BOOM!The crashing sound feels like it shakes the whole house. I freeze in front of the mirror with one earring in, drop the other one on the dresser and rush out of my room. Winnie is already charging down the hall of the penthouse apartment we share with our parents.
“I’m okay!” My dad’s voice is angry and abrupt.
We turn the corner into the master suite and find him leaning against the wall next to their bathroom. The large framed family photo that is normally on the wall has crashed to the ground, with chunks of glass scattered across the floor. And Dad doesn’t have socks or shoes on. He tries to lift himself off the wall, and I jump forward.
“Don’t! Stay there for a second, Dad.” I turn to my older sister. “Winnie, get the vacuum.”
She nods and runs back down the hall. My mom is standing half in the bathroom, half out. Her face twisted with worry and frustration. “Randy, I told you to wait until I got your walker.”
“I’m just as bad with the walker as I am on my own now,” he mumbles back. His speech is so slurred, it takes a minute to understand what he’s saying. He has his good moments, usually early morning or late afternoon if he’s had a nap, but gone are the days of regular speech. Forever.
“I’m feeling weaker than normal,” he admits, which is rare for him and shocks me more than the shattered picture frame. “I think maybe I’ll skip the barbecue.”
My heart sinks. “Come on, Dad. It’ll be fun, and you’ll get to see Declan.”
I try to sound casual, but the fact is hehasto go. Weallhave to go. It isn’t just a regular Sunday meal at Jude and Zoey’s place. Usually mentioning his only grandchild gets him to change his mind on anything, but apparently not today. He shakes his head. “I’ll just stay here and rest. Maria can stay with me.”
Maria is his nurse. She comes every day now, because he needs help with everything from bathing to eating. I bend and pick up some of the bigger chunks of glass, carefully placing them in my palm. “We won’t stay long,” I lie.
Winnie returns with the vacuum. “I’ll stay with you, Dad. I don’t feel like getting dressed up for Jude’s backyard anyway.”
Ugh. I glance up at her, my face a mask of frustration. Why can’t this family just follow orders? I want to argue with her, but she starts the vacuum, and anything I have to say would be swallowed by the loud machine. When the glass is cleared from the floor, Mom slips out of the bathroom and takes Dad’s arm, helping him over to the bed. He’s half dressed, in a pair of nice chinos but no shirt. Mom is still in her bathrobe, but her hair and makeup are done.
“I can stay home. I can make us something here and we can watch some TV,” Mom suggests.
“Why don’t we just raincheck the whole thing?” Winnie suggests, and my stress levels take off like a rocket. She turns and lugs the vacuum down the hall. When she’s out of earshot, I pick up the family photo by the frame, carefully place it on top of the dresser, and remove the remaining big shards. “We are all going to the barbecue this evening at Jude’s.”
“Sadie, if your dad isn’t up to it…” I turn and look at my mom.
“It’s not just a barbecue.”
“I know. It’s Zoey’s brother’s birthday. But I’m sure Morgan won’t mind if some of us don’t make it,” my dad says and sighs. “You can still go, and Dixie and Eli will be there.”
I can’t figure out how to make them come and not tell them, but this is supposed to be a surprise. It would have been a great surprise too. My mom would have teared up and Dad would have bellowed with laughter and told Jude he should have seen this coming. Jude has always been the crazy one. But now…the Braddock family doesn’t get surprises. At least not happy ones. Instead we get ones like “Surprise! Your dad has ALS.”
“Jude and Zoey are getting married,” I say, and my parents just blink. “Tonight. In their backyard. So, I’m sorry to ruin the surprise, but you have to go.”
“Oh. Oh, my goodness!” My mom starts to tear up, and I lift my hands in terror.
“Stop! Please! Save the tearful reaction for Jude,” I beg. “We can still keep it from Winnie if you two can keep it under control. Jude really wanted to surprise everyone.”
“Except you?” my mom asks.
I shrug and give her a wink. “Well, someone had to wrangle you people.”
Mom wipes away her tears. Dad is doing nothing but smiling, ear-to-ear, like I haven’t seen in months, and a selfish part of me is glad I get to see it now and have it all to myself. But he has to chill too, and I tell them that. He forces his face to relax. “That kid…always throwing me for a loop. God love him.”
Winnie appears in the doorway again and takes the large pieces of glass from me and puts them in the trash bag she brought with her. Dad sits a little straighter. “I changed my mind. I want to go after all.”
“We’re all going,” my mom adds.
Winnie shrugs and nods. “Okay, I’ll go back to getting ready.”
Crisis averted.
Three hours later, the ceremony is done. My brother is married and everything is perfect. My parents pretended to be as shocked as Dixie, Winnie, and the rest of the guests actually were when we got here. Zoey’s dad, a retired Anglican minister, married them. Now everyone is mingling and grabbing champagne flutes and appetizers from the waiters wandering by.
Jude looks at me from where he’s standing across the yard next to Zoey. Our eyes lock, and we have a moment to ourselves—in a room full of people. I give him the biggest, proudest smile and wipe away a tear. He shakes his head, kisses his wife’s cheek, and walks toward me, giving me a stern look before pulling me into a hug. “None of that.”
