Page 46 of Six Wishes

Chloe looks surprised but not convinced. I decide to bring in the big guns.

“Did you invent the airplane?”

Chloe snorts and rolls her eyes. “Oh God!” Her face drops in her hands and she’s fighting not to laugh.

“Well, did you?” I poke her in the ribs and now she is laughing out loud.

“No, Van,” she giggles. “I didn’t invent the airplane. Why?”

“Because,” I grab her by her waist and pull her into me, “you seem just Wright for me.” I enunciate Wright and grin at her. “Get it? You’re Wright right for me?”

“Please stop talking, Van,” she continues laughing as I chase her mouth with mine, trying to lay a smack on her.

“Are you a genie?” I continue like she isn’t already in stitches over the whole thing. “Because I can’t wait to get my three wishes granted.”

“Van,” she giggles uncontrollably, and does her best to push me away from her. “I will grant you six wishes if you stop talking right now. Six, Van,” she repeats for emphasis, still in a fit of laughter.

All of a sudden, I see a bit of a commotion to the side. I turn my head and notice a group of people gathered around the bride and groom. They are all looking at something on a couple of phones, their faces in various states of surprise.

“I wonder what that’s about,” I bring Chloe’s attention to the huddle. Right then, they all lift their heads in a synchronized move and stare at the two of us. Her laughter dies completely.

“Well, that’s weird,” she lets out a forced sound of amusement.

Alison breaks from the group and starts marching toward the dance floor where me and Chloe are still rocking side to side, but at a much slower pace than before. Wyatt gives me a pained smile as he takes off in a light run to catch up with his new wife.

“Unka Wyatt,” his little nephew tries to get his attention, but Alison’s mom distracts him with something she wants to show him.

“What’s up?” I lift my chin at Alison when she is finally standing by us.

“Don’t what’s up me, Van Boyd,” she whispers through clenched teeth, then gives us both an apologetic smile. “So sorry, I just need to talk to the two of you.” Her eyes get big and she moves them from me to Chloe and then back a couple of times, like she is trying to communicate a secret message.

“Okaaaaay,” I drag the word out. Wyatt is also in front of us by now and he puts both hands on Alison’s shoulders, starting to dig his fingers into her skin, most likely to calm her down. The girl looks worried to death right now.

“Let’s go outside,” Alison turns around and starts marching out of the reception room. The three of us scramble to keep up with her.

I grab Chloe’s hand and squeeze it reassuringly. Whatever it is that got our mutual friend all wound up can’t be that bad. And on another note, what would it have to do with us anyway?

Chloe gives me a nervous smile and tries to put a brave face on, but I can tell that she is struggling with it.

We finally reach a gazebo that’s in the back of the building, facing a man-made pond. Alison has both hands on her cheeks now, staring at both of us.

“Babe, you’re scaring Chloe,” I finally spit out. “What’s going on? And why did we have to come all the way out here for you to tell us?”

“Because…” she starts, then looks at her husband with worried eyes. “Because…” she tries again, and I sigh.

“Just spit it out, Al. No offense,” I grin at Wyatt.

I should’ve gotten a little more worried when he didn’t snap at me that I am not allowed to call his woman by anything other than her full first name. But I am slow like that.

“Show them,” she looks at Wyatt and blushes, then looks at the ground.

Wyatt lets out a heavy sigh, then pulls his cell phone out of his dress pants pocket. After a few endless clicks, he finally turns the screen around and holds it up for me to grab it from him.

What I see on it definitely takes me by surprise, to say the least. My mother is going to kill me, I decide. For sure this time. What the actual fuck.

Chloe’s shocked gasp from my side basically conveys the same message.

“Oh my God!”

---