Page 13 of Big Balls
“Hold on,” she says, and heads to her closet to rummage around inside.
“Do we have to keep holding hands?” asks Big Balls.
Inside, I feel my heart shrivel up. How am I supposed to take care of his daughter if he’s so upset by me that he can’t even bear a short stint of hand holding for the sake of his kid? No wonder this guy’s single.
“Yes, Daddy. Quit whining.”
I stifle a cackle at his little girl’s bossy tone. I can tell it’s not the first time she’s said those exact words to him.
Then she re-emerges with an armload of stuffed animals, and places them into a careful formation in front of us.
“Is this the audience?” I peer at the assorted menagerie. A seal with its nose mostly loved off, a tiny German Shepherd that fits in one of her hands, a purple jaguar, a giant beaver wearing a tie, a realistic-looking shark, and something I don’t even recognize. What even is that thing?
“It’s a honey badger,” the man holding hands with me says.
I look up at him, surprise and delight pouring through me. “A honey badger? I thought maybe it was a skunk.”
He chuckles. For just a moment, a split-second, I feel a thrill because somehow I get to see this. Ethan Alexander almost seems happy, even if he is having a laugh at my expense.
“Daddy says the honey badger is the animal that’s most like me.”
At that, I lose whatever composure I’ve had. Finally I calm down enough that I can lean forward and try to catch my breath. I look up at Big Balls. “Did you really?”
“What?” He shrugs, feigning innocence. “Honey badger don’t care.”
His little girl bursts into giggles. Then she starts passing out instruments to her stuffed animals.
“Um, Katydid. Why does the audience have musical instruments?” I’m trying to solve the puzzle, but it’s probably easier just to ask.
She stops and puts her hands on her hips. “Miss Zoe, this isn’t the audience. It’s your marching band. For the wedding.”
I can hear the word “duh” hanging in the air after she’s done, even though she never says it out loud.
Ethan smiles at me, and damn it, he’s even better looking when he’s not so busy snapping at me and everyone else. “Every wedding in New Orleans should have a band.”
“Oh,” I say, stupid and breathless. I’ve seen wedding processions before, but never participated. I’m too young for my friends to be tying the knot just yet, but the man in front of me already has, years ago. I swallow hard.
“The second line is your family and friends. They come along behind the couple waving their handkerchiefs. When you get married, it’s the start of something really lovely, so everyone who wants to, even strangers, joins in the second line parade and wishes you well.”
Katy nods, her face lit up. “When I get married, I’m going to play the tuba myself. Someone else can carry my parasol.”
The image of a grown-up Katy puffing away at a tuba tickles me all over again, and when I finally recover, they’re both staring at me like I’ve lost my mind.
“Okay, okay. Sorry. Now we’ve got our band ready. Where were we?” I push the hair away from my damp cheeks and give Katy my full attention.
“You have to hold hands,” she says slowly, as if she’s worried that I’m more stupid than I’m letting on.
And maybe I am, because I can’t seem to stop thinking about holding hands with Ethan Alexander, even though I’m about fifty percent sure he hates me a little bit. It still feels amazing, even if that does make me a sucker.
“Now what, buttercup?”
She nods. “Now I make a speech, right, Daddy?”
“Of course you do.” His voice oozes with honey, and a little tiny shiver snakes down my spine.
She pulls out a big black book and opens it up, pretending to read what’s inside. “Ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered here today to talk about weddings. This wedding. Auntie Zoe’s going to get married to Daddy because he is very handsome.”
She pauses and tucks her book under one arm and gives us a slow clap while my face heats up again.
