“But . . . did you just forget?” She sounded more baffled than mad now. “I mean—”

“My sister’s getting married and I’m dealing with some family stuff,” I said, taking a few steps away from my brother. “But I’m sure you can handle things. And we can talk through the final issue on Monday.”

There was a long, loaded pause before Ali spoke again. “Sure,” she said, and even though I couldn’t see her, it was like I could practically hear her rolling her eyes as she hung up.

I dropped my phone in my pocket and turned to see my brother looking at me, his arms folded over his chest. “What?”

“Nothing,” he said, but in a way that clearly meant something. “I just think—”

Beeeeeeeeeep. The sound came from the kitchen again, and this time it didn’t stop. Danny headed toward the kitchen, and I followed behind him—but stopped short once I crossed the threshold.

There were just too many people in the room.

My dad and J.J. were by the door, hunched over the alarm panel, which was still making the low, loud beeping sound. Linnie was standing at the island with Max. Mrs. Daniels and Aunt Liz were sitting at one end of the kitchen table, and the General was on the other end. He had a pair of reading glasses on and was methodically filling out place cards. If the sound of the alarm was bothering him, it wasn’t apparent to me, as he continued to write steadily. I didn’t see my mom or Rodney, which was a good thing, since I was pretty sure we were at capacity.

“What did you do?” Linnie yelled at J.J., her hands clamped over her ears.

“Nothing,” J.J. yelled back. “I’m trying to fix it.” He stared at the panel for a moment, then smacked the side of it. The alarm immediately shut off, the flashing lights on the panel going dark, but a second later, I realized I could still hear the eeeeee sound.

I looked around and saw the dog standing under the kitchen table, his head back, howling softly, making a noise that wasn’t exactly the sound of the alarm, but was more like he was harmonizing with it.

“Is that the dog?” Linnie asked, walking over to him, then promptly sneezing three times.

Maybe it was just Linnie getting closer, or maybe it was her sneezing, but at any rate, Waffles stopped howling mid-note and retreated under the kitchen table, near Mrs. Daniels’s feet, turning around twice before lying down, resting his head on his paws, and looking out into the kitchen, like he wasn’t quite sure about this place and wasn’t about to take his eyes off us if he could help it.

“Nicely done,” my dad said, clapping J.J. on the shoulder.

“It’s going to be fixed, though, right?” Linnie asked. “We’re not just going to rely on J.J. hitting this thing in the middle of the wedding?”

“The alarm company promised they’d send someone first thing in the morning,” my dad assured her. “It’ll be fixed way before the wedding.” Linnie nodded, then sneezed three more times.

“I thought you were only allergic to cats,” Danny said, crossing to the fridge and pulling out a can of Coke. “Is it dogs now too?”

“You’re allergic to cats?” Max asked, and Linnie nodded.

“But I’ve never had an issue with dogs. We were dog sitting for a friend last month, and I was fine.”

“Maybe you’re getting sick,” J.J. volunteered, and my dad shot him a look.

“I’m not getting sick,” Linnie said, glaring at him.

“Of course not,” Danny said, whacking J.J. on the back of the head as he came over to the fridge. “I’m sure it’s just . . . seasonal allergies.”

“Right!” I jumped in. “It’s probably just the . . . pollen.”

“You’ll be fine by tomorrow.”

The kitchen door swung open and Brooke stepped into the kitchen. “Danny?” she called, looking around. She had changed out of the outfit she’d been in when she arrived this morning and was now wearing a cream-colored dress with lace sleeves, her hair pulled up into a knot, and another pair of four-inch heels, this time in pale pink. My brother gave her a wave, and she started across the kitchen toward him, but stopped when she spotted the dog.

“Look at this puppy!” she said, her voice rising in pitch and her face lighting up. “He’s so precious! Hello, buddy,” Brooke said, bending down to meet him at his level. “Aren’t you just the cutest?” The dog looked at Brooke solemnly for a moment, like he was considering this, but then his tail started wagging very slightly. I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen a dog with a poker face, but this one seemed to be coming close.

“Whose dog is this?” she asked, scratching his ears as she looked around.

“He’s a loaner for the weekend,” J.J. said.

“Wait, what?”

“Okay!” I looked over and saw my mother coming down the kitchen stairs, dressed in the black pantsuit she always wore when she was doing events or presentations. “We need to leave for the Pearce in ten minutes, so . . .” She stopped and looked around. “Why isn’t anyone ready?” she asked, throwing up her hands.

“I’m ready,” J.J. said, brushing some crumbs off his T-shirt.

My mother just looked at him. “No. Go up and change. You too, Charlie.”

“I was going to,” I protested.

“Then do it, please,” she said, shaking her head. I glanced at the kitchen clock and realized that I did have to get moving. I hurried out of the kitchen and was halfway across the front hall when there was a loud, insistent knocking on the door.

I pulled it open and saw Don standing there, his arms folded across his chest and his face redder than normal.

“I need to talk to your mother or father,” Don sputtered. “Because this is just unacceptable.”

“Um, what is? Dad!” I yelled toward the kitchen. “Could you come here?”

“I am retired,” Don said, shaking his head. “And I need a certain amount of peace and quiet. And—”

“Twice in one day,” my dad said as he joined me. “How nice for us. Did you need something, Don?”

“Yes,” Don said, pushing his way inside. “I need you all to keep it down over here or I’m going to call the police with a noise complaint. There are trucks coming and going, a dog barking, your alarm going off—”

I backed away slowly, more than happy to leave this conversation—when my dad and Don were left alone together, things very quickly devolved into trading insults about begonias. I turned and hurried up the stairs, taking them two at a time.

* * *

By the time I’d changed into my dress and hurriedly applied some makeup, everyone else who was going to the museum—Linnie, Rodney, my parents, Danny, Brooke (apparently), and J.J.—was waiting for me on the driveway. My mother had extended the offer to come to the Pearce with us to the rest of the people staying in the house, but everyone else had decided to stay behind—to rest after their travels (The Danielses) or greet the other people who’d be coming in (Aunt Liz), or get into a slightly altered mental state (Max).

“Finally,” my mother said as I hurried to meet the group, barefoot and carrying my heels.

“Sorry,” I said, smoothing back my hair and hoping it looked more or less presentable. I was terrible at doing my own hair, and not much better at my makeup, so I was very relieved there would be professionals coming tomorrow who would take care of both of those things for me.

“I think we can do this in two cars,” my mother said. “Danny, why don’t you take Brooke, Charlie, and J.J., and Linnie and Rodney can ride with me and your father?”

We’d just started to head to our separate cars when a taxi pulled into the driveway. I figured it was just one of the bridesmaids arriving early, until the taxi door opened and my uncle Stu—my dad’s younger brother, who was generally agreed to be the Cheapest Man Alive—got out.

“Hello, Grants!” Stu called, waving. “This is a nice welcoming committee.”

I glanced at my parents, who seemed just as baffled by this as I was. Stu wasn’t in the wedding party and wasn’t coming to the rehearsal dinner. My mom had invited out-of-town guests to come by the house tonight for pizza while we’d be at the rehearsal dinner, but we were still a good few hours away from that.