The Best Man Read online

  “I sketched this picture of you before your senior prom,” I said in wonder. I was shocked he had kept my drawing.

  “I know,” he said and took the paper from my hands. Samuel placed it between the pages of his book again and stood.

  “I threw it away.”

  “I know that too. I found it in the waste paper basket, and I rescued it. I have a lot of your pictures,” he said over his shoulder. Pointing to a piece of notebook paper that was stuck to his corkboard above his desk, he smiled over at me. I recognized the drawing as one I must have done when I was about five or six years old. The stick figures of Andy, Samuel, and me all held hands under a sunny sky. Crayon smiles graced our faces, and even then, I had drawn a pink heart above the tallest figure’s head.

  “I had no idea,” I murmured.

  “Emelia,” Samuel said softly. He returned his yearbook to his shelf, then moved to sit beside me. “We’ve been friends for so long.”

  “Yes.” I nodded. It was a new and happy discovery to realize Samuel had remembered our childhood friendship with fondness as well.

  “Don’t you think...given all we’ve been through together, we should be able to...come to some sort of agreement concerning this whole best man thing?” Samuel lowered his chin and looked up at me through his long, dark lashes. If I hadn’t seen that look so many times in the past, I might have felt dizzy from the force of it. The look was lethal.

  But it was the same look he used to get the last cookie from the jar. The same look he used to get the waitresses at the diner to let him leave early because he had a date. It was the same look he used to get out of being in trouble with his mother. It was the look Samuel used when he wanted something. And this time, he was trying to use it on me.

  “You just want me to give up and let you be the best man!” I accused.

  “Emelia, be reasonable. I’m his brother,” Samuel continued to speak in that smooth, distracting voice.

  “Forget it.” I shook my head stubbornly. “I am not going to just...hand this over to you. You’ll have to win it, fair and square.”

  “I will, you know.” Samuel stood. “I never lose. I was trying to save you a little embarrassment.”

  “Always the gentleman,” I replied sarcastically. Andy took that moment to peek his head around his brother’s bedroom door.

  “I thought I heard voices in here.” He turned his head to look between Samuel and me. Samuel appeared to be tense once again. I felt stupid for thinking he was being nice for altruistic reasons.

  “I’ve already picked out a couple of movies,” Andy said. “And I brought home a pizza.”

  “I need to pack up my paints,” I mumbled.

  “Will you come over after?” Andy waved the movies in his hand to entice me.

  “If you want...”

  “Of course, we want you to,” Samuel said while he crammed his hands into his front pockets. His face was guarded. It was hard to tell what he really thought. Andy smiled over at his brother for backing up the invitation.

  “All right,” I sighed. “I’ll be back over in about a half hour.”

  I went back out to my easel and snapped the lid off my palette. While I thought, I picked up some paint on my brush and laid the soft bristles against my paper, introducing darker trees to the foreground of the composition. The dark against the light was a good representation of my current musings.

  How was it that Samuel could be so sweet one moment—and so totally irritating in the next? Light and dark. I couldn’t keep up with him. I tapped a heavy drop of sap green paint into my water jar. Kneeling in front of it, I watched the almost-black color lose traces of itself in a spiraling trail as the water began to tear it apart. I plunged my brush into the water then and stirred the paint away from the fine sable hairs until the water became a uniform light green color. I smiled at the difference in the jar.

  Maybe Samuel just needed to be stirred up a little.

  I wasn’t relaxed enough to finish my painting, so I dried my brush carefully and packed up my supplies before taking them indoors. I wouldn’t have had much more time to paint anyway. By the time I put everything away, a soaking rain was coming down outside. I pulled on my raincoat, then I ran through the yard toward the Daltons’.

  Of course, I slipped.

  Andy opened the door with a laugh. I lay on my hip in his front yard, feeling the rain reach everywhere my bright yellow coat did not. My jeans were covered in mud. “Em? What in the hell am I going to do with you?” Andy called out above the noise of the driving rain. I shook my head and stood.

  “I’ve got to go change my clothes!”

