Unfortunately, the wedding was not called off that night. Neither was the big lecture from Mom or the “I’m very disappointed in you girls” speech from Dad or the forty-five minutes of hiccups from Darby.

Aunt Jane did her best to defend us. “They were including photos from Lily’s past. Alex is part of her past. No one told the girls to leave him out. Right?”

The worst part, though, was seeing Lily afterward. She looked … heartbroken. Her forehead was all crisscrossed and her voice was wobbly and she kept staring down at the floor. When we apologized to her before leaving the restaurant, she just nodded. She wouldn’t even look us in the eyes.

Later that night, we piled up beside the swinging kitchen door and eavesdropped as Lily sat at the breakfast table, talking with Mom and Aunt Jane. This is what we heard:

Mom said, “Are you upset that Alex was there? Or that he left early?”

Lily said, “I don’t know. Both maybe. But it doesn’t matter. I’ve made my choice. I’m getting married tomorrow. I have to forget the past and move forward.”

Then Aunt Jane said, “Hmmm. Well, now, if you were a history buff like your sisters, you’d know that it’s important to move forward, but you should never forget the past.”

And that’s all we heard. Because then, Delaney got wiggly and knocked over a picture frame on the shelf nearby. Mom came out and gave us yet another lecture about privacy and sent us to the Triangular Office to sleep.

Only, we didn’t sleep. Instead, I called a meeting to review the evening’s events. Delaney got out a flashlight and we sat cross-legged on the floor between my and Darby’s beds. We spoke in hushed voices and didn’t dare turn on the computer, because if we got in trouble one more time that night, Mom would ground us till retirement age.

We discussed the slide show and how everyone reacted. We discussed how fragile Lily looked afterward. But most of all, we discussed that moment in the restaurant foyer when Lily and Alex were staring at each other.

“I’m telling you, they’re still in love,” Delaney said. “No matter what else happened, tonight was worth it because of that.”

“But Lily isn’t calling off the wedding. You heard her,” Darby said. “Maybe we just need to accept things.”

Darby’s always surprising us with wild, harebrained stunts and schemes, but nothing shocked us more than what she’d just suggested.

“You don’t mean —” I started.

“Yes, I do,” Darby said. “I’m saying we should get used to the idea of Lily marrying Burton.”

I shook my head. “But Alex —”

“Alex left,” Darby said. “He didn’t even finish eating his mock duck à l’orange.”

“Is that what that was?” Delaney said. “I wondered.”

“You’ll see,” I said to Darby. “Tomorrow, when Alex shows up at the wedding —”

“I don’t think he’s coming,” Darby said.

I let out a grunting noise. I was frustrated with her attitude and fed up at being interrupted. “Sure he is.”

“We don’t know that for sure,” Darby said.

“She’s right,” Delaney said. “What if he doesn’t show up? What if he hates us now and never speaks to us again? What if we lose Lily and lose Alex, and Aunt Jane goes back to Boston and no one ever plays Presidential Trivia with us ever again? What if the best days of our lives are over forever?”

I let out another, louder grunt, this time because I didn’t really have any answers, and I really wasn’t in the mood for one of Delaney’s ramblings.

“Well?” Darby asked.

“Well what?” I said.

“What are we going to do?”

“How should I know? Why are you guys asking me?”

“Because you always have all the answers,” Darby said, “or at least you think you do. And you’re the one who called this meeting.”

“So? That doesn’t mean I’m supreme high commander. I just called a dang meeting. I thought we could exchange ideas, but you’re the one saying we should give up.”

“I’m giving you the facts as I see them. Just because you don’t agree with me, that doesn’t mean I’m wrong,” Darby said.

“Well, you could still be a little more positive,” Delaney said.

“Yeah, you’re freaking out Delaney,” I said.

“I’m not freaking out!” Delaney shouted.

“You are!” I shouted back.

“Hic!” went Darby.

I got to my feet. “All right! I called this meeting and now I’m going to end it! I’m tired of you two and all your whining. Meeting adjourned!”

“Fine!”

“Hic! Fine!”

Each of us stomped over to our own beds, and I switched off the lamp. I could hear Delaney crying and Darby hiccupping and crying. They’d want me to say they could hear me sniffling, too, but I wasn’t. I just had a runny nose.

I hate it when we fight. Usually, if there’s a misunderstanding between two of us, the third triplet helps settle it. It’s rare that each of us is mad at the other two. It’s awful, too. I always start out all clenched and blazing, but then, when I cool off, I feel like I’m getting smaller and emptier. I mean, I still know I’m right, but I don’t care as much about convincing them. Being mad at my sisters is like being mad at my feet.

After a while, I heard Darby’s shuddery voice in the dark. “I’m sorry I was a sourpuss,” she said.

“I’m sorry I was freaking out,” Delaney said.

“I’m sorry I didn’t have any answers,” I said. “Truce?”

“Truce,” they replied.

Once we’d made up, it was like my mind started working better. “How about this?” I said. “Tomorrow, we’ll call Alex and make sure he’s coming to the wedding. If Lily can still go through with it with him sitting there in the audience, then we’ll know we have to accept it.”

We gathered at Darby’s bed, put our hands together, and swore an oath to accept Burton as our new brother if Lily chose him over Alex. And we promised to never argue with each other again — or at least try real hard not to.