Not Another Family Wedding

by Jackie Lau

  “So.” He picked up another fry. “You said you had something to ask me?”

  Dammit. Why did he have to ask that question just after she’d bitten into her juicy burger? She rarely ate beef—it was terrible for the environment—so this was a luxury for her.

  She didn’t answer right away. No, she proceeded to enjoy that bite as much as she could.

  “A favor,” she said at last. “A rather big favor, in fact.”

  Now that she was about to ask him, she was a little nervous, which was weird—she never felt nervous around Connor. What was the worst that could happen? He’d say no, and she’d have to go to her sister’s wedding without a date.

  Actually, that was kind of bad. She’d really prefer to have some emotional support for what could end up being a disaster of epic proportions.

  That’s what friends were for, right?

  “My sister,” she continued, “set a date for her wedding. She’s getting married in May, on the Victoria Day weekend. This year.”

  “So much for your hope of a long engagement.”

  “Yeah, so much for that.”

  “It’s amazing that she’s old enough to get married. You used to tell me stories about her when we were working on our labs. I guess she would have been seven or eight then.”

  Natalie had been eager to escape Mosquito Bay for university, but there had been one drawback: she couldn’t see her little sister every day. She hadn’t really missed her parents or Seth, but she’d missed Rebecca.

  “So, what’s the favor?” Connor asked.

  “I want you to be my date.”

  “You want me to be your date?” He coughed a few times, his face turning slightly red.

  “You okay?”

  He held up a finger and nodded. A moment later, he said, “Sorry about that.”

  “Was the prospect of being my date so horrifying that it made you choke?”

  “Of course not. It was just a surprise. Why do you want a date?”

  “Remember how weddings are always a disaster in my family?”

  “I remember your stories of Seth’s wedding. How your uncle made racist comments, your brother’s husband tripped and fell into the wedding cake, your grandparents refused to come because your brother was marrying a man—”

  “And not just any man, but a Chinese one. Plus, one guest attacked another with lobster claws, and he had to get stitches. That about covers it.”

  “A very cheerful affair.”

  “Indeed, it was.” Natalie swiped one of Connor’s fries. “But maybe it was better than my uncle’s wedding. Half the guests ended up with food poisoning.”

  His eyes widened.

  “So, are you willing to be my date? The wedding’s in Mosquito Bay. We’ll need to take your car, unless you’re happy with the train.”

  Natalie didn’t have a car. She was an environmentalist, after all. She got by just fine in Ottawa without one, and when she went to Toronto, she took the train. When traveling to Mosquito Bay, she either took the train to London, where her dad picked her up, or rented a car.

  Connor crossed his arms on the table and leaned forward.

  “I’ll do it,” he said. “As long as you give me something in return.”

  Oh, God. What was happening? Was Connor going to ask for sexual favors in exchange for being his date?

  No, that was ridiculous. He’d never shown any interest in her in that way. Not when they were university students, not after he was divorced, and certainly not during his marriage. She was just imagining it.

  Wasn’t she?

  “I need you to help me look after my niece,” he said.

  Right. Connor would never want anything like that from her, and that was totally cool. Wasn’t like she’d ever had a crush on him. They were just friends.

  “Look after your niece,” she repeated faintly, trying to clear her head. “Just for an afternoon?”

  “I volunteered to watch Ariana for a weekend so my sister and her husband can go away for their anniversary.”

  “How old is she now?”

  “She’ll be four next month.”

  Many women would turn to mush if a guy told them that he’d offered to babysit his niece for a weekend. But not Natalie.

  Although, yeah, it was kind of sweet.

  “I’ve looked after her for an afternoon,” Connor said. “That’s no problem. Even if I have to pretend to be a unicorn with a toilet paper roll affixed to my forehead.”

  Natalie snickered.

  “But I don’t know how to entertain her for a whole weekend, and I’m worried about putting her to bed. Apparently, she’s not the greatest with bedtime.”

  “Do you want me to stay at your place all weekend to help?”

  The thought of spending so much time with him, both for Rebecca’s wedding and to help with Ariana...

