Lei'd With Cupcakes (Cupcakes 3)

“You good, darlin’?”

“Very good,” I answered. “Chris was just explaining the spread to me.”

“Pops cooks a mean pig, you’re in for a treat,” Cade promised. “And Ma’s Poke…” He shook his head and said, “No words.”

“That’s what Chris said,” I replied, then reached for a plate and said, “I think I’ll try that first.”

“You’d better at least try everything, or you’ll hurt their feelings,” he warned.

“Really?” I asked. “Even the squid?”

Cade chuckled and bent close to whisper in my ear, “If you don’t try it, and she asks, lie.”

I nodded and, since he was there, pulled him in for a quick hug, just cause I could, then turned and began filling up my plate. Once I had more food than any one person could possibly consume, I went to the table where Elin and Elena were sitting with Pops and a couple of people I hadn’t met yet.

“Mom, this pig is awesome,” Elin said excitedly as I sat down.

“Yeah, we took a picture next to the head,” Elena added. “And, Auntie and Uncle brought the best banana cream pie ever.”

I turned to the couple she was talking about and said, “Hi, we haven’t met, I’m Lila.”

They introduced themselves, and we chatted for a while. I don’t know how long I sat there, or how many people I met as they came to greet Mama and Pops, but I felt like I ate for hours. And everyone was right. The pig was awesome, the pie delicious, and the Poke was the best thing I’d ever eaten.

At Cade’s raised voice everyone got quiet and turned to where he was standing. He and Alani were in the middle of the backyard. He was holding on to her, and she was struggling to get away, obviously embarrassed by her brother calling attention to them.

“Everyone, I just wanted to thank you all for coming, and to congratulate Alani on her graduation today,” he began, standing still while Alani wiggled in his arms. “She’s a young woman now, ready to go out and take over the world. So, if you could all raise your glasses to my baby sister … To Alani.”

A rousing answer of, “To Alani,” was given, and she finally stopped struggling. I saw him pull her close, give her a hug, and whisper something in her ear that had her head ducking, before she burrowed into his arms.

The party started to wind down after that, with everyone except those closest to Alani and Cade taking plates of food to go.

We were putting away the things that needed to be refrigerated, having already decided to clean everything else up the next day, when I turned to Cade and asked, “Were all of those people really your aunts and uncles?”

Cade shook his head and replied, “Not by blood. Growing up here, auntie and uncle is what you call your elders. It’s a sign of respect.”

“Ah,” I said, happy that I hadn’t been confusing family members. “It was quite a party.”

“Great, right?” Cade replied as we took large containers to the overflow refrigerator outside the back door. “This is how we celebrate every life-changing event. I miss it.”

“I can see why,” I said, grabbing two beers out of the fridge and handing one to Cade as we went to join the others.

We’d just walked into the living room when he replied, “I’m glad you think so, because I’d really like to have a pig roast at our wedding reception.”

Come again?

I stopped in my tracks, sure I misunderstood what Cade just said.

“What’s that now?” I asked, afraid to move. Afraid to speak. Afraid to breathe.

Cade turned in the middle of the room so that he was facing me, his expression one I’d never seen before. He put his beer on a nearby end table, then put his hand in his pocket and pulled something out.

I was mesmerized, my gaze focused on that hand. My heart pounding as I waited to see what was in it.

“My senior year of high school, I took an art class, figuring it would be an easy A and help me when it came time for schools to award scholarships. It was actually really fucking hard, and I hated it, but the teacher was pretty cool. She made jewelry and sold it at the market every weekend, so our final exam was to make a piece of jewelry. I made this.” Cade opened his palm and I gingerly stepped forward to look down at the ring he was holding. It was silver, with a gorgeous blue gem in the center.

I gasped, my eyes shooting up to his as I fought against hope that he was doing what I thought he was doing…

“It’s sea glass, and after I got that A, I brought it home and told my Ma that I wanted to save it for the woman I was going to marry. See, I knew even then that the kind of woman I wanted to marry would be wild like the sea, with a calm at her center, a generous spirit, and the kind of beauty that makes people stop and look. Not just one the outside, but because they know what’s underneath the surface is just as magical as what’s on the outside.”