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“Easy, tiger,” I say.
“You don’t know how bad you’re going to need that.” She motions to my full glass. “Is this not stressing you out in the slightest?”
I glance around the room. “I’m processing.”
“Well, I’ve already processed and this party has catastrophe written all over it. What are we going to tell people? How did we meet? How did you propose?” She looks at me pointedly. Apparently, a drunken rollercoaster proposal is off the table.
“How would you have wanted me to propose?” I ask.
A waiter walks out of the kitchen behind us and Emma snags a bacon-wrapped scallop off the tray. I grab one, too, and we chew in silence for a moment, Emma still contemplating my question.
“Something timeless and romantic. Nothing cliché like a jumbotron at a sporting event.”
I nod. “I didn’t take you for a jumbotron proposal type of woman, so we’re on the same page there.”
She wipes the corners of her mouth with the napkin. When she pulls it away from her lips, I notice they’re monogrammedGriffin & Emmain an elegant font.
Emma notices them, too.
“Should I save it for the scrapbook?” I ask, trying to make light of this bizarre situation.
Emma sighs. “No need. There are probably a thousand more where that one came from.”
We still have no plan in place when the clinking of a spoon on the side of a champagne glass draws our attention across the room. Emma’s mom’s eyes find us on the edge of the crowd and she motions us forward.
Upon on our arrival, the crowd quiets and Emma’s mom starts talking.
“Thank you, everyone, for being here to celebrate Emma’s milestone birthday and to congratulate Emma and Griffin on their nuptials. Emma, it’s been such an honor to be your mom, to watch you grow into the hard working, compassionate, spirited woman that you are. There were many bumps along the way, but even through the difficult times, your father and I always knew you’d find your happiness. In life, in your career, and now with a loving partner.” She motions to me. “Griffin, we are overjoyed to welcome you into our family. Everyone, please join me in toasting to the happy couple.”
I turn to find Emma’s eyes brimming with tears and a wobbly smile on her face. Again, my instinct is to pull her into me, and press a kiss to the side of her head.
“You okay?” I ask.
She gives me a quick nod, then clinks her glass to mine and swallows back the bubbly liquid, her empty glass having been refilled by a passing waiter.
Philip steps forward like he’s going to speak, but Jolyn cuts him off. From his greeting earlier, she’s likely afraid of what he might say. The ‘if you have nothing nice to say, don’t say anything at all’ concept in effect.
“We’re going to cut the cake, then we’ll let Emma and Griffin make the rounds,” Jolyn announces.
Our attention moves to the corner of the room, where the floor-to-ceiling windows adjoin, and to the small fabric-covered table there where a five-tier wedding cake sits on top.
“Holy shit.” Emma’s eyes bulge. “It’s my dream wedding cake.”
As we’re ushered toward the cake, another woman approaches Emma. Her features are identical to Emma’s mom, the difference being her hair is lighter in color.
“Hi, doll,” she says to Emma.
“Aunt Jo.” Emma lunges toward her, hugging her tight.
“Sorry I’m late, it was a hectic Monday.”
“This is Griffin.” Emma introduces us.
“Wonderful to meet you.” She hugs me. “Congratulations.” She hands Emma a large pink bag. “This is from Chloe and Barrett, mostly Chloe. They’re sorry they couldn’t be here; they’re flying back from Seattle tonight.”
“Oh, that’s so nice.” Emma takes the bag from her. “I’ll see Chloe tomorrow. She’s coming in for her dress fitting.”
“I’ll let you two proceed to the cake cutting.”
