Page 95 of Lau Ahi
He laughed arrogantly as he glanced between us. “Is it really that deep?”
“You’re just looking for a reason to complain, Asha. He hasn’t said a word.” Their mother stepped in for him and even though I hadn’t spoken to mine in a minute, I doubt she would ever do something so emasculating.
“I haven’t said anything because I wasn’t addressed. If anyone at this table knows me well besides Pappy it’s her. So, yes, I wasn’t speaking because I wasn’t spoken to. When I spoke with you I gave you the respect of calling you Mrs. Avery. I didn’t call you Jackie because our relationship doesn’t denote that type of familiarity. Therefore, this same respect should be given to me until I give you leeway to do otherwise.”
Silence blanketed the table and it wasn’t uncomfortable for our side of the table. The Avery side was a mix of emotions.
“About the stag party, Ori. I don’t mind throwing it for you. I just need the names and numbers of the groomsmen and I can get it all set up.” William Jr. was attempting to right his wrong but even in that attempt he was fucking up and making another misstep.
“You don’t live here so I’m trying to understand why you would need to plan the bachelor party as opposed to someone who does.”
His grin dimmed slightly as he looked around the table thinking someone was going to speak up for him. His features were a mix of his parents, with him taking on the thinner lips and nose of his father. Despite no one coming to his aid, he forged ahead. “Because I’m the best man.”
Asha’s mouth widened, Sasha gasped and I could tell that Pappy tensed up. I rubbed Asha’s shoulder as I battled to keep my temper in check. “What gave you that impression?”
He glanced at his mother who seemed just as surprised as he did, before he turned back to me. “It’s tradition that members of the family have important roles in the bridal party. I’m the bride's only brother and I know Sasha is going to be Maid of Honor. It’s only right that I be the best man.”
“What’s my middle name?”
He looked confused before he laughed off my question like it wasn’t important. “What? I haven’t the faintest idea.”
“My birthday? Favorite color? How many stitches did I need to close the gash on my foot the last time I went surfing? What about the importance of the tattoos on my arms?” I rattled off a list of questions to see if he knew anything about me. I could feel Asha tensing beside me because some questions I asked, she wouldn’t know the answers to either. I hadn’t asked them to make her feel bad but it was the truth. Instead of speaking and giving her false reassurance I rubbed her shoulder again trying to provide a measure of comfort.
William Jr scoffed and picked up his drink before finishing it. “I just met you today.”
“Precisely. So what makes you think I would ignore the men who have been in my life, mybrothers, for someone I just met today? If Asha has no place for you in the wedding I’m more than happy for you to be a groomsman or an usher—”
“AN USHER?” Their mother’s voice was raised as though this type of position in our wedding was somehow a grave insult to her favorite child.
“—But taking the spot of best man when frankly there’s a long list of people better qualified for the position than you is a ridiculous request. We don’t know each other. Before tonight, there had been no attempts to foster a relationship despite this engagement having been set for months. And even if you had wanted to, I’m good on friends. I’m far too busy with all my jobs to make new ones. So, you can get in where you fit in but I’m not about to shaft someone else just to placate your ego.”
That was all I was going to say on that and if he didn’t like it, his only recourse was to sulk the way he currently was.
“Whatever positions in the wedding you all decide will be more than adequate. You are the bride and groom and it is your day. Your wishes are the only ones that matter.”
Their father nodded at me conveying there were no hard feelings and frankly I wouldn’t have cared if there were.
Conversation shifted away from us as everyone finished up their food, and we placed our orders for dessert. I had no desire to linger but there was one last thing that needed to be done tonight and it was the type of spectacle that I wouldn’t usually make.
“While you all are here,” I moved my chair back while reaching into the pocket of my jacket. Sasha gasped and I could see Pappy’s grin out of the corner of my eye as I looked down at Asha.
“I know that box.” Asha’s eyes were wide as the familiarity of the packaging I held in my hand seemed to surprise her.
“I’m sure you do.” I didn’t say much simply moved the box around between my fingers as I watched her smile grow bigger.
“Is this why my friend has been asking me these random questions lately?”
I didn’t bother to lie to her since she knew what was inside. Although this was a formality, I still felt pressed to give her a moment she could look back on. Maybe not fondly, but with fewer ill feelings about all of this. A moment where she could see I sought to make her happy even if the situation wasn’t perfect. Xerx had put the bug in my ear weeks ago and I’d acted on it almost immediately. I was sure he knew about it because his cousin-in-law was the jeweler I’d chosen. She was also one of Asha’s best friends. We’d completed the details at his wedding and it had been delivered by courier within a week.
“It is.”
She tried to keep her face neutral but I could see the smile that she was biting back. “This is really unexpected.”
“That’s the point, isn’t it?”
The pleasure on her face was contagious and I felt that unfamiliar tug that had been becoming more familiar play on my lips. I flipped open the top of the box and showed her the blue velvet Kashmir sapphire that rested inside. The original sapphire had been set inside a necklace for some railroad magnate’s wife from the late 19thcentury but I had Nevaeh remove it from its original setting and fashion Asha’s engagement ring with it. Sapphires were calming to the mind promoting relaxation and protecting a person from negative spirits. If anyone needed that additional help in this world, it was my future wife. To me she deserved to have someone that would go above the norm for her and having her best friend craft a ring for her after going through so much effort showed this wasn’t just an arrangement for me. At least not entirely.
“Semira Asha Avery Afwerki, will you do me the honor of wearing this ring as the first of many tokens of appreciation for considering becoming my wife?”
