Chapter 39

Emma cooked roast beef and baked potatoes for dinner and it was good. If I hadn’t said it before, Emma was no slouch in the kitchen. A Cassandra? No. But real good, and both Horace and Parker said so.

“So, news you say?” he said, wiping the detritus from his lips and reaching for his glass of cabernet. Parker was smiling and already sipping hers. Emma was smirking but not opening her mouth, not yet.

“Yes. Emma and I are calling off the big wedding we’d kinda been planning,” I said.

“What!” said Horace. He looked seriously worried.

“Yes,” said Emma, speaking for the first time. “But we have good reason. We already are married. We just got back from Vegas Monday night.”

The two visitors stared, thought for a minute. And then the man spoke.

“You were married on President’s Day?” he said.

“No,” I said. His eyes got big.

“You didn’t,” he said.

“We did,” I said.

“Oh boy!” he said.

“They don’t own it,” I said.

“No, they don’t own it, but...” he said.

“Hmm,” I said. “It’s our day too now, period. But, so no one will feel that we weren’t thinking of them, well...” I nodded for Emma to pick up the hanky, uh, gauntlet.

“We’re having dinner on Saturday at the Hoarder. We are inviting you and Parker and the two of them,” she said.”

“Oh my. Well we will for sure be there. Them...” He looked me askance.

“Sounds wonderful!” said Parker. I smiled.

“We’d be obliged if you would deliver this to them,” I said. I handed Horace the envelope with the formal invite inside of it.

“Okay,” he said, “I can do that. I’ll do it tomorrow.”

“Great,” I said.

“And Adam sent you to give this to us?” said Rodney.

“Yes,” said Horace, “like I said, they’re married as of last Sunday.” Rodney took on a concerned look.

“The 14th? That’s Riley’s and my anniversary. We were at the Rendezvous on Sunday, same as last year.”

“I know,” said Horace. “It’s their anniversary too now, I guess.”

“And they’re inviting us to dinner at the Hoarder on Saturday to celebrate their wedding?” he said.

“Yes. And Parker and I will be there too.”

“Same as Riley and I last year,” said Rodney.

“Yes, kinda. I mean this time there’ll just be the six of us.”

“Talk about statements.”

“Yes, but this year it’s different. The man really does want to make things good between you and himself,” said Horace.

“You believe that?”

“Yes, I know it for a fact. I’m a damn lawyer. I’ve seen too many like him. He’s sincere. If you join him, you and Riley, on Saturday, things could become good again,” he said. Rodney was nodding.

“Okay then. I’ll have to be talking to Riley about it, but we’ll be there,” he said. “And you and Parker will be there for sure too then?”

“Yes,” said Horace.

The two men talked for a bit and Horace made his exit.

“So, the day after tomorrow?” said Riley.

“Yes,” said Rodney. “According to Horace this is Adam’s idea of how to put an end to all of the angst and bad feelings.” She gave him her wrinkled brow questioning look.

“Horace says it’s for real,” he said.

“Okay, I guess we go then,” she said.

“Yes, we should have agreed to his request last year. That one was on me. But with this offer, if as Horace says it’s for real, we gotta go,” he said.

“Yes,” she said.

We’d come early and already had the table set up and ready for the expected arrivees. We saw them, Parker and Horace, followed immediately behind them by Rodney and Riley. They likely had driven in together. Both couples were carrying small gift-wrapped packages.

The four of them were standing a foot from the table. Rodney spoke. “So, I guess this is full circle,” he said. I nodded. Emma was watching us, me and Rodney.

“Yes, hopefully. Sit,” I said. They all did.

“Congratulations,” said Riley, nodding first to Emma and then to me.

Horace ordered the drinks and the somewhat subdued dinner party was underway.

“We were surprised that you picked the same day,” said Rodney.

“I knew that you might be thinking that way,” I said. Emma nodded, but her nod was a warning for me to stay on point.

“We didn’t pick it, Valentine’s Day, to get back at you, Rodney. We picked it because it was a day for lovers to pledge their love. You did that when you chose it for you and Riley. I did it for when I chose this wonderful girl beside me,” I said. Everyone was nodding their agreement.

“Adam, I, we, are so sorry for doing all of the things we did to you, to have cost you so much. We know what you went through. My God we do. And it kills us that we do. The kids told us that you were disappointed that we never asked you what you went through. But...” said Riley. I raised my hand in a ‘hold that thought’ motion.

“It is true that I mentioned what you just said to the kids; that was a while back. But the truth is, it wouldn’t have mattered, because I could never actually have told you what it was like if you had asked. It would have been nice to have had you do so, but it would have been little more than an exercise in futility, appreciated though it would have been. So, from this night forward the past is past and all is forgiven and in the process of being forgotten as well,” I said.