A few people in ones and twos or smaller groups wandered in, spotted Rossi, made notes, then eventually found the glove that had “accidentally” fallen behind the trash can. The mood was fun, easy, most people walking around with coffee or treats they’d picked up from various stops in town.
I also noted several shopping bags, which meant the event was bringing in money. At least we had that going for us.
“He’ll be here,” Myra said.
“What?”
“You keep looking at the door. Ryder. He’ll be here.”
I nodded, but she was staring at the doors too.
“Reed sisters!” Crow called out, as he sauntered into the room. “Are we ready to rumble?”
“You’re not officiating,” I said. “Are you?”
“I might be.” He stopped next to Rossi. “Gruesome. Almost as ugly as when he was alive.”
Rossi lifted his middle finger, then quickly put it back in place when a group of three came into the room.
“But aren’t you the best man?” I said.
“I’m always the best man in any room,” he said. “Are those cookies open for participants?”
“Yes,” Myra said.
He hustled over to the table where Jean was standing, scrolling through her phone.
“He’s on the way,” Jean said.
“Ryder?” I asked.
“Huh?” she glanced up. “Maybe? I mean, yes. Of course Ryder’s coming. But I was talking about Patrick.”
“He’s coming?” I asked. “Here?”
“According to his tracking app he is.” She turned her phone so I could see the screen.
“He has a tracking app…no, never mind. Of course he does.”
“How many people are with him?” Myra asked.
“I don’t know. His last live stream was at Gan’s tea shop. That was fifteen minutes ago.”
“And he’s live streaming,” I said. “Great.”
“We made it,” Ryder said. “I am so sorry we’re late.” He crossed the room in long strides, his gaze on no one else but me. “Delaney. I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s good,” I said. “I mean, if you think that was just five minutes, you really need to refresh yourself on how long it takes the big hand to go around the clock.”
“I got hung up,” he said. “Mithra, then some business stuff, and there are so many people out there, traffic is a mess—no, no, don’t give me that look. We can let our volunteers handle traffic flow while we do this. It’s fine. It’s going to be fine. I even brought our officiant.”
I finally looked at his companion.
“Hera,” I said, smiling. “Thank you. This is really sweet of you.”
“I would not miss your marriage for anything,” she said with a smile. “So, we have the bridesmaids,” Jean and Myra waved, “and the best man.”
“He did pick you,” I said.
