Chapter 20 #2
The wedding was scheduled for two o’clock the next day and was roughly eight hours of one-way driving, not counting any pit stops.
Their plan was to spend the night at the Bounds house, which would cut about two and a half hours off their travel time on Saturday.
They’d drive five hours to Boston, stay for the important parts of the reception, and then head back to Philadelphia, and come home on Sunday afternoon.
Lincoln’s neurologist hadn’t cleared him to drive yet, so Emmett had to do all the chauffeuring. He was okay with that, as long as he got his stomach under control.
Half a bottle of Pepto settled him enough to get them from the shore to the Bounds house by dinnertime, where he got fussed over by Lincoln and Zelda.
Starr wanted them to take his temperature, but Emmett insisted he didn’t have a fever, only a stomach ache.
They all spent the evening watching movies until bedtime.
Lincoln crawled into bed with a subdued expression, a complete one-eighty from the cheerful guy he’d spent the day with. Emmett snagged one of his hands and threaded their fingers together.
“You nervous about tomorrow?” Emmett asked.
“I was going to ask you the same thing.”
“So?”
“A little. I probably won’t get super nervous until I actually get to the church, though. You?”
“Honestly? I’ve been nervous since last week. It’s only intensified now that we’re making the trip.”
Lincoln rubbed his thumb across the back of Emmett’s hand. “You can stay here, if you want. I’ll take a bus or something to Boston. Do this alone.”
“No way.” Emmett’s heart hammered at the idea of Lincoln going to that wedding, facing his hideous parents, alone. “I’m doing this with you. I have my anxiety meds. We’re doing this together, Linc.”
“I hate seeing you upset.”
“I’m not upset. I would be upset if you ditched me here and went to Boston alone. This is me freaking out over absolutely nothing.”
“Going to a wedding with your boyfriend, when you haven’t really come out to anyone besides close friends and family, is a huge deal, Em.” Lincoln kissed their knuckles. “It means so much that you’re willing to do this. And I won’t hold you to the whole one-dance thing.”
Emmett’s heart swelled at the way Lincoln was trying to take care of him. Make it better for him, when tomorrow should be about Lincoln. Not Emmett. “I’m going to hold myself to that one-dance thing.”
Lincoln smiled. “How about we play tomorrow by ear? Hell, if my dad makes a scene at the ceremony, we might not make it to the reception.”
“Do you think he will?”
“No idea. Absolutely none. In the past, I’d have said no.
My parents were very much about appearances.
Looking like the perfect family on the outside, even if we were a mess inside.
We never made a public scene.” He snorted bitter laughter.
“Then again, in the past I’d have said my father wouldn’t attack me for coming out. Guess it’s hard to really know people.”
Emmett’s gut twisted sharply. “Guess so.”
“You know what? Fuck my dad. We’re going to support Mercedes, eat free food, and to maybe have a dance. Sound like a plan?”
“Yes, it does.”
That night Emmett dreamed about Lincoln dancing with a woman wearing a floral hijab, who removed her head scarf and was suddenly Emmett’s mother, her face scarred from the fire.
She looked at Emmett, who was dancing with Van, with so much disappointment that he wanted to cry.
He woke to early-morning sunshine and an empty bed, and he stared blankly at the ceiling until his bladder forced him to get up.
Zelda had a full breakfast of pancakes and bacon going in the kitchen, and Lincoln was already eating with Robert.
“You didn’t wake me,” Emmett said as he helped himself to coffee.
“Didn’t have to be up yet,” Lincoln replied. “I thought I’d let you sleep a little more.”
“Thanks.”
He felt okay enough to eat a single dry pancake, but as soon as they’d showered, dressed, and were back on the interstate, his stomach started doing somersaults again.
He threw up at a rest stop in New York state, downed more Pepto, and kept going.
Lincoln tossed him the occasional concerned look, but they both knew why Emmett was nervous.
And sure enough, the moment their GPS put them in the parking lot of the Calvary Church, Lincoln paled.
Emmett shifted into park so he could grab Lincoln’s hands and squeeze them tight. “Deep breaths, okay?”
Lincoln nodded and did as told. His color stayed bad, but his expression shifted from fuck-this-shit to I’ve-got-this. “It’s been so long since I’ve seen them.”
“I know. But your parents don’t define you.
Whatever does or doesn’t happen today, remember that.
You are an amazing musician with a talent for pushing people to be better than they thought they could be.
You’ve done that for your friends, and you did that for me.
You help me be better every single day, and I love you so much. ”
His eyes glittered. “I love you, too, Em. Thank you.”
He kissed Lincoln, putting the taste of his man on his tongue. “Let’s do this, okay?”
“Okay.”
When Lincoln had planned their trip to Boston, he’d almost put in a few hours for him and Emmett to spend exploring the city, since neither of them had ever been farther north than New York City.
The moment he set foot on the asphalt of the church parking lot, he was glad he hadn’t.
As much as he was here to support his sister, he couldn’t wait to be gone. He wanted to get back to his real life.
His real family.
He met Emmett at the front of the car, and Emmett made his heart pound by taking his hand and holding it firmly.
They were right on time and joined a small line of people entering the church.
Two men Lincoln didn’t know asked, “Bride or groom?,” and they were directed to the left side of the sanctuary.
Lincoln sat in the middle of the rows, not bothering to look around. His parents were behind the scenes, waiting for their part in the ceremony. He had a handful of cousins who might show up, but the majority of the bride’s side seemed to be friends and coworkers.
Terry’s imposing, two-hundred-pound uncle was easy to spot on the groom’s side, and the memory of Mercedes’s threat eased some of his anxiety.
The music changed to something more formal, and one groomsman escorted a nicely dressed woman he assumed was the mother of the groom.
Then he saw her. Laura West had aged well.