  What is wrong with you, Natalie?

  “No,” he said. “Just come over for a few hours on the Friday, help me put her to bed. Then, depending on how that goes, I might need your help on Saturday. You had lots of practice with your sister, so I figure you’ll be better at this than me.”

  “Sure. No problem.” That was more than a fair trade, and Natalie liked children.

  In small doses.

  That was part of the problem with her dating life. The men who liked her always wanted children, and she didn’t.

  And she refused to compromise on that issue.

  She pushed those thoughts aside and looked up at Connor. “Just so you’re clear on what you’re signing up for, Mosquito Bay is a seven-hour drive from here, depending on how long it takes to get through Toronto, and my family is absolutely nuts. It’ll be particularly bad because Rebecca has insisted on inviting Grandma and Uncle Dennis to the wedding, and they are hardly the picture of tolerance and good behavior. Fortunately, the catering company responsible for the food poisoning has gone out of business, so I don’t think you have much to worry about there, though I can’t make any guarantees.”

  “And just so you know what you’re signing up for... My niece is a bit of a handful.”

  “I can manage.” Natalie stuck out her hand. “Pleasure doing business with you, Dr. Douglas.”

  He shook her hand. “Pleasure doing business with you, too, Professor.”

  * * *

  Connor breathed in the crisp air and smiled. It was a lovely winter day, and he and Natalie were cross-country skiing at a park not far from Ottawa, in Quebec. They’d usually ski together a few times a year, and in the warmer months, they’d sometimes go hiking. They both preferred living in the city but also enjoyed escaping urban life and spending time outdoors.

  They leisurely made their way along the groomed trails through the woods. The evergreen trees were laden with fluffy snow. In the distance, he heard a bird—maybe a cardinal.

  Natalie was ahead of him, in her red snow pants and jacket. He’d last seen her two weeks ago at the pub, where he’d agreed to be her date for her sister’s wedding.

  Her date.

  Once, the idea would have thrilled him. He’d developed quite a crush on her back when they were chemistry lab partners. He’d loved the way she’d wrinkle her nose or twist her mouth in concentration; he’d loved the purple streaks she used to have in her hair. He remembered the first time they’d eaten dinner together—just falafel sandwiches, but he’d enjoyed it so much.

  However, she’d gotten a boyfriend a few months after they’d met, and he’d forced himself to get over his crush because he didn’t want to have a crush on someone who was in a relationship. It had taken a while, but he’d managed, and they’d become good friends.

  He was happy to be her date now—even if she wouldn’t help with Ariana, he would have done it—but the idea didn’t give him an electric thrill like it would have seventeen years ago.

  The sun came out from behind the clouds and filtered through the bare branches and conifers. Up ahead, Natalie came to a stop and tipped her face toward the sun.

&n
bsp; “It’s so peaceful here,” she said.

  “It is.”

  Natalie loved nature and wanted to preserve it for future generations, although whenever she talked about climate change, she always sounded more than a little pessimistic. Disappearing glaciers, growing deserts, species on the brink of extinction, governments refusing to take appropriate action.

  She was passionate and a bit prickly. Yes, that was a good description of Natalie.

  She started skiing again, continuing along the ten-kilometer trail through the woods, and he followed her.

  Later that afternoon, they returned to Natalie’s condo and took off their winter gear, and she pulled out a bag of Cheetos, her typical post-skiing and post-hiking snack. She dumped them into a bowl, then picked up a single piece with a pair of chopsticks—this was what she always did, so her hands didn’t get messy. She’d been doing it since long before that photo of Oscar Isaac eating Cheetos with chopsticks went viral.

  Connor had long known of Natalie’s love for Cheetos and had seen her eat them this way many times before. He’d also seen her slightly flushed after a day of exercise, her hair going every which way after being stuck under a toque.

  But for some reason, this time was different.

  This time, he thought she was rather adorable, and he wanted to pull the chopsticks out of her hand and feed her the orange, cheese-flavored snack food himself. Lick the crumbs off her lips and kiss her.

