Mama ushered everyone to the patio bar for proper drinks and toasting. As I looked around and observed everyone meeting each other and enjoying themselves, it occurred to me I had not seen my sister yet, and this dinner was almost over. Why wouldn’t she come? I knew she got weird about being in crowds sometimes, and I would have understood if she would have said something. But to skip it and not call? That was offensive to me.
I spotted Sophia at the end of the bar. Her body language told me everything I needed to know, especially since Mama spotted her too and sat next to her. I inserted myself literally in the middle of their conversation to prevent further exasperation.
“Is this gonna wrap up soon?” I asked.
She stared up at me, looking as offended as I felt about Less.
“Are you not having a good time?”
“We’re having the best time. But this is a lot for Sophia, and she hasn’t even walked down the aisle yet.”
“That’s how these things are, buddy. You have to talk to everyone and thank them for coming.”
“Mama, I know, but… Look, she’s had enough socializing for one night, and we’ve talked to everyone. Can we end this?”
She shrugged.
“It’s your party. Do what you want.”
I got up and grabbed a drink from the bar.
“Attention, everyone…”
“Thanks again for coming. It means a lot to Sophia and I that you’d come and celebrate with us. We’re gonna get out of here, but before we do, I just want to give a special shout out to my parents. To my mom, thanks for always taking care of everything. And to my dad, thanks for helping me on my journey to becoming a man.”
Dad raised his glass.
“To love and support!”
Everyone joined him and drank to love and support.
“Thank you baby, that was beautiful,” Mama said.
Rashidah grabbed a drink next and stood before us.
“I guess since our guests of honor are trying to escape, I should do my toast now. Sophia and I have been friends since we were young. We used to plan our weddings and talk about how our children would also be best friends. I’m so delighted to know that you’re finally getting everything you wanted. You had some bumps a long the way, but you’re here, girl! And Luca seems like the total package. And cute too!”
“I’m so happy for you, babe. Congratulations! To Luca and Sophia!”
“To Luca and Sophia,” everyone chanted.
Dub got up next, and I was pleasantly surprised.
“Hi, my name is Wade Banks. I haven’t known Luca as long as many of you, but we’ve become really good friends in a short amount of time. I might even call him my best friend…maybe. I’ll have to see what kind of moves he has tomorrow night at the party.”
Everyone laughed, and I did too.
“I used to think I had a lot of friends, but I really didn’t. A lot of people hung around me because they thought I was popular and cool. But Luca didn’t know me from Bob Newbie and was so nice to me. He went out of his way to make sure I had a good time when I interrupted his plans. He’s a real friend, and that’s rare. So let’s drink to friendship.”
“To friendship!”
