Green Tea (22 page)

He smiled, “Really?”

“Really. You said that it has been hard on her since your grandfather died. She’s probably a bit lonely if she really hasn’t cultivated any new friendships since then. There will be lots of family. She could dance with her handsome grandson. I think she would have a good time.”

“I can’t really invite her to Morgan and Liam’s wedding. That’s not right.”

“They would love it. I promise. I can ask them if you like, but I know I don’t need to.”

“I’d feel weird. It isn’t appropriate.”

“Fine, I’ll invite her as my date, but could you pick her up and give her a ride, cause I’ll probably want to get there early.”

“I have to get there early too. I’m the photographer. See, it won’t work out. It was a really nice thought, but if I’m running around taking pictures, and you’re running around doing whatever it is you’re going to do, then Nana is gonna end up sitting there by herself anyway. Thank you for thinking of it.”

“We’ll see. Maybe we can work it out.”

AJ was snoring within moments.

The phone rang first thing in the morning. “Hey, I took the day off work. Jessie has to go into the office, but he’s going to get off early so that he can help. He’ll make it to the dinner, but I told him there is no need for him to be at the rehearsal. He doesn’t understand why you and I are even going to be at the rehearsal when we aren’t in the wedding. I’m still breaking him in.”

“I don’t know how family just shows up at a wedding and acts like a guest. It’s a skill I haven’t mastered. I’m just too nosey. Besides, if you only go to the real stuff, you miss out on half the fun.”

“I prefer to think I’m helpful, not nosey.”

“You can think anything you want, doesn’t make it true.”

“Any news about Jerkface?”

“Not a sound. My phone didn’t give me any updates, and they’re just running the same stuff over and over on TV.”

“I was thinking about it last night. What the news has, was planted to get information.”

“Why?”

“Cause they have the pictures of the girls that Louis didn’t identify in the journals, but they don’t have the pictures of the girls that are identified.”

“How do you know that?”

“Steph.”

“Okay.”

“Don’t get that tone. You didn’t want to see the pictures, remember?”

“I know.”

“So, they only have the girls that aren’t identified, and nothing about the stuff we saw online, about Jerkface’s sister being on the other girl’s pages.”

“Good point.”

“I hate the part where we know a little bit, but we don’t know enough to know what we don’t know.”

“I seem to spend a lot of my life in that space lately, I’m trying to learn to be one with my Yoda while in it.”

“Have you heard from Mom? What are we supposed to be doing today?”

“She said that she has it covered.”

“I don’t like that. You wanna head over there for a cup of tea, just to make sure?”

“Love to.”

“I’ll be at your place in ten minutes, we can drive together.”

“Works for me.”

AJ was well on his way to being ready for his day. He ran out the door about the same time Teagan arrived. She came in for a quick cup of tea. We still hadn’t heard any more about Jerkface, but were starting to change our focus to the wedding, where our focus really should be.

“I wonder what Liam did about a ring for Morgan?”

“She has long skinny fingers, she can wear anything. I’m willing to bet she picked out her own ring.”

“She has the dress, thanks to AJ. Does she have everything else she’ll need?”

“Good question, we can ask Mom when we get there.”

“We could just call Morgan now.”

Teagan dialed. “Hey, it’s me. Cara and I were just sitting here talking about you. We feel like we’ve neglected you, we’ve been so busy trying not to get ourselves killed. Is there anything at all you need, want, any desires of your wee little heart that we can fulfill. We both have the day off today, we are yours to do with as you choose.”

Teagan was quiet for a while. She snapped her fingers a couple of times. I ran over to the desk and got her a pen and paper. She scribbled wildly while she tried to keep the cell phone between her shoulder and her ear, without hanging up. I hate that about cell phones.

“We can do that. On our way.”

“What are we doing?”

“We are going to run over there right now. Jordan needs a ride to school and Morgan has a morning of beauty planned, but she also needs us to run over and do something for Liam. Liam is going to pick up all the tuxes, and we need to make sure Dad tries his on. We also need to make sure that Jordan’s tux stays at Mom’s and then after school he can try it on. If it doesn’t fit, we have to keep all sharp instruments away from Morgan because she might fall on her sword. It’s so funny to hear her flustered she’s usually so serene. We need to pick up some safety pins, a tube of lipstick and those special Band-Aids for blisters. We have to make sure that Liam and Jordan have clean fingernails, they were working on an RC car and Morgan keeps forgetting to check.”

 
“I wonder if she has all the something old, something new stuff covered.”

“She said that she has everything but the family money to stick in her shoe. Mom will give that to her tomorrow. From what she says, I don’t think she knows about the box.”

“Mom better give that to her early. If she cries she’s gonna mess up her makeup.”

