Chapter Fifteen
Reed
“You’re going to a wedding with Kennedy?” Warren said the next day. He’d invited me out for a beer, and I’d turned him down because of the plans I already had. I figured he’d have this reaction when I told him, but that was because Warren only ever thought about sex.
“Uh, yeah. It’s nothing serious, though. Not a date or anything. I mean, Kennedy is the caterer, and Trinity really wanted to go. Trinity has never been to a wedding before. You can’t really blame the girl for wanting to go see what it’s all about.”
“Yeah, but still . . . a wedding! Dude, that’s like the most romantic thing you can do with someone, going to a wedding. Are you sure there is nothing going on between the two of you?”
I shook my head. “Nope. And maybe it’s about time you realized that you can be friends with a girl without sleeping with them.” It didn’t matter that I had slept with Kennedy. He didn’t need to know that part. I would have far too much explaining to do if he knew, and it would also mean that I would actually have to face up to what had happened. Something I wasn’t ready to do just yet.
He raised his eyebrows at me and chuckled. “Yeah. Whatever. I’m very interested to see how this wedding pans out. Talk to me on Monday and tell me if you haven’t already fallen in love with her.”
I shook my head. “You’re crazy. Now, go away; I have work to do.”
When the day of the wedding came around, I stood in my bedroom trying to decide on what to wear. I pulled out a pair of jeans and a t-shirt that I thought looked nice and made my way to find Trinity. She was wearing one of her favorite pink dresses and was currently twirling around in the mirror with absolute delight. Only a child could get away with doing that without looking vain. Sometimes I forgot how much she liked dressing up and what little opportunity she got to do it. I still couldn’t believe that she had never been to a wedding before.
“You look beautiful, Trin,” I told her.
“Thank you. I wish Blaire was here to do my hair,” she said. When my brother Ryan had come to visit with Blaire, the two of them had helped each other with outfits and hair and Trinity had loved it.
“I’m sorry. I wish she was here to do your hair too. Do you want me to help you? I can try. You can just tell me what I must do. Or we can look up some videos?” I suggested.
“No thanks, Daddy. I’ll just go like this,” she said. “I’m sorry. It’s just that you’re a boy,” she said as if she realized she might be hurting my feelings.
“That’s okay,” I said. I was grateful that she had said no. I was happy to brush her hair, but I had no idea how to do anything else. “You’re right. I probably would just make a mess of it. Anyway, you look beautiful as you are. So, are you excited for this wedding?”
She nodded enthusiastically. “I cannot wait. Camille told me all about weddings and all the different things that people do. Did you know that there’s going to be dancing? And also the man and woman will kiss when they are told that they are husband and wife? It’s going to be so much fun. I hope she has a nice big dress like a princess.”
“I’m sure she will. Okay, are you ready to go soon?”
She looked at me and frowned. “Can I help you find something to wear?” she asked.
“That sounds wonderful my darling!”
“Great! This is exciting,” she said. I had no idea how she knew what to pick out for me considering she had never been to a wedding before. “Let’s go and see what you have,” she said and charged out of her bedroom into mine.
I followed her and watched as she opened up my closet and started going through my clothes. She had pulled a little chair up to the closet so that she could rummage through my clothes without straining to reach up to them. It was impossibly cute, and I wished I could’ve taken a snapshot of that moment. She looked at me, frowned, and then continued her search. I would’ve burst out laughing at the sight of her if I wasn’t also so impressed. Here was my little girl, taking charge. It was obvious that being with Kennedy had already improved her demeanor a great deal. She laughed more, and she was far more confident in herself. It was a nice change, and one that I hadn’t realized she’d even needed.
“Okay Daddy, I know you always say that you like to be comfortable. So why don’t you wear your jeans, but change to this shirt and put this jacket on? I like this jacket. It looks so nice on you. You’ll look like a prince.”
I hadn’t worn that jacket in a long time, and it was so tucked away in my closet that I was surprised she had even found it. I pulled all the suggested items out, and put them on. Then I looked in the mirror.
“So, what do you think?” I asked. I was impressed with her choice in clothes. She’d somehow managed to find something that I would find comfortable but still look good in. Perhaps she had a job as a fashion consultant in her future. “Do I look like a prince?”
She grinned. “Much better. You look very handsome.”
“You know, you have a good eye for this. I do actually look a lot better. Pity about the glasses, but without them, I’ll be blind.”
“I like the glasses; they make you look smart.”
“I am smart,” I said and she laughed. “So, do you want to be a fashion consultant when you grow up?” I asked.
“What’s that?”
“Well, you can advise people on what clothes to wear.”
She crinkled her nose and laughed. “That’s a funny job. I’m going to be a wedding planner,” she said. “And maybe an artist. Kennedy said I should be an artist.”
