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“It’s how it should be,” I say, giving him a quick lift of my shoulder.
“You’ll always be my number two,” he says, the corner of his mouth lifting up.
“Just what I’ve always wanted to be,” I tell him.
SIX YEARS AGO
NOT MANY PEOPLE GET TO say they ended up in the emergency room right before their wedding, but my friend Daniel can.
This was the second wedding of that summer for me, and I hadn’t realized my jinx-ness quite yet. However, I feel like this one was the result of both Daniel’s and my stupidity, so I’m not fully to blame. It was my idea. Daniel just didn’t have to go through with it.
The wedding was in Boulder on this twenty-acre property, in a beautiful field surrounded by picturesque mountain ranges and foothills. The building itself was older, with a sort of country inn vibe.
The bridal room was upstairs, and it was freaking hot in there with the bride—Scarlett—and six bridesmaids all getting ready at the same time. We had fans running to help, but it wasn’t enough. So, when my hair and makeup were done, I went outside to get some fresh air.
I hadn’t expected to run into Daniel, whom I found pacing outside the smaller building we were getting ready in, wearing an untucked tux shirt and black pants, his shoes on but not laced up, his nearly black hair combed back and sprayed to a crisp.
I was in a robe and slippers because not only was I not expecting to run into Daniel, I wasn’t expecting to run into anyone. Besides the bridal party, only the staff was there setting up for the wedding scheduled later in the afternoon.
“What are you doing out here, Daniel?” I asked him, walking toward him with my arms folded in front of my chest because I wasn’t wearing a bra. Scarlett had us in strapless dresses (in teal, no less), and the bra I brought to wear was super uncomfortable. So, the less I wore it, the better. However, I’m quite endowed in that area, so it’s not one of those things I can just get away with. Again, I wasn’t planning on seeing anyone on this little jaunt. It felt akin to walking around naked, to be honest. The robe was one of those silky kinds that can easily come undone. Remember this, because it will come back to haunt me later.
“Hey, Mila. I’m glad you’re here. I need your help,” Daniel said when he saw me.
“With what?”
“I want to give something to Scarlett before the wedding.” He tapped the front of his pocket where I could see the shape of something that looked like it might be a jewelry box. “I forgot to do it last night at the rehearsal, and I want to give it to her before the wedding.”
I held out my hand. “I’ll do it.”
“No,” he said. “I want to do it. It’s something from me.”
“You two are ridiculous,” I said. Honestly, I’d never met two people more perfect for each other as Daniel and Scarlett.
Scarlett was my first roommate in college, and we bonded right away, admitting all our deepest secrets. Along with our other roommate, Harper (you’ll hear more about her later, because I also ruined her wedding), we would stay up late playing gin rummy and watching all versions ofPride and Prejudiceand could make each other laugh until we cried. The RA in our dorm had to respond to complaints more than once. At twenty-eight, I’m now the person who would have complained and am appalled by past me. Sleep is important.
I introduced Daniel to Scarlett. He was in my physics study group, and one time while we were in the library studying—or rather, not studying, as those groups tended to go—Scarlett ran into us. I made introductions; she mentioned he was cute later that night when we were back in our room, and Daniel asked about her the next time I saw him in class. It was very clear what I needed to do. I gave her his number, she texted him, and that was the start of it all.
“Please, Mila? Can you help me?” Daniel asked.
I shook my head. “She’s not going to want to see you until she’s walking down the aisle.”
Scarlett is a traditional gal—definitely a can’t-see-the-groom-before-the-wedding type. I knew this about her, but I also knew that she’s a big fan of grand romantic gestures. Which is why Daniel asked her to marry him at a Rockies game, on the big jumbotron where people cheered, and the mascot handed her flowers. It was on the news.
This is why I knew, despite her desire to do everything the traditional way, if Daniel did something romantic, she’d love it even more.
“I’ve got an idea,” I said. Then I told him the plan, which he immediately loved, and I walked him over to just under the window of the room where Scarlett and the rest of the bridal crew were getting ready.
“Grab some of these pebbles,” I instructed him, pointing at the driveway we were standing on.
Daniel grabbed a handful and then started throwing them, one at a time, toward the window.
At this point, I’d forgotten two important key things: One, Daniel had a terrible arm. I’d learned this in college when we’d go outside and throw a Frisbee sometimes. And two, it was so loud in that room with the fans that there was no way Scarlett was going to hear it if he managed to hit the window.
“It’s not going to work,” I told him, explaining the noise thing and leaving out the fact that he’s a sucky thrower. He’d only hit the window once so far, after attempting at least fifteen times.
“So now what?”
I looked around, wondering if we could find a ladder or something to get him up to the window. Then I noticed an older-looking trellis covered in some ivy that went up the side of the wall.
