Page 49

CHAPTER 49

Charlie

Soren

Have fun on vacation

Me

Would you call being bombarded with questions by my girlfriend’s family a vacation?

Soren

Good luck, soldier

“Can I get you anything to drink?” the flight attendant asks Cami. She’s sitting in the window seat and I took the middle. She protested, saying I’m much bigger than she is, but I don’t want her to have to sit by some stranger. Turns out the man next to me is an older man who has given the flight attendant one too many weird looks, so I’m glad I insisted.

She also wouldn’t let me buy our plane tickets or upgrade us to first class, because this was her part of the deal. She needed me to come with her to the wedding, so she would be paying for the tickets. I only argued for a few minutes before admitting defeat.

“I’ll take a Dr. Pepper, please,” she says with a smile.

“And you, sir?”

“Water, no ice, please.”

“You are crazy for not liking ice in your water. That’s disgusting.”

“It’s easier to drink faster, and I have to stay hydrated.”

“Okay, hockey boy.” She laughs at me and I roll my eyes at her. To be honest, I just started drinking my water without ice when one of my physical therapists suggested it as a way to get more water down faster a long time ago, and I never stopped. I have no idea if that’s really how it works, or if it’s a mental thing.

We’ve been on our flight to Florida for around an hour and a half, which is about half way through the duration. So far, she’s been reading a new release from one of her favorite romance authors and I’ve been playing games on my phone like a third grader.

Now though, she’s put her kindle away and is giving me her full attention. She sips her soda and munches on the pretzels the flight attendant handed us, and I can’t help but think about how surreal it is that we’re on vacation together just the two of us. I mean sure, we’re going to a family wedding not a beach vacation, but still this feels like a big step.

“Okay, I need the rundown,” I say, turning my body to face hers. “Who all is going to be at this wedding? Who do I need to make sure to impress, and who do I need to avoid at all costs?”

“These are good questions, and I almost wish we would have done some studying before right now but I didn’t think about it, so oh well.” She takes another sip of her drink and grabs a pad of paper and a pen from the bag under her seat, then starts to make a list.

“So, we have my Aunt Brenda, she’s my mom’s older sister.” As she talks, she adds the people to the list and makes little notes beside them. “She’s really nice and shouldn’t ask you too many questions. If you are feeling overwhelmed, find her and just stand near her. That should be a good shield.”

“Got it, Aunt Brenda equals shield.”

“Exactly. Then we have my Uncle Matthew, my dad’s brother. He drinks a lot and is pretty rowdy. I’m sure he’ll say something inappropriate so you’re going to want to work on that poker face around him, not that you need to. You’re pretty good at being expressionless.”

“Hey,” I chide, poking her in the side. “I’ve been getting better.”

“You sure have, superstar,” she says and pats me on the shoulder, obviously joking. “So you know my sister, Colette, but you haven’t met her fiancé, Derrick. He’s really great and a solid guy, not that you’ll have much of an opportunity to talk with him since he’s the one getting married, but just so you know we approve.”

“Glad to know we approve of Derrick.”

“Both of my grandmas will absolutely ask you many questions, most of which will be intrusive and not appropriate in the slightest. If you get caught in a conversation with them, just bring up The Golden Girls. ”

“The television show?”

“Yes. They love it and will get into a back and forth, so you should be able to back away slowly and they won’t even notice.”

“Great tip. Who is going to give me the hardest time?” I ask.

“That would be my parents, most likely.”

I’ve known Miranda and Grant Slate since high school, just like my sister, because of the time we spent hanging out at Cami’s. They also were way more involved with their daughter, so they knew where she was and what she was doing at all times. Many of those times she was with me, and my sister of course.

I was a different version of myself back then, though. I had just been through a lot with my friends and was closing in on myself, not opening up to anyone. I’m sure I was growly and cold towards them, and that won’t help me now. I’m going to have to work hard to show them the version of me that their daughter has brought out, one that’s welcoming and warm and willing to bring people in.

“Any tips?”

“Honestly? No. Just be yourself and be honest; my dad can tell when someone isn’t being genuine and he’ll call you on it. Don’t worry about how he’s perceiving you and just be you. He’ll appreciate that. My mom will just want to know I’m loved and cared for, and I am,” she says with a smile.

“You certainly are. That sounds easy enough.”

“You say that now, but I wouldn’t be surprised if by the time we are on our way home you’re second guessing the decision you made to make this permanent.” She says it with humor in her tone, but I can tell this is a real worry for her. She’s letting a little bit of her insecurity show, and I’m grateful I’ve caught it so I can reassure her.

“Cam, I’m not worried about the impression your family is going to leave on me, or the one I’m going to leave on them. There are only two people in this relationship, and they’re sitting on this plane right now.”

“I knew something was going on with the flight attendant,” she teases.

“Shut up and stop deflecting, you goof,” I say and she giggles.

“Okay, sorry, you’re right.”

“Like I was saying, there are only two people in this relationship. Nothing that happens this weekend is going to come in the way of that. You have me.”

“Thanks for saying that. I needed to hear it.”

“Of course. Now, what are we going to do for the next hour?”

“Oh, we could watch a movie together,” she says and bounces in her chair excitedly.

“How would we do that? We can only use one pair of headphones per screen.”

“We just pick a movie and push play at the exact same time. What movie should we watch?”

We scroll through the options for a while and land on a recent release. After three tries, we finally push the play button at the exact same time and start the movie. We get part of the way through it before we have to turn it off and prepare for landing.

Once we land in Pensacola, we collect our bags, and grab our rental car, then make our way to the hotel where the wedding is taking place. It’s about a thirty minute drive, and the weather is sunny and beautiful. It’s a nice break from the cold in New York.

We pull up to the door of the hotel to unload our bags, and Colette is standing there with, who I assume is, her fiancé. Cami practically bursts out of the car and runs towards her sister.

“Coco!” They squeal and jump around in a circle as they embrace, Derrick and I looking on and smiling at their hysterics. I walk up and introduce myself to him, shaking his hand.

“Hi, Charlie, I’m so glad you’re here,” Colette says as she comes over and gives me a side hug.

“Hey, thanks for letting me come celebrate.”

“Well, this one insisted,” she says as she hip checks Cami. Her cheeks flush and I smile. “This is such a fun development, the two of you. I was skeptical at first, but I like it.”

“Colette, we just got here. Let the man breathe.”

“Sorry, sorry, you’re right. I’ll let you two get checked in and settled. Rehearsal dinner is tonight at seven, the details are in your room.”

“That sounds great, can’t wait. See you soon.”

“Bye,” they both say as they turn and Derrick leads her away to wherever they’re headed.

“This is going to be interesting,” Cami says with a laugh.