“We also have to find out who is going to decorate the ballroom. I already have Jessie on alert. Told him to throw some jeans in the car. I guess we’re going to have to go over there after dinner at Mom’s or really early in the morning. That’s a really big room to fill up with stuff, it’s gonna take forever, and I’m still not sure what Jovana is doing with all those twinkle lights and that weird fabric.”

“What weird fabric?”

“Oh, she had this stuff on huge tubes. Looked kind of like interfacing that you use for sewing. Think compressed spider webs. The tube said it was fire retardant, if that tells you anything. Is she having a pyrotechnics show?”

“I don’t think so. I think the budget is pretty much over the moon already. Thank God the big-ticket items were all pretty much barter. They were able to barter the ballroom, the dress, I’m pretty sure they did the same thing with the cake. The DJ guy is doing the reception as kind of an interview for working at the bar, so he’s giving them a really good price.”

“So, you think she has the old and new thing covered?”

“You already asked that.”

“I know.”

“What’s going on?”

“I’m not sure. I just have this feeling that I’m supposed to do something for her.”

“Bernie?”

“I think so.”

“You want to pick it yourself, have her pick something out? You don’t even know what’s in all those little cubby holes, what if you let her pick her own thing,
you
could be giving her the Hope Diamond.”

“I doubt Bernie had access to anything like that, or that she would leave it to me if she did. Besides, I think it’s more of a lending thing, and I thought I’d pick it out myself.”

“When?”

“Now?”

“We have to head over to pick up Jordan. We’ve got like five minutes before we have to leave. Do you really want to rush it?”

“Well, if I just dip my hand in and pull something out, and it’s something appropriate for a wedding, then I’ll bring it with me. If I dip my hand in and get a hot pink thong, then I’ll take it that my psychic abilities are as limited as I’ve always believed them to be, and that Bernie was as outrageous as any erotica-writing 134-year-old woman is bound to be, and we won’t mention it to another living soul.”

“That works.”

I’m using the beautiful chest Bernie left me as a coffee table. I had a piece of glass covering the dresser in my bedroom. It was almost exactly the right size, so I moved it onto the chest so that when Teagan is overtaken by carelessness because she is engrossed in some TV show, and puts her glass down on the chest, I won’t have to kill her.

We took the glass off, set it on end behind the couch, and opened the trunk. It smelled fabulous. I really have to find out what that smell is. Citrusy and clean. I breathed in so deep my toes could feel it.

I sat there for a moment. Teagan silently watching, and for once, not directing.

I smiled, reached in and pulled open a little drawer. Inside was a box about three by three inches. I could feel it under the tissue paper, powder pink, with a white lace ribbon tied neatly around it.

I untied the ribbon and folded it gently, to put back in the spot that I’d taken the box from.

Teagan couldn’t take it anymore. “You’re killin’ me here. Hurry up!”

I unwrapped the tissue paper. A beautiful blue velvet box. Must be jewelry. Perfect.

I opened the box, it creaked loudly, startled me at first. Inside, more tissue paper.

Teagan almost fell into my lap she was leaning so far forward.

I pulled back the tissue paper, and there was a beautiful brooch.

“It’s pretty, but it isn’t very wedding-ee.”

“So much for my psychic talents.”

“It must be old. Maybe the 1920s? It seems kind of big, but I have to admit, it is light and airy. Kind of art deco meets Irish vintage.”

“If you don’t want it, I have a beautiful black suit that would love to have it on the lapel.”

“I think I’ll bring it with me to Mom’s. She may know if there is any kind of history or something. You know how old Irish are; they have a story and a reason for everything. God forbid you or I start wearing it all the time and it turns out to be some kind of fertility thing.”

“Oh. Dear. God. Why would you even go there? You’re the one that is always saying that I put things out there in the universe and rain them down on you. Why would you do that to us?”

“Sorry.”

“Sorry isn’t going to cut it if I start craving weird foods. If you start craving weird foods, it simply means that it’s a day ending in ‘y’.”

“Good point.”

“Ready to go get Jordan?”

“Yep.”

“Your car or mine?”

“Yours is fine.”

“What Cara? Miss I-was-not-put-on-earth-to-be-a-passenger?”

“Just in case things are still a little weird, better we pick up Jordan in a car that is a little less recognizable than mine.”

“Agreed.”

I texted AJ, as promised I would keep him updated as to where I was and what I was doing, even though things seemed to be okay, constant contact seems to make him feel better. A small price to pay considering everything I’ve put him through in the very short time we’ve actually been together.”

We dropped Jordan off without incident. His vice-principal walked up to the car and gushed all over him about tomorrow being his big day as best man and how sure they were that he would be the best best man ever. It was really nice. He basically floated toward his classroom. We told the nice lady we’d be back to pick him up this afternoon; Morgan’s in serious bride mode. She laughed and waved goodbye.