We Can't Keep Meeting Like This

on the microphone. “Asher is the kind of person who throws herself into whatever she does without hesitation. She commits. And that’s an ideal trait for someone who’s getting married, because I have no doubts about how deeply she’s committed to Gabe. To give you a sense of how committed she is, I made this incomplete list of things she’s wholeheartedly committed to over the course of her life.” I continue, reading off the piece of paper: “She committed to speaking in an Australian accent for an entire month when she was thirteen and I was six, just because I told her she was horrible at it. She remains staunchly committed to not just the Bachelor franchise, but every single one of its spin-offs. And she’s not watching them ironically, like I sometimes am—she truly wants everyone on that show to find love. She committed to boot-cut jeans, even when they went out of style, assuring all of us they’d come back eventually.”

“And they did!” she calls. More laughter.

“In all seriousness, though, she commits to dozens of weddings a year with Borrowed + Blue. This really is her dream job, planning the best day of people’s lives. For a long time, I wanted so badly to have a path for myself as right as Asher’s.”

As I sweep my gaze across the garden, my eyes land on Tarek, who’s standing in the doorway to the kitchen. His arms are folded, but it’s not an angry pose. There’s a softness to his shoulders that makes me optimistic. I’m too far away to be able to interpret his expression, but that’s also not exactly new with us.

“My path has been a little different,” I continue. “A little rockier. But I’ve made some discoveries about love recently, and I wanted to share them with all of you.” Nerves turn my voice shaky, and maybe that’s okay. Maybe it’s okay to be scared about this part. I didn’t make notes past this point and had only a vague idea of what I wanted to say, but seeing Tarek makes the words come a little easier. “Love is frightening. I should know, because I keep running away from it. But someone like Asher—she loves so fully, so seemingly without fear. It’s hard not to admire her for it.

“When you’re in love, whether that love is platonic or romantic, you get to be the fullest version of yourself, uncertainties and mistakes and all. You get to be that version of yourself—because it’s a privilege, really, to open up that much, even when it’s challenging. And it is going to be challenging sometimes, especially if you’re not used to being your whole self. Especially if your whole self is something of a mystery, even to you.” My heart is racing, and I can’t let my eyes linger on any singular person. Maybe it sounds like I’m speaking in generalities, but Tarek has to understand what I mean by this. How important he’s been to me. “When you’re in love, you want to spend time with that person not just on your good days, but your in-between days and your bad days too. You want to try new things and indulge in the coziness of familiar ones. And if you ever feel like you’re on the verge of losing that person, you’d pull a grand gesture to get them back. The kind of grand gesture you’ve only seen in romantic comedies. Maybe you’d ask a guy who lives on a houseboat if he’ll meet you on top of the Empire State Building, even if you’ve never spoken to him in real life.”

When my eyes find Tarek’s again, he’s not laughing. His features are serious, even grim, and I clench and unclench my fist around the microphone, worried none of this is landing the way I want it to.

Still, I charge forward. “I think we all can agree that Sleepless in Seattle is far from a perfect film. But when you’re in love, you do wild things. That love isn’t always visible to the people outside of it, but you can feel it. And I know that’s what Asher has with Gabe. It’s a really special, surreal thing to find that person, and I couldn’t be happier that we’re all here to celebrate with you.”

Asher holds a hand to her heart. Love you, she mouths.

I raise my glass. “To Asher and Gabe—may you always have that top-of-the-Empire-State-Building kind of love. Cheers!”

Dinner and dessert pass by in a fizzy-bright blur. It’s impossible not to smile when everyone is celebrating my sister and Gabe, toasting them, praising Tarek’s last-minute cake. “I can’t believe this is gluten free,” at least three of them proclaim. One guest asks Asher for his card, and the idea of Tarek having a business card is instantly adorable to me.

I really do feel content—mostly. Which is why I excuse myself as dessert is winding down and the band is warming up.

In the kitchen, Tarek is packaging up what’s left of the cake while other servers work through a mountain of dishes. He treats the cake in this measured way, delicate but confident. I don’t know how I was jealous of this because right now I’m filled with pride. This thing he loves brings joy to so many other people.

“Hey,” I say, and wait for him to turn around.

It’s not a smile he gives me, but it’s close. “Hey.”

“The cake was incredible.”

“Yeah?” Now he’s trying even harder to hide the smile. “You have no idea how happy I was when Asher called. Thank you for suggesting me.”

“Thank you. You kind of saved the wedding.”

“You’re the one who gave me the chance.” He finishes bundling a slice of cake in plastic wrap, then in aluminum foil. Always meticulous, that one. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t one of the things I loved about him. “My parents were impressed. I might get to take on another one next month.”

“Tarek. That’s amazing,” I say. “I was hoping we could