Save the Date (7 page)

The following weekend is Sofia’s college graduation, not that anyone seems to remember that in all the manic wedding activity going on around our house. But
I
remember, and I’ve been planning my graduation present for her for months.

What I’d really like to do is take her somewhere for a weekend—away from weddings and sisters and craziness—but I can’t afford that, so instead I’ve been putting together a photo album of her life, starting with baby pictures and going all the way up until her graduation, which I’m saving the last couple of pages for.

The plan was originally for me, Mom, Dad,
Vicky, and Paris to drive up on Saturday and stay in a hotel for the weekend, while Sydney and Alex and their husbands joined us just for the ceremony on Sunday. But now Vicky and Paris are both refusing to either ride in the same car with each other or stay in the same hotel.

And then on Thursday, Vicky finds out that she can’t have the particular flowers she wanted on top of her cake because they’re, like, poisonous (seriously), so she flips out. That same day, Paris discovers that the white sandals she wore to her prom SIX YEARS AGO no longer fit and moreover have scuff marks on the heels, so she can no longer wear them for her wedding like she’d planned, which sends
her
into a major spiraling meltdown too. I’m sure I’m not the only one who finds her timing suspicious.

When I get home from school on Friday, Paris is upstairs throwing shoeboxes around her room and yelling at Mom, as if it’s Mom’s fault that Paris’s feet got bigger, while Dad is on the phone with Victoria saying something about how absolutely lovely daffodils are. Poor Dad.
But really, that’s what he gets for having six girls.

I go straight to my room and pack a backpack. I reluctantly include a couple of textbooks, since my finals start next week, but I’m pretty sure I won’t even look at them. I pack the photo album and my camera in a separate bag to keep them safe. Then I go downstairs and shove a note under my dad’s nose.

It says:

I’m taking the Toyota and going to stay with Sofia tonight. I’ll see you there tomorrow…hopefully!

Dad looks at me wearily and nods. He can’t even interrupt Victoria’s ranting long enough to argue with me or give me a stern lecture about safe driving. From the look on his face, I bet he wishes he could escape with me too.

I hurry out the door and jump in the car before anyone can stop me. It means Mom and Dad will have to get a ride with Paris or Victoria tomorrow, but there is no way I can stay in our house another night…and besides, Sofia is more important. She should have at least one
member of her family acting like her college graduation is just as important as some wedding.

It doesn’t occur to me to call Sofia and tell her I’m coming a night early. After all, I’ve crashed on her floor at college a million times, and I figure I can help her pack and prepare her for the wedding madness heading her way. Besides, I never use the phone while I’m driving—it’s one of Dad’s strictest rules.

It doesn’t occur to me to warn her as I pull into the visitor parking lot, or as I follow a bunch of hooting seniors through the swipe-card door into her dorm. In fact, it doesn’t occur to me at all until I open the door to her room, hear a startled shriek, and see what I am pretty sure is a
naked boy
hurtle himself out of her bed and dash into the bathroom.

“Jack!” Sofia yelps, sitting up with the bed-covers clutched to her chest. “What are you doing here?”

I would say something witty or at least informational, but my jaw has hit the floor and doesn’t seem to be coming back anytime soon. I had no
idea she was dating anyone. I mean…why wouldn’t she have told me?

Then Sofia—because she is Sofia and she is wonderful—starts cracking up. Any of my other sisters would be furious if I walked in on them like this, but Sofia just thinks it’s hilarious.

“Oh my God, your face,” she says, shaking with laughter. “I’ve never seen you look so horrified.”

“Well, good grief, Sofia,” I say, trying to smile. “Shouldn’t there be a tie on the door or something?”

“I have a single,” Sofia reminds me. “And
most
people don’t just barge in without knocking. But come in, and shut the door.”

“What about poor Mister Mystery Man in the bathroom?” I say.

“Oh—right. Actually, could you wait outside for a minute?”

“Sure.” I close the door and sit down in her hallway. I have no idea what to think. The only guy Sofia ever dated was Ben, the one from England, and that was really serious, until his
semester abroad was over and he had to go home. She’d told me everything about it while it was happening. He came to a couple of family barbecues, not to mention Sydney’s wedding, of course. Why wouldn’t she have told me about this new guy?

