Chapter 2

When Arnold pulled me into the lounge, the music outside was still playing.

Once the door shut, the applause and the chatter were muffled behind it.

He set the tray down on the table.

The ring rolled to the edge of the table, and he flicked it casually back to the center.

"What exactly do you want?"

I didn't touch the ring.

"That's what I should be asking you."

"You put my ring on her finger, then made me take it back up on the stage."

Arnold tugged at his tie.

"She was just helping out."

"She's the one who's been running around handling the engagement these past few days."

Several planning sheets were spread across the table.

The top one was the order of the family group photo, freshly printed.

My parents' names had been moved to the second group.

Beside Arnold's parents, there was an extra handwritten sticky note.

Lucinda.

Next to it was a corsage list too.

The line for the bride's parents had been crossed out in red pen, then written back in.

But Lucinda's name was written neatly after "Main Table Assistant."

I picked up the note.

Arnold glanced at it, his tone still steady.

"My mother asked her to sit closer so she could help with the reminders about the schedule."

"You never bother with any of this. What's the point of digging it up now?"

I flipped open the wedding planner's cue cards.

The entrance lines I was supposed to confirm had been changed in two places, in red pen.

Beside them was Lucinda's handwriting.

Pause three seconds here, wait for the close-up on the ring.

Sybilla isn't familiar with the flow, so I'll remind her.

Arnold reached out and pulled the sheet away.

"Stop looking."

"She just didn't want you to panic out there."

He pressed the paper back down on the table, his fingertip landing right on my name.

"You don't understand these details anyway."

"She's saving you the trouble, and you're still picking at her mistakes?"

I looked at him.

"It's my engagement. Why is she the one reminding me?"

The door opened a crack.

Lucinda stood in the doorway holding the schedule, her eyes still red.

"Arnold, they're asking for you out there."

She glanced at me, then lowered her head again.

"Maybe I should step back for now."

Arnold wouldn't let her.

"Step back for what?"

"They're all out there waiting for you to run the schedule."

He stuffed the sheets back into her arms.

"Go with the order you just set up."

Lucinda caught the papers, her fingers clenched tight.

She wasn't smiling, and she didn't keep up the pretense of backing off.

But the moment those sheets were in her hands, the people outside went quiet.

Someone called through the door.

"Lucinda, Mrs. James is asking which side to start the group photo from."

"The emcee's waiting on you too."

"And the favors table wants to know which of the bride's relatives to hand out to first."

The voices outside came one after another, and not one of them asked me.

Arnold looked at her right away.

"You go first."

I stood by the table and saw a long strand of hair caught in the lid of the ring box.

It wasn't mine.

I plucked out the strand and laid it on the table.

Arnold barely glanced at it.

"You're going to make an issue of this too?"

He said it very softly.

Soft enough that no one outside the door could hear.

But I heard it.

In this whole engagement, Lucinda had touched the ring, changed the schedule, and sat in the seats meant for my parents.

And in the end, I was the only one making an issue of anything.

Arnold picked up the ring box.

"Let's take the group photo first."

"Don't hold things up."

He walked to the door, then paused.

"Stop staring at her later."

"She was crying that hard just now. Don't take it out on her."

I looked down at the long strand of hair on the table.

I didn't ask him again whether I could stand it.

The music started up again outside.

The emcee tapped the microphone.

"Just a moment, everyone. The couple will be right back."

The word "couple" drifted in through the door.

I looked at the seating chart and the corsage list on the table.

The spot that belonged to me: one had been moved aside, the other written over by someone else.

Arnold stood at the door, hurrying me.

"Let's go."

"Don't keep the elders waiting."

The elders he spoke of sounded so considerate.

But the ones who'd been soothed first weren't my parents.

I left the long strand of hair on the table.

Arnold didn't look at it again.

He just snapped the ring box shut and gripped it in his hand.

That ring was supposed to have come out of the box for the first time and gone onto my finger.

Now it had been put back, waiting to be taken out again to patch over something for appearances' sake.

Someone outside called again.

"Are the couple ready yet?"

Arnold turned to look at me.

"Don't make them wait a third time."

I followed him out.

Lucinda was already standing at the door, smoothing the cuff of his jacket for him.