Not a speck of gray in her carefully styled hair.
Every swipe of makeup perfect. She smiled her entire way down the aisle, her attention straight ahead.
Not even attempting to spot the son she had to know was there.
It hurt a little.
Two bridesmaids, an adorable ring bearer, and a blond girl too old to really be the flower girl followed. The music stopped. Everyone began to stand as the familiar strains of the “Bridal Chorus” filtered over the church’s sound system. Lincoln held his breath as he turned his head.
Mercedes was stunning. Blond-haired and blue-eyed like him, she wore a simple white dress with an intricately embroidered fringe, and a short veil.
Her smile made his heart pound. He’d never seen his sister so happy.
She filled his vision with so much beauty and light that he forgot about the tall, thin man escorting her down the aisle until they’d passed by.
Lincoln tried to ignore the back of the man’s head, but instead found himself studying it, even after the minister went through the motions of asking who gave away the bride, then telling the congregation to sit.
He followed the man’s head to the front pew, where it remained visible through the entire ceremony.
Lots of gray mixed in with the brown. Still cut short.
He willed the man to turn around, but knew he wouldn’t.
The entire time, he clung to Emmett’s hand, his rock in this entire stormy mess of emotions battering him. Anger, resentment, joy, curiosity, shame, love. He wasn’t entirely sure what he felt for whom, only that his sister was radiant, and his boyfriend was by his side.
He wiped away a few tears when they were pronounced husband and wife, and he even had a brief flash to a future in which he and Emmett were blessed as husband and husband.
He didn’t realize how much he wanted that kind of future until it appeared in front of him.
A loving spouse, a house, a dog, maybe even some kids if that’s what Emmett wanted.
For so much of his life, all he saw was music. He lived for performing, for making each song the very best it could be. He didn’t know when the notes had changed, or when he’d begun playing an entirely new song. All he knew for sure was that this song included Emmett, and he never wanted it to end.
He stood on wobbly legs as the bride and groom walked down the aisle together, both of them grinning to beat the devil. His heart was so full he couldn’t concentrate on the rest of the bridal party, and he sat back down while others filed out. Emmett stayed by his side.
“I’d ask if you’re okay, but that seems stupid at this point,” he whispered.
“I am, actually.” Lincoln laughed. “Do you want to get married?”
Emmett’s eyes went wide. “Like, right now?”
He laughed again, because Emmett was too damned adorable. “Not right now, no. But is that something you want one day? To get married and have a family? You told me once it was expected of you, but not if it was your dream for the future.”
“Oh, okay.” Emmett relaxed a bit. “Yes, one day I think so. With the right husband.”
“I never used to but something about seeing Mercy up there, saying the words, becoming part of a union, made me want it.” He kissed Emmett’s nose. “With the right husband.”
Emmett blushed and ducked his head.
The church was mostly empty by then, so they headed for the car. The reception was in the ballroom of a hotel a few miles away. Likely the same hotel housing the out-of-town guests. Emmett found it with no trouble.
Getting out of the car was even harder this time. At the church, no one was really expected to interact. They were there for a show. The reception was all about small talk and mingling.
“You saw her get married,” Emmett said. “You don’t have to go in.”
“Yes, I do. I need to hug her and shake her husband’s hand, at the very least.”
“We can wait in the car until they get here. Who knows how long the pictures will take?”
“No.” Lincoln wasn’t going to hide like a criminal. He had nothing to be ashamed of. “Let’s go inside, babe. I need to show you off.”
They followed signs to the ballroom, which was packed with people.
More than had been at the church, which didn’t totally surprise him.
A buffet of food was being set up by staff at one end of the room, and at least two dozen round tables were decked out with white tablecloths and centerpieces of red roses.
One long table was opposite the food, reserved for the bridal party, with a single-stem rose at each setting.
Simple and classy. And he was delighted to see no cards designating where anyone sat.
“Want something to drink?” he asked, nodding at the cash bar.
“I have to drive five hours back to Philadelphia later,” Emmett replied. “Get whatever you want, though.”
Lincoln sprang for an overpriced Jack and Coke, while Emmett got a bottled water.
He searched the crowd of faces for someone familiar.
A few cousins he hadn’t spoken to in at least a decade.
An older man who might be an uncle on his mother’s side.
A pregnant girl who vaguely resembled someone Mercedes was friends with in high school.
No one he wanted to have a conversation with.
Until a big bear of a man inserted himself in their personal space. “You’ve gotta be Lincoln, Mercy’s brother. You look just like her.”
“I am.” He shook the man’s meaty hand. “Lincoln West. This is my boyfriend, Emmett Westmore.”
“David Milano. Mercy’s husband Terry is my nephew.” David looked between them, his eyes glittering. “West and Westmore. I like it. It’s like you can’t get enough of each other, so you asked for more.”
Emmett laughed. “Oh my. I never picked up on that before. We sound like a spy show.”
“Or a law firm,” Lincoln said. After a few minutes of small talk, he asked, “Are you here with anyone, David?”
“No. Haven’t found anyone else who will put up with me long-term.” He winked but an odd sadness lingered in his eyes.
Anyone else. Huh.
“Don’t stop looking. You never know when the right guy will stumble into your path. Boston’s a big place.”
“I actually live in Wilmington. Delaware, not North Carolina.”
“I’m familiar with it. If not in Wilmington, then Philly isn’t too far away.”
“This is true. Fingers crossed anyone I meet is as adorable as you two.” David nodded, then slipped away to chat with someone else.
“He seemed nice,” Emmett said.
“Yeah.” Lincoln glanced around, and his gaze stopped at the ballroom doors. His stomach hit the floor.
“Linc?” Emmett’s head turned, too. “Oh.”
Lincoln’s parents had arrived, and they were both looking right at him.