Finally Sofia opens the door and lets me back into her room. She’s fully clothed now, and so is the guy sitting on her bed, looking very sheepish.

My mouth drops open again.

“Jack,” Sofia says happily, “you remember Ben.”

Yeah, I do. I remember how brokenhearted she was after he left, and how they spent months e-mailing and racking up huge international long-distance bills before agreeing to “see other people.”

“Hey, Jack,” Ben says in his much-too-cute British accent. “Nice to see you again.” He has sandy blond hair and kind of a Heath-Ledger-meets-Merchant-Ivory look about him.

“Um…you too?” I say, shooting Sofia a look.

“Okay,” she says. “I think I have to take Jack to the snack bar for a milk shake and a quick chat. We’ll be back in about half an hour, okay, Ben?”

“No worries,” he says. “I’ll finish reading your thesis while you’re gone.”

“Yeah, right,” Sofia says with a grin. “The Xbox is in the common room.”

“Sweet,” he says, jumping to his feet.

Soon Sofia and I are sitting in a booth with two chocolate milk shakes and a plate of cheese fries, which I have demanded because I think cheese fries are the least she can do to make up for not telling me about the Return of Ben for, as it turns out,
three months
.

“Three
months
?” I say.

“He just showed up,” Sofia says, tearing the wrapper off her straw. “He appeared, like a vision, outside my window in the middle of the night. He said he’s been thinking about me ever since he left and he can’t live without me.” She pokes her milk shake and sighs dreamily. “I knew it. I knew he was the Love of My Life.”

“Okay, Sofia,” I say, “this is the very first time I have ever seen evidence that you’re related to our other sisters. I mean, you sound like Victoria. Or worse, Paris.”

“This is so different!” Sofia says earnestly. “I didn’t just meet him, like Paris and Jiro.”

“And he’s not a total dork, like Kevin,” I muse. “That is true.”

“Besides, we’re not getting married or anything crazy like that,” Sofia says. “But he got a job in the States for the summer, so we’re going to just kinda…see what happens.”

“Do
not
bring him to Victoria’s wedding,” I say, pointing a fry at her. “I am warning you. You will seriously regret it.”

“Oh, we’ll see,” Sofia says, taking a sip of her milk shake. “I mean, if Paris really isn’t going, there would be room at our table…”

Sigh. This is going to make it harder than ever for me to avoid getting paired up with someone by Victoria. Maybe she’ll let me bring one of my friends from school, if I can get them to come back from their thrilling
adventures for a weekend.

“So—why didn’t you tell me?” I ask.

“I…well…I don’t know,” Sofia says. “I mean, a lot of reasons. I didn’t know what was going to happen with Ben—he showed up so suddenly, and it did seem kind of crazy jumping back into things. I wasn’t sure what anyone would think. And you have your vow, so I kind of felt bad dating when you’re not with anyone.”

“Sofia, please,” I say, “don’t ever worry about that again. I want to know what’s happening with you, and I’ll never judge you. That’s my job as best sister…to support you no matter what.”

She smiles. “I know you do. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”

“Well, now I know why you’ve been so cheerful lately,” I say, snagging two more fries.

“Hey, I’m always cheerful!”

“Yeah, but this is different.” I smile at her.

“I’m glad you’re happy.”

“Me too,” she says with a goofy grin. She
pauses, watching me dip my fries in ketchup. “Um, so…Mom and Dad aren’t showing up tonight too, are they?”

“Nope. I bet they wish they could, but both Paris and Victoria are freaking out about wedding stuff, so I fled with their car. They’ll get a ride up with them tomorrow.” I shake my head.

“Probably one in each car, so Paris and Vicky can each have someone to complain to the whole way.”

“Poor Mom and Dad,” Sofia says.

“Poor Mom and Dad nothin’,” I say. “Poor
me
. I’m the one Paris wakes up at three
A.M
. to ask if I prefer sunflowers or snapdragons. I’m the one Victoria keeps e-mailing to find her the lyrics of all these different songs, so she can pick a first dance. I mean, has the girl seriously not heard of Google? Why is this my job?”

“You should tell them to leave you alone,” Sofia says. “Tell them you have finals.”

“Sure,” I say. “Like you’d ever do that.”

“Well, it’s not really fair to you, being the one who’s been home for all of these weddings,”
Sofia says. “I’m sorry I’ve been at college for so much of it.”