  “Get in here. You can wear something of mine.”

  I slopped up the front steps and stood dripping water in their entryway. “Go on up and find something.” Andy turned me toward the stairs. “Bring those down when you’re done, and we’ll throw them in the wash.”

  “Thanks,” I muttered. Halfway up the stairs, I met with Samuel, who was on his way down. His eyes moved from the top of my wet hair to my sodden tennis shoes. I looked like a drowned rat.

  “Who tackled you this time?” Samuel smirked.

  “My own clumsiness.” I shrugged. “It’s part of the joy of being me.”

  Samuel made a show of turning his body to the side to avoid my mess while he walked past me down the stairs. I continued up to Andy’s bedroom where I found a too large sweatshirt and a pair of flannel pajama pants. I tightened the drawstring to hold the pants around my hips, and a significant portion of the legs had to be rolled so I could walk without tripping on them. I looked ridiculous. Andy was over a foot taller than me. But at least I was warm, dry, and comfortable.

  Holding my muddy clothes away from my body, I made my way to the laundry room behind the kitchen and tossed my things into the washing machine. Andy stood in front of the open refrigerator door, holding his phone between his ear and his shoulder.

  “Yeah, Lil. Em’s right here. Yes...” He looked up at me. “Talk to Lily for a minute. My hands are full.”

  I reached to take the phone from its cradle against Andy’s neck. “Hello?”

  “Emmy! Hi!” Lily’s voice was soft and clear and had a musical quality to it that could make a person easily imagine her doing voice-overs for a Disney princess; which was why it was hilarious to hear her tell someone to fuck off. For all her sweetness and charm, Lily was not to be trifled with. She was a badass wrapped in a tiny, very feminine package.

  “Lily! How are you?” I genuinely loved Andy’s fiancée.

  “Stuck working,” she replied, sounding somewhat muffled. “Sorry for eating in your ear. My douchebag of a boss is only allowing me a twenty-minute lunch break.”

  “I’m sorry you have to work.”

  “Me too, believe me. I’ll be coming to Astoria soon for Samuel’s graduation party. We can hang out then.”

  “Ah! Great. I can’t wait to see you.” I smiled and watched as Andy pulled a couple of beers from the refrigerator. He waved one in my direction, and I wrinkled my nose. I mouthed the word “water” to him, and he procured a bottle to join the beer and snack food he was juggling in his arms.

  “Are you keeping my guy in line?” Lily asked.

  “Barely.” I smiled. “You know I’ll do my best.”

  “I can always count on you,” she said nicely. “Oh, by the way...Andy told me about the best man competition.”

  “Oh yeah?”

  “Yes. And, Em, I promised him I’m not going to play favorites. Andy was really beating himself up over trying to make the decision. I won’t try to influence him in any way. That being said...don’t let those guys push you around honey. You give ‘em hell.”

  “I won’t go down without a fight,” I promised. Andy shook his head at my word choice and smiled before turning toward the living room.

  “Good. Now, I’ve got to get back to work. Tell Andy he can call me before bed if he wants. I’ll see you later!”

  “Bye, Lil.”

 
; I pushed the button to end our call and strolled into the living room. Samuel slumped comfortably with one long leg draped over the side of the recliner. Andy stood, putting a DVD in the player. I took up residence in the corner of the couch and grabbed my drink from the table where Andy had placed it.

  “Lily said you could call her before bed,” I told him. “Why don’t you choose an on-demand?”

  “Because I already own our favorite movies.” Andy shrugged. “How many times have we watched these? I have half of them memorized.”

  Samuel frowned from his seat. I didn’t want him to feel excluded. My goal was to stir things around...get him to lighten up.

  “You’ll love Lily,” I said to him. “She’s really one of the coolest people I’ve ever met.”

  “I don’t doubt it,” Samuel said, relaxing a little. “If Andy loves her, she must be extraordinary.”

  “She is.” Andy turned with a grin and came to lie across the couch with his head in my lap. His feet dangled over the edge toward Samuel who took in our position with a raised eyebrow. “What?” Andy asked.

