Yeah, that was a fun night, wasn’t it?” Giff leaned one hand on the counter. “Mrs. Bailey threw a great party.” He paused, and when I still didn’t respond, he went on. “You had a really good time that night, didn’t you? Last I saw, you were chatting up my friend Amanda ... and then I didn’t see either of you again. Funny coincidence, isn’t it?”
I piped a row of ladyfingers. “What’s your point here, Giff? If you’re looking for information, you’re barking up the wrong tree. Ask Amanda if you want to know what happened that night. She’s your friend, isn’t she?”
“She is that.” Giff sniffed. “But she’s been surprisingly close-mouthed about the whole thing. She’s never played a hook-up this close to the vest—usually, she dishes all the dirt right after. But I called her that Saturday afternoon, the day after the engagement party, and she refused to talk about what happened the night before. She wouldn’t even acknowledge that she’d taken you home with her. I was beginning to think that nothing really happened, but now I’m not so sure.”
“Oh, yeah? How come?” I slid the tray into the oven and pulled out another to keep working.
“Two things, actually. One is that Amanda asked me the other day, very casually, almosttoocasually, if I’d heard if you were bringing a date to the wedding. When I asked her why she wanted to know, she got huffy and claimed she was just making conversation.”
My interest was piqued now.Amanda wanted to know if I was bringing a date.“Huh.”
“And two ...” He tapped his finger on the edge of my baking sheet. “When Mrs. B mentioned Amanda just now, after you came into the kitchen, your mother got very interested. She asked Liam’s mom if Amanda was bringing anyone to the wedding with her. Mrs. Bailey said she didn’t know, but the last she’d heard, Amanda had told Ava she’d have a plus one but hadn’t given them a name yet. Then they both askedme, and I told them the truth—I don’t know about a date, but I do know that she isn’t seeing anyone seriously right now. She told me that I was going to have to share Jeff with her, because she couldn’t find the right guy to bring.”
“I think you lost me somewhere, dude. And I still don’t get your point.”
“My point is that I’m putting together Amanda’s curiosity about your date or lack thereof along with your mother’s keen interest in Amanda’s dating status and thinking something did happen between you two, and neither of you is willing to acknowledge it.”