I smiled. “You can be whatever you want to be, my darling, as long as you always remain my little girl.”
“But one day I’ll be big.”
“You’ll still always be my little girl to me.”
We made our way to the wedding and mingled around until we found Kennedy. It was strange being at a wedding without knowing anyone, so I was grateful when I finally saw her. She was rushing around trying to finish up with the food, and when she saw us, she called us over. She introduced me to her best friend Camille, who seemed delighted to see Trinity again. I’d already heard a lot about her from my daughter.
“I’m so glad you’re here. It’s great to meet you, Reed. I had the pleasure of meeting your wonderful daughter. She’s going to come and work for me one day.”
“So I hear. She has not stopped talking about it and about you. Thanks for showing her around the other day. She had such a great time. And thanks for letting us come to this wedding.”
“Oh, it’s no problem at all. I thought it might be fun for Trinity to see what a wedding is all about. But listen, I’m sorry to do this to you, but I have to go, I’m just making sure that everything runs smoothly.”
“Of course, good luck!” I said.
Camille turned toward Kennedy. “And thanks for everything. The food looks amazing, and the bride and groom are very happy. I can’t believe how much you pulled off in such a short space of time.”
“Me too,” Kennedy said. “I’m so glad they’re happy, though. That’s the main thing. That was all I was really worried about.” Then she turned to look at me. “I’m almost finished, but I just have to go and do a few final touches to the food. I’ll be with you very soon.”
She rushed off, and we took a seat at the back of the chapel to watch the wedding. Trinity was in awe of the whole thing, and she couldn’t keep still when the bride walked in. I felt a pang of sadness as I recalled my own wedding all those years ago. What had been the point of all those words if she hadn’t bothered to follow through with them? Til death do us part. So much for that. I tried not to think about it and concentrated instead on how happy Trinity was to be witnessing her first wedding.
“Dad, did you see? Did you see? They kissed, and now they are married. And she has a big white dress on just like Camille told me she would. She looked like a princess!”
I smiled. “I saw. It was lovely.”
Once the ceremony was over, we made our way over to the reception hall, and still I couldn’t see Kennedy. I wasn’t sure if we should wait for her, but everyone was already making their way inside, so I followed. I felt a little nervous considering I wasn’t really supposed to be at the wedding. I was surprised to find that our names had been placed at one of the corner tables, so we quickly went to take a seat. Camille had obviously seen to it that we would have somewhere to sit. Our table was far away from the main table at least.
Kennedy arrived shortly afterward wearing a dark red dress, similar to her hair color. She looked breath taking, and I gulped when I saw her. She wasn’t making this any easier for me. My mouth went dry just looking at her. Did she have any idea how incredible she was?
“You look beautiful,” I said.
“I love your dress,” Trinity said to her. “It’s like your hair.”
She blushed. “Thank you. And I love your dress too. You look beautiful.”
“But my hair is not too nice,” Trinity said sadly.
“Are you kidding me? Your hair is amazing. I’d give anything to have hair like yours. You don’t even need to do anything to it. It’s absolutely beautiful.”
“Really?” Trinity asked, and I could see that she was smiling. I was so grateful to Kennedy for what she had said.
“Really. You are beautiful. I’m sorry I’m so late to join you. I was hoping to watch the ceremony, but it just wasn’t possible. The food took longer than I thought it would and then I still had to get changed. How was the wedding?” she asked Trinity.
“It was beautiful,” she whispered. “She had a big white dress on. Just like a princess.”
I smiled. “It was beautiful.”
“I’m glad. And I’m so happy to be finished with the cooking. I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. There was so much to do. I didn’t realize how much until I started. And this is why I don’t enjoy catering. It’s always more stressful for a wedding because there is no backup plan. And then what? I mean, everyone says they’re coming to watch the bride and groom get married, but they’re generally all here for the free booze and food. Anyway, it’s over, and I can finally relax. Uh, should we have some wine?” she asked and looked around. “Oh, I see someone else pouring some. Let’s do it.”
I laughed at her eagerness and quickly poured us both a glass of wine, as well as some juice for Trinity.
“You know,” Kennedy said. “Nobody knows us here. So, why don’t we have some fun? Let’s pretend we are these rich and powerful people from out of the country.”
“You’re in a great mood today,” I said. “What do you say, Trin? Should we have some fun?”
Trinity giggled. “Yes.
A couple walked in and took a seat at the table. They turned to face us and introduced themselves to us as Dorothy and Reg.
“And how do you know the bride and groom?” Dorothy asked.
“Oh goodness,” Kennedy said in a crisp, posh accent that took me by surprise. I almost forgot that we were supposed to be pretending until that moment. “My darling husband and I have known them for years. We did business with them all the way back in 2004. Remember that, Peter?” she said and turned to face me.
