"We'll be like superheroes," DJ said to Riley, and the boys now looked at their suits like they thought they just might have some special powers.
With the boys taken care of, Sam and Wyatt were spending the morning together. There was some mention of separating the grooms before the wedding, but Sam got this tragic look on his face at the idea, so no one had the heart to do it.
At least Sam and Wyatt were arriving up on the hill separately. Mitch and Rico were picking up Sam, and Wyatt's friends were bringing him to a different area up on the hill. That way they wouldn't see each other at least for a little while right before the wedding.
Parking at the foot of the hill, Rico and Mitch went up holding hands. DJ and Riley held Sam's hands, and they looked so cute in their little suits. Sam looked amazing in a perfectly fitted, light gray suit.
They were meeting Lara and the girls there. When they arrived at the orchard, the girls weren't there yet, so Rico kept Sam company while he paced around among the peach trees. There wasn't anywhere to sit anyway. There was no seating allowed in the orchard, but Wyatt promised they would keep the ceremony short.
It was a beautiful day. The hill was shining and sunlight burst among the treetops. Bows had been placed around trees and flower baskets hung from branches. Mrs. York, the orchard attendant, had supervised the decorating to make sure no damage was done to the trees. The number of guests allowed in the orchard was limited. That was probably a good thing since Sam was so nervous.
"Do I look OK?" he asked Rico and blinked at him anxiously.
"You look amazing," Rico told him as he brushed a leaf off his shoulder.
Sam needed more reassurances though. "Do I look like a groom?"
"You're nervous like a groom, so you do," Rico said to him. "You couldn't look more like a groom if you tried. And I'm proud to be your best man, and it means a lot to me to be part of your wedding. But when I say that again in my best man speech, pretend you're hearing it for the first time, OK?"
"Are you nervous about the speech?" Sam asked.
Rico had to admit the truth. "Sure I am, but I'll bluff my way through."
"I'll try to do that too," Sam said and stood straighter and took a deep breath.
"Haven't I told you that you have a terrible poker face? You're allowed to be nervous," Rico told him.
"Not this nervous," Sam said and he looked pretty scared.
"Sam?" Rico said as he started to get worried.
Just then the girls arrived with Sammy and Gloria running ahead, eager to show off their cute outfits and hair. Mitch, DJ and Riley came over to admire them. Sammy spun around to show them her frilly, pink and white dress that used to belong to Gloria. The dress had been upgraded with flowers sewn into the hem. Her hair had been curled and pinned up with more flowers.
"Look at you," Mitch said and gave her a careful hug while Rico got out his phone and snapped tons of pictures.
"You look like a grown up lady," DJ said.
Gloria stood on her toes and waited. DJ didn't fail her. "You too, Gloria."
The girls were very happy to hear that. Though to Rico, they looked like adorable, little cupcakes.
"Did you hear that, Rico?" Sammy asked him. "I'm a grown up lady."
"You are. You're a tiny, adorable, grown up lady," Rico told her and gave her a kiss on the cheek as she giggled.
As the groom, Sam leaned down to talk to his flower girls. "You two look so pretty. Thank you for being our flower girls."
"Yay! Hugs!" Gloria announced and opened her arms to hug Sam. Sammy did too and Sam hugged both of them.
Rico was back to taking pictures, but then Gloria had another announcement to make. "I know something good. Momma said you and Mr. Wyatt are gonna be happy for sure."
Sam was clearly touched by that and speechless for a second. "I think so too. Thank you."
Now that Gloria had given him that pep talk, Sam looked a little better. Rico spotted his grandmother coming over with a few of the other people from the café.
"Look at you all gussied up," his grandmother said as Rico went to meet her. "So handsome." She gazed at him with fond pride then pinched his cheeks.
"Ow, she pinched my cheeks. You better watch out, Sammy," Rico called out to her, and she put her hands over her cheeks to protect them.
