Page 23 of Final Breakaway (For Puck’s Sake #11)

CHAPTER 23

ETNA

Flights from Phoenix to DC are only just over four hours, but because of the time change, I lose half the day. Even though I leave at the ass crack of dawn, I land just before one in the afternoon on the East Coast. The suckiest part is having to head back to the airport later tonight to take a red-eye home.

I’m not actually here for twenty-four hours. Not even twelve hours. At least I don’t need to wait for luggage, so that’s a positive.

My dad is waiting for me at pickup and we drive through the DC traffic for forty minutes. Hmm. I didn’t think this through.

“How’s wedding planning coming?” Dad asks.

I laugh. “We’re learning that this isn’t necessarily our thing.”

He chuckles. “So no second career as a wedding planner after hockey, eh?”

“Not a chance.” I grin. “It’s not awful, but the challenges we face because we don’t feel like we have a specific direction are becoming more and more stressful.”

“What direction?”

“That’s the point. We don’t have one.”

He shakes his head. “No, no. I mean… I suppose I mean, what do you mean by ‘ a specific direction’ ?”

“A theme. Every single theme sounded lame. Even the ones we were curious about or admired didn’t feel like they were meant for us.”

Dad nods. “Ah.”

“We scrapped having a theme entirely and now we’re just going with colors. Blues and grays.”

“That is a theme of sorts.”

I sigh. “Yeah. It’s okay so far. We’re finally making progress.”

“Progress that you’re happy with?”

I think about the attire and the flowers and smile. “Yeah. We’re happy with what we have. I guess we just feel like we get stuck at every turn. Nothing is straightforward and easy.”

“First, good. That’s completely normal. Nothing in planning a wedding is likely going to be straightforward and easy. Second, are you running into obstacles because you don’t agree?”

“Not at all. I don’t think there’s been something we haven’t agreed on yet.”

Dad smiles. “I know it sounds like a pain in the ass, but I promise you’re doing it right. I’d be more concerned if this entire process came too easy.”

“Did you and Mom have this problem?”

He laughs. “No. Your mom took care of everything, while I occasionally agreed with whatever she showed me.”

I frown. “And… did you like the wedding?”

“Let me tell you a secret. This isn’t true for everyone, but I’ve found it’s true for quite a bit of people. Quite often, there’s one person in the relationship who has a vision and takes the reins while the second just nods their approval. Traditionally, that’s the bride. Not always, but usually. I was there to marry your mother. I didn’t care about any other aspect of it. It was all about making sure your mother had the day she always dreamed about. If my bride was happy, then I was happy.”

I sigh.

“Oh, and I wanted chocolate cake. That was my one request.”

Laughing, I shake my head.

Dad pats my arm. “You’re doing good, Son. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with both of you taking the reins together. Especially when you’re having an easy time agreeing on decisions.”

“I’m not sure if either of us cares in the same way Mom did. Or how Eddy will. I think what keeps us moving forward is that we don’t want to look back with regrets and wishing we did the whole big wedding but couldn’t be bothered at the time. We want it to be meaningful and we want fond memories.”

“In the end, all these struggles you’re facing are going to be fond memories too. You’ll look back in ten years and laugh as you reminisce.”

“You think so?” I ask, imagining us sitting on the beach, talking about Nat bringing us flowers after the first lady scared us off.

“I do. Your mother will still talk about planning our wedding. I’m willing to bet you’ll hear some stories today. From your grandmother, too.”

I smile, hoping I will hear their stories. I think maybe hearing them will put me more at ease about the things we’re running into.

As soon as I step out of the car in my parents’ driveway, my phone rings, so I remain outside to answer it. Especially since it’s my fiancé.

“Hey. Miss me already?” I answer.

“Yes, you fool. Listen, my mom showed me a video and I’m totally on board with this. Have you seen those viral reels about old ladies and grown men being flower girls and ring bearers?”

I laugh. “Yeah.”

“What do you think about asking our grans to be our flower girls? You’re seeing yours today, yeah?”

“I love that. I think my gram will love it, too.”

“Cool. I was also thinking that maybe we ask Lo to be our ring bearer. Just because I think he’d have a lot of fun with it.”

“You don’t think the guys are going to be upset about that?”

“Actually, we have three guys on the team and I thought that maybe we’d split them between us as groomsmen.”

