Page 126 of Fake It For Love (Faux Love)
“Hey, I thought we already had an actual rehearsal dinner,” he said.
“We did, but she wants to have this little soiree in the suite with just us and our parents,” I said. “She felt like there were too many people at the dinner and she didn’t get to spend time with everyone. I think it’s sweet of her.”
“Then we better hope like hell this place has brie,” he said. “I’ve never milked a cow, but I bet we can find one on the island somewhere.”
“If you want to milk a cow, do it on your own time,” I said.
He laughed. “Shut up and let’s get moo-ving.”
Over the last year, I couldn’t explain how it happened, but Tony and I had become best friends. We were so different, but somehow it balanced out. We busted each other’s balls a lot, but it was all in good fun.
We walked into the store, and I swore I heard a choir of angels. “Look, Tony, cheese. Cheese from France. Cheese from Germany and Italy. Brie. Hummus. Every cheese you could imagine.”
He was already helping himself to the free samples. It was like hanging out with a child. It was still hard to imagine him as a father. Thank God he had Norah.
Their infant was back home in New York. They chose not to bring her along. This was their one-year wedding anniversary celebration—as well as our wedding. Not the same day but close.
“Do you still have that list?” Tony asked. “I’ll grab the wine she wanted.”
“Instead of the box of wine in the car?” I retorted.
He grinned. “We’ll serve the good stuff first. We’ll crack open the box when they’re tipsy enough to not notice the difference.”
I had a feeling I would never fully understand Tony. He was a good guy and he made me laugh, but sometimes I wanted to strangle him. I grabbed a basket and picked up every variety of brie and added in a few more for good measure.
“So, are you nervous?” Tony asked on the drive back to the resort.
“I’m not nervous about getting married,” I said. “I already feel married. It’s the wedding that’s making both of us crazy. How did you guys do it? You weren’t stressed at all.”
He snorted. “I think I spent the week prior to the wedding in an inebriated state. There were so many little details. I hate details. Thankfully, Norah and Claire did all the heavy lifting. I literally just had to put on my tux and show up at the time she told me to.”
“Lucky you,” I said. “I cannot wait for the wedding to be over. I just want to get on with the business of living our lives together.”
“And the honeymoon,” he said.
“That too,” I agreed.
“You guys leave right away for the Maldives?” he asked.
“No, we’re staying here for a day and then we leave. Two weeks of sun and sand.”
“Dude, what do you think you’ve been doing?”
“A different beach,” I said. “A new beach for us to explore. I got us one of those bungalows.”
“She’s going to love that,” he said. “Did you guys get settled into the new house? I’m sorry we couldn’t get over there to help. Cindy has a rash or something and Norah refused to take her outside.”
“I wouldn’t say we’re settled, but we’re not worried about it. She has another month off when we get back from our honeymoon. We’ll do it then.”
“I can’t wait to see the place,” he said. “Norah’s been going on about it for weeks. I thought we were staying in the city, but now she’s saying it’s not a good place to raise our daughter.”
“I can give you the name of our realtor,” I offered. “We got our house before it ever went on the market.”
“Yeah, you better,” he said. “I guess I’m officially old. Married with children and a house in the suburbs.”
“Now you just need the minivan.”
“Fuck that,” he said. “I’m going to be one of those cool dads in the tricked-out Range Rover.”
