“She really did,” Collette agrees. “And I know her absence is weighing heavily on Gavin. I see it every time I look at him.”
I almost feel ashamed that I haven’t noticed. And almost more ashamed that I haven’t thought about what my cousin must be going through right now.
For so long, Gavin has only existed as the man who betrayed me. The cousin who took the woman I once loved. Somewhere along the way, I forgot he lost Mimi too. Forgot that this week isn’t just about a wedding. It’s about the first major milestone in my cousin's life that his mother will never be able to see. I’m sure he was grieving. And I knew that kind of grief all too well.
“I hope you two were able to make amends. I know Mimi would hate seeing her boys still feuding at a time like this.”
“We’re working on it,” I tell her but that’s not entirely true. We were cordial at the sandcastle contest, but nothing more. Just getting along together to make a good team effort. There’s a difference between building a sandcastle together and rebuilding a relationship.
“I heard you brought a lovely young woman here with you,” Jerome interjects, thankfully changing the subject.
“Yeah, I did. She’s not feeling too good right now, but she may show up later.”
Collette’s eyes light up. “Oh, I hope so. It was so good talking to Marley, and I’d love to learn more about her. There’s something very genuine about her energy. It’s refreshing, honestly.”
“She is a dream,” I tell her. Something behind me sparks Collette’s attention. “Oh! Excuse us, Othello.” Then, to her husband, she says. “Jerome, come with me. The Langstons just walked in.” They leave me standing there alone with James, but that’s short-lived because no sooner do they disappear into the crowd than Gavin approaches.
“Y’all good?” he asks.
“We should be asking you that,” James says, looking Gavin up and down.
My cousin looks good. Dressed well. Haircut to perfection. But there is a melancholy look on his face that’s all too familiar.
“I’m good,” he says, his face morphing into a grin.
“Yo!” Todd’s voice is loud and boisterous. He and Vernon are back, both of them holding a beer. “I’m hoping you two are discussing what we’re going to do about the rest of this week,” he says. He snatches an itinerary from his back pocket.
“Why? What’s wrong?” Gavin asks.
“What’s wrong?” Todd shoves the card in Gavin’s face. “This is what's wrong. There’s no bachelor party on this itinerary. Why is that?”
Vernon nods. “Yeah, I’d like answers on that too.”
After his comment, Todd, James, and Vernon’s eyes shift towards me. When I realize they’re waiting for me to respond, I hold one hand up in surrender. “I don’t have anything to do with that.”
“Aren’t you the best man?” Todd pushes. “I thought it was your job to plan a bachelor party.”
“Yeah, I wasaskedto be the best man, but I was alsotoldall I had to do was get fitted for a suit and show up.” I lift my whiskey glass. “And here I am.”
“Collette planned everything,” Gavin interjects. “The joint party was her and Carina’s idea. They didn’t want anything tacky.”
“Well, with all due respect, bro, the bachelor party has nothing to do with her. The tits and ass are for us,” Vernon chimes in.
“I say we have one anyway.” James grabs an extra itinerary off the table and scans it. “I’m sure we can squeeze it in between afternoon tea and snorkeling.”
I drop my head into my hand.
“You should work on finding some strippers,” Todd adds, shooting me a pointed look. I peer through my fingers at him and scoff. I don’t know how to tell them that watching women flaunt themselves in front of men isn’t really my thing. I love women. What man doesn’t? But the whole thing is degrading and costs too much money. Watching some random woman give me a boner just to walk away, leaving me with a hard on, is a hard no.
Before I can say anything, Gavin holds up his hand. “Guys, the coed party will be fine. Trust me. I don’t need a stripper. I’m good.”
“Yeah,youdon’t need a stripper! But what about us?”
“We traveled all the way here for some excitement,” says Vernon.
“At Mr. Sterling’s expense,” Gavin laughs shortly. “You didn’t drop a dollar on the flight or the suites.”
“Okay, maybe not. But I wanna drop a dollar on some ass, bro. How about that?”
