“Lily did the Civil Rights Movement,” the Ice Queen said, rolling her eyes.
“You’ll never stop criticizing me for that!” I growled. “It was culturally relevant. Did you know that at the height of the Civil Rights movement as many as thirty percent of lawyers signing up voters in the south were Jewish?” They all stared at me.
“Las Vegas?” Mr. J. repeated enthusiastically. “I have tons of contacts in Vegas.” There was a shocker. It was my turn to roll my eyes.
“Oh yeah?” Adam sounded pretty enthusiastic too. I began to suspect that maybe he had never really gotten the “showman” out of his system.
“Yes! And it’s simply the perfect place for last minute wedding that’s still fabulous!”
“Vegas?” My mother sounded like she was asking him to describe his occasional irregularity.
“Vegas?” Deb echoed. She didn’t sound nearly as excited as her baby boy.
“Vegas!” Bruce said with a happy smile. Well, at least he was in.
“I don’t think Vegas is a good idea,” my mother said dismissively.
“I think it’s a great idea,” I said. Suddenly, I was a big fan of Sin City.
“Lily, I don’t …” she tried again.
“I don’t care. Adam likes the idea, and so do I. Vegas it is.” We glared at each other.
“Mommy, will you blow up the balloon?” Josh asked from somewhere beneath the edge of the table, breaking the tension.
“In a minute, honey,” Hannah answered. “You know, it might not be a bad idea. I mean, like he said, Vegas is perfect for last minute weddings and it will be warmer there.”
“Yeah,” Sarah agreed. “And just because it’s Vegas doesn’t mean it has to be tacky.” Adam’s sisters obviously had my back and I loved them for it.
“Mommy, I want the balloon,” Josh started to whine.
“Be patient a minute, Joshua, and wait until Mommy’s done talking,” Hannah chided. “Rabbi Stein could still marry them. I’ll bet that he would love to take a little weekend trip.”
Suddenly, everyone was involved in an animated discussion of a Las Vegas wedding. I was about to make a point about something, when I felt a little tug on my shirt. I looked down and there was Josh. Holding a condom.
I grabbed Adam’s leg under the table. Or I should say, I meant to grab his leg, but I was a little off with my aim. He sat up with a jolt and I felt him get hard in my hand. This was going downhill fast. He looked at me like I was nuts. I jerked my head toward Josh, who was still standing there holding his “balloon.” Adam followed my gaze and his eyes got wider.
“Lure him into the other room,” Adam hissed quietly into my ear.
“He knows you better. He’s more likely to follow you,” I whispered back.
“I’m indisposed,” he answered through gritted teeth.
“Sorry about that.”
“Just do it, Lilith. My sister will freak out and want to know why we weren’t more careful.”
“Well, jeez, you don’t have to be so angry. It’s not like I left it sitting out.”
“Neither did I. He must have been exploring, but she’ll still freak out. Now get him in the other room and give him something else to play with. I should be fine in a minute.”
“Hey, Josh. Come with me,” I whispered excitedly. He responded with a big smile and I led him off to the bathroom. When we got there, I looked around frantically for something to trade. Then I had an idea. “Want to see something really neat? Here give me your balloon and I’ll show you.” Miraculously, he went for it. Five minutes later, Adam came looking for me. He poked his head in the bathroom door and froze. Slowly, a huge grin spread across his face.
“Uncle Adam, look. I’m making Lily look silly,” Josh said with a huge smile as he continued sculpting my shaving cream beard.
“I see that. You can start calling her Aunt Lily, Josh. She’s going to be my wife soon.” The way he said it, and the way he was looking at me, made me feel all choked up. “And someday she’s going to be a great mommy too.”
That one made me lose it, and I felt my eyes fill up with tears. So I sat there on the bathroom floor, covered in shaving cream, laughing and crying at the same time while Adam got a towel and started gently wiping Josh and me up. Even though I didn’t think it was possible, I loved him even more then.
By the time I got back out to the table, smelling spicy and manly, they had discussed some details already. For one thing, I found out that my parents were footing the bill. They got no argument from me on that. My initial reaction was to tell them to keep their money, but then I realized how juvenile and foolish that would be. My parents were loaded; I was their only child and Adam and I could use our money for other things.
I also found out that Mr. Jonathan had connections at Marrakesh, a luxury hotel and casino in Las Vegas with a Moroccan theme. My initial reaction to that was “Oh my God. You’re kidding, right?” but then I saw the light in my groom’s eyes. Seeing him so excited, melted me. Visions of camels and slot machines filled my head, but hell, I was in love.
The Roths wanted to pay for the rehearsal dinner, but also for us to have a honeymoon after the wedding. Bruce was friends with a travel agent who could get us a great price on a trip to Rio. Wow, now that, was a dream location for me! Everybody was pitching in and it looked like we were going to get exactly the wedding we wanted. Why did that feel too good to be true?
Chapter Thirteen
That night we had a joint Game Night/Girl’s Night at Gab and Braden’s place. While the guys sat around the big screen TV watching a football game in the living-room, we sat in the parlor looking at bridal magazines.
Jess and Gab were really excited about staying at Marrakesh and I had to admit that when they described what they had read about it on the internet, it did sound like fun. The place supposedly had a model of a traditional Moroccan market place, sword dancers, tents, and a huge pool with fountains that was covered by a glass enclosure in the cooler months. It may not have been the real thing, but it seemed to make everyone happy.
At one point I got up to go the bathroom and on my way back, as I passed near the living-room, I heard the guys talking about Vegas themselves. I didn’t stop to listen in, at least not initially, but I heard what they were saying anyway. It’s not like they were whispering.
“I guess we should wait until we get to Vegas to have your bachelor party,” Braden said. Wait a minute! Bachelor party? I paused in mid-stride.