Page 25 of Love is Grand
Did Shell tell Teddi? Or did everyone on the island know about us?
As I texted Jack, I imagined the hairdresser telling Sophia about Shell.
Fucked wasn’t a strong enough word.
Shell
It had been three long days since I’d seen Cal. I’d made myself scarce around the coffee shop and the restaurant—both places he’d look for me if he weren’t here with another woman.
I avoided the resort as if it were a plague. Every morning, I’d text Rylan and ask if she had any wedding-related tasks for me, and she willingly sent me on odd errands.
Pick up some Jewish marriage contract at the airport, grab embroidered head coverings that Shanna, the local seamstress, had knit for her, and talk to Dad about his outfit.
I was happy to do it all because it kept me busy and out of sight of the wedding party.
When I found myself with some downtime, I googled Jewish weddings, curious about what I was picking up and what the men were wearing on their heads. All Rylan cared about was a wedding without formalities and meaningless gestures, and all Adam’s mom wanted was a traditional Jewish wedding—so Rylan was having both.
“Hi, Dad,” I said, walking into my parents’ house on the eve of the wedding.
“Shell, where have you been? I waited for you to swing by the shop today to deliver the beans for the wedding. I ran them over myself.”
“Oh, I had to go get yarmulkes. You have to wear one.”
My dad waved a dismissive hand. “I know. I had a Jewish friend growing up.”
“You did?”
“I’ll explain another time,” he said. “Your mom is upstairs hemming Weezie’s dress.”
“Did you finalize your clothes? Ry doesn’t want you in a suit.”
My dad, who I’m sure looked forward to putting on his Sunday best, nodded. “Navy pants, white shirt, yarmulke, underwear. I told Adam today when he stopped in.”
“Oh. Well, I guess he didn’t tell Rylan yet.”
Dad stirred some sugar into an iced tea. “His brother was with him. Kept asking me about you, about if you were going to work with me. Blamed it on Adam bothering him, but I didn’t like it. What’s it to him? He lives in New York.”
I shrugged. “Who knows? He’s a stiff one. Probably worried Adam is making a bad investment.”
“That the brother who saved Weez?”
I tried not to roll my eyes. I was so sick of everyone knowing and asking about the near-drowning incident, which wasn’t so near drowning.
“Yeah, Adam only has one brother. You know that, Dad. Did you mention it?”
“Well, he didn’t seem like the type to do that type of thing when I saw him today, so I didn’t. He seemed like a jerk.”
I found myself wanting to defend Cal, which was absurd. Thankfully, Weezie appeared in her bridesmaid dress.
“Mommy, look,” she sang while spinning, the tulle skirt swishing around her.
“Gorgeous, baby girl.” I took in the wondrous creature before me and wondered if my heart would grow enough to love another as much.
“You look flushed,” my mom said as she entered the kitchen, looking me up and down. Then her gaze paused on my middle and her eyes narrowed.
In this moment, I knew she knew, and we shared a quiet exchange. She squinted her Catholic knowing I sinned eyes at me, and I lightly shook my don’t say anything head at her.
“Why don’t you go get some rest?” Mom said, not waiting for me to respond. “We’ll take Weez for dinner, and maybe she’ll stay over.”