“I gotta go, I see someone I know,” he murmurs, then walks off without another word. I turn to Leo.
“Was that?—”
“Weird? Very. What’s going on there?” he asks, and I shrug, genuinely. unsure.
“I don’t know, I thought they hated each other.”
“You also thought I hated you, so you’re not the best judge of character there,” he says, looking as if he knows something I don’t. I grin.
“Very true.”
“If everyone doesn't mind, it’s time for speeches,” Mrs. King says a bit later. There aren’t a huge number of people here, just forty or fifty of Jesse and Hallie’s close friends, but the microphone is necessary with how loud this crew is. We all move, sitting at the tables and turning towards the center of the room where Emma is now standing on the little stage. She looks to me and gives me a small thumbs up, and I wink at her. When Leo turns to me, giving me a skeptical look, I ignore him, keeping my eyes on Mrs. King, who is now handing the microphone to Emma, before shifting my gaze across the room. I spot Adam standing in the back corner, removing his guitar from a case, and butterflies loop around in my chest.
“Hey, everyone. Uh, thanks for coming tonight. I’m just as shocked as I’m sure you all are that he conned Hallie into doing this,” Emma says, and everyone laughs. I know she’s not actually Hallie’s biological daughter, but my god, is she so much like her now-step-mom. When I look over at the bride and groom, Jesse, is rolling his eyes and shaking his head, while Hallie looks pleased.
“I’ve known Hallie my whole life, since she’s always been an honorary King. She thinks it’s because she and Aunt Wren were always best friends, but if you know Hallie, you know that she’s just… she’s a King. She was always meant to be a king. She’s funny, and she’s loyal, and she’s honestly too cool for my dad, but she slummed it a bit so that I could have someone cool in my life.”
Another laugh, and Jesse covers his face, Hallie tipping her head back and laughing as she leans into her husband’s side.
“But as I said, she was always supposed to be a King, and really, Dad was the only choice since she and Uncle Madden can’t be in the same room without fighting.”
“Because I’m always right and she hates that!” Madden jeers from the back of the room, and Hallie turns around to give him the middle finger.
“There’s so much I could say about my dad, about how he’s selfless and gave everything up when he knew I was coming into the world and how he’s the best dad I could ever ask for, and how I’m so honored and glad he’s my dad, but it’s not Father’s Day, it’s his wedding day, and everyone knows that means the only person who matters today is Hallie.” The women in the room cheer, and I melt when I watch Jesse press his lips to Hallie’s hair. Emma turns her attention to the redhead, and her face goes soft before she bites her lip nervously.
“Hallie, I know you know how cool you are, like,waytoo cool for my loser of a dad, but I’m really, really happy that you agreed to give him a shot. I know he’s really grumpy and annoying and has a lot of boring rules, but you two just work together. You make our house happier, and I’m happy you’re in it with us.” Hallie gives Emma a shaky smile, and I hear a sniff from behind me. When I turn, I see Nat is dabbing at her eyes, and Wren is full-out crying. “You’re also kind, and you’re patient, and you’re the best person I know. Every single time I’ve needed you, you’ve been there. You’ve never treated me as anything other than a friend, and you’ve been the closest thing to a mother figure I've ever had.” My own throat aches as I try not to let my own tears fall.
“I’ve been trying to think of something I could do to show you both how happy I am that you got married. I know the cliche is that daughters hate their stepmoms, but Hallie’s kind of the best, and we all know my dad is the best. He made me after all.” The room laughs, and she preens with the attention, but with the distraction, I start to stand. Leo grabs my hand, but I wiggle free, giving him a conspiratorial smile before quietly moving toward Emma.
“And honestly, I think I deserve a raise on my allowance for pulling this off,” she says with a laugh and a flip of her hair. “But last night, I came up to my close, personal friend to ask for a favor, and she came through.” I let out a laugh, though a couple of faces around us look utterly confused.
“Obviously, since I’m twelve and essentially poor, I couldn’t afford anything for your registry, but Hallie’s always shown me that memories are more important than anything, so I thought what better thing than making your first dance the most epic thing ever.” That’s when Adam and I move onto the stage, Adam shifting one of the microphones to the center of the mini stage.
When I look out of the room, it’s the smallest venue I’ve played…possibly ever…But I already know it will forever go down as my favorite. I almost said no, not wanting to take the spotlight during Hallie’s wedding in the least, but as Hallie has warned me time and time again, Emma is very convincing when she wants to be.
“Hey, Willa,” Emma said last night at the rehearsal dinner. Just like with the photos, even though I was not in the wedding party, Halle insisted that Leo and I attend the rehearsal dinner.
“Hey, Em. How’s it going? Are you excited for tomorrow?” She nodded, but when she bit her lip nervously, looking to the side, my gut dropped. Maybe that was the wrong thing to ask? I knew she and Hallie were close, but maybe there was some drama I didn’t understand.
“Yeah, totally. But I only have a minute, and I have a favor to ask of you,” she says, voice soft.
“Oh,” I said, relief moving through me swiftly. A favor I can do. “Of course! What do you need?” She looked around nervously again before taking in a deep, nervous breath and spitting out her request.
“I want you to sing for Hallie and my dad tomorrow.”
Unease settled in my chest.
“Oh, honey, I don’t?—”
Nerves moved through me, trying to figure out how to explain that just because she was a fan didn’t mean that taking the spotlight away from Hallie would be a good idea, but she interrupted, explaining before I could decline.
“Just for their first dance, not the whole night. Just…just the first dance. I want to help make it special.”
I open my mouth, but she kept on going.
“She told me you’re like us. That your mom isn’t the best, and that you get it. Hallie is…Hallie is everything to me. Everything my mom isn’t, and I want everything to be perfect for her.” Something warm moved through me at the sincerity in her words, at the clear evidence of just how close Hallie and Emma are. I know a good bit about Emma’s mom, both because Leo stepped in earlier this year and because of stories I’d heard from Hallei. I know that a large part of the reason Hallie and Emma bonded so quickly is their shared trauma of being raised by mothers who left them early in childhood.
“They’re dancing to ‘Landslide,’” she continues, probably seeing my argument faltering, and warmth moves through me. Based on the story of their relationship, Hallie has shared, it’s the perfect song for the two of them, a couple always meant to be, a couple where both of them were terrified of commitment for their own reasons. “And I know the recording would be fine, but I want it to be special. And I’m a pretty resourceful twelve-year-old, but unfortunately, I’m broke, so I have to get creative. I don’t think asking my dad to pay for a gift for his own wedding would really send the same message.”
