“She did. He said yes. Your dad would want him to.” Emma is quiet, thinking. Her mom has always known when something isn’t right, and says, “Is everything all right, Em? Is it the wedding?”
Emma reaches for the slices of cooked bacon, breaking them in half to put on each baguette. “I hope it’s not. I mean, I hope I’m not that shallow.”
“You’ve never been shallow. You are my deep well.”
Emma smiles. “I’m happy for Sarah. I really am.”
“I know you are. And it’s okay to be in a funk. That happens a lot as we go through different stages in life and we watch other people go through their stages.”
Emma keeps her voice low so Matt can’t hear from the bedroom. “I kind of thought that I would be the first one to go through that stage. If you know what I mean,” she says, chuckling.
“I know, but this isn’t your lane, remember?”
Emma nods as she mixes some honey with a teaspoon of hot sauce, sprinkling some over each slice of bacon on top of the baguette. “I know, I know. I can’t run someone else’s race. I have to stay in my own lane and run my own race.” Ever since she and Sarah were children, her mom has told them that.
Her mom laughs. “You remember!”
“You still say it all the time!” Emma says, biting into the appetizer. “Oh…yum! I think I just made another finger food that would be perfect for the wedding!”
“I wondered what you have been doing. What did you make?”
“A bacon appetizer for Matt, Rick, and Brandon.”
“The next time we chat, I’ll have to get the recipe from you. I’ll let you go. Hug each one of them for me. Love you!”
“Love you, Mom!” She ends the call on her cell phone and puts the other half of the bacon baguette into her mouth.
“How’s your mom?” Matt says, putting on a shirt as he walks out of the bedroom.
“She’s great. She and Sarah were trying to find a caterer today,” she says, holding one of the bacon appetizers in front of Matt.
He takes a bite and quickly reaches for the rest of it from her hand, shoving it into his mouth. “This is amazing! These will totally be worth having Brandon and Rick over.”
She smiles, cleaning up the mess she made in the kitchen. “You love Rick and Brandon.”
He wraps his arms around her, kissing her. “No. I love you. I find them amusing. I’d rather be here alone with you tonight.”
She’s surprised that he said he loved her without her saying it first. “Then why didn’t you tell me?” she says, swatting him with a kitchen towel. “I invited them only because it was your idea.”
“Why do you listen to me?”
“Maybe because I think you’re brilliant and I love you,” she says, sticking the unused bacon inside the refrigerator.
He reaches for her arm as she closes the door and pulls her to him. “And I love you.” His tone is different; and Emma looks at him, wondering if something is wrong. “Why aren’t we the ones getting married?”
“Wha…?” She is stumped, looking into his eyes. “What do you…?”
He laughs. “Seriously! Why aren’t we the ones planning a wedding?”
She is confused and tries to put together another sentence. “I don’t… You’ve never said anything about…”
He pulls her tighter. “Marry me, Emma.” Her eyes are full of surprise. “Tonight even. Let’s just go do it!”
He kisses her, and she begins to laugh. She leans back, looking at him. “Are you serious?”
He holds out his index finger and taps it with the index finger of his other hand. “I love you.” He holds out a second finger and taps it. “I want to marry you.” A third finger is extended. “I want to marry you tonight.”
“Oh my gosh! Matt!” she says with nervous laughter. “Was this because of the bacon?”
“No!” He thinks for a moment. “Well, maybe. Okay, no! It wasn’t because of the bacon. It was because I keep hearing you talk about your sister’s wedding and I think it’s nuts that she’s getting married before we are. I mean, we’ve lived together. We know we’re compatible. So come on, let’s go do it!” He grabs her hand and begins to pull her out of the kitchen.
“No! No! No!” she says, laughing. “I want my mom and my sister to be there. And I would like to wear a wedding dress and not a pair of jeans with a ratty shirt.”
“But I love those jeans and that ratty shirt,” he says, kissing her neck.
“Plus, we invited Rick and Brandon over. It would be rude to run out and get married and not even invite some of our best friends.” He smiles, and she hugs him tight. She doesn’t want to let go of him. Not now. Not ever.
“So when will you set the date?” Brandon says, refreshing his and Rick’s drink.
“Soon,” Emma says, snuggled next to Matt on the sofa. “I think we need to let Sarah get married, and then we can,” she says, craning her head to look up at Matt. “Her wedding is only two months away.”
“Whatever you say,” Matt says. “I just hope I don’t change my mind between now and then,” he says, winking at Brandon and Rick.
She knows he’s teasing, but for whatever reason, Emma is hurt. She thought by now that she was used to Matt’s offhand remarks.
“Where will you get married?” Rick says, reaching for his drink.
“Probably in Indiana,” Emma says, hoping it’s okay with Matt.
“Really?” Matt asks. “Not here?”
She shrugs. “Most of the people I know are there. My family’s there. My only friends in New York are in this room.”
“And I will walk to Indiana if I have to!” Brandon says.
“I’ve never seen hay bales or chickens running through a front yard, so I’m in,” Rick says, making Matt laugh.
Emma has always liked Brandon and thought he deserved someone better and kinder than Rick. Rick is white, in his thirties, and works for an IT firm. Brandon is a twenty-four-year-old black man with striking brown eyes and a wide smile. He’s worked in the publicity department for a small publishing house for the last three years. He moved to New York from Louisville, where he was raised by a single mom and squeaked through high school, passing by a hair. He never met his dad, and while he has said that it doesn’t bother him, he has confided in Emma that he hates the man, whoever he is, for abandoning him and his mother. Whereas Brandon is caring and thoughtful, Rick often comes across as mean-spirited and insincere, even mocking Brandon’s mother’s Southern accent. His boorish personality drives Emma crazy but she still cares for him as a friend, and for the sake of Brandon, she has always remained quiet.
“You guys always talk about it, so…” Emma says. “When will you tie the knot?”
“We’ll wait and see how long you guys last before we take the plunge.”
The three men laugh, but Emma notices that Brandon’s laugh is halted and sad, as if he was wondering whether Rick would abandon him as quickly as his father had.
More drinks are poured, and they all laugh until they cry as they share stories of their college years and early days of working in the city. In spite of their individual flaws Emma loves this little group, where she feels safe and cared for, and rests her head on Matt’s shoulder, grateful for their life together.