Honey on Your Mind (34 page)

I smiled at her. “Betty, you’re
glowing
.”

She smiled back. “That’s because I’m happy.” Then she looked at my dad.

“Babe, you look beautiful,” he said.

She winked at him. “So what do you think? Ready to go tie the knot?”

He held out his arm. “Sweetheart, you can’t get me there fast enough.”

• • •

After the ceremony, Jake and I drove back to our hotel to drop off the car, and then walked to a restaurant called The Firehouse for the reception. The moment we stepped inside, I spotted Andie and Nick sitting at the bar. They were playing rock-paper-scissors.

“Well, hello there, strangers.” I approached them with my arms open wide.

“Hey, Waverly!” Andie stood up to embrace me.

“Bryson!” Nick followed with his own bear hug. “Welcome back to the left coast! We’ve missed you. Not as much as you’ve probably missed
us
, but we’ve missed you.”

“Yes, I’ve missed you.” I hugged him back, and when I could breathe again, I took a step away and gestured to Jake. “Nick Prodromou, this is Jake McIntyre. Jake, Nick and I used to work together at the
San Francisco Sun
.”

Jake extended his hand. “You’re the one who likes to wear T-shirts with clever sayings, right?”

Nick grinned and nodded as he shook Jake’s hand. “I see my reputation of awesomeness precedes me.”

“Are you wearing one under that dress shirt?” I asked.

He nodded. “Of course I am. Would I disappoint? Want to see it before this party gets started?” He unbuttoned his dark blue dress shirt to reveal a light blue T-shirt that said W
ORLD’S
G
REATEST
…Y
OUR
M
OM’S
N
EW
B
OYFRIEND
on the front.

I put my hand over my mouth. “Oh, good lord.”

He buttoned his shirt and laughed. “Admit it. You miss me even more than you thought you did.”

I laughed. “OK, I admit it. I miss you even more than I thought I did. Nice decision to wear that shirt to a
wedding reception
, by the way. And was that a giggle I just heard make its dainty way out of your manly throat?”

“Please, it was a hearty laugh. And what can I say? I’m a romantic.”

“Giggle,” I coughed under my breath.

“Hearty laugh,” he coughed under his, then added, “Now what can I get you two to drink?” at a normal decibel.

“What are you having?” Jake said.

Nick held up his drink. “Scotch and soda. It’s amazing.”

“Vodka soda for me.” Andie held up her glass and clinked it against Nick’s.

I put my hand on her shoulder. “Thank God you’re drinking. I was afraid you were going to announce that you’re pregnant too.”

She waved a hand in front of her face. “Oh, God no. Are you kidding?”

“Andie’s anti-nugget,” Nick said to Jake.

I looked at Nick. “Nugget?”

He nodded. “That’s my new term for
little people
.”

Jake raised his eyebrows. “Little people?”

I put my hand on Jake’s arm. “That’s his old term for
children
.”

“I see,” Jake said, nodding.

I laughed. “My friends take some getting used to.”

“I don’t have a
problem
with nuggets, I just don’t want to
have
nuggets,” Andie said. “Big difference.”

Jake looked at Nick and nodded toward the bar. “Let me buy this round.”

“Sounds amazing,” Nick said. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to use the facilities.” He left to find the restroom, and Jake went to order the drinks.

Once they were both out of earshot, I leaned toward Andie and lowered my voice.

“So how is it, living in sin?” I whispered.

She shrugged. “So far, so good.”

I laughed. “You enthusiasm is overwhelming.”

“Hey now, for
me
, this is enthusiasm.”

“This is true. So it’s going well?”

She lowered her voice and pointed downward. “I’ve had to remind him about my one-V policy a couple times, but for the
most part, yes, it’s going well.” She wasn’t saying it aloud, but the bright look in her eyes told me everything I needed to know.

I laughed and hugged her. “I’ve really missed you, Andrea Barnett. Can I just tell you that?”

She hugged me back. “I’ve missed you too.”

Jake returned and handed us our drinks. “What’s with all the hugging? Did I miss something?”

“Just a little girl talk,” I said, smiling.

Nick reappeared, and as Jake handed him a drink I pointed to the front door.