  “Nothing.” Samuel turned his face toward the television. “Sometimes I just look at you two, and I see you like you are still ten years old. You’re just the same around each other now as you were then.”

  “She’s softer to lie on now.” Andy grinned up at me. I bounced his head up with my legs once before smiling down at him. With laughter and random comments, we watched the first half of an old Tom Hanks movie in which his friends threw him a bachelor party.

  “Just for the record,” Andy announced. “I do not want a belly-dancer or a donkey at my bachelor party.”

  “Damn. There goes my idea for a nighttime event,” Samuel deadpanned from his seat in the recliner. Andy and I both laughed loudly.

  “No hookers and no illegal drugs!” I added.

  “No hookers? That leaves you out,” Andy laughed and twisted while I bent forward and started pinching his side. In the next instant, Andy rolled unceremoniously off my lap onto the floor.

  “Oomph!” he grunted.

  I looked up to see that Samuel had grabbed his ankles and turned him off my lap.

  “Don’t call Emelia a hooker.” Samuel frowned with a playful look in his eyes. “I swear to God...You two never change. Now you just call each other harsher names.”

  “Yeah! Don’t call me names!” I stuck my tongue out at Andy who lay on the floor between the couch and the coffee table, laughing. Samuel shook his head and sat back down. Andy lifted himself to sit where he had been dumped to the floor and rested his elbows on his bent knees.

  “So...are you guys ready to get this thing started tomorrow?”

  I glanced over at Samuel to see him looking at me. We both knew Andy was talking about the competition. Maybe Samuel was still hoping I would concede the title to him.

  “I’m ready.” I shrugged.

  “Me too,” Samuel said.

  “So...what do you guys have planned for the first event?” Andy asked. “A daytime activity.”

  “Paintball,” I spoke up. I had researched and found a large compound nearby that rented out everything we would need for a fun-filled paintball battle in the woods. It would be a testosterone-riddled morning of running around while shooting at each other.

  “That will be great!” Andy smiled widely.

  “I think so.” I nodded. I turned my attention to Samuel to see what he had come up with. “Well?” I asked.

  “My plan is more basic,” he said. “A cooler of beer and basketball at the park at the end of the street.”

  “I love basketball! It will be just like when we were kids.” Andy was practically bouncing, and I bit back a groan. Samuel was a sneaky player. Not only did he use the fact that he and his brother always used to play one-on-one...but he also chose an activity that put me at a disadvantage. My five-foot-two stature would hardly be more than a hindrance when playing basketball with men who towered over me.

  “Who else is playing?” I frowned, realizing I didn’t even know who Andy had chosen to be the judges and fellow partiers.

  “They are all guys we knew in school.” Andy smiled. “Dan Warner, Nick Smith, and Zack Little.”

  “Can your friends be impartial?” Samuel asked in a serious voice.

  “Please, Samuel, I hardly knew them.” I shook my head. Their names were familiar, but I couldn’t list any of them as personal friends. If I recalled correctly, at least a couple of them had been on the high school basketball team...which only made matters worse. To the best of my knowledge, Samuel still held some record for most free throws in a single season from his time spent playing the sport in high school. The “judges” for our competition probably revered him.

  “That’s not entirely true,” Andy added. “I think Zack asked you out a few times. But you always turned him down.” Samuel smirked while I groaned.

  “Great. Then one of the judges probably already hates me.”

  Samuel took a long drink of his beer, and I could tell he was trying not to smile. He was obviously happy about this new information.

  “Okay. So, who goes first?” Andy asked. “We’ll do one of your activities tomorrow and the other on the following day.”

  “Samuel can go first,” I offered, trying to keep my voice sounding optimistic. He knew exactly what he was doing when he chose basketball for his activity. It was going to be brutal.

  “Ladies first.” Samuel shook his head.

  “Like I said...” I channeled my inner smartass and smirked over at him with my eyebrows raised. Andy laughed. “Really, though, I need to make reservations. All we have to do for your activity is show up.” I added the last part to make it clear that I was taking the time to organize an event, and Samuel had not put in as much effort.

