Joe smiled warmly at Bee and then at Vicki. He and Vicki then leaned into each other like proud parents, their shoulders touching.

“She looks perfect,” Vicki said, her eyes suddenly full of sad tears. Her mouth drooped. Her shoulders jerked and she swallowed a sob.

Joe put his arm around her, confused, but felt victory as she leaned into his embrace and placed one of her hands on the front of his brown lapel. “It’s okay,” he whispered, pulling a tissue out of one of his pockets. She composed herself quickly as the guests sat down.

“Are you all right?” Joe asked, whispering in her ear as she sat up too straight, shifting her eyes down the aisle to see if Tom had spotted her brief breakdown.

“I’m fine,” Vicki said, almost inaudibly. “Actually,” she whispered too loudly, as the pastor started the ceremony, “I’m fucking depressed.”

Two older women in front of them turned in their seats to flash an angry look at Vicki and Joe. Joe recognized them as Donna’s sisters.

Joe tried to suppress laughter at the ladies’ schoolmarmishness, but Vicki was already giggling. Fearing that they would cause a scene, they both hung their heads, looking at their laps, their shoulders jerking wildly as they attempted to keep silent. They leaned into each other, trying to control themselves. In the corner of his eye, Joe saw that Tom was now looking their way, puzzled about what was so amusing. He stared at Vicki, confused, then flashed a weak grin as he made eye contact with Joe.

Joe turned to Vicki, whose head was still down. He could hear the pastor welcoming the guests to the ceremony, but he didn’t look up. He offered Vicki his hand, and she grabbed it, squeezing it tight.

Phil

As soon as the bride and groom said, “I do,” Phil sprung from his folding chair to find the bathroom in the clubhouse’s lobby. Once inside, he fished his cell phone out of his pocket and scrolled through it to find the last number he’d dialed, trying not to think about the call from his bookie he’d let go to voice mail. He hit “send” and saw “Mom” flash on the screen. She picked up after two rings.

“Hello?” He could hear more sickness in her raspy voice. She sounded muffled, like there was a layer of cotton between the phone and her face.

“Nancy, you sound terrible,” he said, teasing her by calling her by her first name.

“I actually feel better than I did last night, honey. Wait—what time is it? Isn’t it time for the wedding? Are you in Annapolis yet?” She ended her question with a cough.

“I’m here. They just said ‘I do,’” Phil said in a whisper, wondering if anyone on the other side of the bathroom door could hear him.

Nancy continued, firing off questions about the ceremony, which he mostly ignored. “How does Barb look? What was the bride’s dress like? Did Matt look nervous? What are you wearing? Are you wearing something clean?”