“Hey, speaking of nuggets, there’s Mackie and the baby!” McKenna and Hunter had just entered the room. Hunter was holding little Elizabeth, who was dressed in a tiny, flower-print dress and wearing miniature, white, patent-leather shoes.

I waved my arm. “Hey, Mackie, over here.”

She and Hunter joined us by the bar, and I gave them each a hug. “It’s so great to see you guys. Hunter, you remember my boyfriend, Jake?”

Hunter nodded and extended his hand. “Of course. From our wedding. How are you?”

Jake shook Hunter’s hand, and then put one arm around my shoulders. “I can’t complain. In a couple weeks, I’m moving to Brooklyn.”

“So we’ve heard,” Hunter said. “You’ll be working for the Nets?”

Jake gave me a squeeze. “That, and trying to keep this one out of trouble.”

I laughed and looked up at him. “You be nice.”

“Are you guys shacking up?” Nick asked.

I shook my head. “Jake’s getting a place in Cobble Hill.”

“Cobble what?”

“Cobble Hill. It’s a super cute neighborhood in between where I live and the new Nets stadium. He’ll be able to walk to work.”

Andie pointed to me and then to Jake and back again. “I bet one of you does the walk of shame nearly every morning.”

I glanced at her drink. “How many of those have you had?”

She shrugged. “God knows. We checked into the hotel early.”

Nick put his arm around her. “That’s my girl.”

“Have you ever noticed that you two are amazing?” I said.

“Every day,” Nick said. “We’re like the royal couple of amazing.”

Jake pointed to little Elizabeth. “Cute nugget,” he said to McKenna.

“Huh?” she said.

Nick laughed and held his hand up to Jake for a high five. “I like you already.”

Just then, my dad and Betty approached us. They were arm in arm and smiling ear to ear.

“Hey, Dad. Hey, Betty.” I gave them each a hug, and then introduced them to the group. My dad had seen McKenna and Andie many times over the years, but he’d never met the men who had dated them along the way.

My dad smoothed his tie with his hand. “Thank you all for coming. It really means a lot to us to have Waverly’s closest friends be part of our special day.” He looked at McKenna and Andie. “You two girls are family to us, you know.”

“We wouldn’t have missed it, Mr. Bryson,” McKenna said.

Andie nodded. “Couldn’t keep us away.”

“It’s so lovely to meet you all,” Betty said. She looked so happy I thought she might cry.

My dad cleared his throat. “Well, um, we have a little announcement.”

I could feel my eyes get big.
An announcement?
I really didn’t know if I could take any more announcements.

“What is it, Dad?” I glanced at Betty’s stomach.
If she says she’s pregnant, I’m going to lose it.

He smiled. “After we get back from our honeymoon, Betty and I are going to open our own restaurant.”

“Your own restaurant? Really?” I said.

He nodded. “Now it won’t be anything fancy, you know, just a little café, actually. But we’re excited about it.”

Now I felt like
I
was going to cry. “Dad, that’s wonderful.” I thought of how far he’d come in just a few years.

“You made it happen, you know,” he said to me.

“
I
made it happen?”

He nodded, and then turned to face the group. “Now, I’m guessing Waverly hasn’t told any of you that she’s been sending me money every month for quite a while now.”

Everyone looked at me, and I could feel my cheeks go red. I looked at my dad.
Why are you telling everyone that?

He put a hand on McKenna and Andie’s shoulders. “You two know I haven’t been the best about managing my money, but I’ve really turned things around.”

McKenna smiled. “So we’ve heard.” She and Andie had seen the progression over the years from gambling binges and get-rich-quick schemes to a stable job at a restaurant; from living in a double-wide in a dusty trailer park to renting a small yet respectable one-bedroom apartment.

He turned to look directly at me. “And now, because of
you
, Betty and I are going to have our own café, and I wanted to say thank you in front of your friends so they know how generous you’ve been to your old man.”

“You don’t have to thank me,” I whispered. “You’re my
dad
.”

“Yes, I do have to thank you, and I
want
to. Will you let me have my moment here? It’s my
wedding day
, for crying out loud.”

I smiled and looked at the ground. “I’m just happy I could help out.”

“Tell her, sweetheart,” Betty nudged him with her arm.

I raised my eyes.
Tell me what? There’s more?

Everyone looked at my dad, who smiled coyly.