“Oh yes. What a time that was, Petunia, what a time,” I said, and I could see Kennedy trying not to laugh. I took her hand and squeezed it. “Oh, the parties we used to hold. We were simply the talk of the town, you know,” I said to the couple.
“Really? That sounds interesting. What sort of business?” Reg asked.
“Oh, real estate,” I said and then winked at them in exaggeration, as if I meant anything but real estate. I had no idea what I even meant, but it was fun to see the confused look on their faces as they tried to figure it out. Neither one of them wanted to be the one to ask what I had really meant.
Kennedy laughed. We were still holding hands, her thumb moving up and down in caress. “Real estate,” she said. “What a fun time that was. Back in the good old days, I used to say. But then again, I also say that these are the great days now. From good to great. It’s so wonderful to see them happily married now.”
“But they weren’t together in 2004, were they?” Dorothy asked in confusion.
I looked at Kennedy, and she grinned. “Not officially, no. But then, neither were we. And look at us now.”
“Are you married?”
“Oh yes,” Kennedy said. “And what a marvelous wedding we had. But much grander. Wouldn’t you say, darling?”
I looked around at the huge room as if it were small and insignificant. “Oh yes, much grander than this. We went all out. It was the party to launch all parties. People talked about it for months afterward. We haven’t been able to have a party to top that one ever since. Oh look, here’s the food,” I said as the first plate was put in front of us. “I hear they got the best caterer in town. We wanted her for our wedding, but alas, she was too busy. They certainly trumped us in that regard. And what a beautiful woman too,” I said. “No offense dear.”
“Oh, none taken,” Kennedy said and grinned at me.
We carried on like that throughout the entire evening. Every now and again we changed our story, but for the most part, we were involved in real estate which wasn’t really real estate, as our winking would suggest. Most people seemed too taken aback to ask any further questions, and little Trinity seemed to find the whole thing hilarious. I had to remind her that lying was not good, but we were just having some fun. For the most part, I think she understood. She spent most of the wedding with the rest of the kids anyway, so we didn’t see her much. She’d made friends instantly, as all kids do. It was only as we were leaving that I realized that Kennedy and I had held hands through practically the entire wedding. We’d even danced together like a normal couple, her head leaning against me. The whole thing had just been for a joke, but it had felt surprisingly real.
When we walked out, I turned to say goodbye to Kennedy, but Trinity stopped me.
“Can Kennedy put me to bed tonight?” she asked.
“Kennedy has her car here, so she’s going home tonight. She won’t be there. But I can put you to bed, and you can give Kennedy a big hug now to say goodbye. Okay?”
Trinity looked crestfallen, but she nodded.
“Well, I don’t mind stopping by to put you in bed, Trin. It’s on my way home.”
“You don’t have to,” I said to Kennedy. She was always going out of her way for Trinity, but I felt bad. “I can put her to sleep.”
“I don’t mind at all. Honestly. It’s on my way home, and anyway, I’d like to do it.”
“Thank you,” Trinity smiled.
We made our way home, and I waited in the living room while Kennedy went to put Trinity to sleep. She was there in the room for about half an hour, and when she came out, I smiled gratefully at her.
“That was very nice of you. Thank you.”
“I don’t mind at all. Like I said, it was on my way home. And she’s such a sweet girl. Sorry we took so long now. She couldn’t stop talking about the wedding. She was explaining to me what her dress was going to look like one day.”
I grinned. “I see she has it all planned out.”
“Oh, we all do at that age. It changes. Tonight was fun. Better than I thought it would be.”
“Oh yeah? Why? Did you think it wouldn’t be fun?”
“It’s not that,” she said. “I just thought I’d be overly stressed about the food. But I think having you and Trinity there helped take my mind off it all. And it was a lot of fun pretending to be other people.”
“What on earth do you mean, Petunia? How dare you accuse me of not being myself. I am Peter, your husband, and if it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t have all these fancy dresses and shiny diamond rings.”
Kennedy giggled. “Oh, Peter, do forgive me. How I take you for granted. You’re absolutely right. What would I do without you? It’s true; I came after you all those years ago for your money. But now that I’ve gotten to know you, I’m mostly interested in your looks. And the money, of course.”
I grinned. “My looks? I had no idea you liked the way I looked, Petunia.”
“It’s the backside, Peter. That awful wench of an ex-girlfriend of yours, what was her name? Francine! Oh yes, don’t think I’ve forgotten about her. I may not have liked her very much, but she was right about one thing, Peter. You do have an awfully fine backside.”
“And you . . .” I leaned in and kissed her before I could finish my sentence.