Page 85 of My Life with the Walter Boys
“What’s wrong?” I asked, opening the fridge to find the creamer.
“The florist for the wedding called today and said they still haven’t received payment,” he explained, pulling two mugs out from the cabinet above his head. “She’s convinced the check was already sent in, so she’s tearing through everything looking for the confirmation slip.”
“That’s not good,” I replied.
But I wasn’t just worried about the florist. Katherine and George were supposed to be leaving for the weekend—their twenty-second wedding anniversary was tomorrow, and George had planned a romantic getaway for the two of them. But with Will and Haley’s wedding looming, Katherine had been more stressed than ever. From the look on her face, I could tell that going on vacation was the last thing on her mind.
“Not at all,” Isaac said, pouring the steaming brown liquid into two cups, one for him and the other for me. “And if you’re looking for the creamer, it’s behind the ketchup.”
With his directions, I located the bottle behind the sugary red sauce, next to the pickle jar. Taking it out, I slid the cream across the counter toward Isaac.
“Grab me a Kickstart, will you?” Alex asked before I shut the door. It wasn’t hard to find one of the bright neon cans, and nose wrinkled, I wrapped my fingers around his favorite form of caffeine. Popping the tab, he chugged half of it in one slip. Seriously, he was going to have a heart attack at the age of twenty.
As I was closing the fridge, a magnet holding a piece of paper caught my eye. “Isaac, you said she’s looking for a confirmation slip?”
“Something like that,” he replied. He was focused on scooping the perfect amount of sugar into his drink.
Upon further inspection, I noticed that someone had arranged a series of alphabet magnets into an insulting sentence. It read:Coleisadillhole. Under the bright orange letter D was a pink slip, and even though the loopy script was hard to read, I could just make out the wordflorist. Tugging the plastic magnet away from the fridge, I took the receipt and went over to the table.
“Katherine,” I asked, holding it out for her to see, “is this what you’re looking for?” At first, when her eyes glanced over the paper in my hand, I thought she was going to burst into tears. Instead, I was pulled into a tight hug.
“You, my dear, are a lifesaver,” she said. Then, taking a deep breath, she pulled out her phone and punched in a number.
“What’s going on?” Cole asked, noticing the mess on the table as he and Danny stumbled into the kitchen still half asleep. Nathan wasn’t far behind them, a tuft of hair sticking up at the back of his head as he stretched.
“Wedding crisis,” Alex responded, crushing the empty Kickstart can between his hands. “It’s been averted.”
“Doesn’t look like it,” Nathan said, pulling out one of the barstools and plopping down at the counter. “Hey, Isaac, want to pour me a cup?”
“Since when do you like coffee?” Isaac asked, but he grabbed a third mug anyway.
“I don’t, but my earplugs are missing and Alex was up all night playing that annoying game.”
“Shhh,” Alex said, slapping his brother on the arm as he glanced at Katherine. But his mom didn’t notice as she paced the kitchen floor, talking in a fed-up tone.
“Earplugs?” Isaac asked then. “I think Zack might have had a pair shoved up his nose yesterday.”
“What?” Nathan said, looking pissed. “Why did he do that?”
His cousin only shrugged. “How am I supposed to know what goes on in that kid’s brain? He’s a strange one.”
“Okay, okay. Thank you.” Looking slightly less stressed, Katherine hung up the phone, only to have her moment of peace interrupted by the doorbell. “Oh, they’re early!” she exclaimed, patting down her hair as she ran to the front door. Not long after that, she ushered Will and Haley into the room, both with suitcases clutched between their fingers. “You two are sweethearts for coming on such short notice,” she said, and started sweeping the pile of papers on the table into a manila folder.
“Mom, don’t worry about it,” Will responded as he set down his stuff. “It’s the least we can do.”
At that moment, Jack and Jordan entered the kitchen, and upon seeing Will, they dashed across the floor.
“Will! Will!” they both shouted. “What are you doing here?”
“Spending the weekend. Haley and I are staying over to watch you rug rats while Mom and Dad are on vacation.”
Cole, who was chugging out of the OJ container, sprayed a mouthful of juice down his shirt. “What?” he demanded, turning to his mom. “Why does he need to be here? I’m eighteen.”
“Cole, did you honestly think I would leave you in charge?” Katherine asked, half distracted. One of the kitchen drawers was pulled open, and she was rummaging through the files inside. “Where is it?” she said to herself. “I swear I put it here.”
“Darling,” George said, as he slid open the back door. From the sweat glistening on his face, I could tell that he had been doing work around the ranch. “Are you still looking for the florist’s receipt? We need to leave soon and you’re not packed.”
“What?” Will asked, giving his mother a look. “You’re not packed? Go get ready.”
