Thursday, June 19

"Connie, there's something I have to tell you."

Mike hadn't slept much that night. He'd spent the wee hours working out how to tell Connie about his parents, much like he would work out a summation. Now, as they sat in her living room enjoying a quick breakfast, he decided to just bite the bullet and do it.

"What?" Turning to face him, Connie wiped the butter from the corners of her mouth with a napkin. Even in mundane moments like this, with no makeup and in a tattered bathrobe, she was beautiful. Mike couldn't wait to spend the rest of his life with her.

If he could get past telling her the bad news, and if she didn't kill him first.

Mike exhaled. "My parents…they're going to be at the wedding," he said.

"Mike!" Connie exclaimed, frowning sharply. "We agreed on a private ceremony!"

"Would you let me explain?"

"Do I really want to hear it?"

Mike sighed. "You know that I speak to my mother on the phone every week. I told her about the wedding – Connie, she sounded so heartbroken when she learned that she couldn't come. I felt guilty, so I suggested that she and Dad book a ticket to Vegas."

Connie gave him a little smile. "So you did it to spare your mother's feelings."

"Yes. Forgive me?"

She sipped her coffee. "I can't say I'm not disappointed. But on the bright side, it spares us having to go through a second ceremony. Since your parents are coming, I'll call my mother today and find out if she and my sister can make it."

Inwardly, Mike gave a sigh of relief.

Mike had something important to ask Jack.

All morning, he'd been seeking the right moment to speak with his boss – but Jack was either in a meeting, or on the phone, or otherwise unavailable. Finally, Mike spotted him going into his office. He followed the district attorney across the threshold.

"Jack, can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure," Jack said, sitting down behind his desk. "Is it the Holman case?"

Mike shook his head, taking a seat in one of the chairs. "It's personal."

"Okay. Can I safely assume that it's about your upcoming nuptials?"

"Yes," Mike said. "You know that Connie thinks the world of you."

Jack smiled. "She hasn't told me as much, but that's good to hear."

"And her father passed away several years ago, meaning that she has no one to walk her down the aisle. Jack, I was wondering if you would do it."

There was a brief silence between the two men.

"I'm honored," Jack finally said. "But why isn't Connie asking me this?"

"Because I think she expects to walk down the aisle alone, and I don't want that. Would you please consider it? For her?"

"Sure. Where's the wedding going to be?"

"In Las Vegas," Mike said. "I hope that won't be a problem."

"Vegas? It's been years since I've been there, but I'm up for a weekend in Sin City."

Now it was Mike's turn to smile. "And while I'm asking you favors, I'm also without a best man. Would you consider doing double duty?"

"For all the conflicts we've had, Mike, I never expected to be asked that."

"Connie's not the only one who thinks the world of you. So what do you say?"

"Why not?"

Mike smiled again. "Thanks, Jack – I mean it. I really owe you."

"And you know what they say, Mike," Jack said with a wink. "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas."