“Oh, good. I’m definitely going to pay attention to Mr. and Mrs. Caldwell’s speech tonight to get some ideas on what to say.”
“They’re giving a speech?” James asked.
“Um, of course. I thought you knew that?’
“No, they didn’t say anything to me about it,” he said.
“That’s really sweet of them,” I said and looped my arm in James’.
“They don’t have to do that.”
“Yeah,” I said. “They want to do it. That’s the sweet part.”
He laughed. “I guess so.” He glanced over at Mr. and Mrs. Caldwell. He said he was envious of my childhood. Was he envious of Mason and Matt’s too? As far as I could see, Mr. and Mrs. Caldwell had been better parents to him than his own.
Despite how much I thought it might hurt him, James had made the right call. His parents shouldn’t be here. Tonight was supposed to be fun with the people we were closest to. That wasn’t James’ parents. And to me, it seemed pretty clear that that was on them, not James. I was done pushing it. I just wanted us to be happy. We had enough negativity that we couldn’t shake. I didn’t need to add to it.
“I can’t wait to hear their speech,” I said.
“Me too.” James smiled. “Although, I have no idea what they’re planning to say.”
“Probably something about how lucky Penny is to have you,” Melissa said with a smile. “Okay, I have no segue. But what’s the deal with that caterer over there? God, he’s gorgeous isn’t he?”
“So gorgeous,” someone said from behind us.
I turned around. “Hi, Kendra.”
“Girl, you were not lying about the plethora of single men. It’s like walking into a very elegant candy shop. Now I just need to find the right flavor lollipop.”
I laughed.
“Don’t be gross,” Marie said from beside her. “Hey guys,” she said and gave me and James each a hug.
“Congratulations, you two,” her husband, Carter, said. He gave me a hug and James a handshake. “Kendra has been talking non-stop about weird, sexual candy references the whole taxi ride over here. I need a drink.”
James laughed. “Come with me.”
“I still can’t believe you snagged the sexiest bachelor in New York,” Kendra sighed.
“We were just talking about that,” Melissa said.
“Wait, you’re referring to Carter, right?” Marie said.
We all laughed. I don’t know what I had been so worried about. Tonight was going so well.
Friday
Yes, I may have had a crush on Rory in high school. But that in no way reflected on the fact that his food seriously was amazing. It was even better than the restaurant he used to work at. La Patisserie was probably going out of business without him. Plus, after the stress of the day, I hadn’t realized how hungry I was until there was food right in front of me.
It took me awhile to realize that James was staring at me. I wiped my napkin across my mouth. “Sorry,” I whispered.
“About what?”
I laughed. “Eating like a ravenous animal.”
He smiled. “That’s not why I was staring at you.”
“Then why were you staring?”
He grabbed my hand on top of the table and ran his thumb along my palm. Whenever he did that, I automatically felt comforted. “Because I’m so happy that we’re here. And that you forgave me. This morning, I woke up and realized what I had done and I… I couldn’t breathe. I thought I lost you. Baby, I don’t ever not want to be staring at you when I wake up.”
He had said something similar to me once before. About how his house growing up felt stifling, like he couldn’t breathe. He used to escape to his tree house. And when he grew up he found other devices; booze, drugs, sex, anything that made him feel like he was still breathing. Why did he keep saying stuff like this to me? Why was he tainting what we had with his insecurities? What we had was so much more than booze or drugs or sex. We had talked about this, and I thought he was going to accept that our love was just that… love. But it seemed like he was going backwards. I didn’t know how to make him stop falling.
“James…”
The clinking of a glass made us turn our heads.
Mr. and Mrs. Caldwell slowly stood up. “For those of you who don’t know us, we’re Mason and Matthew’s parents.” Mrs. Caldwell gestured to her sons. “Our boys and James basically grew up together, mostly getting in all sorts of trouble. And I’m not excluding you, Rob,” she said and pointed to him. “He was the most troublesome of the four.”
Rob laughed and winked at James.
“James, you have always been part of our family. And I just want you to know how much we care about you. And how happy we are that you found someone who sees you the way we see you. Max,” she said and squeezed her husband’s arm. She had grabbed a napkin and was blotting her eyes.
Mr. Caldwell cleared his throat. “James. I see the lives that you and my boys have carved out, and I can’t help but feel proud. I know you’re not my son, but I knew you as a baby. I saw you grow up. I taught you how to play catch and ride a bike, and…” he cleared his throat again. “I’ll always be there for you. We’ll always be there for you.” He put his arm around Mrs. Caldwell. “And Penny. You make him happier than we’ve ever seen him.” He smiled at me and raised his glass. “Here’s to hoping that your life will be blessed with children as wonderful as ours and an extended family that shares equal space in your hearts.” He lifted up his glass. “We love you both. And we’re so happy for you. Here’s to the happy couple.”
James and I clinked our glasses together.
A slow clapping from the doorway made me turn my head. James’ parents were standing there. “Maxwell, that was a wonderful speech,” Mrs. Hunter said. She laughed, but it came out icy. “I always wondered why James begged us to play little league. Such a waste of time if you ask me. I guess we can blame that on you. I should have known. Honestly, Maxwell, you really should have asked us if it was okay.”