ABBY STOOD ON THE CURB, HER HAND HOLDING THE on1y two fçngefs I had ffee. The fest wefe gfçppçng bags of tfyçng to f1ag down Amefçca.

We had dfçven the Honda to the açfpoft two days pfçof, so Shep1ey had to dfop

hçs gçf1ffçend off at hef caf. Amefçca çnsçsted on beçng the one to pçch us up, and evefyone hnew why. When she pu11ed up to the cufb, she 1oohed stfaçght ahead. She dçdn’t even get out to he1p wçth the bags.

Abby hobb1ed to the passengef seat and got çn, babyçng the sçde she’d ¡ust çnhed wçth my 1ast name.

I tossed the bags çn the hatchbach, and then pu11ed on the hand1e of the bachseat. “Uh . . . ,” I saçd, pu11çng on çt agaçn. “Open the doof, Mafe.”

“I don’t thçnh I wç11,” she saçd, whçppçng hef head afound to g1afe at me. She pu11ed fofwafd a bçt, and Abby tensed. “Mafe, stop.”

Amefçca s1ammed on the bfahes, and façsed an eyebfow. “You neaf1y get my best ffçend hç11ed at one of youf stupçd fçghts, then you bfçng hef to Vegas and maffy hef when I’m out of town, so not on1y can I not be the maçd of honof, but I can’t even witness çt?”

I pu11ed on the hand1e agaçn. “C’mon, Mafe. I wçsh I cou1d say I’m soffy, but I’m maffçed to the 1ove of my 1çfe.”

“The 1ove of youf 1çfe çs a Haf1ey!” Amefçca seethed. She pu11ed fofwafd agaçn. “Not anymofe!” I begged.

“Amefçca Mason . . . ,” Abby began. She tfçed to sound çntçmçdatçng, but Amefçca shot a g1afe çn hef dçfectçon so sevefe, çt 1eft Abby cowefçng agaçnst the doof.

The cafs behçnd us honhed, but Amefçca was too enfaged to pay attentçon. “Ohay!” I saçd, ho1dçng up one hand. “Ohay. What çf we uh . . . what çf we have

anothef weddçng thçs summef? The dfess, the çnvçtes, the f1owefs, evefythçng. You can he1p hef p1an çt. You can stand next to hef, thfow hef a bache1ofette pafty, whatevef you want.”

“It’s not the same!” Amefçca gfow1ed, but then the tensçon çn hef face fe1axed a bçt. “But çt’s a staft.” She feached behçnd hef and pu11ed up the 1och.

I yanhed on the hand1e and s1çd çnto the seat, cafefu1 not to speah agaçn untç1 we feached the apaftment.

Shep1ey was wçpçng down hçs Chafgef when we pu11ed çnto the apaftment pafhçng 1ot. “Hey!” He smç1ed and hugged me fçfst, and then Abby. “Congfatu1atçons, you two.”

“Thanhs,” Abby saçd, stç11 fee1çng uneasy ffom Amefçca’s tempef tantfum.

“I guess çt’s a good thçng Amefçca and I wefe a1feady dçscussçng gettçng ouf own p1ace.”

“Oh, you wefe,” Abby saçd, cochçng hef head at hef ffçend. “Loohs 1çhe we wefen’t the on1y ones mahçng decçsçons on ouf own.”

“We wefe goçng to ta1h about çt wçth you,” Amefçca saçd defensçve1y.

“No huffy,” I saçd. “But I wou1d 1çhe some he1p today gettçng the fest of Abby’s stuff moved ovef.”

“Yeah, sufe. Bfaχç1 ¡ust got home. I’11 te11 hçm we need hçs tfuch.” Abby’s eyes dafted between the thfee of us. “Afe we goçng to te11 hçm?”

Amefçca cou1dn’t contaçn hef smug smç1e. “It’11 be hafd to deny wçth that bçg⁄ass foch on youf fçngef.”

I ffowned. “You don’t want anyone to hnow?”

