Played to Death (21 page)

Everyone applauded again. Pete opened his mouth, paused for a moment, then said, “Ditto.”

More laughter and applause. Kevin pressed a beer into Pete’s hand. “I think you need a drink.”

Dad, Uncle Doug, Uncle Dennis and Jon carefully dumped the boil onto the newspaper-covered picnic tables, and we dug in. After a minute or two Pete elbowed me. “Look who’s meeting the family.”

Kevin and Kristen were at a table with my dad, Barb, and Jeff and Val. I said, “Crap. I hope neither of them is moving too fast. They’ve each only been free for a month or so.”

“I think they’re both smarter than that.”

I hoped he was right. I looked around the tables at my friends and family, and my heart swelled with love for all of them. Pete must have been feeling the same; he leaned over to me and whispered, “This is the best day of my life.”

I grinned and squeezed his hand under the table. “Ditto.”

Acknowledgements

Jamie’s wedding poem is partially adapted from the Crowded House song,
Don’t Dream It’s Over
.

Thanks to Janson Jones for the name of the Venusta String Quartet.
Venusta
is Latin for
beauty
.

Thanks as always to my fiction writing group: Becca, Bryan, Chris, Dustin, Maggie, Michael, and Michelle. Thanks as always to Stephanie Reppas at October Design Co. for the cover. Thanks as always to my editor, Chris, the best there is.

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