“Well?” Andie said.

“Don’t leave us hanging, Mr. Bryson,” Nick said.

I raised my eyebrows. “Dad?”

He cleared his throat. “Ladies and gentleman, we’re going to name the café…Waverly’s Place.”

I swallowed. “Waverly’s Place?”

He nodded. “What do you think? I think it has a nice ring to it.”

“It definitely has a nice ring to it,” McKenna said.

“I love it,” Andie said.

For a moment, I didn’t know what to say.

“What do you think, Waverly?” Betty said.

“It was Betty’s idea,” my dad said.

I walked over to Betty and gave her a hug. “Thank you,” I said softly. “I love it.”

“You’re welcome.” She squeezed me tightly.

Then I hugged my dad too. “Thanks, Dad.”

“I’m glad you like the idea, baby. We wanted you to know that you’ll always have a home with us, no matter where you’re living.”

“We’ve already picked out the space. You’d better come eat there next time you’re in town, OK?” Betty said. “On the house, of course.”

I laughed. “I think I can manage that.”

My dad put his hand on Jake’s arm. “You too, OK, Jake? Open invitation, anytime.”

Jake nodded. “Thank you, sir. I appreciate that.”

“What about us?” Andie said. “Are we invited too?”

I looked at her. “Andie!”

She held her palms up. “What? We’ll totally pay.”

Betty laughed. “You’re definitely welcome, Andie. You’re
all
welcome, any time.” Then she turned to me and put her hand on my shoulder. “I just love your friends, Waverly.”

I love them too
, I thought.

• • •

I had the window seat on our afternoon flight back to New York. It was delayed because of weather, so by the time we finally took off, it was dark outside. Once we were airborne, I stared out the window and wondered how cold it was back in Brooklyn.

Jake nudged me with his elbow. “Penny for your thoughts.”

I turned to look at him. “Just a penny? That’s all you got?”

He laughed. “You’ve been unusually quiet. You’re
never
quiet. What’s up?”

I leaned back in my seat. “Nothing’s up. I’m just, I don’t know, absorbing it all.”

“The wedding?”

I nodded. “That and a few other things. There’s definitely a lot of change in the air right now, you know?” I glanced out the window.

“I know.”

Just then, the plane hit some turbulence, and I jumped.

“I hate turbulence,” I dug my fingers into the armrests.

He put his hand over mine. “It’s OK. We’ll be fine.”

I closed my eyes for a few moments, and soon the plane evened out again. The captain turned off the fasten-seat belt sign, and I opened my eyes.

“You doing OK?” Jake said. His hand was still over mine on the armrest.

I nodded. “I’m fine. I’m sorry, turbulence just really scares me. Doesn’t it bother you at all?”

“Not a bit.”

“You’re lucky. It really freaks me out.”

He smiled and gave me a funny look.

“What?” I said.

He laughed. “Nothing.”

“Penny for
your
thoughts now,” I said.

He unbuckled his seatbelt and nodded toward the flight attendants, who were preparing their drink service. “Can you use that penny to order me a Sprite when they come by? I’m going to the restroom.”

When he left I looked out the window again. It was completely dark now. I pressed my face against the glass and tried to imagine what it would be like to be out there, flying through the clouds, hurtling through time and space.

The flight attendant snapped me out of my daydream to ask me for my drink order.

Jake returned a few minutes later. He sat down and picked up his drink, and just as he took a sip, I turned to him and put my hand on his knee. “Are you glad you decided to move?”

He looked surprised. “Am I glad I decided to move?”

I nodded. “It’s a big change. I know that.”

He scratched his eyebrow. “I don’t look at it that way, actually.”

“You don’t?”

He shook his head.

“How so?”

“I don’t know. I guess I just look at it as a step
forward
as opposed to just a change.”

I glanced for a second out the window. “A step forward?”

He nodded. “Yep. Does that scare you?”

I didn’t say anything.

He set his drink down, then reached for my hand, and interlaced my fingers with his. “Any step that brings me closer to
you
is a good one, as far as I’m concerned.”

“It is?” I could feel my eyes well up with tears.

He nodded. “Indeed.”

I smiled. “That’s nice to hear.”

“So to answer your question,
yes
, I’m
very
glad I decided to move.”