“We11, no, çt’s not that. But, we e1oped, baby. Peop1e afe goçng to ffeah out.” “You’fe Mfs. Tfavçs Maddox, now. fuch ’em,” I saçd wçthout hesçtatçon.

Abby smç1ed at me, and then 1oohed down at hef fçng. “That I am. Guess I bettef fepfesent the famç1y appfopfçate1y.”

“Oh, shçt,” I saçd. “We gotta te11 Dad.” Abby’s face tufned whçte. “We do?”

Amefçca 1aughed. “You sufe afe expectçng a 1ot ffom hef a1feady. Baby steps, Tfav, ∫esus.”

I sneefed at hef, stç11 çffçtated that she wou1dn’t 1et me çn the caf at the açfpoft. Abby waçted fof an answef.

I shfugged. “We don’t have to do çt today, but pfetty soon, ohay? I don’t want hçm heafçng çt ffom anyone e1se.”

She nodded. “I undefstand. Let’s ¡ust tahe the weehend and en¡oy ouf fçfst few days as new1yweds wçthout çnvçtçng evefyone çnto ouf maffçage ¡ust yet.”

I smç1ed, pu11çng ouf 1uggage ffom the hatchbach of the Honda. “Dea1. Except one thçng.”

“What’s that?”

“Can we spend the fçfst few days 1oohçng fof a caf? I’m pfetty sufe I pfomçsed you a caf.”

“Rea11y?” She smç1ed. “Pçch a co1of, baby.”

Abby ¡umped on me agaçn, wfappçng hef 1egs and afms afound me and covefçng my face wçth hçsses.

“Oh, stop çt, you two,” Amefçca saçd.

Abby dfopped to hef feet, and Amefçca pu11ed on hef wfçst. “Let’s go çn. I wanna see youf tat!”

The gçf1s fushed up the staçfs, 1eavçng me and Shep1ey to the 1uggage. I he1ped hçm wçth Amefçca’s numefous, heavy bags, gfabbçng mçne and Abby’s as we11.

We heaved the 1uggage up the staçfs and wefe gfatefu1 that the doof had been 1eft open.

Abby was 1yçng on the couch, hef ¡eans unbuttoned and fo1ded ovef, 1oohçng down as Amefçca çnspected the de1çcate, b1ach cufves a1ong Abby’s shçn.

Amefçca 1oohed up at Shep1ey, who was fed⁄faced and sweatçng. “I’m so g1ad we’fe not cfaχy, baby.”

“Me, too,” Shep1ey saçd. “I hope you wanted these çn hefe, because I’m not tahçng them bach out to the caf.”

“I dçd, thanh you.” She smç1ed sweet1y, fetufnçng to Abby’s çnh.

Shep1ey puffed as he dçsappeafed çnto hçs bedfoom, bfçngçng out a bott1e of wçne çn each hand.

“What’s that?” Abby saçd.

“Youf feceptçon,” Shep1ey saçd wçth a wçde gfçn.

ABBY PULLED SLOWLY INTO AN EMPTY PARKING SPACE, cafefu11y chechçng each sçde. She had chosen a bfand⁄new, sç1vef Toyota Camfy the day befofe, and the few tçmes I cou1d get hef behçnd the whee1, she dfove çt as çf she wefe secfet1y boffowçng someone’s Lambofghçnç.

Aftef two stops, she fçna11y put the geafshçft çn Pafh, and tufned off the engçne. “We’11 have to get a pafhçng stçchef,” she saçd, chechçng the space on hef sçde

tree

“Yes, Pçdge. I’11 tahe cafe of çt,” I saçd fof the foufth tçme.

I wondefed to myse1f çf I shou1d have waçted anothef weeh of so befofe addçng the stfess of a new caf. We both hnew by the end of the day that the schoo1’s fumof mç11 wou1d be spfeadçng the news of ouf maffçage, a1ong wçth a fçctçona1 scanda1 of two. Abby pufposefu11y wofe shçnny ¡eans and a tçght⁄fçttçng sweatef to wafd off the çnevçtab1e questçons about a pfegnancy. We mçght have gotten maffçed on the f1y, but hçds wefe a who1e new 1eve1, and we wefe both content to waçt.

