The bell to the shop rings, and I turn to see my wife walk in with a bag from the general store.
“I got supplies,” Hadley announces.
“I’m getting the flowers,” I explain.
Hadley gives me a glare. “At least one of us is smart. Flowers won’t be enough.” She turns to my aunt. “No offense, we need bigger guns.” Her attention returns to me. “I got wine for the moms. Open it as soon as we arrive.”
“Genius.” I snap my fingers.
My aunt walks around her table and straight to Hadley to give her a hug. “Mazel tov. Welcome to the family.” I shake my head since my family doesn’t have a single Jewish relative.
Hadley nervously laughs once as she accepts the hug. “Thanks.”
My aunt steps back and looks affectionately at Hadley. “I should have known if my nephew ever decided to elope that it would be with you, only you.” Now she’s just being dramatic.
“Uh,” Hadley’s voice cracks. “Okay.”
Checking my watch, I know we have to get moving. The clock is rolling. “Flowers, Aunt Vi, please. Our parents were having dinner together anyway, so they will be blindsided when we show up together, and we have to knock this off the list.”
“Wine, flowers, and a damn good story is what you two need,” my uncle says with a cheeky grin. “Good luck walking into the lions’ den.”
* * *
We standoutside Hadley’s home, since it’s her parents hosting tonight’s dinner. She’s fanning a hand in her face to calm herself down while a bottle of wine hangs from her other hand. I’m holding an armful of flowers.
“Ugh, this is not the conversation to be having while hungover. Or am I still slightly drunk? I don’t know, but here we are.” Hadley groans again.
I scrub a hand across my face. “This day is almost done.”
“Just, we ease them into this. When you pour the second glass of wine, then we break the news. Just keep topping up their glasses,” she explains.
I have to laugh. “Our moms are easy. Remember your sweet sixteenth?”
She looks at me, and after a second, a smile cracks. “God, they were tipsy on cosmos, then did karaoke. It was so embarrassing.”
“But they really belted out Taylor Swift to perfection,” I add.
We take a moment to look at one another. Maybe it’s the first time today that we really sink into the fact that we are husband and wife. For a second, I could swear her smile is for me or the fact that we share memories.
Hadley clears her throat. “Okay, in we go. I’ll pack a bag to take to your house between dinner and dessert or something.”
I whistle a breath. “I love the confidence that we’ll make it to dessert.”
She nods in acknowledgment before opening the door. Right away we hear our moms in the kitchen area. We slowly make our way to the kitchen where our moms are busy with a glass of wine in hand and nibbling on the cheese board.
Immediately, their eyes light up when they see us.
“Oh, you arrived… together.” My mother’s eyebrows knit close, but her smile remains bright as she comes to hug me, and I hand her the sunflowers. “And with flowers too.”
“Of course,” I state simply before walking to April to hand her pink dahlias.
April looks at me, skeptical. “Oh, thanks.” Her eyes dart to my mother. “Why is your son handing me flowers? Connor and flowers are never a good sign.”
My mother shrugs. “I don’t know. Mysterious.”
“For hosting dinner. Oh, wow, look at that melted brie,” Hadley says in an attempt to divert their attention.
“We brought wine,” I announce, and Hadley is quick to showcase the bottle in her hand right before she reaches for their glasses to fill, because we came prepared with a twist-top bottle and don’t care about mixing wine at this point.