“Who do you want to cut in half, Keno?”

Keno laughs. “No. I get two and you get one. I’m kind of banking on your sister coming around by June.”

I sigh and close my eyes. “I’m down with that plan.”

“Cool. We can decide who gets who when we get home. I just wanted to mention our grans since we’ll both be seeing them today.”

“You’re already home, right?”

“Yep. Gran won’t be here for another couple hours, though. She’s stopping for an early dinner because she already had plans with the girls today.”

Keno sounds amused. I grin. “I hope we have an active social life when we’re old.”

“I hope we still have an active sex life when we’re old,” he counters.

I laugh. “I’m going inside. I just got here. I’ll call you later.”

“Kay. Bye.”

Honestly, I hope we still have an active sex life when we’re old too. Will it still be sexy then? Do our tastes mature as we mature?

I decide I’m not going to think about it too much and head in. I find my mom, dad, and gram in the dining room. Mom gets to her feet and hugs me tightly. “Everything okay?”

“Yes, why?”

“Dad said you had to take a call before you came in.”

“Oh. It was Keno. He had an idea he needed to get off his chest.”

She smiles and squeezes me a little tighter. “Come. Sit. Say hi to Gram.”

“I would if you’d stop monopolizing me, Ma.”

Mom smacks my arm as she retakes her seat. I round the table and give my gram a hug. “Hey, Gram. I’m glad you’re here.”

“Of course, Love. I’m always excited to see my grandson. How’s hockey? How’s this new fiancé?”

I laugh. “Hockey is hockey. We could use some improvement, but we’re not doing the absolute worst.”

“Just the second worst,” Dad coughs.

“If I had something to throw at you, I would,” I tell him and turn back to my grandmother. “My fiancé is good.”

“I’m disappointed I won’t meet him today.”

“I am too. We packed a lot into this week and couldn’t justify losing so many days of wedding planning.”

My Gram’s eyebrows knit together. “Dear, it’s still five months away.”

“Yes, but all the lists said we’re beginning six months late.”

She rolls her eyes and shakes her head. “Those timelines are for old fuddy duddies. Booking venues and vendors are the only thing you need to do ASAP.”

“Also guest lists,” I point out. “Something we overlooked because we struggled with a theme.”

“A theme,” Gram snorts. “In my day, we didn’t talk about fancy themes. We just planned a wedding. No complication necessary.”

Dad gives me a pointed look. I chuckle.

“Okay,” Mom says. “Let’s talk about lists. Here’s what Gram and I worked out, though we’re still thinking about it. We don’t want to forget anyone.”

The front door opens. There’s really only one person it could be. Half a minute later, my sister walks into the dining room. I glance up long enough to meet Edna’s eyes, but then turn my attention back to this list. I don’t have enough time to fight with her and attend to the guest list on this trip.

“Who’s Michael Fusco?” I ask.

“Your cousin,” Mom answers.

“Oh yeah? Why have I never heard of him?”

“I went to their wedding when you two were still in strollers. Eddy cried the entire wedding.”

I smirk. “Have we seen them since?”

“No.”

I cross the name off.

“Etna!”

“I’m not inviting someone I’ve not seen in the last twenty-four years, Ma.”

“He’s family,” she insists.

“I had to ask who he was!”

We have this same argument three more times with some distant cousins or long-lost great aunt’s nieces or some shit.

After an hour, I pass the list to Gram. “Don’t let Ma add random names. I’m going to refill our drinks.”

Gram winks at me. “I’ll try.”

I grab her mug and my mother’s glass and head into the kitchen. Gram was drinking tea, so I put the teakettle back on the burner. I pull out another mug from the cabinet and then add tea bags to both.

After filling Mom’s glass with sparkling water, I fill another with tap before turning to look at my sister, who’s been standing in the kitchen door since I walked in. I watch her as I drink.

“I’m sorry,” Edna says.

I take another sip.

“I acted like a jerk at Christmas.”

“You did,” I agree. “Why?”

She sighs, her shoulders slouching. Her eyes drop to the floor. “Hockey took you far away, and it sucks. I agreed not to move out there because you could be traded at any time and then I’d be left there all alone since you don’t have a choice, until I managed to get a job in your new location. You convinced me to stay here, and said you’d come home when you retired.”

“I know. I remember.”

