Page 100 of Goodbye Paradise
And as soon as we walked into the little private room at Ralph’s Tavern, we could see that she’d done a great job. On a table off to the side stood a small white wedding cake, withJosh & Calebswirled onto the top. There was one long table set for fifteen people, including two high chairs.
I counted in my head. Five adults and two babies from our house, three from the garage, plus Maggie’s catering partner and gay Trey. That was twelve. The pastor made thirteen. “Who are the last two seats for?”
Maggie just grinned at me. “Let’s go over the menu?”
“Do I have to? If it’s food, I’ll eat it.”
She rolled her eyes. “Men. If it weren’t for women, the wedding industry would crumble to the ground.”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”
She tackled me in a hug. “I love you, Caleb. And I’m so happy for you today, I could burst.”
I felt a sudden prickle of heat in the corners of my eyes.Oh, hell no. I was not going to cry today. With a deep breath, I pushed that swell of emotion away. “Thank you, Maggie. I’m pretty happy, too.”
Across the room, Josh was holding Willy, trying not to let her drool on his tie, while Maggie’s business partner was adjusting a spray of flowers on the cake table. And Daniel was chatting with Trey, who had come in a minute ago.
Then the priest walked in. When I met her last week, I would never have known she was a cleric, but for the stiff black and white collar projecting from the neckline of her dress.
She was not at all what I expected. I’d not seen the inside of a church since we left the Compound, but the pastors of my youth were dour old men. This one was a smartly dressed, silver-haired woman with sharp blue eyes. She came right over and laid a hand on my arm. “Congratulations, Caleb. I’m very happy to do the honor of marrying you today.”
I swallowed hard. Maybe if everyone stopped saying such nice things to me, I could keep myself in check. “Thank you. We appreciate you doing this for us.”
She gave my arm a little squeeze. “This is the best part of my job. And it’s really special to marry two people who have known each other all their lives.”
“I’ve never spent a day without Josh,” I said truthfully. “Never wanted to.”
Her blue eyes glittered. “I guess I won’t waste any time asking if you’re sure about him, then.”
“There’d be no point,” I agreed.
She grinned. “We can get started whenever you wish.”
I looked toward the doorway as three guys from my garage walked in — Joe, Danny and Jakobitz. “Thanks for coming,” I said, shaking hands. “I feel kind of guilty getting you guys into collared shirts on a Saturday. But there will be beer and barbecued ribs.”
“We wouldn’t miss it,” Joe chuckled. “I’ve never been to an all-guy wedding before. It never occurred to me that the food would be better.”
“Right?” I agreed. “And nobody will mind if you check the basketball scores later.”
“I’ve got money on the Louisville game,” Danny said, shedding his coat.
I laughed. “Of course you do.” Looking around, I saw the pastor waiting in front, her hands folded before her.
Josh met my eyes, and there was a flicker of bashfulness in his expression. Apparently I wasn’t the only one who was uncomfortable with ritual.
I gave him a brave smile.Let’s just go for it, I tried to telegraph.
He grinned back at me, and the warmth of his smile was really all I needed to get through this.
I turned to find Maggie in the doorway. “Are you ready?” I asked her.
“Nope,” she said quickly. “We’re waiting for someone, but I think that’s him walking through the front door right now.”
A quick scan of the room confused me. We were all here already, at least by my count.
But seconds later, a familiar face walked into the room, one that I hadn’t seen for over a year. “Washington!” I barked with surprise.
He gave me a toothy smile. “Looking sharp, boy!”