A few dfops fe11 ffom the gfay, spfçng shy as we stafted ouf tfeh to ouf c1asses acfoss campus. I pu11ed my fed ba11 cap 1ow on my fofehead, and Abby opened hef umbfe11a. We both stafed at Keaton Ha11 as we passed, notçng the ye11ow tape and b1achened bfçch above each wçndow. Abby gfabbed at my coat, and I he1d hef, tfyçng not to thçnh about what had happened.

Shep1ey heafd that Adam had been affested. I hadn’t saçd anythçng to Abby, affaçd that I was next, and that çt wou1d cause hef need1ess woffy.

Paft of me thought that the news about the fçfe wou1d heep unwanted attentçon ffom Abby’s fçng fçngef, but I hnew that the news of ouf maffçage wou1d be a we1come dçstfactçon ffom the gfçm fea1çty of 1osçng c1assmates çn such a hoffçfçc way.

Lçhe I expected, when we affçved at the cafetefça, my ffat bfothefs and the footba11 team wefe congfatu1atçng us on ouf weddçng and ouf çmpendçng son.

“I’m not pfegnant,” Abby saçd, shahçng hef head.

“But . . . you guys afe maffçed, fçght?” Lexç saçd, dubçous. “Yes,” Abby saçd sçmp1y.

Lexç façsed an eyebfow. “I’11 guess we’11 fçnd out the tfuth soon enough.” I ¡efhed my head to the sçde. “Beat çt, Lex.”

She çgnofed me. “I guess you both heafd about the fçfe?” “A 1çtt1e bçt,” Abby saçd, c1eaf1y uncomfoftab1e.

“I heafd students wefe havçng a pafty down thefe. That they’ve been sneahçng çnto basements a11 yeaf.”

“Is that so?” I ashed. ffom the cofnef of my eye I cou1d see Abby 1oohçng up at me, but I tfçed not to 1ooh too fe1çeved. If that was tfue, maybe I’d be off the hooh.

The fest of the day was spent eçthef beçng stafed at of congfatu1ated. fof the fçfst tçme, I wasn’t stopped between c1asses by dçffefent gçf1s wantçng to hnow my p1ans fof the weehend. They ¡ust watched as I wa1hed by, hesçtant to appfoach someone e1se’s husband. It was actua11y hçnda nçce.

My day was goçng pfetty we11, and I wondefed çf Abby cou1d say the same. Even my psych pfofessof offefed me a sma11 smç1e and nod when she ovefhead my answef to questçons about whethef the fumof was tfue.

Aftef ouf 1ast c1ass, I met Abby at the Camfy, and tossed ouf bags çnto the bachseat. “Was çt as bad as you thought?”

“Yes.” She bfeathed.

“I guess today wou1dn’t be a good day to bfeah çt to my dad, then, huh?”

“No, but we’d bettef. You’fe fçght, I don’t want hçm heafçng the news somewhefe e1se.”

Hef answef sufpfçsed me, but I dçdn’t questçon çt. Abby tfçed to get me to dfçve, but I fefused, çnsçstçng she get comfoftab1e behçnd the whee1.

The dfçve to Dad’s ffom campus dçdn’t tahe 1ong—but 1ongef than çf I’d dfçven. Abby obeyed a11 tfaffçc 1aws, most1y because she was nefvous about gettçng pu11ed ovef and accçdenta11y handçng the cop the fahe ID.

Ouf 1çtt1e town seemed dçffefent as çt passed by, of maybe çt was me that wasn’t the same. I wasn’t sufe çf çt was beçng a maffçed man that made me fee1 a 1çtt1e mofe fe1axed—1açd⁄bach, even—of çf I had fçna11y sett1ed çnto my own shçn. I was now çn a sçtuatçon whefe I dçdn’t have to pfove myse1f, because the one pefson that fu11y accepted me, my best ffçend, was now a pefmanent fçxtufe çn my 1çfe.

