Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 94624 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94624 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
Everyone was quiet for several minutes, and then Doug raised his hand.
“Yes?” I said, pointing at him like we were in a classroom.
“Mike’s wrong,” he said, turning in his chair to look at his brother-in-law. “You’re wrong,” he repeated. “Sam invited all of us on that trip well in advance.”
Michael scowled at him.
“He did. Hannah made the really cute invitation with the fish continually swimming across the bottom. It was animated, and really annoying, I might add, and came in an email.”
“Oh that’s right,” Straub agreed. “I got one too.”
“As did I,” Thomas chimed in, smiling. “And I found the fish charming.”
Leave it to her grandfather to stick up for Hannah.
“I think you’re forgetting things there, son,” Thomas directed his comment to Michael. “Your brother invited us all.”
“But why didn’t you check with us before going?” Michael asked Sam.
“I got a call from Sam the week before,” Straub told Michael. “Did he call you and you just blew him off?”
“I don’t––”
“You do,” Doug told him. “You blew me off for Jen’s fiftieth, and I was pissed.”
Michael glanced at his sister. “I was in San Francisco on a––”
“It’s fine,” she told him. “It would have been nice to have you there, but it didn’t ruin it for me that you weren’t. But I wasn’t the one mad.” She gave her husband a pat on his arm.
“You were mad about that?”
“Yeah, I was mad,” Doug said flatly. “And that’s fine that you were out of town, but she only turns fifty once, and since I gave everyone three months heads-up, I was thinking you could have been there. But more importantly, you never even let me know one way or another.”
“That will never happen again,” Sandra assured Doug. “Please direct all family correspondence to me going forward. I will make sure you receive a timely response.”
He smiled at her. “Thank you.”
She nodded, smiling back.
“I’m sorry,” Michael said to Sam. “I misjudged you.”
“Maybe you should––” And I could tell Sam was still going to lay into him, so I reached up and took hold of his hand. “––fine. Let’s just forget it.”
“Were you really shot with a spear gun?” Rachel asked him.
“Unfortunately, yes.”
“What kind of trip was that?”
“A bad one,” he said with a trace of a grin.
She chuckled. “Now I’m glad Straub couldn’t go.”
“Yeah, everyone’s lucky who didn’t go. So maybe you should blow off all my invites,” Sam said to Michael, which was more than a bit passive-aggressive.
I squeezed Sam’s hand, and when he looked down at me, I shook my head just slightly.
He groaned and sat back down, pushing his plate away, not wanting the pot roast anymore. The cold mashed potatoes were not appealing in the least.
“You will come to the wedding, won’t you?” Sandra asked Sam.
His eyes met hers.
“It’s not too late, is it?”
She meant for all kinds of things, and I appreciated her trying to build the bridge between her fiancé and his brother.
“No,” Sam answered, his gaze on Michael for a moment before returning to her.
“I won’t ever let any of my friends say anything derogatory about you or Jory in my presence again,” Michael promised.
“I don’t care what they say to you,” Sam told him. “I care what they say to Jory. Because if your buddy had said that in front of me, he’d have a broken jaw right now.”
And Michael was smart enough not to have a witty comeback to that; he simply nodded.
We left after dinner. Sam didn’t want dessert, and even though I normally stayed and helped with cleanup, Jen told me in the kitchen that she and Doug would take care of it.
“You’re normally the one on dish duty,” she said, smiling at me. “And I appreciate that, but really, we should all participate. You’re not the hired help, Jory.”
“Yeah, but I don’t mind it, and you all look so happy sitting with your folks in the living room and chatting.”
“Yes, but you’re fun to chat with as well.”
“Thanks.”
In the car, just the two of us, Sam sat there for a moment letting the engine idle before he pulled away from the curb.
“Are you all right?” I asked him.
“I’m hungry,” he muttered as my phone rang.
“It’s Dane,” I said, answering on speaker. “Hey,” I greeted him.
“Where are you?” he asked without preamble.
“On our way home from Sam’s parents’ house, why? Where are you?”
“Aja and I are returning from a charity dinner which was Japanese fusion cuisine,” he answered. “It was not good.”
“I see.” Dane was the master of understatement. Not good equaled terrible.
“Why would one need to tinker with Japanese food? It’s excellent as is.”
“So are you calling because you’re hungry?”
“Yes, but it occurs to me that since you’re returning from an evening with Sam’s parents, perhaps you’ve eaten already.”
“I’m hungry,” Sam chimed in. “Where are you?”
“Near our diner,” Dane answered. “We’ll meet you there.”