The night before the big day was here. Clare had stayed in Modesto the last

three days with Nan. Brian was obviously missing her, and

walking around like he was lost, and in a fog.

Evan and Daniel and I were getting tables set up in the yard, when Brian

came out of the house and started towards the barn.

"Hey, Bri, where you goin'?" Evan greeted him, but got no response as Brian kept on walking,

as if he hadn't heard.

"Hey!" Evan hollared, and then, "Brian!"

Brian stopped and turned around. "Huh?"

"I asked where you were going," Evan repeated.

"Oh. To look for my keys in the Jeep. I can't find them anywhere."

"I saw you put them on top of the mantel," Daniel told him.

"I did?"

"Yep," Daniel said, looking as if he was holding back a smile.

"Okay. Thanks," Brian said, and headed back to the house, shaking his

head and muttering to himself.

The three of us stood there watching him go, and Evan shook his head.

"Man," he said, "He is gone. Way gone."

"Yeah," Daniel agreed. He shrugged. "I guess that's what happens to a guy

when he's about to say 'I do'."

"You'll never catch me acting like that," Evan said in derision.

"And why is that?" Daniel asked him.

"Because no girl is ever going to rope me into marriage."

"What makes you think you'll ever find a girl who'd want to marry you, anyway?" Daniel asked, teasing him.

"For your information," Evan informed him, "I've had two offers of marriage already."

Daniel hooted. "Do tell, little brother. Names, names."

"Well," Evan considered, "Marlene Decker, for one."

"You're so full of it," Daniel said, laughing.

"You'd be surprised," Evan said, "Marlene's not at all as quiet and demure acting

when you get her alone. And one night, up at The Point, well, she just went a little

crazy, and proposed marriage to me."

Daniel looked interested now. "So there's more to her than meets the eye, huh?"

Evan grinned. "Boy, is there! Let's just say, The Point brings out the best in Marlene."

"Interesting," Daniel said.

They'd obviously forgotten I was still there, and when they remembered,

they both looked embarrassed.

"We better get cracking on these tables," Daniel said quickly.

"Yeah, let's go," Evan said, his face nearly as red as his hair.

"Oh, good grief," I said, "You two don't have to get all distressed. I know all about

The Point and what goes on up there."

Two pairs of accusing eyes turned swiftly on me, both equally furious.

"What?!" Evan expostulated..

"Come again?" Daniel asked, putting his hands on his hips, and glaring at

me.

"I meant I know about it, not that I actually know-oh for Pete's sake," I said, flustered.

"Have you ever been up there?" Evan demanded.

"How about I don't answer that?" I told him.

"How about you do?" Evan countered.

I looked at Daniel for support, but found none.

"Evan asked you a question," Daniel told me.

"No, I've never been there!" I yelled. "Happy now?"

"Yeah. Let's keep it that way," Evan said.

"I'm in agreement with that," Daniel said.

"Honestly," I huffed, "you guys can't expect me to stay your innocent little sister

forever!"

"We can hope for it," Daniel said.

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Later Daniel and I got stuck with the task of setting up a canopy, so in the

heat of the day there'd be some shade for the older guests at the wedding. One of our

neighbors had loaned it to us to use, and they'd never even taken it out of the huge box it

came in. It was turning out to be a complicated project.

I was getting tired from all the rushing around I'd been doing the last few days.

"I don't see why we're doing this, when Evan and Ford are inside sitting

on their behinds," I grumbled.

"They'll be back out in a minute. Quit complaining."

As he hammered a post into into the ground, Daniel said, "It turns out you were right, huh, squirt?"

"I'm usually right," I told him. "But what in particular are you talking about?"

"You said there'd be a wedding, this summer, here in the yard."

"Yeah. Maybe you all should listen more closely when I say something, huh?"

"Maybe so."

"I'm really happy for Brian, though."

"Me, too. I think Clare will be good for him."

"How?"

"I think she'll smooth out his rough edges a little."

"Do you think you might get married in the next few years?"

Daniel laughed. "Not in my plans."

"It wasn't in Brian's plans, either," I reminded him.

Daniel looked startled, and then smiled at me. "You have a way, squirt, of getting right to the point of things, you know it?"