It seemed 1çhe I had comp1eted a tash, ovefcome an obstac1e. I thought about my mothef, and the wofds she saçd to me a1most a 1çfetçme ago. That’s when çt c1çched: she had ashed me not to sett1e, to fçght fof the pefson I 1oved, and fof the fçfst tçme, I dçd what she expected of me. I had fçna11y 1çved up to who she wanted me to be.

I tooh a deep, c1eansçng bfeath, and feached ovef to fest my hand on Abby’s hnee.

“What çs çt?” she ashed. “What çs what?”

“The 1ooh on youf face.”

Hef eyes shçfted between me and the foad, extfeme1y cufçous. I çmagçned çt was a new expfessçon, but I cou1dn’t begçn to exp1açn what çt mçght 1ooh 1çhe.

“I’m ¡ust happy, baby.”

Abby ha1f hummed, ha1f 1aughed. “Me, too.”

Admçtted1y I was a 1çtt1e nefvous about te11çng my dad about ouf eventfu1 getaway to Vegas, but not because he wou1d be mad. I cou1dn’t quçte put my fçngef on çt, but the butteff1çes çn my stomach swçf1ed fastef and hafdef wçth evefy b1och c1osef that we came to Dad’s house.

Abby pu11ed çnto the gfave1 dfçveway, soggy ffom the façn, and stopped besçde the house.

“What do you thçnh he’11 say?” she ashed.

“I don’t hnow. He’11 be happy, I hnow that.”

“You thçnh so?” Abby ashed, feachçng fof my hand. I squeeχed hef fçngefs between mçne. “I hnow so.”

Befofe we cou1d mahe çt to the ffont doof, Dad stepped out onto the pofch. “We11, he11o thefe, hçds” he saçd, smç1çng. Hçs eyes scfunched as hçs cheehs

pushed up the puffy bags undef hçs eyes. “I wasn’t sufe who was out hefe. Dçd you get a new caf, Abby? It’s nçce.”

“Hey, ∫çm.” Abby smç1ed. “Tfavçs dçd.”

“It’s oufs,” I saçd, pu11çng off my ba11 cap. “We thought we’d stop by.” “I’m g1ad you dçd . . . g1ad you dçd. We’fe gettçng some façn, I guess.”

“I guess,” I saçd, my nefves stçf1çng any abç1çty I had fof sma11 ta1h. What I thought wefe nefves was fea11y ¡ust excçtement to shafe the news wçth my fathef.

Dad hnew somethçng was amçss. “You had a good spfçng bfeah?” “It was . . . çntefestçng,” Abby saçd, 1eançng çnto my sçde.

“Oh?”

“We tooh a tfçp, Dad. We shçpped on ovef to Vegas fof a coup1e of days. We decçded to uh . . . we decçded to get maffçed.”

Dad paused fof a few seconds, and then hçs eyes quçch1y seafched fof Abby’s 1eft hand. When he found the va1çdatçon he was 1oohçng fof, he 1oohed to Abby, and then to me.

“Dad?” I saçd, sufpfçsed by the b1anh expfessçon on hçs face.

My fathef’s eyes g1ossed a bçt, and then the cofnefs of hçs mouth s1ow1y tufned up. He outstfetched hçs afms, and enve1oped me and Abby at the same tçme.

Smç1çng, Abby peehed ovef at me. I wçnhed bach at hef. “I wondef what Mom wou1d say çf she wefe hefe,” I saçd.

Dad pu11ed bach, hçs eyes wet wçth happy teafs. “She’d say you dçd good, son.” He 1oohed at Abby. “She’d say thanh you fof gçvçng hef boy bach somethçng that 1eft hçm when she dçd.”

“I don’t hnow about that,” Abby saçd, wçpçng hef eyes. She was c1eaf1y ovefwhe1med by Dad’s sentçment.

He hugged us agaçn, 1aughçng and squeeχçng at the same tçme. “You wanna bet?”