Reed wore a pale summer suit that I had teased him about for months and an old gray hat that he refused to replace even though the inside band was coming apart.
The entire scene looked exactly the way we had planned it.
Except for the people in the back.
I had noticed them while walking toward the ceremony.
Nine people, maybe ten.
An older woman in a blue dress.
A heavyset man wearing a plaid shirt.
A couple around our age.
A thin man with silver hair and very polished black shoes.
A woman with a teenage boy beside her.
None of them looked lost.
They weren’t whispering to one another or searching for another wedding.
They were watching Reed.
And Reed knew them.
That much became obvious the moment I reached him.
His expression changed when he looked over my shoulder.
Not fear exactly.
Something softer.
Almost embarrassment.
