Page 3 of Reuniting with Lucy
“Ah. You’ve made me the happiest man alive,” Curtis said. He stood, slid the ring on her finger, and hugged her as her family clapped politely. She twisted her left-hand fingers around, getting used to the feel of it.
“Great. So, what’s for dessert?” Lucy’s grandma asked.
“Nana!” Emma said. “Don’t you want to congratulate them?”
“Oh, sure,” Nana said. “Congrats, Chris and Lucy. Is it pie? I smell pie.”
“Mother,” Lucy’s dad said. “His name is Curtis. Behave. Congratulations, you two.” He raised a glass in their direction. “Chalk up another man around here. Add Curtis to Adam and Dirk, and soon we’ll have an even playing field.”
Edward Parker had been blessed with five daughters and, until recently, lived in a haze of estrogen. Kate married Adam a little over a month ago, and Emma and Dirk had recently returned from Paris, announcing they were “together.”
“Let’s get some champagne all up in here,” Lizzie said. “We’ll have a toast.”
“Just water for me,” Curtis said.
“You can’t celebrate with water,” Lizzie said. Lizzie owned a bar, so Lucy could see how that would seem irreverent—borderline offensive—to her.
“You should if you’re an alcoholic,” Curtis said. “Which I am.”
For the second time in the history of the world, everyone at the table went silent. Well, crap. Lucy had hoped to disseminate that information subtly, telling each family member individually without Curtis around. Certainly not as a bold bombshell dropped on Sunday dinner.
Her mother finally broke the silence—bless her. “No problem. I think I have some sparkling cider. We’ll use that. Dear, it’s on the top shelf above the fridge. Could you help me reach it?”
Lucy knew this might put a damper on their weekly Sunday dinners. The family gathered to rehash their weeks and share good food, good wine, and great company. The wine usually flowed as effortlessly as the conversation.
Her parents left together for the kitchen, and conversation slowly resumed. Lucy understood their trepidation and couldn’t blame them. When Curtis first told her, she’d been taken aback. What was an appropriate response to that kind of announcement? Congratulations on admitting it? Nice job on stopping? Man, what a bummer? Nothing seemed applicable.
“So, how many days sober?” Lizzie asked.
“Ninety-six,” Curtis said proudly. “Coming up on one hundred.”
Ninety-six?He’d only been sober for ninety-six days? That didn’t seem like very long.
“Oh, well. Good for you,” Lizzie muttered into her glass. Of wine.
“Wait. Does this mean we can’t drink?” Nana said. Leave it to Nana to ask what everyone else was thinking. Even Lucy wasn’t sure what the answer would be. She’d been abstaining to be supportive but had no idea how far her family would go to make him feel comfortable.
“No. No,” Curtis said. “Go right ahead.” Oblivious to her family’s sighs of relief, he dug back into his enchiladas.
Lucy watched her parents whispering to each other in the kitchen before returning with a bottle of sparkling cider. Her mother, ever the hostess, probably had it stashed away for underaged guests, pregnant women, and teetotalers.
“Any idea when you guys want to do it?” Kate asked. “All my wedding research is super fresh, and I’m willing to help plan.”
“It’s a ways off,” Lucy said at the same time Curtis said, “As soon as possible.”
They looked at each other with matching quizzical looks.
“Guess we’ll have to iron out some details,” Lucy said with a nervous laugh.
As soon as possible? Maybehe’dbeen thinking about a wedding for a while, but she was still shell-shocked at his proposal and the timing of it. Not that she hadn’t thought of marriage. That had been on her mind since middle school. It was just happening a little fast, and she needed a minute to wrap her head around the idea.
“We gonna play Pictionary after dinner?” Lizzie asked.
Lucy found it odd her family was more or less glossing over the fact that she’d just gotten engaged! They’d been much more animated when Adam had proposed to Kate. Did they not like Curtis? They’d always treated him nicely, but now that she thought about it, they hadn’t embraced him like they had Adam and Dirk. She’d have to ask Lizzie. Lizzie wouldn’t pull any punches.
“So, Lucy,” Adam said, changing the subject. “You all set for tomorrow? Big day, huh?”
Adam had purchased a rundown strip mall with five storefronts. Lucy and three of her sisters were each going to lease a space and be neighbors. Since Adam intended to gut them all, they were free to do whatever they wanted design-wise to make it their own. Lucy owned a coffee shop downtown called The Drip and planned to use her space to add a second store. Her sisters’ leases weren’t up for a while, so she was first in line for a remodel.