"I do my best. What kind of a girl do you think it would take? For you to love her enough to want to marry her, I mean?"

Daniel finished hammering that post and moved to hammer another one.

"Well," he said, looking thoughtful, "I guess honest would be the first thing. And understanding of the life of a musician, maybe be a musician herself, or at least love music. Compassionate."

"And adore your favorite sister. That has to be included in the list, right?"

"Oh, sure, right at the top," Daniel said, and rolled his eyes at me.

When Ford and Evan came back out to help us, the four of us tugged and pulled and stretched, trying for cooperation from the tarp, which was flapping in the breeze. When I accidently let my end go, all three of them hollared at me.

Which I took huge offense at. I promptly stomped across my edge, which was lying on the ground now, and started towards the house.

"Hey!" Daniel yelled. "Get back here!"

"I'm going to get a drink!"

"Not until we're done. Get over here!"

I stomped back.

"I'm tired," I complained.

"No more than the rest of us," Daniel said, without sympathy, and told me to pick up my end again.

"Don't yell at me again," I said, pointing my finger at all three of them.

"Then don't let go of it," Evan said. "I want to get this done. I've got a date tonight."

"I won't let go of it if you'd all do it right," I said. "And you've got a date, even tonight?"

"Why not?"

"Because the wedding's tomorrow!"

"I'm not the one getting married," Evan said carelessly.

"Grrrr," I said, "you're unbelieveable."

"Thank you very much."

"It wasn't a compliment," I informed Evan.

Guthrie made the unfortunate mistake of walking past at that moment, and Daniel called to him.

"Guth! Come over here and help."

Guthrie ambled over, a brownie in one hand and an apple in the other.

"There's four of you. Good gravy, how many more people are you going to need to set this thing up?"

"Just help Harlie hold that edge, and keep your comments to yourself," Daniel ordered.

"Geesh," Guthrie said, and laid his apple down.

After a few more minutes of very little progress, I said, tongue in cheek, "Were there instructions with this thing?"

Daniel gave me a dark look. "Hey," he said warningly.

"I'm just asking," I said innocently.

"Daniel don't need no stinkin' instructions," Evan said, doing a misquoted line

from Mel Brooks 'Blazing Saddles' movie.

All of us except for Daniel burst into laughter.

"Pay attention!" Daniel snapped. "I'm just as tired as the rest of you. I want to put my feet up and drink a beer. Stop complaining. Stop arguing. Stop horsing around. I'm tired of all of you acting like a bunch of juveniles."

Ford, Evan, Guthrie and I all looked at each other, and reached an unspoken agreement. With all the enthusiasm we'd all been lacking from setting up the cabana, the boys dogpiled Daniel, taking him to the ground, and I pulled off one of his boots.

"Say Uncle," Guthrie told Daniel, from his position on Daniel's head.

"No!" Daniel yelled, barely audible.

I started tickling Daniel's foot unmercilessly. Daniel absolutely can't stand for anybody to mess with his feet.

"Who you calling a juvenile?" Ford demanded, pinning down the leg I didn't have

hold of.

Daniel wrenched his foot free from me, and used it to push Ford off of him.

"All of you!" Daniel yelled. "A bunch of babies, all of you!"

"Help me, Evan!" I squealed, and Evan grabbed Daniel's bootless foot, pinned it

under his arm, and said, "Get him, Harlie!"

I went back to work on my job of tickling his foot, and Daniel

yelled, "Not my feet! Leave my damn feet alone!"

We were all laughing so hard that we weren't holding him tightly enough,

and Daniel broke free, dragging Guthrie and Ford with him. We all tumbled into

the precarious cabana, and feet and arms caught, bringing to the ground

what we'd worked for the last hour to erect.

Daniel got to his feet, groaning. "Now look what you babies did," he accused.

Evan, Ford, Guthrie and I burst into wild laughter, and we heard Adam

say, "Just what exactly is going on here?"

Guthrie looked upside down at Adam, from his position laying on the

ground. "Hey, Adam," he said.

Adam and Hannah stood there. Adam was holding a bucket

of water he'd been carrying, and Hannah looked like she was trying not to

laugh.

