“Thanks. I washed it,” she says, still poking at the flowers pinned to my chest as she looks up at me through her lashes.
That look should probably be illegal.
“Perfect. You’re doing great,” the photographer says. “Just a few more, act natural.”
“She keeps saying that,” Andi whispers, ducking a little closer.
“I know.”
“Do you know what it means?”
“Not a clue.”
She plucks at something on my shoulder.
“How did you get cat fur on a tuxedo you rented in Boston?” she murmurs.
“She has to track her loyal subjects somehow,” I say, and Andi snorts.
“Okay! Great, thank you,” the photographer says. “You’re free to go until after the ceremony.”
I give Andi a quick kiss on the forehead before we separate. For lipstick reasons, we’re not allowed to kiss on the lips until all the family pictures are finished, and I’m pleased enough that Elliott and Connor wanted her in the family pictures that I don’t mind.
“I’m gonna go keep Sadie’s poor boyfriend company before he disintegrates,” she says. “See you later. You look good.”
She squeezes my hand, and gives me a smile, and it’s such a beautiful day.
“I don’t know!” Ariel says, turning in a complete circle like that’ll help. “He was right there!”
“How did you lose Reid?” Hannah asks.
“I didn’t lose Reid, Reid… lost himself,” Sadie says, scowling.
“Connor’s mom might actually kill us,” Ariel says, already texting. “I wouldn’t put bloodshed past her.”
“Where did you last see him?” I ask. The ceremony is supposed to start in about seven minutes, and Ariel’s right about Elliott’s mother-in-law-to-be.
“He was right there!” Sadie says, pointing, as if Reid is a purse she’d put down. “He seemed kind of nervous, and then he was gone, I don’t know.”
“Stay here,” I tell the two of them, not that they were offering to go search.
It doesn’t take long to find him, in the dressing room we all left about ten minutes ago, still in an impressive state of chaos. The balloon is still on the ceiling and it smells a little like someone spilled champagne, but it’s a lovely, warm kind of chaos.
Reid’s in front of the mirror, scowling at his tie.
“You need help?” I ask, even though I know the answer.
“Yeah,” he says, letting the sides go and shaking out his hands. “It was probably fine, but I thought it looked kind of lopsided so I went to go fix it and then I just made it more lopsided and—” he finishes by gesturing at himself.
“Here,” I say, and he turns to me.
“Thanks.”
“Don’t thank me yet,” I say, and set about tying. Reid closes his eyes and forces his hands to his sides while I work.
It doesn’t take long. I’m probably better at tying other peoples’ ties than my own, after years of helping all my younger brothers and then years of helping their kids, too.
It occurs to me, as I finish Reid’s, that I’ve never helped him with a tie before. I don’t mention that thought to him since he already seems plenty anxious.
“There,” I say, and turn him to the mirror. “That better?”
Reid doesn’t say anything. He blinks at himself, and stares, swallows twice. The breeze blows through the curtains and he stands up a little straighter, then smooths the tie and his lapels and swallows again.
It strikes me, suddenly, how glad I am that he’s here. He told me, in the car on the way to Richmond a few weeks ago, that he came closer to not being here than I ever realized.
There’s a lot about Reid I’d never realized, but I’m trying to learn. Our roles are oddly reversed these days; after all, he got through this when he was fifteen. It’s his turn to guide me.
“You look good,” I tell him, and his eyes flick to me.
“Thanks.”
For a moment, I almost put my arm around his shoulders so I can kiss his head, but I stop myself and settle for squeezing his shoulder instead.
“Don’t be long,” I say, because he seems like he might need a minute. “Connor’s mom might kill someone.”
Finally, that gets a half smile.
“Sure,” he says. “I’ll be right there.”
The ceremony is perfect. For all that both Elliott and Connor have huge wedding parties, the ceremony itself is borderline casual, performed by a woman with short gray hair and a full-sleeve tattoo. Ariel and Sadie are excellent flower girls, none of the groomsmen trip over anything, and both grooms are so busy grinning at each other that they keep missing their cues.
Everyone cries. In the audience, I can see Andi handing James a tissue while Hannah sniffles behind me.
Afterward we get plied with champagne while we take even more pictures, but it’s stopped being awkward. Andi and James are in some of them, Elliott and Connor are over the moon, and Connor’s huge Irish-Catholic family’s chaos makes our chaos look positively calm by comparison. Elliott even insists on a “just brothers” picture of him, me, and Reid, and I might cry again.
Later, after dinner, I’m drinking a beer and watching people dance when Elliott comes over and throws an arm around me.
“Hey,” he says, listing into me a little. “Thanks for coming. Like, seriously. I’m really glad you were here. I know you hate—” he gestures around, as if indicating people.
I throw an arm around him in the hopes it’ll keep him upright.
“I’m glad you invited me,” I say.
“Of course,” he says. “I wasn’t gonna get married without you.”
“Good,” I say. “I’d hate to miss this.”
We both go quiet for a moment, but we don’t have to say anything to know what we’re both thinking.
“And Reid,” he says. “I’m glad he made it.”
“Being asked to be a groomsman made his month, by the way,” I tell Elliott. “Not that he’d ever admit it, but.”
“Good,” Elliott says, watching Reid across the huge room, talking to someone with lavender hair. “How many drinks has he had?”
“I’m not his chaperone.”
Elliott takes a long sip of his own drink.
“Mhm,” he says.
“Two, I think. We had a discussion earlier about pacing.”
“Probably a good idea.”
“I thought so.”
“Oh. Incoming,” Elliott says, moments before Andi’s on my other side, hooking her arm through mine.
“Come dance,” she says, flushed and grinning.
“I’m talking to the groom,” I protest. It’s pretty half-hearted.
“Don’t decline on my account,” Elliott says.
“Gideon,” Andi says, my hand firmly in both of hers. “We both know I’m going to win, so could you please finish your drink and we can skip to the part where you give in and come dance with me instead of pretending you’re not going to?”