me but found herself being stopped every few steps as one well-wisher or another hugged her.
For one who’d been eager to catch the bouquet (according to several reports I’d received since the bouquet toss), Nala resembled someone who had fallen into a backyard filled with zombies and was desperate to escape.
She was barely five feet from me when Mom swept in from the side and hugged her. “July is a lovely time to get married in Copper Creek when it’s an outdoor wedding. But the fall colors are simply gorgeous. Maybe even more so.”
“Mom, she caught the flowers. That’s all. I haven’t proposed to her.”
Grinning as if I’d given her the moon with a big red bow on it, she patted my biceps. “Not yet, but you will.”
I threaded my fingers with Nala’s. “C’mon, let’s get out of here.”
“Good idea,” Mom said. “The sooner you start planning your wedding, the better.”
It was a goddamn miracle I didn’t roll my eyes.
My mom wasn’t usually a drinker, but I had a feeling she’d consumed a few glasses since the reception began. Any other time, she wouldn’t have been quite so chatty about a wedding that was more in her head than reality.
Nala wasn’t the only one who was starting to feel trapped in a backyard filled with zombies. My aunts spotted me from their various locations and hustled toward me. Each wore the same excited expressions they’d had when Hazel first announced she was getting married.
“This way.” I half led, half dragged her toward an exit, stopping long enough for her to grab her lightweight cardigan from her seat on the way.
At the last moment, I veered toward the bar and asked the bartender for a bottle of red wine. I slapped a fifty-dollar bill on the counter and told him to keep the change.
“Where are we going?” Nala asked as we walked along the dirt path.
“You’ll see.”
We continued down the path leading into the forest. I turned on my cell phone flashlight, making it easier to spot the ruts in the uneven path, the occasional protruding root, or small rocks.
Nala shivered in the cooling mountain air, pausing to slip her cardigan on.
We didn’t say much as we walked, other than to make small talk about the wedding.
The forest soon opened up again, revealing the valley, revealing what was arguably one of the best spots around to watch the sunset. The trees behind us provided shelter from the rest of the world, and the valley in front of us granted us a great view.
The fallen tree trunk that I remembered still remained where I had last seen it. It had been smoothed down years ago and varnished to resemble a curious-looking bench.
“Wow, this is gorgeous.” Nala’s gaze traveled from the seat to the valley. The river below us formed a dark, winding channel in the fading light.
“It’s the best spot around to see the sunset.”
“I can see why.” She took a seat on the bench.
I joined her. “Looks like I forgot about the glasses.” I lifted the bottle of wine.
“That’s okay. I don’t have girl cooties.”
I laughed under my breath. “I figured at this point I was safe in that department.” I unscrewed the bottle and handed it to her.
She drank a long sip of the wine and handed it back. “I’m sure somewhere in the world, a wine connoisseur dropped dead from me doing that.” She giggled. “It’s delicious, though.”
A gentle breeze ruffled the leaves around us, but other than that, the area was peaceful. It was while I was sitting on a boulder not far from here that I’d decided to pursue my dream of playing in the NHL.
I had been eight years old at the time.
“I’m sorry about everyone acting that way when you caught the flowers,” I said. “I didn’t realize you want to get married.” It had never come up in our conversations. But why would it? It was a topic I’d been avoiding.
“They just want you to be happy. And from what your mom told me, she wants lots of grandchildren…and for you to be happy.”
Dream on, Mom.
“I know, but that’s not going to happen.” I took another sip of wine.
Nala accepted the bottle and peered at me curiously. “Why’s that?”
Curiosity wasn’t the only emotion peering back at me. Understanding and compassion were also there, shining like stars in the night sky.
It was in that moment, with the sun setting behind the mountain ridge, that I sensed the turning point in our friendship. All I had