“Does red mean things that are finished?”
“Ha! More like things I have yet to do.”
My eyes flick up to her, but she’s not looking at me. Her gaze is on the spreadsheet, and there’s a hint of a deer-in-the-headlights expression there. She bites at the inside of her lip as her eyes skim.
She shuts the screen and takes in a big breath. “Anyway—”
“Siena, that’s way too much work for one person. Does Madi know you’re doing all this?”
“Well, it wasn’tsupposedto be for one person. André was helping, but now he’s got a family emergency, so—” She shrugs.
I’m the biggest jerk on the planet. I haven’t done anything to help with the wedding. I figured the drive to Siena’s today was a pretty good effort on my part. To be fair, I had no idea how complicated a wedding would be to plan. Shows how much I know.
My shock must be showing on my face because Siena starts looking at me warily. “Jack, don’t you dare say anything to Madi. I want her as relaxed as possible. She has enough on her plate right now.”
I shake my head, staring at nothing in particular. How much have Siena and Madi taken on since Madi’s engagement last year? What about Mom?
“Is my mom doing anything?” I ask.
She scoffs lightly. “Of course. She’s the green cells. She stayed up until two a couple of nights ago to work on seating cards. I think you can agree she has plenty going on without me adding to it.”
I nod, feeling a little sick. Mom has been working overtime just so she can make it to France for the few days off her job will approve—and apparently, she’s been doing wedding tasks in her spare time.
“I want to help.” My pronouncement is met with silence. “Lemme help. Put me to work.”
She stares at me like I just applied at Hooters. “Most of the work is already done.”
“That spreadsheet hemorrhaging red begs to differ.”
“Yeah, but a lot of that stuff has to happeninFrance. They were André’s tasks. That’s why I moved up my flight, so you don’t need to worry about it.”
“Moved your flight to when?”
“Friday.”
“Friday as in five-days-from-now Friday?”
Siena puts a hand on my shoulder. “Your awareness of the days of the week is commendable, Jack. Yes,thatFriday.”
“Thanks.” That means Siena will bein Francehelping with the wedding for more than two weeks.
My contribution? Driving a couple of boxes half an hour both ways and showing up the day before the wedding.
If my goal was to avoid anyone judging me against the standard set by Dad, I’ve succeeded. He was always going above and beyond the expectation, sacrificing for all of us. Nobody would even consider the comparison at this point.
Given how hard I’ve tried to avoid just that, that knowledge should satisfy me, but instead, it makes me feel terrible.
“How can I help you get ready for Friday?” I ask. “Can I pack the suitcases for you? Drive you to the airport? There’s no way all that will fit in your car.”
“It looks like a lot more than it really is once I get everything out of boxes.” She sets down the laptop and folds her arms across her chest. “Look, Jack, I wasn’t saying any of this as a cry for help. I’m just very busy.”
I put out my hands. “And I’m offering to help you belessbusy.”
She doesn’t say anything. I can see the cogs turning in her head, and I know just what to do.
I drop my hands. “You know what? I get it.” I shrug and head for the door. “I can’t blame you.”
“What do you get?”
