Chapter 11
The engagement party was held on a Friday evening at Luke's parents' house.
Elaine had transformed the backyard into something that looked as though it belonged in a bridal magazine.
White market lights hung from the maple trees.
Round tables draped in ivory linen surrounded the patio.
Tall arrangements of white hydrangeas and eucalyptus framed the tent where dinner would be served.
Grace stepped out of Luke's truck and stopped for a moment. "It's beautiful."
Luke slipped an arm around her waist."My mother heard that."
Elaine, directing a rental company employee from twenty feet away, turned immediately. "I did hear that." She hurried toward them, radiant in a pale green dress. "Oh, sweetheart." She embraced Grace warmly. "You look beautiful."
"Thank you for doing all of this."
Elaine brushed the thanks away with one elegant wave of her hand. "Nonsense. It’s my pleasure to celebrate you and Luke."
Grace smiled. "I appreciate it."
"I have a little surprise for you."
Grace's smile faltered almost imperceptibly.
"A surprise?"
"Just a tiny one." Before Grace could ask another question, Elaine was already steering her toward the house. "Come see."
Luke caught Grace's eye over his mother's shoulder. He gave her a tiny apologetic smile. Grace smiled back. It was only a surprise. She was determined not to make every unexpected thing feel like a threat.
Inside the dining room, one wall had been transformed into a display of framed family photographs. Luke as a toddler covered in birthday cake. Luke in Little League. Luke at his high school graduation. Luke at college. Luke with his parents. Luke with his grandparents. Luke...
Grace slowed.
In nearly every photograph from Luke's childhood, Brooklyn was there.
Sometimes standing beside him.
Sometimes sitting on the floor in front of him.
Sometimes blowing out birthday candles at the same table.
It wasn't strange.
Of course she was there.
They had grown up together.
The problem wasn't the photographs.
The problem was that this was supposed to be an engagement party.
Grace looked around the room.
There wasn't a single photograph of her.
Not one.
Elaine beamed. "Isn't it wonderful?"
Grace searched for the right response. "It's... quite a history."
"It took Brooklyn three evenings to put together."
Grace's head turned. "Brooklyn?"
Elaine nodded proudly. "She remembered exactly which albums all the best pictures were in."
Of course she did.
"She's such an angel."
Grace smiled politely.
"It must have taken a lot of work."
"Oh, it did." Elaine lowered her voice conspiratorially. "I never would have gotten it finished without her."
Grace looked back at the display.
A guest entering the room for the first time would naturally assume Brooklyn belonged at the center of Luke's story, because she was in these pictures.
The only problem was that tonight was supposed to celebrate the beginning of Luke and Grace's story. Instead, Grace felt as though she'd walked into the final chapter of someone else's.
Luke stepped into the room a moment later. His smile faded almost immediately. He looked from the photographs...to Grace...to his mother. "Mom."
Elaine turned.
"What?"
"When did you do this?"
"This week." His eyes moved slowly over the wall.
Then settled on one particular photograph. Luke and Brooklyn at sixteen. His arm slung carelessly around her shoulders after winning some school competition. He looked back at Elaine. "Where are the pictures of Grace?" Elaine blinked. "Oh."
She looked honestly surprised. "I didn't think..."
"No." Luke smiled gently. "I don't think you did."
Grace felt something inside her loosen.
Elaine looked flustered. "I just wanted everyone to see Luke growing up."
"I know."
Luke walked over and slipped his hand into Grace's. "But this isn't a birthday party."
His voice remained calm. "It's our engagement party."
For a second, Elaine simply stared at him. Then her expression softened.
"Oh."
She looked genuinely stricken. "I didn't even realize."
Grace believed her, that was the heartbreaking part. Elaine hadn't been trying to exclude Grace. She had simply defaulted to the life she'd always known.
"I'll fix it," Elaine said immediately. "I have pictures from Christmas."
Grace squeezed her hand. "You don't have to redo everything tonight."
"But I should."
