“Oh, I’m totally down!”
We stop to say hello to Aaron’s fiancée, Daisy, who apparently Dani knew from summer camp and already had an invitation on her own merit.
“By the way, nice dick pic, Graham.” Daisy blows me a kiss. “You’re really the talk of the party. Aaron thinks you should get it pierced.”
“No, Aaron does not,” my brother says, shocked.
A few older women toast me with their glasses as Dani and I hurry over to our parents.
“There he is! Glad you could join us, kid. We were looking everywhere for you.” Mom smiles at me. “This is my kid.” Mom grabs my arm and whirls me to face Dani’s parents. “He’s incredibly boring. All he does is work and make money. But curiously, he never shops.”
“We think he’s lovely,” Linda says. “We just adore your son. He’s a wonderful young man, and we just can’t believe what he sees in Dani.”
“He is wonderful!” Aurora shakes me slightly. “And are you kidding me? Dani is great! She’s really got him out of his shell, don’t you think, Frank?”
My stepdad just grunts.
“I hear there’s already talk of a wedding.” My mom chatters on. “You know, I love a wedding. Free food, open bar. Yay!” Mom pumps a fist.
“Well, I’m sure that Dani’s parents have other guests they need to meet,” I say delicately. I’m sure Mom’s been talking their ear off.
“Are you kidding me?” Hank is aghast. “I want to hear all about Graham right from the source.”
“We’ve bonded.” My mom smiles. “I learned that Hank also has a Costco card, and we are planning a Costco date. They have giant wheels of cheese, so the rumors say.”
“Beans, don’t give me that look, you love cheese,” Hank tells his daughter.
“Graham likes cheese too.” Mom grins.
“They’re a match made in heaven.”
“They’ve gotten awfully cozy.” Mom winks.
“It was, we must say, a big surprise to learn that Dani’s been secretly dating someone,” Linda offers.
“Yeah, us too,” Frank interjects. “So she kept it a secret from you, too, eh?”
I don’t like the line of questioning.
“I just didn’t want him to, you know, ghost me or something. Or if it was a big joke,” Dani says in a rush.
“Graham would never do that. Graham’s one of the good ones,” Mom assures her parents.
Dani drains the rest of her drink. “Have you seen anyone else floating around with more of these?”
Mental note for next wedding.
“I’m just fuzzy on the timeline and was hoping you all could help fill in some missing pieces.” Frank presses them, gesturing casually with his beer bottle. “Was Dani, say, sneaking out to go see him or anything like that?”
“Our daughter sneaking out to go meet a boy?” Linda’s eyebrows shoot up.
“I think the doorman would have said something, but maybe she paid him off. Right, honey?” Hank winks at Dani, who lookslike she wants to drown herself in her wineglass. “They could have been sexting, though. You know, that’s what the kids do these days.”
“Not my daughter.” Linda glares at Dani.
“I’ll check Graham’s phone,” Frank says flatly.
“No one’s checking anyone’s phone. They’re adults, and we’re very happy that they’ve found love. Yay!” Mom gives me another shake.