  How odd.

  She reached for another Cheeto and frowned. “Why are you looking at me funny?”

  Shit. What should he say? “Your hair’s a mess, that’s all.”

  He hadn’t thought of Natalie this way in well over a decade. She was a friend, nothing more, but now he couldn’t help remembering his long-ago crush, how he’d sneak peeks at her as she scribbled in her lab book.

  He grabbed a handful of Cheetos, and when he looked at her again, that feeling was gone.

  It had been just a fleeting feeling. Surely it meant nothing.

  He didn’t feel that way again in the following months. Not any of the times they met for beers or went hiking in Gatineau Park. They even talked about going to Gros Morne National Park in Newfoundland together, maybe at the end of August, and the thought of a week-long trip with Natalie didn’t make him think of her as anything but a close friend.

  There was no repeat of the way he’d felt when she’d popped that Cheeto into her mouth.

  Not until the day before Rebecca’s wedding in May.

  Chapter 3

  When Connor and Natalie finally arrived in Mosquito Bay, it was four thirty on the Friday before the Victoria Day long weekend. It had taken them all day to get there. Connor looked around as he drove down the quiet residential streets. So this was where Natalie Chin-Williams was from, this sleepy little town on Lake Huron.

  “Why is it called Mosquito Bay?” he asked. “Are there lots of mosquitoes?”

  She shrugged. “There are certainly mosquitoes, but no worse than anywhere else in the area. The name’s enough to discourage tourists, however. When I was in high school, there was a petition to change it, which led to the most exciting town hall meeting ever.”

  He was looking at the road, but he imagined Natalie rolling her eyes. “I’m sure it was.”

  “Oh, yeah. It was legendary,” she said, before directing him to Maple Grove Lane, number forty-four. “This is the house. My grandma—”

  “Which one?”

  “The Asian one. She was aghast when my parents bought it because four is considered an unlucky number. It sounds like the word for death in Chinese.”

  Connor parked his car on the road since the driveway was full.

  This was it. But it wasn’t like he was meeting his girlfriend’s parents for the first time—something he hadn’t done in over ten years, not since Sharon had brought him home when they were in med school. He’d been a nervous wreck then, but he didn’t feel so bad now, except that after the long drive, he desperately needed some fresh air.

  Meeting his friend’s family, though? No big deal.

  Yes, Natalie had spent the past hour emphasizing that her family was crazy, but it seemed to be mostly her extended family, and they wouldn’t be at the rehearsal tonight. Either way, he could manage.

  There were two young men sitting on red Muskoka chairs on the front lawn, each holding a bottle of beer. The man on the left bore a close resemblance to Natalie—that must be her brother, Seth. The Asian man on the right had fair skin and short black hair, and he was slighter in stature than Seth.

  Connor and Natalie got out of the car, and the man on the right immediately jumped up and hurried over to them. He enthusiastically pumped Connor’s hand up and down. “You must be Natalie’s new boyfriend.” He had a faint British accent.

  “No,” Connor said. “We’re actually—”

  “We’re just friends,” Natalie said.

  The man pulled his hand back and nodded knowingly. “Ah. You’re already finishing each other’s sentences.”

  “Simon,” Natalie said, “this is Connor. My friend.”

  Simon looked back at Seth. “Dammit. You said Natalie was bringing a boyfriend.”

  “I did,” Seth said mildly. “That’s what Mom told me. I was just repeating what I heard.”

  “Connor’s cute,” Simon said, leaning toward Natalie. “Maybe you should change that ‘he’s just a friend’ business. Are you sharing a room at the bed and breakfast?”

  “He’s staying there by himself,” Natalie said. “I’ll stay with Mom and Dad.”

  Simon shook his head. “I’m disappointed in you.”

  She turned to Connor. “Simon is Seth’s husband, in case you hadn’t figured that out.”

  “You’re the man who fell on his own wedding cake,” Connor said.

  “That would be me.” Simon sighed dramatically. “I’ve had to accept that no one will ever forget about the time I did a face-plant into a three-tier chocolate cake.”