Luke kissed his mother's cheek. "We'll laugh about it someday."
Elaine nodded, though she still looked upset. "I'll find some frames." She hurried away.
Grace watched her disappear upstairs. Then looked at Luke. "Thank you."
He rubbed the back of his neck. "I should've asked about the decorations."
Grace shook her head. "You couldn't have known."
"No." His eyes drifted toward the wall again. "But maybe I should've."
Guests began arriving fifteen minutes later. The party quickly filled with conversation, clinking glasses, and introductions. Grace found herself passed from cousin to aunt to family friend with dizzying speed. Everywhere she went, someone welcomed her warmly.
Everyone was kind.
Everyone wanted her to feel included.
Yet over and over again, the conversations circled back to Brooklyn. "Oh, Brooklyn probably already told you..."
"Brooklyn will know where..."
"Brooklyn remembers when Luke..."
Grace smiled until her cheeks ached. By eight o'clock, she desperately wanted five minutes alone. She slipped into the kitchen under the pretense of checking on the caterers. The room was blissfully empty. She leaned both hands against the counter and let out a slow breath. "Overwhelming?"
Grace looked up.
Luke's father stood in the doorway holding two glasses of sparkling water.
"A little."
He handed her one. "I remember marrying into this family."
Grace smiled. "You do?"
"Oh, yes." He leaned against the opposite counter.
"My side had twelve people at Thanksgiving."
He chuckled. "Elaine's had fifty-three."
Grace laughed. "I believe it."
He studied her for a moment. "You've handled yourself beautifully."
"Thank you."
"I also owe you an apology."
Grace frowned. "For what?"
"I should've spoken up sooner."
She wasn't sure what he meant.
He nodded toward the dining room. "Brooklyn."
Grace remained quiet.
"I've watched her become... woven into everything." He chose the word carefully. "It happened so gradually none of us noticed."
"You don't think she's doing it on purpose?"
He smiled sadly. "I think intent matters less than impact."
Grace considered that.
"Luke has always been a rescuer." His father looked toward the living room where laughter drifted through the open doorway. "He was rescuing injured birds when he was six."
Grace smiled. "I can picture that."
"He still does it."
Another pause.
"The problem is..."
He looked directly at her. "...he's old enough to realize some people don't actually need rescuing."
Before Grace could answer, voices floated in from the hallway.
Brooklyn's laugh.
Luke's.
They both turned instinctively.
The kitchen doorway framed the two of them as they walked past carrying a tray of champagne glasses.
Brooklyn said something too quietly to hear.
Luke smiled politely. Then he caught sight of his father and Grace watching.
His smile faded. Without hesitation, he changed direction and walked into the kitchen. "There you are."
He wrapped one arm around Grace's waist naturally, automatically. "I've been looking everywhere."
Brooklyn stopped in the doorway. The smile never left her face.
"There she is."
Her eyes met Grace's. For just the briefest moment… Something flickered there. Not warmth. Not quite disappointment. Calculation. It vanished so quickly Grace almost convinced herself she'd imagined it.
Brooklyn smiled at Luke's father. "I was borrowing your son."
His father answered before Luke could. "I think he's already been claimed."
Brooklyn laughed. "So he has." She lifted her champagne tray slightly. "I'll let you all get back to it." She walked away.
Luke's father watched her go.
Then he looked at his son. "You know..."
Luke raised an eyebrow.
"You don't have to make everyone happy."
Luke glanced down at Grace. His arm tightened around her almost imperceptibly. "I think," he said quietly, "I'm finally starting to understand that."
Grace rested her head briefly against his shoulder. Outside, someone called for the engaged couple to come cut the cake.
Luke looked down at her. "Ready?"
She smiled. "With you?"
He kissed her forehead.
"Always."
As they walked back into the lights and laughter together, neither of them noticed Brooklyn standing across the yard, watching them over the rim of her champagne flute.
Her smile remained perfectly pleasant. But her fingers tightened around the stem of the glass until her knuckles turned white.