Page 157 of Cougar

“Can you guys give us a minute?” Jay nods to me.

“Of course.”

The girls file out of the room and the door clicks shut. Jay moves over to the little coffee table and sits down in front of me.

Taking my hands in hers, she smiles as her eyes fill with tears. “I’m feeling really emotional right now, and I don’t want to cry all over this beautiful dress.” She reaches over and grabs a tissue from the box on the coffee table. “I just realized something.”

“What?”

She sniffs. “I think, subconsciously, one of the reasons I eloped with Zach was because I didn’t want to face my wedding day.”

“I don’t understand.”

“It didn’t hit me until now that I was avoiding a wedding because Dad isn’t here to be a part of it.” She bursts into tears. “It’s supposed to be one of the happiest days of my life, but it won’t be because he’s not here to give me away.”

My heart shatters. “Oh, Jay,” I cry and pull her into my lap. She wraps her arms around my neck and cries into my shoulder. It never occurred to me that she’d give up one of the most important days of her life to avoid having to grieve for Marcus all over again.

“Is there a letter?” she asks meekly.

“Yes,” I tell her. “It’s the last one.”

She pulls back and looks at me confused. “But why?”

“Jayla, he may not be here to walk you down the aisle, but your father was always going to be the one to give you away?”

She snorts and I smile. “I’m going to ask B to walk me down the aisle.”

“I’m gonna need to get that on video.”

* * *

“Okay, we’ve narrowed it down to these two.” My mother gestures between the two wedding invitations. “Which one?”

I prop my elbow on the table and rest my forehead in the palm of my hand. “I think either will work.”

“Honey, are you feeling all right?” my mother asks. “You look pale.”

“I feel blah.” I stick out my tongue. “I think my hormones are out of whack. Do you think it might be early menopause?”

“I don’t know. Your dad is the doctor. Ask him.”

“Daddy,” I call out. “Do you know anything about hormones?”

My father walks into the kitchen with a smirk on his face. “Hormones? Sure. It’s the sound your mother makes when I—”

“Daddy!” I laugh.

“I was going to say cut back her allowance.”

“Very funny, Max.” My mother rolls her eyes. “You dick.”

I can’t with these two.

My father laughs. “What’s wrong, Emi bear? Not feeling well?”

“I don’t know. I just feel off.”

“It’s probably stress,” my mother says. “When’s the last time you went to the doctor for a checkup?”

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