  “Okay, okay.” Andy rubbed his palms together. “We’ll shoot hoops tomorrow...and paintballs the next day. Sound good?”

  “Fine.” Samuel nodded and shrugged as if it held little importance. However, the tension had crept into the room around us again, and I could feel it. Andy undoubtedly felt it too. He frowned and looked down at the floor.

  I moved to the end of the couch closest to Samuel and reached out my hand to touch his forearm. He turned his head to look at my hand and then raised his eyes to me with surprise.

  “Samuel?” I smiled softly. “I really do want this to be fun. For Andy. I mean...I’m not going to take it easy on you while we are competing. But I’d like for things to stay pleasant when we are not. Can we keep the competition where it belongs...and try to relax and just have a good time while we’re all home?”

  The look in Samuel’s eyes softened, and he placed a warm hand on top of mine.

  “Yes. I’d like that Emelia.” He smiled.

  “Thanks, guys,” Andy said from his seat on the floor. I slid my hand from under Samuel’s and sat back against the couch cushion. “But you might not find that so easy when you start battling it out,” he warned.

  “I’m a master of strategy.” Samuel pretended to twirl a fake moustache, clearly joking around.

  “Ah! Don’t forget, Em has luck on her side,” Andy laughed. I hit him in the head with a throw pillow. “I’ve got the proof.” Andy jumped up from the floor and threw me down on the couch, rolling me to my hip.

  “What are you doing?” Samuel asked while I squealed. Andy was busy tugging the sweatshirt I was wearing up my body. I knew exactly what he was doing, but I struggled to keep him from lifting my shirt and exposing too much of me.

  “Look!” Andy cried victoriously, grabbing my shirt with one hand and my hip with the other to hold me still. Samuel stood and walked over to the couch. I knew what he was looking at, and I closed my eyes tightly. During my freshman year in college, I got a tattoo. It sat high on the side of my body, just under my ribs. In tiny cursive letters was the word “luck,” scrolled beside a four-leaf clover.

  I felt the soft touch of a warm finger trace the dark script. Since I could account for the placeme
nt of both of Andy’s hands, I knew it must have been Samuel. I lay motionless.

  “That’s really kind of pretty,” he said softly. I shivered a little. Andy then dove on top of me and began moving his body against mine in a sawing motion.

  “What are you doing?” Samuel asked loudly.

  “Trying to get her luck to rub off on me,” Andy rasped. I laughed and turned to push him onto the floor again. Tugging my shirt back into place, I sat up. Samuel was looking at me strangely, and I self-consciously raised my hands to smooth my hair. I was sure I looked like some wild-woman after wrestling with Andy.

  “What did Sully say when he found out?” Samuel asked.

  “He hated it.” I shrugged. “But he was glad that I didn’t get one that matched Andy’s tattoo.”

  “Andy has a tattoo?”

  “What you don’t know about your brother...” I mumbled, earning a warning look from my best friend. This was an example of exactly why I should be Andy’s best man.

  Andy lifted the sleeve of his T-shirt to show his brother the design he’d chosen, while explaining that we went together to get tattoos over spring break a couple of years ago. He had the Chinese character for “music” inked largely on his right shoulder. I had considered getting a character representing “art” in similar placement but changed my mind at the last minute. Andy’s tattoo looked great on him. Mine was small and much more concealed. After the initial red-faced freak-out, Dad had been able to easily ignore it.

  “So...hey,” Andy said. “Do we have time for another movie?” I glanced at my watch and bit my lip.

  “I don’t think so.” I shook my head. “I have some things to do tonight. You know...got a big basketball game tomorrow.”

  “That’s right,” Samuel said. “You’ll need your rest.”

  “Hell, if I know Em, she won’t be resting. She’ll be working on her game plan.” Andy grinned. I smiled. He knew me so well.

  “Throw my clothes in the dryer, will you?” I asked. “I’ll give you these back tomorrow.”

  “No problem. See you then.”

  “Noon,” Samuel called as I walked out the door.