“Mom’s favorite was the golf course.”
“She crashed into the ditch shouting ‘Fore!’” Emery said. “I didn’t even know what it meant.”
“You shouted back ‘Five!’” Dad laughed. “She broke through the ice trying to climb out. Her feet were soaked.”
“But she wanted one more hill,” Emery said.
Mom conquered all of her hills. Except the last one. Cancer.
“Sledding that Christmas is one of my favorite memories.” Dad’s voice carried a reminiscent tone that made Emery well up. “We finally convinced Mom to go home, dry off, build a big fire, drink hot chocolate, and eat grilled cheese.” Dad squeezed her arm. “You fell asleep on the floor watchingWhite Christmas.”
“I miss her,” Emery whispered. “Sometimes when I’m working, I look up, expecting to see her standing in my office.”
“Hard to believe it’s been sixteen years. You know Joanna reminds me of her birthday every year, asks if I want to talk about her. She’s not afraid of my love for your mom, Em. I’m not intimidated by her love for her first husband. The mystery of the human heart is its ability to love so wide and deep.”
“That was very poetic, Dad.”
“Old age setting in.” They arrived at a bench under a streetlamp. He brushed away the snow and motioned for Emery to sit. Mom always swore he was a snowman on the inside. “I want you to be okay with me walking Ava down the aisle first, but I can’t demand it or even really ask.”
“Do I seem that shallow?” Was this the fruit of her resistance to becoming a full-fledged member of the family? “It’s not like Ava did it on purpose. I’m happy for her and Jamie. Compared to the girls he dated in college, Ava is pure gold studded with diamonds.”
Meanwhile, Emery was still waiting for her man to crawl out from under some moss-covered rock. Did every woman in herearly thirties who was floundering in her career wonder if love would find her?
“You should take the job, Emery,” Dad said, low and soft but with conviction. “I’ll miss you. We’ll all miss you. But go to Sea Blue Beach. Maybe you’ll find something there you left behind.”
Walking back home through the swirling, thickening snow, Emery considered Dad’s advice, sorry she made any sort of deal out of Ava being the first daughter down the aisle. She was just frustrated with her career and the pace of her life.
At home, the house had quieted, with Jamie and Ava cuddled on the couch, watching a movie. Blakely was curled on the floor under a heavy blanket, sleeping, and Elianna had gone to bed since she started work at six a.m.
In the kitchen, Joanna loaded the dishwasher. Dad refilled their champagne glasses and kissed his wife, whispering words only husbands and wives share.
“Oh, Emery.” Ava slipped out from under Jamie’s arm and met her by the stairs as she said good night. “You’ll be a bridesmaid, won’t you?”
“As long as we don’t wear pink or puffy sleeves.”
“Definepink. And one hundred percent no to the puffy sleeves.”
“Pink as in pink.”
“We’ll talk.”
Emery laughed. “Any shade of pink, Aves.”
“Fine, but, Emery—” Ava glanced up at her. “We looked at a couple of wedding dresses online, just to see, and there was one—”
Emery leaned against the banister, waiting.
“—with pearls. It was so stunning and classic. It was all Lauren Bacall inHow to Marry a Millionaire. I was wondering—”
“No.”
“Elianna forewarned you, didn’t she?”
“You need a new playbook, Ava.”
“Okay, fine, but I don’t understand why—”
“That’s the problem, Ava. You don’t understand. You can wear pearls with the Lauren Bacall gown, just not mine.” How many times had they had this conversation? Four? Five? In person. Over text. Ava being fixated on Mom’s pearls made zero sense. “Dad and Joanna can give you a set for a bridal gift.”