  “Why would they?” Seth asked. “It was a very pretty face-plant. And there’s photographic and video evidence.”

  Simon shot him a mock glare that quickly turned into a smile.

  Natalie bent over and gave her brother, who was still sitting down, a one-armed hug. “What do you think will happen at Rebecca’s wedding?”

  “I don’t want to consider the possibilities.”

  “Grandma and Uncle Dennis are still coming, I assume?”

  “As far as I know.” Seth’s face hardened. “Not that I have any intention of going near them.” He had a sip of beer. “Simon spent the entire flight speculating about your boyfriend.”

  “Connor’s not my—”

  “Yeah. I figured that out the first time you said it.”

  An older white woman with graying brown hair walked down the flagstone path to the lawn. Natalie’s mother, Connor presumed. She looked a little flustered.

  “Judy!” Simon said. “Turns out you were wrong. Connor isn’t Natalie’s boyfriend after all. They’re just friends.”

  Connor could handle Natalie’s family, but he had a feeling he’d get rather sick of repeating, “We’re just friends.”

  “Sorry, I must have misheard,” Judy said absently before giving Natalie a hug. “Where’s Rebecca? She should be here by now. I think Iris is coming here before the rehearsal, too.”

  “Iris is our cousin,” Natalie explained. “She’s a year older than Rebecca.”

  “You must be Natalie’s not boyfriend,” Judy said, extending her hand.

  “Connor.” He shook her hand, which was rather cold despite the warm weather. “Pleased to meet you.”

  “So, Connor,” Simon said, shoving his hands in his pockets and rocking back on his heels. “You must have had to miss a day of work to come all the way to Mosquito Bay.”

  “I would have closed the office for the afternoon before the long weekend anyway. Just gave everyone the day off instead.”

  “Ah. You’re the boss. What do you
do?”

  “I’m a family physician.”

  “A doctor.” Simon laughed. “Oh my God, Ngin Ngin is going to love this.”

  Before Connor could ask who Ngin Ngin was, a car pulled up. Natalie smiled as a young woman in a floral-print dress stepped out of the car. They looked just like sisters, though Rebecca didn’t look quite as Chinese as Natalie did. Something about the shape of her features and her hair color, which was lighter than Natalie’s near-black hair.

  “You can all stop worrying,” Rebecca said. “The bride is here!” She threw her arms around Natalie. “It’s so good to see you!”

  Rebecca’s fiancé joined them on the lawn, and then everyone was talking at once, and Connor lost track of the conversation. It was nice seeing Natalie with her family. For all she complained about them, she seemed content here. He pictured her as a young girl, skipping rope or playing catch with Seth in the front yard. A little girl who had yet to master sarcasm and wasn’t convinced climate change was going to be the end of humanity.

  Rebecca’s phone started ringing and she stepped away for a moment to answer it. When she ended the call, she said to everyone on the front lawn, “Ngin Ngin is going to be here with Iris in five minutes.”

  Connor bent his head to whisper in Natalie’s ear. “Who’s Ngin Ngin?”

  “It means ‘paternal grandmother’ in Toisanese.”

  “What?” Judy cried. “Ngin Ngin is coming? She’s not supposed to be at the rehearsal. No extended family. Iris is only coming because she’s the maid of honor.”

  “Apparently Ngin Ngin stole Iris’s phone,” Rebecca said, “and refused to give it back unless Iris drove her here from the bed and breakfast.”

  “Surely Iris could have wrestled her phone back from a ninety-year-old woman without giving in to her demands.”

  “I don’t know,” Simon said. “It’s pretty easy to injure a ninety-year-old woman, and we wouldn’t want that to happen. Especially the night before Rebecca’s wedding.”

  “It’s okay.” Rebecca came to stand beside her mother. “If it’s just Ngin Ngin, there shouldn’t be too much drama.”

  Judy shook her head. “Except Ngin Ngin will tell my mother that she was at the rehearsal dinner, and my mother will be furious she wasn’t invited, which could lead to a big fight.”