“Ryan needs to know if you’re bringing a guest to his wedding,” she said. “For the final count.”
Morgan looked at me, then turned away, pink coloring his cheeks.
“Guess I forgot to tell him,” he said. “Suppose I’m not very good at this best-man thing.”
“You’re fine,” I mouthed to him just as I heard his mother reiterate the same sentiment. There wasn’t much for him to do anyway, at least not yet. He and his older brother, Ryan, were close but not like best buddies or anything, and Morgan had mentioned that Ryan probably asked him out of obligation, which I’d quickly batted away. It was tradition to ask siblings, I’d reminded him. It had been sweet of Ryan, and I could tell that Morgan was flattered. Until he started stressing about it all. But despite his mother’s urgent tone, Ryan had seemed pretty laid-back. Even told Morgan he’d like to forgo the whole stripper thing, instead preferring his bachelor party to consist of an expensive dinner at a steak restaurant, followed by a cigar bar, which was like, very noir of him. But he’d always been that way.
“There’s still time to bring someone special.” Her voice held a hopeful note. “The wedding is a month away.”
“Does Elliot count because I was planning on bribing him to come with me.”
“I don’t need any bribing,” I said, then into the phone, “Hi, Mrs. Miller. I heard there was gonna be good food, so I’d even come without Morgan.”
Her laughter rang out, sounding a lot like Morgan’s, and I could picture her eyes crinkling at the corners. Morgan’s parents and his brother were cool. I’d spent a lot of time at their house, so we all knew each other pretty well. Ryan was marrying Kate, a girl he’d met at his accounting firm, and apparently, the cost of this wedding was going to be astronomical. So I could understand why they needed to know if they’d be footing the bill for too many guests.
“Just text your brother and tell him to expect the two of you,” she said. “And if you meet someone by then, I’m sure Elliot won’t mind.”
My gut tightened. Why did that bother me so much? Maybe because the wedding was next month and there wasn’t enough time for Morgan to meet someone and fall in love. Or maybe because I sounded expendable. Okay, I needed to stop tripping out because that was ridiculous. Our friendship was rock-solid.
“Mom,” Morgan said in that whiny pitch he used when he was getting flustered. “You know that’s highly unlikely, and besides, I don’t need to get serious about anybody, not until after graduation.”
“You’re right,” she said, apologetic. “Guess I’ve got wedding bells on the brain. I want both of my boys to be happy.”
“You don’t need to be married to be happy.”
“I know that.” She sighed. “Forgive your mother for prying.”
“Of course I forgive you,” he said with a faint smile. “We’re out the door. Love you.”
He ended the call, and we locked up behind us and headed toward campus.
Morgan was quiet, contemplative on the walk over, no doubt thinking about the conversation with his mother. He’d once told me his parents carried a lot of guilt. Not only because they didn’t push for more answers about his clumsiness early on—plenty of kids were klutzy, they’d been told—but also because the genes for his neurological condition came from his mom’s side of the family. Except Morgan never blamed anyone, not even when he was in the thick of his shock and grief. He took it like a champ and one day decided he’d had enough of being sad. He was the best person I knew. And the most brilliant. I didn’t always understand when he went off on a tangent about computers, but no doubt I drove him crazy with my sports-related blather too.
“But seriously,” Morgan said as we paused at a crosswalk. “Will you come with me to Ryan’s wedding? I know I’m the best man and might have shit to do to help Ryan or whatever, but…”
“That hard up, huh?” I replied tongue-in-cheek. When he didn’t reply, I nudged his shoulder. “What’s going on?”
Morgan looked away. “Nothing. It’ll just be more tolerable with you there.”
“Tolerable? This is your family that you love spending time with. And naturally, I’m an awesome date. So there must be something else bugging you.” I gripped his arm as realization dawned. “Wait a minute, is this because Dawson will be there?” Dawson was Ryan’s best friend, and Morgan had had a mad crush on him in high school.
“Maybe… He’s one of Ryan’s groomsmen.”
“You were only kids.”
“It wasn’t that long ago,” he scoffed. “I was a freshman, and he was a senior, remember?”
“How could I forget? He led you on and was a complete dick. But that was what—eight years ago? Maybe he’s changed.”