The Christmas Wedding - James Patterson [49]
By the time I was swaying to “Time After Time” in the arms of Jacob, Marty was holding little Gabrielle on one strong arm and Tallulah on the other. Quite the memorable image.
I danced with Toby, who hugged my legs. I danced with Tom, then with Jacob, and they both told me I was forgiven, and even that I’d made the best choice.
A few minutes later, when Marty and I were walking back to our table, someone tapped him on the shoulder and said, “May I have this dance with your wife?”
We turned around. It was Gus.
“Okay, but I’ll be watching you, mister,” Marty said. “Don’t think you’re going to try any smooth country-boy moves on my girl.”
Gus and I found a place on the floor up near the band. I was astonished: The boy really knew how to dance—right hand on my back, left hand slightly extended and holding mine. My left hand rested on Gus’s shoulder, on the plush cashmere of Peter’s old suit. I brushed it gently. I moved my face an inch or so closer to the material. Then I whispered, “Thank you.”
Gus looked confused. “Do you want to stop dancing?” he asked.
“Stop?” I said. “Gus, I’ve just begun.”
Chapter 60
I WAS SO DISTRACTED and happy that I didn’t even notice the stabbing pains in my feet. But I did feel relieved when Marty and I sat down. Most of us at our table—Marty, myself, Andie, Seth, Jacob, Tom, Stacey Lee—hadn’t eaten since breakfast. I practically vacuumed down the salmon and caviar appetizer. Totally delicious.
“Have you seen the final menu?” Stacey Lee asked, leaning over my shoulder.
After our food-testing session, where our crack team of gourmets hadn’t been able to eliminate a single one of the choices, I had given Stacey Lee total freedom in planning the wedding dinner. Why not? She knew a lot more about party planning than I did, and I had enough other things to worry about. I guessed that with the first course through, I might as well look at the menu.
I picked up the heavy vellum card next to my water glass and read:
Hors d’Oeuvres Variés
Smoked Scottish Salmon with Beluga Flan
Wild Mushroom Bisque
Salad of Lamb’s Lettuce and Heirloom Tomatoes
Choice of
Crazy Tuna Hash
or
Crazy Chicken Hash
Assorted Petits Fours
Wedding Cake
As you might imagine, the main-course choices came leaping out at me. “Are you crazy?” I said to Stacey Lee. I showed the menu to Marty, who started laughing.
As if on cue, a waiter placed in front of us the most beautifully composed plates I’d ever seen—an elegant pyramid of pieces of fresh tuna resting on a bed of fingerling potatoes, all of it topped by a cream sauce with shallots and toasted almonds.
“Enjoy,” Stacey Lee said as she returned to her seat.
Chapter 61
“I DON’T WANT one of those cliché wedding photos where the bride puts way too much cake in the groom’s mouth,” Marty said. It was time to cut the wedding cake, a huge chocolate creation shaped like a barn.
“Maybe a slice that’s just a bit too large,” I said. “That’d be okay, right?”
“Gaby,” he said, a note of warning in his voice.
We were leaving the family table when Claire shouted out, “Not too big a piece, Mom. You don’t want him to choke.”
“Just what I said,” Marty called back.
Then my eyes went to Lizzie and Mike. Mike’s head was bowed, and Lizzie was massaging the back of his neck. Something wasn’t quite right.
By the time I walked the few feet over to them, Bart was standing next to Mike. He was taking his pulse. Suddenly I saw that Mike was beginning to shake.
Marty, Lizzie, Bart, and I gathered around Mike. The people in the barn quieted. Whispers. Questions. The music stopped.
Mike’s right arm shot up and out of Bart’s grip. Then his legs went stiff.
“Help me lay him down on the floor,” Bart said to Marty.
They did that, and I shoved a bunch of crumpled napkins under his head. Now both Mike’s legs were lifted a few inches above the floor. The big barn was almost completely silent now.
“Okay, buddy. It’s going to be okay,” Bart said. It was the first time I’d ever seen his bedside manner, and it was pretty impressive. “Just