Chapter 18

It was Friday night. The Hoarder was busy, but they were seated in a very few minutes.

“So, it’s been what, two years?” he said.

“Yes, well since you came on at County,” she said.

“Yes,” he said. “So, when you wanna get married?” The piece of prime rib on her fork was temporarily suspended four inches from the entrance to her mouth. She set the fork, with the prime rib still impaled on the tines of the fork, down.

“Well, let’s see. This is the beginning of March. We need to have a few more dates to make things look good, or my parents if not yours would be looking askance at the rush. How about September?” she said.

“Sounds okay to me. How about Labor Day?” he said.

“Done,” she said.

“We need to hold off advertising our happiness until I, we, can get the ring,” he said. “I’ll do the kneel down thing and present the ring in front of the nurses’ station the next day, the day after we get the ring. Sound okay?”

“Yes, very good,” she said. “Oh, and I get to go with you to pick it out.”

“Of course, I wouldn’t dream of trying to deny you anything. But there is one thing, we have to do right now,” he said.

“Okay?” she said. He smiled. He got up from the table. Walked around to her and kissed her deliciously on the lips. There was some light applause from nearby tables attendant to his action.

“Okay, that looks like an engagement ring,” said Rodney, staring at his daughter’s left hand.

“Well, Dad, you have figured it out. Oh, and this is the fellow who put it on my finger, so blame him,” said Briana.

“Nice to meet you, sir,” said Richard Carton.

“Okay, and nice to meet you,” said Rodney. “And this is my wife and Briana’s mother, Riley Barnes.”

“Hmm, nice to meet you,” said Riley.

The greetings and the wine-toasting and the plans for dinner that same night went on for some time.

“Okay, Mom, Dad, we’ll be back by 6:00 p.m.” said Briana.

“And now we have another little problem,” said Riley.

“Yes, Adam. Well, he for damn sure gets invited. But part of the wedding party?” said Rodney.

“That’ll have to be Briana’s call. But yes, he at least needs to be there—I think,” said Riley. “I’ll be talking to her. If she okays him coming, I’ll go with her to invite him.”

“Good, probably won’t be a problem, but, well, there could be. I mean the party line is that he offed three men and spent twenty years inside for it. I doubt if Richard knows about any of that yet, and I’m certain that none of his family or friends do,” he said. She was nodding, and it was worried nodding.

“Yes, that’s why I’m going to be there when she invites him. Don’t know what I’m going to say, but I think he needs to realize that,” she said.

“Yes,” he said, “ and I hate it that he does.”

“Me too,” she said.

It was Sunday. It was 3:00 p.m. I’d answered the door and three people were standing in front of me. One was welcome. One was not. And the third one was a total stranger. But looking at the gathering, I’d already deduced what they were about; well, I had noticed the rock on her left hand finger.

“Uh, come in,” I said.

“Thank you, Uncle Adam,” said an apparently pleased Briana.

“Coffee?” said Riley. I looked embarrassed.

“Okay. But I’ll need to put a new pot together. So, you got a few?” I said. Nods all around.

“I’ll make it if that’s all right,” said Riley.

“Okay,” I said, not sure how I felt about my ex being all domestic in my house, but I was for the moment kinda halfway speechless.

“So?” I said.

“Yes, Uncle Adam, this is my fiancée Doctor Richard Carton,” said Briana. I smiled, and it, my smile, was genuine.

“Wow!” I said. “Well, nice to meet you,” I said. I was wondering why Riley was with the couple, but I supposed it was Briana’s wish.

“And you, sir,” he said. The talk was animated for the few minutes it took for Riley to put together the coffee and the tray she brought it in on. She had, I’m sure, done what she’d done to give Briana a chance to do the introduction and state her purpose and hopes that I would come to the wedding. Then she’d come in with the tray.

We drank our coffees, smiles all around. The talk was light and I was invited to come to the wedding, but not required to be part of the wedding party. I was good with that at first. She wasn’t my kid like she should have been; I was resigned to that anymore. And then it was time for them to leave; they still had people to see and invite. It was interesting that I was the first apart from Riley and Rodney to get the news. Riley was at pains to point that fact out. And then they were on the way out the door, but Riley held back; she had something to say to me.

“Uh, Adam, just so you know, Richard does know about the bad day: the party line as Rodney calls it. Briana actually told me so on the way over here today. But...”

“But?” I said. Not getting it.

“But none of his family or friends do. Just saying,” she said.

“Oh, okay. I understand,” I said.

“But we are insisting that you be there; you are her number one,” she said.

“Yeah, sure,” I said.

“Thank you,” she said.

Time passed. I’d gotten the invites in March. It was now late August. The wedding was slated for the first week of September.

I hadn’t gotten any invites to the pre-nuptial parties or dinners which truth I both felt good and bad about. It was clear to me that Riley, even though she hadn’t said it in so many words, did not want me to be mixing with doctor Carton’s family and friends. She did want me to come, I think. She had to know what a stick in the eye it would have been to me had I been left out; hence, the invite to be a spectator at the wedding. My point of view? Her words were a stick in the eye anyway.