Page 88 of That Time I Kissed The Groomsman Grump
“Actually, it’s barely a rehearsal,” Mac says. “Just ask Daisy and her popcorn.”
“After Nella’s song,” my mother powers on, “Lettie will come forward.” She cuts her eyes to Lettie. “But you stay put now.Tomorrow, you’ll be handing out roses to the mother of the bride and the mother of the groom.” My mother turns to Mrs. Slater. “That’s you and me, Betty. Our babies are getting married!” Her voice creaks like a record scratch. Mrs. Slater lets a sob escape her. Oh, man. These two and their motherly emotions. Nat and I could be in trouble if things go the way I hope they’ll go.
Big trouble.
“Big Mama!” My mother shouts at our grandmother like she’s stone-cold deaf and not just ninety. “This is when Mac will come help you up to the gazebo tomorrow so you can read your poem! But you don’t have to read your poem now!”
“Mac!” Big Mama yelps, struggling to get up out of the chair on her own. “Come help me get up to that gazebo, so I can read my poem now!”
My mother hurries over, flapping her hands in protest. “I said youdon’thave to read your poem now, Big Mama!”
“I heard you just fine, Elaine!” Big Mama rolls her eyes. “I have to read my poem now!”
Okay. Maybe my grandmotherisa little deaf. But with Mac’s help, she hobbles over to the spot in front of Kasey and Beau. After squinting down at her paper, she lifts her gaze, slowly scanning the entire wedding party.
“Ahem.” The clearing of her throat is surprisingly dainty. “I’d like to say a few words in honor of my granddaughter and her very tall oyster on the occasion of their wedding.” She presses the paper to her chest and closes her eyes like she’s going to recite the poem from memory.
We all hold our breath.
“There once was a girl with red hair,” she warbles, “who worried that life wasn’t fair. While she held a grudge, her poor heart couldn’t budge, and my favorite fruit is a pear.”
Huh.
Around the gazebo, my cousins shift their weight, biting back laughter.
“The boy was an oyster, it’s true,” Big Mama continues. “He told the girl ‘Hey, I love you!’ But she wasn’t sure that his feelings were pure, and my favorite color is blue.”
Okay. So Big Mama’s poem is basically a limerick featuring Kasey and Beau’s history and her favorite things.Interesting. After a moment of silence, she continues, except she’s not rhyming anymore. She’s… singing.
“I didn’t think love could feel like this,” she croons, “and my world has changed now after just one kiss.” Big Mama’s lids suddenly pop open, and she cuts her gaze from the groom’s side over to the bride’s side. Then she lasers her eyes on me.
Me?
“How can it be… that Natalie is right here with me… and also Brady,” she sings. “They are a secret I couldn’t keep… and we know that it’s true … God must have spent a little more time on—”
“Hold on, Big Mama,” Kasey interrupts, coughing into her hand. “Have you been listening to *NSYNC or something?”
Big Mama slams her mouth shut. “I sure do like that Justin Timberlake. The boy’s got great hair.”
“Yeah, I guess he does.” Beau puffs out a laugh. “But I think maybe you accidentally started singing the lyrics to ‘God Must Have Spent a Little More Time on You.’”
“Well, it’s a wonderful song,” Big Mama says.
“That explains it,” Kasey says to Beau under her breath. Then she turns to our grandmother, raising her voice. “But Natalie and Brady are standing right here in front of you because she’s the maid of honor and he’s the best man!”
“I’m aware of that, dear.” Big Mama covers the ear closest to Kasey with one wrinkled hand. “I’m old, not feeble-minded. Or hard of hearing. And for the record, I have a different poem I wrote to share at your wedding, but I agree with my great-granddaughter, Daisy. I’m not going to waste a real poem on a rehearsal that isn’t a real rehearsal.”
“Woo-hoo!” Daisy tosses a handful of popcorn in the air and starts to giggle. The rest of us laugh too. Probably a release of tension, not to mention awkwardness.
Kasey reaches for Beau’s hand, nodding at Big Mama. “So why were you singing about Nat and Brady then?”
“Oh, it’s quite simple, really.” Big Mama’s eyes twinkle. “Your brother and Beau’s sister are a little bit in love with each other.”
ChapterThirty-Seven
NATALIE
While the beach fills with a flurry of gasps and cackles from everyone in earshot, my face bursts into flames. Brady throws his arms up, dragging both hands through his rumpled hair. “Oh, Big Mama,” he mumbles.
