As we pull into the parking lot, I slap myself softly on the cheek, bringing myself back down to earth.Friends, I command my heart.Don’t get it twisted.This is exactly why Eitan is so dangerous. I can’t lose sight of the wedding. Of Pen’s agent connection. He probably serenades all the girls withWicked. It’s probably his go-to move to seal the deal. And then he’s off, onto the next. Literally. After the wedding, Eitan is leaving. Moving on. And I’ll be right back where I started if I don’t keep my focus.
Saul the DJ’s studio is in a building mostly filled with medical offices. It’s gray and brutalist, with floor to ceiling windows lining the lobby.
Eitan opens the glass door, waving for me to go first. The receptionist watches us, a disapproving tilt to her lips, as we settle into two leather armchairs in silence.
“Hey!” A man with a soul patch, a fedora, and a baseball jersey sashays out of an elevator. “How ya doing?” He shakes Eitan’s hand, then mine, handing us both a (sweaty) business card. “I’m Saul.” I read the card:Saul Diamantis. DJ, Cellist, Tastemaker.And on the back:Available for weddings, b’nai mitzvah, and funerals.
“Penelope?” he asks, looking at me curiously.
“No, no, I’m Ruby, the—” How do I describe my role? Unofficial wedding planner? Honorary co-maid of honor? Unlicensed therapist? “Bridesmaid.”
“Ah, I see. And you must be Josh’s best man.”
“Sure am. Eitan.”
Saul claps his hands together. “You two ready to make some magic happen?” he asks. Eitan and I both nod, unsure exactly what magic we are agreeing to make happen. Saul ushers us into the elevator, waving at the receptionist, who glares at him.
“Welcome to my office,” Saul says. He pushes open a doctor’s office door on the third floor to a mini studio with mirrored walls and hardwood floors. It looks like a middle school dance after the lights come on. “Make yourselves at home.” He points to a couple plastic chairs in the corner.
“Thanks…Saul.” Eitan and I stare at each other like the newcomers to an inpatient unit. I unhook my purse from my arm and place it on the plastic chair.
“He’s a friend of the family,” Eitan says through a grimace.
“I was told specifically to confirm his cello ability.”
Eitan snorts.
“We havebigdecisions to make,” Saul says from behind us. He’s stepped up to a mini DJ booth, a glowstick circling his neck. “Penelope said that they still need to pick their first dance song.”
I open my mouth, ready to break it to Saul that the reception will have a band.
“Don’t worry.” He laughs self-deprecatingly. “I know there’s a band. But I thought we could jam together and pick the song, and it would give me the information I need about their music taste.”
I lean over and whisper to Eitan, “Are we sure we should be doing this without them?”
“I’ve been responsible for Josh’s music taste since his bar mitzvah, so I have him covered. Do you know what Pen likes?”
“Generally speaking, sure?”
“Good thing we have Saul Diamantis, Tastemaker, with us today.”
I shove him.
Saul fiddles with knobs and records on his mixing table. “Tell me more about Josh and Penelope. What music do they like?”
Eitan speaks first, rather confident. “Josh’s favorite artist is J. Cole. Favorite genres are hip hop and folk.”
I remember what Pen said when we were picking the band.Joshie and I both love country and pop. In that order.
I blow out a breath. “Pen is a hardcore Swiftie. She’s also really into Kacey Musgraves and Miranda Lambert.” Penelope’s incessant wedding texts haunt my eyelids every time I blink. “She wants something ‘classically romantic’ for the first dance.”
“What about ‘My Boo’?” Eitan asks.
“Pen might actually murder me if we pick an Usher song.” I tap my chin. “What about a song like ‘Kiss Me’?”
“Excellent choice,” Saul declares. The song’s melodic guitar intro blares out of the speakers, and white disco lights begin twirling. “I know this isn’t actually what the wedding will be like,” Saul shouts over the music, “but listening to the song on a dance floor through the speakers helps imagine what it would be like on the wedding day.”
Eitan frowns, skeptical. “This doesn’t feel right for Josh. I’ve never once heard him listen to a song like this.”
