“Is this for real?” I say softly.
“Yes!” Nadine grins up at me from across the table. “Amazing, right?”
I mean, I knew the Supreme Court would be voting about same-sex marriage, but I managed to put it out of my mind. I guess I didn’t expect it to go well.
But—holy shit. It went well.
“It’s legal everywhere. I can’t believe this.”
“I know!” Patty says. She glances at Nadine. “So, actually, we have some news.”
“Oh my God.” Cassie claps her hands together.
Patty and Nadine look at each other again, and when they smile at each other, it’s like they’re our age. Suddenly, I can almost picture how they must have looked when they first met. Which was years and years ago, when Patty was a grad student at Maryland, and Nadine was an undergrad. It’s bizarre to think about this. I mean, there’s literally nothing weirder than imagining your parents falling in love. But Patty and Nadine just keep smiling at each other.
“So, we’re getting married,” Nadine says.
“SHUT UP.” Cassie jumps out of her seat, grinning so hard, I think her face might split apart.
“You’re getting married?” I ask. There’s a lump in my throat. I look over at Patty, and her face is almost completely buried in Xavier’s hair. I think she might be about to cry.
“And we want you to be our maids of honor,” Nadine adds.
“Holy shit,” Cassie says. “Oh my God, this is so awesome. There’s going to be a wedding?”
“Like the most epic, awesome wedding of all time,” Nadine says. “Momo, you’re our DIY girl, right?”
“Did you pick a date?” Cassie asks. “Where are we doing this?”
“This summer. Our backyard. Whatever—we’re doing this.” Nadine clasps her hands together. “Finally.”
“Finally,” I agree.
It’s funny. I didn’t think they ever would—I guess because they could have two years ago in Maryland. But Nadine was pregnant at the time, and Patty was switching jobs, and they didn’t even bring it up.
“Are you guys up for this maid of honor gig? It’s a big responsibility,” Nadine says. “Because I’m warning you now, we’re gonna be bridezillas.”
“Big-time ’zillas,” says Patty.
“Oh man. I’m so excited,” Cassie says. “Your bastard children are very happy for you.”
“Oh my God! We won’t be bastards anymore,” I say.
“Aww, you guys will always be our bastards.”
“Now I don’t want to go to work!” I say. “We should celebrate.”
“Nah, go do your thing. You gotta bring home the dough. And we’ll have family dinner tonight,” Nadine says.
“I’ll walk with you,” says Cassie.
I can’t help but grin. Maybe she’s about to tell me everything. Maybe things are normal after all.
Maybe they’re better than normal.
It’s beautiful outside. The summer heat hasn’t set in yet—it’s just sunny with a few cotton ball clouds. It’s early, but lots of people are awake. I see our across-the-street neighbor out pinning up a giant rainbow flag, and farther down the street, someone’s playing “Uptown Funk.” It feels like a holiday.
“Okay, how excited are you?” Cassie asks, bouncing on the balls of her feet. “Because I’m, like, really fucking excited.”
“I know!”
“Like, I didn’t think I’d care this much, because it’s not like they were less of a couple two days ago. But I’m just happy, you know?”
I giggle and nod.
“It’s just been a really amazing week,” she says, sighing.
Which feels like a door nudging open.
“Yeah, about that,” I say. I feel my lips curving upward.
“Hmm.” She’s grinning.
“I’m just saying. I’d love to know more about some of the other amazing things that happened this week.”
She laughs. “Yeah . . .”
But she doesn’t say more.
I give her an elbow nudge and finally say it. “Are you seriously not going to tell me what happened with Mina?”
“With Mina?” she asks calmly.
Totally, perfectly, utterly calmly.
And now I’m confused. Maybe I misinterpreted. Maybe Cassie and Mina didn’t hook up at all. Maybe I’m an asshole for assuming they did. As if girls who like girls can’t be friends without falling for each other.
It’s just that it seemed like they were falling for each other.
“If you were in love, you’d tell me, right?”
“In love?” She laughs again. “Uh, maybe we’re getting a little ahead of ourselves?”
I stare her down. She wrinkles her nose and grins at me, and I can’t help but grin back.
“I just like to live vicariously through you,” I say.
“But it’s the beginning of a new era,” she says. “Now we live vicariously through Nadine and Patty.”
“That is weird and sad.”
“But they’re getting married.” Cassie sighs again. “This is the awesomest thing that’s ever happened to us.”
When I get to work, there’s this charge in the air, even though the store isn’t open to customers yet. Deborah and Ari are completely amped up.
“Molly!” Deborah calls over the music, which is maybe three times as loud as usual. “Get over here! You heard the news, right?” She’s leaning next to the register, arms draped over the counter, beaming.
I get this hot chocolate feeling in my stomach—cozy and content. I love this day and I love this job. And Reid should be here any minute, too.
“Exciting stuff, right?” Ari says when I get to the register.
“Yeah!” I smile up at them. “My moms got engaged.”
“Oh, sweetie, that’s wonderful! I didn’t even know—geez. You should take the day off and celebrate.” Deborah squeezes my hand.
“No, it’s fine. I like being here!”
“You are such a gem, kiddo. Are you sure?”
“Definitely,” I say, nodding quickly.
Deborah smiles. “Well, that would actually be great. Reid has an eye doctor appointment, so we can definitely use you.”
I feel strangely deflated. But Deborah and Ari put me in charge of a rainbow display at the front of the store, which is literally the most satisfying task I could ever be assigned. I get to pull stuff from other displays and place them in an entirely new context: a vintage red-painted teakettle, an orange ceramic owl, a yellow tablecloth, green mason jars, a blue repurposed picture frame, and (of course) an eggplant onesie from the baby section.
“Seriously, Molly. You have such an eye for this. Are your moms recruiting you for wedding décor?”
I laugh. “Yup.”
“Smart women,” she says. “Let me know if there’s anything from the store they can use. Or you can come over if you want and I can help you make stuff. As long as you’re not allergic to cats.”
“I love cats!”
Deborah laughs. “Well, we have five of them.”
Which means Reid has five cats. Somehow, I’m not surprised to hear this.
Okay, so maybe this is random, but I once developed a crush on a guy for cat-related reasons. Crush number twenty: Vihaan of the Cutest Contraband. He was a trans guy from the Spectrum Club I went to with Cassie, and he always wore this hoodie with a kangaroo pouch in front. I never really thought about why. But then one day there was a kitten in the pouch. Vihaan literally carried a kitten in the pouch of his hoodie for an entire school day, and his teachers never noticed.
But when he saw me staring, he lifted the kitty out of his pouch and placed her in my arms. And our hands touched. And he looked at me with these twinkly brown eyes, like we were both in on a joke.
He had really, really, unforgettably gorgeous eyes.
ANYWAY. Have I mentioned I love cats?
I spend the rest of the morning stacking and arranging ceramic dishes and scented candles and thinking about weddings. There really is a dreaminess about today. Even our customers seem unusually coupled up. They’re all holding hands. It’s like a Valencia-filtered Noah’s ark.