end up on my shit-list forever.”
I nod back, projecting, “Thank you, and I won’t screw up again, I’ve learned my lesson.”
***
The second course is cleared out and, before the wedding cake is presented, it’s time for the speeches. Logan makes one. My sister sticks to a short thank-you message; she’s always hated public speaking. And then it’s the best man’s turn.
Archie stands up and takes the microphone, giving me an excuse to watch him while he can’t stare back for longer than a few moments, not unless he wants to make his speech very awkward.
He doesn’t have a written script, and begins his address to the crowd off the cuff. “Logan and I have known each other since we were eighteen and by some lucky twist of fate ended up sharing a freshman dorm room. I have to say, when I first stepped inside and saw this prepped-up kid in his ironed shirt, he was so prim I wondered if he pressed his pajamas, too, and if we could ever become friends.”
Archie pauses and makes a theatrical frown, allowing the audience to chuckle at his engaging anecdote. “Luckily, as the days passed, his stock of home-ironed clothes ran out and his gear became as crumpled and wrinkled as that of any other respectable college kid.” Another short pause to collect laughs. “But what sealed the deal was when I came home the week after orientation and found him sleeping on his bed with his mouth open and drooling on the pillow, a bag of Doritos at his side, crumbs all around him, and his white T-shirt stained by the orange imprint of many fingertips. That’s when I knew we could be friends for life.”
More laughs. Gosh, I hate that he’s such a showman and that everyone in the room is eating out of his hand. Especially the ladies, I can’t help but notice, with a bitter aftertaste in my mouth. If he wants to substitute me for someone else, he’ll have his pick tonight. A snap of the fingers and they’ll all fall at his feet, just like I did. But it’s not his fault for being who he is. I’d been warned, and chose to ignore the alarm bells. If I have to deal with a broken heart right now, I’ve no one to blame but myself.
“I guess for Winter and Logan it’s been the same,” Archie carries on. “Not a case of love at first sight here, folks.” The people in the audience who know about Winter and Logan’s insta-hate past laugh, including me. The first time my sister described the groom to me, she called him Satan.
“But it didn’t take them much to discover they shared more than they initially thought,” Archie continues. “Only the archeological discovery of the century, being trapped in an ancient tomb together, escaping a bunch of trigger happy lunatics through the jungle, and having to save my life along with everybody else’s on that expedition. Easy, right? Well, not exactly, because my boneheaded friend almost blew it at this point”—Archie stares at me, making a breath catch in my throat—“by not saying how he really felt.”
His gaze lingers on me another second before moving away, and I can breathe again. “He could’ve lost her, but, thankfully, only two international flights later, he managed to right his mistake and profess his undying love. I wasn’t there to witness the event, but I was told begging was involved.” Again, everyone laughs. “And now here we are. Logan, my friend, today you’re the luckiest man on Earth to have convinced this amazing woman to be with you for the rest of your lives. I wish you joy and happiness, and that your love will go on as strong as today until the end of times.”
The crowd awwwws, and a few helpless romantic tears are shed around the room. “And before I begin to sound too much like a movie soundtrack, I’d better wrap this up.” Archie raises his champagne flute. “To the bride and groom.”
The audience explodes with booming applause.
Twenty-four
Summer
I surf unscathed through the cutting of the cake. The traditional moment takes place in a spot further down the lawn where the cake is awaiting Winter and Logan under a gazebo—a wrought-iron structure covered in green leaves and white flowers, following the same theme as the other flower arrangements. Again, there are enough people around to ensure a big buffer between Archie and me. With the guests forming a large semicircle around the gazebo, I