"I'm glad you hyenas think this is funny," Adam said. "We're gonna be up all

night as it is, and you clowns are out here fooling around."

"That's exactly what I was telling the children," Daniel said. "Quit

fooling around."

"Sleep with one eye open tonight, Daniel," Ford warned, and Daniel grinned.

"All of you, just get it done," Adam ordered.

"Aye aye, Captain Bligh," Guthrie said, saluting Adam upside down, and we all

started laughing again.

That was when Adam doused us all with the bucket of water.

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The long evening was finally over, and the cabana was even set up. We'd just had sandwiches for supper, and I took a glass of milk and went outside to sit in the porch swing.

The screen door squeaked, and Brian came out.

"Is this seat taken?" he asked, pointing to the spot beside me.

"Yeah," I said. "By you."

Brian smiled and sat down beside me, and gave a push to start the swing moving.

"Are you okay?" I asked him.

"I'm fine. It's just times like this I miss smoking. It used to calm my nerves."

I looked at him in surprise. "You used to smoke? I never knew that."

"I quit when you were, oh, I think about three."

"Did Adam ever smoke?"

"No. Not that I know of. Crane did, for awhile."

Now I was really surprised. "Crane? Mr. Health Conscious?"

"Yeah. But don't tell him I told you, alright? I want to be able to not worry about

him poisoning me on his nights to cook."

I laughed.

"I'm serious. He'd be pissed at me for telling you."

"Okay," I assured him. "I'll keep quiet."

"And, hey," Brian said, "don't you ever start, alright? It's damn hard to stop once you start."

"I won't," I promised.

Brian put an arm around my shoulders.

"Are you happy, Bri?" I asked. "Really happy?"

Brian kissed the top of my head. "I'm really happy, peach."

"I'm glad."

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The morning was one of those beautiful summer mornings, sunny, but not

too hot.

When Clare's car came up the drive early that morning, Hannah and I rushed

out, she and Nan and I bringing Clare in so fast we were all giggling. Brian started

towards her from where he was working in the barn.

"Keep him out there," Nan yelled to Crane.

"Yeah, no seeing the bride until the ceremony!" I yelled towards the barn.

"Hey!" Brian protested. "I just want to say hello to her!"

"You can say hello at two o'clock," Hannah called.

Clare, going along with the tradition, held out her arms in Brian's direction,

and called out theatrically, "Hello, cowboy! I love you!"

Brian kept walking. "I'm gonna kiss my girl," he warned us, with the look of

a determined man.

"Grab him!" Nan yelled, and Crane and Adam each snagged one of Brian's arms,

and towed him back to the barn.

Hannah's bedroom was determined to be Wedding Central. Adam's suit was moved

to Crane's bedroom, so he could get dressed there, as his and Hannah's room was

a female-only zone.

There didn't seem to be enough time that morning to get everything done that

needed doing. Hannah was hurrying around so much that she reminded me

of a tornado. Mid-morning I fixed a cup of sweet, hot tea and met her on one of

her many trips down the stairs.

"Here," I said, handing her the steaming cup. "Sit down a minute."

Hannah took the tea gratefully.

"Oh, sweetie, I don't have time to sit down," she protested.

"Take time," I insisted, and pushed her towards the couch.

"Put your feet up, and lay down."

"I'll sit down a minute, but I can't lay down, or I'd be asleep."

We sat for a bit in quiet, companionable silence.

"This is the quietest I've heard the house in weeks," I said.

"We'd better enjoy it while it lasts."

"Hannah?"

"Hmmm?" She sipped her tea.

"Are you alright?"

Hannah met my gaze. "I'm fine, sweetie."

"Okay."

"How long have you known?" she asked me.

"A couple of weeks. I haven't said anything to anybody. Guthrie knows, though.

He figured it out. He's worried."

"I'll talk to him."

"But you feel alright? Things are going along like they should?"

Hannah reached out to smooth my worried forehead.

"I feel fine. Just tired, and that's normal."

"Okay."

There was then a shattering sound from the kitchen, and cursing.

"I'd better go see about that," Hannah said, and went to investigate the most

recent catastrophe.

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