My parents came. Andrew’s mother came. My cousin Leah and her husband came. Eliza came early to help.
Then Andrew carried a tray of roasted vegetables into the dining room.
For the first hour, everything was normal.
I started thinking maybe we’d finally gotten past the weirdness.
Then Andrew carried a tray of roasted vegetables into the dining room.
Eliza leaned against the counter with a glass of wine.
“Oh, Andrew, those look amazing.”
“Thanks.”
I put down the spoon in my hand.
“Would you cook for me like this too if we were married?”
The room went quiet.
That strained kind of silence where everyone suddenly becomes interested in napkins.
My face went hot.
I put down the spoon in my hand.
“Eliza—”
“There’s actually something I’d like to bring out for you.”
But Andrew turned around.
He was smiling.
Not warmly.
Calmly.
“You know what?” he said. “There’s actually something I’d like to bring out for you.”
Eliza brightened.
Andrew disappeared down the hallway.
“Oh?”
“A special dish.”
My mother laughed nervously.
Andrew disappeared down the hallway.
Eliza whispered, “See?”
I looked at her.
She was still treating the whole thing like a private game she expected to win.