“That’s okay.” I grin. “You’ll make up for it this summer, right?”

“I will!” she says. “I’ll start first thing tomorrow.”

I steal a large puddle of cheese. “I’m sleeping in the common room tonight, aren’t I?”

She makes an anguished face. “Do you mind? It’s just—Ben is only here for tonight, because I knew you all were coming tomorrow, so I was kind of hoping to spend some time with him. You know…before I’m back living at home and it all gets complicated again.”

“It’s totally fine,” I say. “I should let you enjoy your last couple weeks of happiness, before the Wedding Curse takes you down.”

“Not going to happen,” Sofia declares.

“Okay, let’s go back and wrest Ben away from the Xbox. We can all go to dinner together.”

“No, no,” I say as we stand up. “You two go ahead. I have plenty of studying to do, and you don’t need a third wheel on your last night
together. I’ll just hang out in your common room.”

“Oh, Jack,” Sofia says, biting her lip. “Are you sure? I feel bad….”

“Don’t,” I say. “I’ll get to hang out with you all summer, and trust me, your common room is
infinitely
preferable to our house right now. I’ll be happy just to get some sleep.”

Of course, I’ve forgotten how noisy college kids can be, especially two days before graduation. Luckily Sofia only shares her common room with three other girls, all of them as quiet as she is, or there would probably be people tromping in and out all night long. As it is, I can hear the revelers through the window, hollering and whooping outside late into the night.

At about ten o’clock, I’m hunched over my chemistry textbook, trying to pound formulas into my head, when I hear my cell phone vibrating in the zipper pocket of my backpack. I’m able to dig it out and answer it just before it goes to voice mail, and it isn’t until I’m saying
hello that I realize I don’t recognize the phone number.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Jack.”

Oh my goodness. An odd thrill runs through me all the way to my toes as I hear Leo’s rumbling voice on my phone. Bad, bad Jack; this is not how I’m supposed to react.

“Leo?” I say. “How did you get my number?”

“Your sister gave it to me,” he says.

“Which one?” I ask. “And please don’t tell me you’re calling about a wedding catastrophe. This is my one night away from wedding catastrophes.”

He chuckles, a sweet, friendly sound that makes me want to curl up in his arms. I wrap a blanket around myself and lean back on Sofia’s futon.

“Well, yes,” he says, “I think Paris was hoping I’d call to harass you about finding those rental equipment places.”

I groan woefully. When in the middle of studying for finals was I supposed to do that?

“But,” he adds quickly, “I’ve already done all the research. So you don’t have to worry about it.”

“Really?” I say. “How is that possible? Are you a superhero? A wedding planning superhero?”

He laughs again. “I wish I could claim that, but the truth is we have files of all that information in my mom’s office. It was pretty easy to pull together.”

“Thank goodness,” I say. “And thank you so much.”

“I figure it was the least I could do after getting you roped into it,” Leo says. “And it
is
really the wedding planner’s job.” He pauses, and I have a feeling we’re both thinking about the kiss in the dark.

“So why are you calling?” I ask quickly. “I mean, if it’s not to check up on my wedding to-do list?”

“Um…just to say hi,” he says. “But Paris told me you’re hanging out with Sofia, so—”

“Actually, I’m not,” I interrupt him. “It turns
out she’s got a
boy
here.”

“Whoa, really?” he says. “Does Victoria know? Is he going to be her date to the wedding?”

I laugh. “You have been spending too much time with my sisters if that’s your first thought.”

“You might be right about that,” he says. “So tell me about this guy.”

It’s kind of nice to have someone to talk to about it—someone who hasn’t met him and who might be able to be objective because he hasn’t been bedazzled by Ben’s cute accent. I tell him about how Sofia was totally in love with Ben, and how crushed she was when he left, and how apparently he’s been pining for her for the last year. Leo thinks it’s sweet, too, so perhaps I’m worrying about nothing, but then again, his mom did say he’s a romantic.

I don’t tell him the rest of the story about Sydney’s wedding, though. I don’t tell him about David, and how he dumped me the day after the wedding and admitted he would have done it sooner but he was holding out for, as he
put it, “the free food, the open bar, and the awesome party.” I don’t tell him the even worse parts of the David story. Or how Sofia and I were lucky to have each other to lean on once Ben and David were gone.