Chapter One:
It was a typical Sunday morning for Brooke Kent. She sipped her Earl Grey tea and worked through the crossword puzzle in the newspaper. Her friends always teased her for getting the weekly paper. In part because it was the only aspect of her personality that wasn’t geared towards conservation, the rest because Brooke was their friend group’s resident grandma. Not literally, she was only twenty-nine and had never come close to having a kid in the first place, but in her actions, style, and refusal to join in on things she found frivolous. She wasn’t active on social media, she liked to be in her house, preferably in bed by eight, she favored board-game nights to nights out drinking, and she liked to drink her tea and do her crosswords in peace. It was comfortable, stable, and safe.
Her cell phone rang from its charger base in her entryway. Her dark eyebrows furrowed, confused as to who could be ringing her at this hour. She looked at her watch, the face positioned to the inside of her right wrist, a simple, old fashioned analog. It was barely past eight in the morning. That ruled out exactly half of her two friends. She sighed, dropped her number two pencil, and pushed back from her small, round kitchen table.
She was getting a WhatsApp call from an unknown United Kingdom telephone number. All the blood drained from her face, the air let out from her lungs like a deflating balloon. There were only so many people who this could be, and speaking to any of them ever again was incredibly low on her list of things to do today.Someone must have died,she thought, sadly, followed quickly with,better get this over with.
“Brooke Kent,” she answered. Her voice sounded pained and annoyed, even to her.
“Nathaniel Kent,” was the immediate response. The voice was deep and amused. Her younger brother. She hadn’t talked to Nathaniel in nearly thirteen years. Not since her mother had informed Brooke that her familial duties had been sufficiently filled, Brooke could live as she pleased without being affiliated with their family.
Brooke’s voice cracked as she repeated the name.“Nathaniel?”
“Hey, B.” Her brother’s voice was so familiar, yet it had changed so much, aged as much as he had. He was only eleven the last time she had spoken to him.
“What?” Brooke couldn’t even form a complete thought, let alone a full sentence.
He let out a soft, soothing laugh.“You’re a hard woman to track down. Sorry it took me so long.”
“Nathaniel?”
“It’s really me, B. How have you been?”
Brooke’s eyes watered, overwhelmed by this unexpected shift in her morning. She took a steadying breath, controlling the shaking in her voice.“Good. You know, good. And you?”
“Oh, you know. I’m in my second year of law school,” Nathaniel said.
“Mother and father must be thrilled,” Brooke said, trying to keep the bitterness out of her voice.
“B, I’m calling you for a reason.” There was a pause in Nathaniel’s voice, a hesitancy that Brooke had no way of knowing if it was common or something unusual. She braced for the news of the death of one of their parents.
She cleared her throat, wondering seriously how that information would sit with her.“Sure, yeah.”
“You know, I’d love to catch up though, now that I have tracked you down. I didn’t mean that to sound like I’monlycalling you because there’s a reason. I’m just calling you today in particular for a reason. I hope you know that,” Nathaniel rambled.
The corners of Brooke’s lips turned up into a small smile.Thatsounded like Nathaniel, the young boy, she remembered.“It’s fine, Nathaniel. I’m glad you’ve called.” She braced again, waiting for his news.
“I’m getting married,” he said, the tone in his voice unmistakably thrilled.
Brooke’s eyes widened. That was not at all what she had expected. The thought of her little brother getting married was something that would take a minute to process.“Wow, Nathaniel. Really?”
He let out an excited laugh. It sounded like home, a home she hadn’t missed in a long time.“Yep, and she’s way out of my league. So kind and smart. She’s in law school, too. We’ve been dating for a few years now and I just… I want to spend the rest of my life with her.”
Brooke’s heart felt at peace. Her little brother was living the dream. The one that he and their parents had wanted for them both. She was so thankful that it had brought him joy. Just because that wasn’t the life she had wanted and had refused to conform to, didn’t mean that he couldn’t love it.“Nathaniel, I am so happy for you, truly. That sounds delightful.” Brooke paused, knowing that it would be appropriate for her to ask for more. She took a deep breath, diving in head first.“Well? What’s she called?”
“Melanie, and she’s so stunning. And B, she’s the top of our class. She’s so funny. She likes puns like you. Well, like you used to. Do you still?”
His question was so genuine and so profoundly sad.“Yes, Nathaniel. I still love a good pun. I love all word play, really.”
A heavy silence lingered over their conversation before Nathaniel plucked up the strength to speak again.“I really think you’d like her, B.”
Brooke smiled sadly, the emotions boiling within her again.“If you like her Nate, I’m sure I would, too.” She had no way of knowing if that was true or not. In reality, she knew nothing about the man on the other end of the phone. That thought broke her heart. Maybe, just maybe, now that he had called they could keep in touch.
“So, it’s short notice, because you reallyarehard to track down, but we’re getting married in thirteen days. We both want you at the wedding.” He paused, his voice filling with emotions.“B,Iwant you at the wedding.”
Brooke’s heart sank.“Nathaniel, if mother and father are there, I’m just going to cause problems.”
“Still gay then?” He asked, but there was not an ounce of malice in his voice.
