Chapter Ten

Jen

 

Dylan and I sat across from Mom and Shelley. Mom served a chicken-in-sauce one-pan dish that was one of my favorite comfort foods. I made a mental note to one day get the recipe so I could do it at home. I wanted our child to have memories like this.

“So, where is your friend’s barn, Dylan?” Mom asked between bites.

“Jake has five acres in the hills. The previous owners converted a horse barn into a movie theater, but all the seating comes out and the screen rolls up to make it an event space.”

“You’re running in rarified circles now, Jenny,” she replied with humor. “For Christmas Day?”

He nodded. “My bandmates are like brothers. We show up for each other’s happiness. His wife, Beth, used to be an executive assistant, so she’s really good at planning.”

“A really good hostess,” I added. And a cherished friend.

“Fantastic. We’ll have to coordinate very soon,” Mom said.

“Bandmate—Jake Lindsey’s house?” Shelley exclaimed, bouncing her hands on the table. “Oh my God!”

“Inside volume, please, dear.”

“This is so cool. I only met Mikey before. Will they all be there?”

“Shel—”

Dylan said, “It’s alright. Yeah, I suppose so, as my best friends and all.”

Mom touched her shoulder. “It’s their big day, so you’re going to have to control the fangirling, okay?”

“I know. God. You talk like I’ve never been in public before.”

I kicked Shelley’s shoe. “Hey. I need a maid of honor.”

Her gaze rose from her plate. “Really?”

“Anyone can be a bridesmaid. How does my sister not be next to me?”

She squealed again, this time running around the table to hug me. “I love you. This will be awesome!”

Mom shot me her proud mother smile, so I’d made the right choice. Now we were talking about it like this, the Christmas wedding didn’t seem so insane.

I heard little clicks next to me. Dylan was typing on his phone.

“You’re texting now?”

“Told Jake we’re a go.” He kissed me. Oh.

“Good,” Mom said. “We don’t have much time to pull this together. Jenny, you need to dress shop tomorrow. If something needs to be altered, it’ll be a small miracle to get it done.”

“I know.”

“Plus flowers, food, invitations…”

“It’s going to be small, Mom. Just the people that really matter to us.” I looked to Dylan and he nodded.

“We agreed we don’t need a big production. Maria, Jake’s property manager, has arranged last-minute gatherings for us for years. She’ll know who can get things done.”

“I’m glad, or you might be going to the courthouse,” Mom teased. “Speaking of, you need a license.”

“Monday?” he said.

“Yeah.”

He’d almost cleaned his plate. “This is a lot easier than figuring out where we’re going to live.” I kicked his ankle. “Ow.”

Mom’s brows betrayed her feelings on that. “Jenny, don’t tell me you plan to spend your pregnancy on the mountain.”

“There’s a hospital, Mom. It’s not like I’m in the middle of nowhere.”

“You live in L.A., right?” Shelley asked Dylan.

“Yeah.”

“Then you need to at least meet in the middle.”

“Have you looked for a house since you got engaged?” Mom asked. Lines of displeasure and pending tension were forming on her face.

I took a long swallow from my water glass to stall. This was a subject I did not want to touch here when we were so far from an answer ourselves because I knew she’d butt in.

“I called a realtor, Mrs. Wright, but we haven’t been to any showings, yet.”

“Jennifer, I know you like your little writer cave, but do you really want to start a new marriage in the house you shared with Lee?”

Ouch.

That was a part of my cabin we had danced around—except Dylan brought it up during that first fight after the concert. You built a life there with Lee.

“I, um…this is something we need to figure out on our own.”

The four of us dropped into silence, finishing Mom’s chicken.

Shelley was the icebreaker with, “Awkward…”

“Good food, Mrs. Wright.”

“Call me Janet,” she replied.

“I’ll try to remember.”

“And thank you, Dylan.”

I pushed my chair back. “Excuse me, I need the ladies’ room.”