Page 122 of This Memory
“No telling,” I replied.
“Mac and cheese with lo mein.” She smiled. “Oh! And did you buy more mustard?”
I nodded.
We watched as Brystol cut a brownie, put it on a plate, then proceeded to squirt mustard on it.
“Dear God…why?” Declan asked as I turned my head. I couldn’t watch.
“At least you didn’t have to watch her eat rice mixed with barbecue sauce.”
Declan turned to me, a look of pure horror on his face. “Oh, Harper is calling.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “I don’t hear your phone ringing.”
“She’s calling! Got to run!” Declan stated as he hightailed it out of the kitchen. When the front door slammed, I faced Brystol.
“Happy now? He will probably never come over for dinner again.”
She popped a piece of brownie into her mouth, then squirted Hershey’s syrup in like a chaser. “When did you get that?”
Winking, she replied, “When Declan took off running out of here, I got it out of the fridge.”
I slowly shook my head and made a mental note to talk to Dr. Lark about Brystol’s strange eating habits.
“Oh! Want to get stromboli tonight?”
Brystol
The light knock on my door had me calling out, “Come in!”
Gavin poked his head in. “Hey, you wanted to see me?”
I turned on the stool and smiled. “Did you bring Pastor Mike?”
With a confused expression, he said, “I asked James to find him and bring him here. What’s going on? Please tell me you’re not worrying about your appearance because you look breathtaking in that gown. My mother, by the way, said it was bad luck to see each other before the ceremony.”
“I’ve got him! He was over near the bar,” James said, as he walked in with Pastor Mike. He was only about five years older than us and new in town. He came from Atlanta, Georgia, looking for a change of scenery and that small-town feel. He quickly learned that small towns are beautiful, but they also come with at least one hardcore gossip. So far, Betty Lou had him dating at least five different women in the six months he’d been here. He and Nathan Banks had become close friends.
Pastor Mike smiled, his warm brown eyes landing on me as his cheeks colored. “I was simply seeing if they had any sweet tea.”
James let out a bark of laughter. “You were avoiding Betty Lou.”
The pastor sighed. “She’s trying to fix me up with Tina Browning.”
“Harper’s youngest sister?” I asked. “But you’re older than her.”
Pastor Mike frowned. “You make me sound like I’m an old man. I’m not that much older!”
“I’m here! What’s wrong?” Harper asked as she burst into the room and came to a full stop. “Why is Gavin in here? And Pastor Mike?”
I stood. “We need to get marriedright now—and the fast version, please, Pastor.”
Confused, everyone looked around at each other.
“You mean, you’re ready to go to the ceremony?” Gavin asked.
“No, I mean, we need to do thisright now. Right here.”
