Page 91 of Dreams and Reptiles

The venue was exactly as beautiful as Francis had imagined it would be, with white and yellow flowers and decorations everywhere. With the fountain spraying on the lake, the blue sky overhead, and a slight breeze through the grass and trees, it was a perfect fall day for a wedding. Shay had done such a bang-up job decorating the chairs for the ceremony, and the tent looked amazing for the reception. Having her work with Francis had been a surprisingly good idea, and it was wonderful to see her get her spark back.

Shay was helping the family get organized, while Karen talked to Todd in the guest wing. Anne and Judy were assisting the caterers to prep the food and store it in the house while the serving staff prepared the buffet in the tent. They’d called the day before and insisted the seafood was not a great idea at an outdoor wedding, so they were preparing various chicken dishes. Most of the guests had arrived by thirty minutes before the ceremony was supposed to start, and the entire property was buzzing with activity.

I took a moment to slip away to check on Alberto and my crew.

As I walked past the pool yard, I saw Karen and Todd hugging. She was apologizing to him. He was so kind to her, kinder than she probably deserved considering she’d canceled at the last minute, but his smile seemed a bit relieved. Perhaps he’d felt pressured to do this before he was ready, as well.

I nodded to them, and she waved as they held hands and walked back toward the house. Alberto was in the tortoise yard when I walked up, filling the hole with water.

“Everyone present and accounted for,” he said. “Just giving them some fresh water. It’s toasty already.”

“Thank you so much for being here. I really appreciate you, Alberto.”

“No need. I love these guys, and I’m enjoying my work here so much. I appreciate you giving me the opportunity. Plus, Foggy Basin is a pretty cool town. It’s nice to get away from the rat race for a few days at a time.”

“I’m glad. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got some wedding rings to grab.”

Alberto’s eyes bugged out, and he started to speak, but I held up a hand.

“I’ll explain it all later! Thank you.”

I pulled the rings out of my top drawer, where I’d wrapped them in one of Grandpa’s handkerchiefs. They were both simple gold bands and both were probably too big for Francis, but we could get them sized. I couldn’t believe I was even considering springing a proposal on Francis during his most chaotic day, and maybe I’d wait a bit until things calmed down, but today was decidedly the day. I’d made up my mind. I would give him something positive to remember this day by. And even if he wasn’t ready or said he didn’t want to get married, he’d know how much I loved him.

I ran back up the hill and saw Francis’s father standing at the edge of the pool yard, watching the goings on with and smoking a cigarette. Interesting.

Since it seemed I was all about the spontaneous decisions today, I walked right up to the man and stuck out my hand, the rings feeling warm in the chest pocket of my suit.

“I’m Kendall Warren. You must be⁠—”

“Dominic. Liang. You’re Francis’s boyfriend.”

“I am.”

He nodded and stubbed out his cigarette, looked around for a place to put it, then shoved it in the pocket of his black slacks.

“Anne told me the two of you are close and that you’ve been a big help to Francis in his new life here. Thank you for that.”

He was about my height, a little taller than his son, but they were built exactly the same, all long lines and excellent posture. Francis clearly got his mother’s facial features, however. There was nothing mischievous or humorous in this man’s expression. He looked sad. Defeated. Like a man whose pride had lost him a beautiful wife and an amazing son.

What was he doing here?

“No thanks necessary. Francis is brilliant. He had a plan, and he’s made something pretty amazing here.”

Dominic looked out over the crowd of guests that were now making their way to the seats for the ceremony, and he sighed. “He is a much better man than me.”

“Have you two had a chance to talk?”

He shook his head. “Not yet. I did not realize… He has a lot of things to do.”

“He does. And I hope you’ll forgive my forwardness, but he really doesn’t need more stress today. I know the two of you need to talk, but I hope you’ll respect his wishes if he’s not ready to speak yet.”

“I had no idea that he had such an involved operation. There must be close to two hundred people here.”

“Yes, and the wedding party has been particularly difficult to deal with. And now they’ve called off the wedding, so Francis is going to have to make the announcement here pretty soon.” I hated this for him. I’d wanted everything to be perfect, as if it were his own wedding.

“He can handle it. He’s handled so much more…” He trailed off and rubbed at his mouth.

I knew I should keep my mouth shut, but all I could think of was Francis’s reaction to me and Shay having an argument.