“We’re getting married!” I announce.
“And having a baby,” Riley says, and throws her arms around me.
“So much for keeping it on the down low,” Landon mutters beside me.
“Yeah, like I’m going to keep information like that to myself,” Mia says, rolling her eyes. “Did you say yes?”
“Of course she said yes. I’m a catch,” Landon says. We all gather around the bar as Kat passes out the drinks, passing nonalcoholic ones to Addie and me, then she raises her glass in a toast.
“To Cami and Landon. May you have many years of great sex together.”
“I’ll drink to that,” I say with a laugh, and sip my drink, the bubbles from the cider matching my mood. I feel light and happy. I can’t stop smiling.
I glance up at Landon and see that he’s already watching me, a grin also spread over his lips.
Love you, he mouths. I tug him down so I can kiss his cheek and whisper the sentiment in his ear.
“We get to start planning a wedding,” Addie says. “We should go dress-shopping right away.”
“Why? I’m going to be huge,” I reply with a frown, and then pout. “I don’t want to be one of those pregnant brides the size of a house in a huge white dress.” Jesus, just the thought of it is depressing.
“You don’t have to be,” Mia says. “You could get married before you start to show.”
“That’s fast,” I reply, but the idea doesn’t sound bad at all.
“You should just go to the courthouse in a couple of weeks,” Riley says. “Then you can still wear any dress you want.”
“A couple of weeks?!” I ask, as if she’s lost her mind. “We can’t pull a wedding off in a couple of weeks, even if it is at the courthouse.”
“Why not?” Kat adds. “We have a reception hall right here with the best chef in the city. We buy some flowers and a cake, and there you have it.”
“You’ve never wanted a big, fancy wedding,” Riley says, nodding. “Your sister and her family can easily come down from Seattle for it, and we’ll all be there.”
I’m looking around the room, trying to take it all in. Finally, I glance up at Landon.
“What do you think? Is it too fast?”
“I think it’s a great idea,” he says. “If I had my way, I’d fly us down to Vegas tonight.”
“No. No eloping. Mom and Dad would never forgive you,” Mia says.
“Sounds like it’s the courthouse in a couple of weeks, then,” Landon says with a grin. “Unless it’s too fast for you?”
“It’s a lot to take in,” I reply, and glance around the room at my best friends. They’re smiling and Landon’s hand on the small of my back is reassuring. Wow, this is overwhelming.
But, it’s what I’ve always wanted.
“Okay,” I say, and shrug. “Let’s do it!”
“Right on!” Kat says, clinking her glass to mine.
“I know I’m a selfish bitch,” Addie says, and laughs, “but I’m a little happy you’re doing this before I’m the size of a house too.”
“Oh my God, our babies are going to grow up together!” I wrap my arms around her and hug her tight. “And we get to go baby-shopping and stuff too!”
“I know, I’m so happy,” she says, sniffling. “And I’m warning you, everything makes me cry. Everything. I heard a Britney Spears song in the car this morning and had to pull over because I couldn’t see the road anymore.”
“I’m already a little weepy,” I say with a nod.
“Oh, goodie,” Mia says, rolling her eyes. “We’re going to have two emotional pregnant women on our hands for the next nine months.”
“But then we get two babies to snuggle,” Riley says with a smile. “And I didn’t have to give birth to them.”
“Me neither,” Kat says, fist-bumping Riley. “I’m not having kids. Y’all can just keep shooting them out for me and I’ll spoil them like crazy. Aunt Kat is going to be their favorite.”
“One at a time,” I say firmly.
“Unless there’s two,” Landon says thoughtfully.
“What?” My gaze whips up to his. “You don’t have twins in your family.”
“On my dad’s side,” Mia says with a nod. “There are a few sets. So good luck.”
“You’re mean,” I reply, looking back and forth between the two. “And if there’s even a tiny possibility of that, we definitely need to do this before I really do look like a house.”
“It’s okay, baby, you’ll be a beautiful house.”
THE FIVE OF us all took the day off from the restaurant just a few days later to go shopping. That’s unprecedented. We’ve only ever left it unattended once or twice before, and that was for Addie’s dress shopping and her wedding.
It’s a nice tradition.
We walk into a boutique wedding-dress store in downtown Portland, just down the block from the mall, and I am immediately overwhelmed. The girls all split off, oohing and aahing over frilly dresses in every corner of the store, calling out suggestions for which ones I should try on.
And I’m just . . . paralyzed. There’s so much to take in. There are mannequins in white dresses with veils and flowers. There’s a display table with a guest book and a basket full of pink rose petals.
Chandeliers dripping with crystals float overhead, casting the space in soft light, and there are deep, soft couches placed strategically before trifold mirrors with a pedestal where the bride can show off the gown she’s chosen to try on.