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So, Isaac was completely shocked when his grandmother cornered him in the restaurant's kitchen after the rehearsal dinner. She had wide eyes, staring at him like he was in trouble.
Isaac had been around his grandmother multiple times during the night, and everything had been good. He was thrown off by her sudden look of disapproval. She shook her head.
"I should whip your butt, Isaac Sean. You're going to run off and get married and not tell your grandmother about it?" There was an edge of a smile to her expression by the time she finished her statement, but Isaac could tell she knew something was going on.
He stared at her, feeling shocked and wondering how in the world she found out. No one knew.
"What are you talking about, Birdy?"
A couple of people walked by them and they stopped talking so they wouldn't be overheard.
"What are you saying?" Isaac asked once his aunt and cousin left the area.
"Your hands, my love," she said. She picked up her grandson's hand and held it while looking at him. "I can see the way you touch that young lady, and it's the way a husband touches a wife. The way you handle that girl… that's a husband and his wife if I ever saw it. I figured you already married her in Atlanta."
"What? We're about to get married tomorrow, Birdy."
"Don't you lie to me, boy, you already got married." Rita paused, staring at him.
"Birdy, first of all it's crazy that you would think that type of thing by something I'm doing with my hands. And second, I can't believe that you would believe it enough to talk to me about it."
She shook her head playfully at him. "Of course I'm going to talk to you about it. You're my grandson, and I love you. I can tell when you're married and when you're not."
"Wow, Birdy, gosh. Well, uh, if Ari and I theoretically got married on April eighth in a secret, forbidden ceremony in Atlanta, then I'd probably not tell you about it, and I'ddefinitelynot want you to tell anyone else." He was being playful and nonchalant with his grandmother who gave him a satisfied smile and leaned up to place a kiss on his cheek. "Please don't say anything," he added.
Rita Alexander squinted at him and used her fingers to pretend zip her own lips before she threw away the invisible key.
"Promise?" he said. "Not even to my dad. Please. We don't want people to think we did all this for nothing."
She reached up and touched the side of his face. "It's not all for nothing, but I wouldn't dare," she said. "I think it's the sweetest thing. I love you, my grandson."
"I love you, too," he said.
Isaac believed his grandma when she said their secret was safe with her. He was just floored that she knew in the first place. If Isaac was touching Ari a certain way, the more logical assumption might be that he had just simply compromised her honor before the wedding. But his grandma's mind hadn't even gone to that. She had known that they were secretly married.
He was still smiling about it when he found his wife. She was dressed up in a casual, cotton white dress with a low, square neckline.
Her hair had been styled for the occasion and it hung in perfect waves over her shoulders. Isaac loved her more than anything. He loved her more today than he did the day he married her, and that was saying a lot.
The rehearsal dinner was over, and some people had left but others were milling around the restaurant before they went home.
Ari was standing when he found her, and he took her into his arms. "Hey, my love," she said. "I love your green eyes. I’m glad you're my fiancé."
A few people were within earshot, and Isaac smiled at her.
"Did you mention something to Birdy?" he whispered discreetly.
"About what?" she asked, turning to him with a curious expression.
"About us."
She shook her head. "No way."
"She knew."
Ari's eyes widened slightly. "How?" she asked, stiffly.
He smiled. "She said the way I touched you."
