“She did. I doubted even back then she knew what the term meant. Her soul had to be split into the hundreds to connect with each of her mates.”
I laughed and he grinned. This was a rare treat for me. Brando could never be called chatty. Even at night when he told me things that relieved him of his burdens, it was cut and dry. The medicine seemed to have the opposite effect. Instead of making him fall asleep, it made him talkative.
“I never took Charlotte serious. If she showed serious interest in a man, and that man reciprocated in kind, fake or not, that man would’ve had a high chance of ending up like Jackson Labbie.”
“She’s the type to poke holes in your condoms.”
“Yeah.”
“Is that what Briar did?”
He opened and closed his hands, a definiteI don’t knowgesture. “Some said she did it on purpose. Jackson’s friends. Others said she didn’t. Her friends.”
“They got married, didn’t they?”
“Yeah.” A slow smile spread on his face. Violet called it his “panties aflame” smile. “I went to the wedding. Coach suggested it as a field trip. A lesson in keeping it in your pants.”
“Lost on you,” I said.
He was smart enough not to acknowledge my smart-ass remark. “Elliott came with me, even though he wasn’t on the team. He thought it would be fun. The Labbie side was full of tears. The McAvoy side was full of gunshot ratchet. Briar almost skipped up the aisle. Her hair was full of flowers, and she had the biggest smile on her face. Labbie stood there and stared at her like he wasn’t sure what to do with her afterward.”
“He didn’t want to marry her?”
Brando gave me another look that clearly meantare you being serious?
“Well,” I said, “you never know. He liked her enough to get her pregnant, didn’t he?”
He squeezed my leg and went on. “When the time came for the priest to ask Labbie if he took Briar to be his lawfully wedded wife, he said, I’ll try.”
“I’ll try?” I couldn’t hide the grin.
“Yeah,” he said, laughing some, almost raspy. “Two words that will forever go down in the books.I’ll try.Elliott turned to me and asked in sign language to repeat what he had said. He couldn’t believe what he thought he saw. He was reading their lips. Everyone was looking at everyone else, wondering what the McAvoys would do, double-checking that we all heard the same thing. The priest told him it wasI door nothing. Labbie was adamant, though, all he could promise was—I’ll try.”
“I know he didn’t get shot.”
“No, Briar told the priest that was good enough for her. She was going to try too.”
“Oh my God,” I said, laughing. “I’ll try.”
“Yeah, they both wanted to make sure it was a good fit before the everlasting I do, though both stood up in front of God and a church full of people swearing, ‘I’ll try.’ I’ll try to be faithful. I’ll try to be there in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health.”
“Well, who knows? Perhaps Jackson and Briar were on to something. Some people need to take baby steps.I promise to try until this day. And when that day comes,I promise to tryuntil this day. And so forth. Forever is a long time for some people.”
It took him a moment to answer. His eyes seemed to match his mind—distant. Brando was one of the most mercurial people I’d ever known. “It was a cop-out. If I were Briar’s father, Labbie would be dead. Tell me if ‘I’ll try’ would have been good enough for you from me.”
This story had a point. He was bringing me someplace all along. I had a strong feeling where we were headed. “No,” I said, being honest. “But I’ve always loved you. There’s a difference. I expectI dofrom you because I’m willing to giveI do.”
“Is that what marriage comes down to? Expectations?”
“I think marriage comes down to two people—they create their own world. If ‘I’ll try’ worked for Jackson and Briar—” I lifted one shoulder and let it fall “—who’s to say that it’s not good enough? I expect nothing from the world. But I trust you enough to know that even if you can’t meet my expectations, you’ll be truthful about it. Your word is your honor.”
“You’re veering off course.”
“How so?”
We were at a standstill. He had us going in one direction and I took a turn bringing us in another. He had been stewing on this for a while. “Tell me why him,” he said after a few minutes had passed.
“Vincenzo.” I sighed.
