is on Drew’s other side. Everyone else mills around, some people at their seats, most people standing up and eating pigs in a blanket (the traditional Midwestern appetizer) while sipping drinks. My eyes scan the crowd until I see him; at the back of the room, behind a table, pouring a drink for some elderly woman I’ve never seen who must be one of Drew’s relatives. I’m overwhelmingly jealous of this octogenarian who gets to touch his hand for even a brief second as he gives her a drink.
“Chloe.”
I look to my left and see Annie staring at me with concern. “You are, like, vibrating.”
I take a deep breath. “Yeah, well. I don’t handle nerves well. This is why I stay in my comfort zone, okay?”
Annie knocks back a cup of Sprite and then smiles at me. “Fuck your comfort zone.”
I recoil. “Excuse me? Who are you?”
“I’m a woman who just got married, and right now I need you to give me the greatest gift I could possibly receive: a grand gesture.”
Drew leans across Annie and looks me straight in the eye. “This is Annie’s wedding day. You need to give the woman what she wants.”
“You told him?” I whisper-hiss at Annie.
She shakes her head, eyes wide. “Of course not! I swear.”
Drew rolls his eyes. “Give me a break, Chloe. Everyone in this room, and anyone who’s ever been into Nick’s, can tell that a cloud of sexual tension surrounds you and Velez at all times. Annie didn’t have to tell me you slept together; I figured it out.”
Annie and I stare at each other, mouths open.
“What are you, some kind of relationship expert?” I ask when I’ve recovered. Annie lifts her cup of Sprite to her mouth, shaking her head in amazement.
“In case you forgot, I’m married to the greatest rom-com writer of our generation.” He holds up her hand and points to her ring. “I think I can tell when a grand gesture is about to happen.”
Annie snort-laughs so hard that she spits Sprite all over her plate.
The telltale clink of wedding silverware on wineglass cuts through the air, and everyone cranes their heads around to see who it is.
Uncle Don stands up beside his table, and Annie whispers, “Is he . . . giving a toast?”
Giving any sort of toast would be very unlike Don; giving an unplanned, undiscussed toast is even more out of character. But as soon as the crowd quiets down and most people find their seats, he starts talking.
“Thank you all so much for coming today. I know many of you have traveled from far away to be here, and we appreciate it. I wanted to take a moment to say how much I love my Annie. I may not be her parent, and I may not have any right to say this, but I’m so proud of the woman she’s become.”
“Oh, God,” Annie says, her eyes filling with tears. I yank another tissue out of my bra and hand it to her. At this point, my tissue stash is going to be deflated before we even get to the first dances.
“But I also want to express how grateful I am to Annie, because even though I’m the older and supposedly wiser one, she’s taught me so much through the years. After watching so many of those movies she loves, and seeing the way she lives her life, I’ve learned that when you love someone, you’ve gotta tell them. So, Tyler . . .”
Uncle Don gets down on one knee and everyone in the room gasps.
“I’ve loved you since the second we met online, when you were just WookieeLover001. And as I’ve gotten to know you, that love has only grown. Will you do me the honor of being my wife?”
Tyler’s hands cover her face, but her rapid nods communicate a clear yes, and everyone cheers as she stands up and Uncle Don easily lifts her into a hug (she’s about the size of a pixie and he’s, well, Chewbacca-sized).
Beside me, Annie lets loose a full-on sob at this display of love, her mascara running down her cheeks. Oh well. I tried, and at least photos are already done. Maybe some brides would be mad that a proposal stole their spotlight, but not Annie.
“This . . . is the best . . . thing . . . that’s ever happened to me,” she chokes out through her sobs.
“Um.” I meet eyes with Drew, who has his arm around her. “Didn’t you just get