Edna nods. “But now you have Keno, and I just feel like… you’re never coming home now.” Her voice shakes and she squeezes her eyes shut to fight her tears. “It was so hard when you were drafted, but you used to call all the time, and we’d video chat and text and… then Keno came along, and I hardly heard from you. I thought eventually one of you would be traded and things would go back to normal, but now you’re marrying him and I… I just feel like… I feel like I lost my twin.”

Tears track down her cheeks as she covers her face. I set my glass down and bring her into my chest. “No, Eddy,” I whisper. “I’m sorry I made you feel that way. I didn’t mean to hurt you like that.”

“No, I know. It’s not your fault.”

“It is my fault, but why didn’t you say something? Why did you wait until you were so upset that you acted like a bitch to Keno?”

Edna flinches. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

“I know but now answer me. Why didn’t you tell me how you were feeling?”

“Because you’re so happy. I’ve never seen you as happy as you’ve been since he joined your team, and I don’t want to be the reason you’re not happy.”

“Eddy…”

The kettle whistles. I shuffle us toward the stove to turn it off. “I’m sorry. I thought you’ve been preoccupied with your boyfriend and since we’re both growing up, I thought maybe we were naturally creating our own lives. But don’t think for a second that I don’t think about you often and wish you were there.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“Would it kill you to text me when you do?”

I laugh. “No. As long as it won’t kill you to call me when you want to talk.”

She sniffs. “Yeah.”

“Look.” I push her back and wipe her face. “I don’t know what’s in the future. I don’t know where hockey will take us and we’re already facing a future where hockey could split us up at some point. That’s just the nature of being professional athletes. Which means I don’t know where we’re going or how long we’ll be there. But when we’re ready to retire and settle down somewhere, that’s a conversation we’ll have, knowing that I want my sister close. Okay?”

Fresh tears leak down her face. “Okay.”

“And I’m going to need you to apologize to Keno. He’s pretty convinced he did something to make you hate him.”

Edna flinches. “I will.”

“Good. One last thing.” I wipe her tears away again. “I’m going to need you to be my best man girl… thing. And I’m also going to need some help on wedding shit from time to time because we’re overwhelmed as fuck.”

She gives me a watery laugh, and yes, I get more tears. “Yes.”

“I’m glad that’s settled.” I hug Edna again, keeping her close for several minutes. “Now I want you to find a video of grandmothers being flower girls and show it to Gram while I’m finishing making this tea. Set the stage for me.”

Edna grins. “She’s going to love that.”

I nod. I hope she does.

By the time I return to the dining room, Gram is giggling as she watches. I set a mug in front of her, hand Mom her glass of sparkling water, and then retake my seat with my own mug of tea. Gram looks at me with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

“You’re going to ask me to do this, aren’t you?”

“Well, not exactly like that. You’ll put your own twist on it.”

“With your Mr.’s Gram?”

I nod. “She’s his gran, but yeah.”

Gram nods. “I’m going to need her phone number, Love. We have some shenanigans to plan.”

“Oh, lord, help us,” Mom says.

Edna laughs. “I hope you’re hiring a videographer for this.”

“We were just going with a photographer, but it might be necessary,” I agree.

Wedding talk continues for hours, and as Dad said, I hear a bunch of wedding stories that make me smile. It gives me confidence that everything we’re doing will end up a fond memory we’ll share with someone one day.

My gram discretely tucks the wedding list into my backpack on my way out the door that night and whispers that she crossed out a bunch of silly additions while my mother was cooking dinner. I give her a tight hug and tell her I’ll be in touch with Keno’s gran’s number and to talk attire. We’re also open to suggestions if she has ideas.

That twinkle in her eyes follows me.

The last thing I do before I get on the plane is video call Lo. It’s late, so it was stupid to call. I forget that not everyone is on my specific time.

“Hey,” he answers.

I squint. “You’re in bed, aren’t you?”

Lo shifts the phone so I can see Caulder lying beside him. Caulder sighs and shoves the phone away. “Seriously, Lo.”

Lo grins. “What’s up?”

“You could have called me back tomorrow.”

“We’re watching a movie. Not a big deal.”

“I just have a question to ask.”

“What’s up?”

“How do you feel about being our ring bearer?”

Lo’s smile climbs and I swear, my Gram shared her mischievous twinkle. Oh no.