Annie and I kiss,probably—definitely—longer than required.
The rain stops and breaks ofblue sky reflect in fresh puddles as we make our way to the truck.Annie slides in beside me and then Stinky jumps in beside her,smearing mud all over her chiffon dress.
“How are you, Mrs. Banks?” Iask.
“I’m doing great, Mrs.Banks.”
Back at our place, Stinkydisappears into the bushes along the side of the yard. He’s adedicated squirrel hunter but is yet to be a legitimate squirrelcatcher. Annie and I go inside and get ready for our guests. As Iwatch her change out of her beautiful dress, it takes all my powerto keep my hands off her. We haven’t got the time. The food will behere soon and so will everyone else.
After dressing in jeans andt-shirts with our hair in ponytails, we greet the food people andset up the kitchen table buffet style. Soon, people arrive, Tim andthe boss man show up with Hank in tow. Tim announces that Hank camealong so he could be the designated driver. I don’t mind. He did,after all, help me fix my tire.
Next to arrive are Annie’s newbosses, Maybell and Henry. Stinky runs in behind them and jumps onMaybell, almost knocking her over and streaking her long overcoatwith mud. I apologize and take the dog into the bathroom to cleanhis paws.
Annie puts on a classic rockcompilation CD and everyone grabs some grub and a chair. Timalready has a glass of whiskey going. He raises the glass andcongratulates us, smiling as if he is only drinking to celebrateour marriage. Nice try, Tim.
A couple of hours later, thebosses have left and Tim has gotten louder. The rest of uscongregate in the front room. The night rolls on with jokes andstories. I look at my watch, it’s already 9 PM. The last ferryleaves at 10:35, so they’ll be leaving soon, and I can finally bealone with my new wife.
In the middle of Tim telling usa slurred version of a bar joke, Stinky suddenly jumps off thecouch where Annie was petting him and runs to the front door. Hestarts barking, intensifying with every second.
“Let me guess, Stinky, there’s amean old squirrel out there with your name on it?” says Annie.
I walk up behind him and shakemy head. “Hush,” I tell him. “I’ll let you out, you don’t need tobe so dramatic.”
I open the door and the dogbolts out. Then, I see Denny. He’s walking across the yard, towardme.
I try to speak, but nothingcomes out. This is bad. This is very bad. The door is still openbehind me. There’s no chance I can close the door behind me withoutalerting Annie. She will see him in seconds, and there’s piss all Ican do about it.
When Denny doesn’t pet Stinky,the dog loses interest and runs past him into the yard. Denny keepscoming, my eyes on his as he climbs the steps. As soon as he’s infront of me, he hands me and envelope and winks. “Thanks for theinvite, sis,” he says, his voice laced with sarcasm. “I had to findout through our cousin in Winnipeg.”
“Denny, you should have called,”I whisper. He’s not listening, or if he is, he’s not acknowledgingwhat I’ve said. He walks past me, into the room, and stands infront of our guests and Annie.
Oh fuck. I push past him and tryto stand in a way that is both next to him and between him and theguests. I glance at Annie. Her face has gone from smiling toinstant rage. I know I need to do something, but my mind is drawinga complete blank.
“Jade.” She sets her wine glassdown, hard, and I almost expect it to shatter. “What the fuck is hedoing here?”
“Denny, please, can I talk toyou in the bedroom for a second?” I ask, touching his arm.
Tim and Hank are quiet as theireyes follow us out of the room. As soon as the door is shut, I leanagainst it. Denny looks at me and lets out a sardonic laugh.“What’s the big problem? I’m your brother. I have a right to behere.”
“Denny, you knew by coming itwould cause a huge problem with Annie. I told you that before.There’s way too much shit that’s following you right now.”
He snorts. “Jade, you have noidea. You are so busy kissing her ass that you haven’t once stoppedto look at the signs.”
“I don’t know what the fuck youare talking about right now. All I know is this is our wedding day.If you really want to be a support to me, you’ll leave.”
His smile disappears, and heactually looks hurt. “Can you look at least at your wedding gift?”he asks, motioning toward the envelope in my hand.
I’d completely forgotten that Iwas even holding anything. I hesitate, then unseal the envelope.The flap opens to reveal a thick stack of brown bills. I gape atit. “Denny, what the hell? How much is this?”
“Five thousand. I wanted to giveyou something you could really use.”
I’m frozen, holding this hugeamount of cash. Now what the hell am I supposed to say? He can’tstay here, but I can’t exactly give it back and chuck him out,either—I remind myself that this guy just got out of the hospitalafter a suicide attempt.
Taking a deep breath, I musterup my courage. “Denny, look. I want you to know that I’m verygrateful for this huge gift. And believe me, I wanted you at theservice. I couldn’t help but notice the place in the pew I wantedyou to fill—you and Mom. But with everything else going on, it’stoo difficult to have you and Annie in the same room, and today isabout her, not you.”
“You believe her lies, don’tyou? That I had something to do with her being raped?”
I lower my voice to a hiss. “Sheis not a liar, Denny. And no, I don’t think you had anything to dowith her getting raped, but she does, don’t you get it? Herfeelings are what I need to care about right now. Maybe it can allbe straightened out in the future, but until then, I don’t want hergetting too upset. Not in her condition.”
As soon
