Page 73 of Yours, Now and Always
Dad steps in.
Stops.
Stares.
There’s one long pause as he takes it all in.
Then, “Good God.”
When Mom hears Dad’s voice, she stops spinning and glides over to him. Hooking her hands around his neck, she begins swaying side to side as if she’s dancing with him. “Don’t you think it’s a lovely day for our son to get married?”
His hands go to her hips, probably to steady her, which is exactly what I’d do if Amelia showed up stoned. “Yes, darling. Very lovely.” A beat passes. “Have you been drinking?”
Mom keeps swaying. “No.”
“Really?”
“Really.” She leans into him and gives him a quick kiss before saying, “Have you seen Marin? I want to try her special jam.” She lets go of Dad and twirls. “I think it might be as healing as the cookies.”
“Fuck me,” Ethan says. “Sheatethe weed.”
“Did Marin bring cookies?” Callan asks.
Dad’s jaw tightens. He looks at us. “Where’s Marin?”
“Probably in the garden communing with the universe,” Callan offers, unhelpful as fuck.
“Or doing a tarot reading for the wedding flowers.” Ethan grins again.
Bradford’s still staring at Mom as if he’s trying to solve a puzzle. “How many cookies did you eat, Mom?”
She waves a hand dreamily. “Oh, I don’t remember. One? Two? Five? They were so good. Just what I needed to go with the flow.” She giggles. Actually fucking giggles. And then looks at Dad. “I amverymuch going with the flow now, darling.”
“Jesus Christ,” Dad mutters. He looks at me. “I’m going to find Marin and have a conversation.”
“Take your time,” Ethan says, not even bothering to contain his amusement. “This is the best pre-wedding entertainment we could’ve asked for.”
Mom looks around at all of us, her features soft, her eyes filled with love. “My beautiful boys.” Her eyes start to water. “I love you all so much it hurts. Like, physically hurts. Is that normal?”
“When you’re high?” Callan says. “Yeah, that’s pretty standard.”
Dad sighs deeply. The kind of sigh that says he’s been married to this woman for decades and has seen some shit, but this might be a new level. “Ingrid. Sweetheart. Let’s get you back to our cottage so you can lie down.”
“But I want to stay with my boys,” she protests, reaching for Bradford’s hand. “Don’t you want me here?”
Bradford’s fighting a smile now. “Of course we do, Mom. But Dad’s right. You should rest before the wedding.”
“Will there be more cookies there?” she asks hopefully.
“Absolutely not,” Dad says firmly.
The cottage door opens again and Hayden walks in. He comes to a halt when he sees Mom, but there’s no surprise onhis face. He simply nods and says, “Good.” Then he looks at me. “Saves me the trouble of explaining.”
“You knew?” I ask.
He nods again. “Yeah. She ate one of Tim’s cookies.”
Every muscle in my body goes tight. “Timgave her the cookie?”
