Emilio had managed to rise to his feet, but I marched up to him, shoved both hands against his chest, and knocked him back down.

“You sicko!” I screamed. “You get out of here! Get out of here now, before I grab one these knives and cut your throat, you fiend! You were going to drown a poor, helpless little cat! My poor, helpless cat! Get of here right now before I knock you senseless and drag you to the bathtub and hold your head underwater and see how you—”

While I was in the midst of my tirade, Emilio scrambled to his feet. Clutching his jaw, he crushed Ade’s flowers as he backed out of the kitchen. Everyone who remained was frozen in place, but poor Héctor and Alfonso looked more dazed than anyone else. As Josh began explaining the situation to them in Spanish, I explained in English.

“Good God!” my mother said, shaking her head. “Well, we simply can’t have him here. Good riddance! What kind of monster would do that to a cat? And Emilio of all people! I never would have guessed. Never!” She paused and said, “And to think that he went to Princeton!”

Digger’s muscular hands began forcefully yanking seeds from the pumpkin. “Seriously. What a scumbag!”

Robin remained silent but scurried to pick up the mass of flowers that had fallen to the floor.

I took a deep breath. I couldn’t help but feel that the gods were conspiring to ruin what was supposed to be Adrianna’s perfect day. But Inga, I reminded myself, was, after all, safe; Josh, my Josh, had snatched her from Emilio’s clutches. “Okay,” I said, “let’s all just calm down. Adrianna is going to lose it if she finds out that there was an actual fistfight at her wedding. Or almost at her wedding. Although, I suppose it was more of a clobbering than anything else.” I grinned at Josh, who winked at me. I mentally kicked myself for having given Emilio a second thought.

“Yeah, and I got it all on film!” Nelson whispered excitedly.

I didn’t have time for Nelson and his obsession with so-called reality. “Mom, let’s get out of the way and get upstairs so Adrianna can start on our hair.”

We were on our way to the stairs when I heard my name called. Turning around, I saw Héctor walking toward me.

“Chloe,” he said in a heavily accented voice.

“Yes? Héctor?” Despite all the time I’d spent trying to teach myself the language from online sites, my Spanish was pretty bad. “Mom, I’ll meet you up there.”

Héctor began speaking so rapidly that I couldn’t even begin to guess what he was trying to tell me. What’s more, I really had to get upstairs to be with the bride. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” I apologized. “Josh. Go see Josh. He’ll understand. I have to go.”

My mother and I found Adrianna in front of the full-length mirror on the inside of the closet door in the guest room. She was wearing a robe and had her hair bound up in large rollers.

“My matron of honor! And my solemnizer! Is that even a word?” Even with a crazy mountain of curlers on her head, Ade was all glowy and adorable.

With tremendous formality, I announced, “We are here and at your command. Who’s first?”

“You are, Chloe. Go shower, and I’ll get you started. And then Bethany.”

By the time our hair was done, it was midafternoon. Mom’s hair had been parted on the side and flatironed straight. My highlighted red hair had been slathered in serums and styling creams to prevent any dreaded frizziness; I now had a gorgeously soft and smooth mane that Ade had blown dry with a gigantic round brush that gave me plenty of height at the roots and curl at the ends. I really needed to practice my blow-drying skills so I could duplicate this result myself. Ade’s blonde hair fell in soft curls down her back, and the front was pulled away from her face by the veil I’d worn while prancing around her apartment. My mother and I had on our wedding outfits, but Adrianna hadn’t yet put on her gown.

“I have to go check on your father and make sure he got out the, uh, well . . . nothing! I’ll be back in time for the ceremony, Adrianna. Don’t worry!” Mom rushed out of the room.

“I haven’t seen Jack all day, have you?” Ade asked with a hint of concern. “I hope your dad will appear in time to walk me down the aisle.”

“He wouldn’t miss it. Not a chance. I’m sure everything is fine.” I watched while Adrianna did her makeup. “Are you nervous yet, Ade?” I took some pictures of her with my digital camera while she peered at herself in the mirror.

“Not at all. Especially because my mother knows she isn’t allowed to see me until the ceremony. The last person I wanted to spend time with today was her. I’m just so glad I have you and your mother with me while I get ready. There! My makeup is done.” She turned to me, and her eyes lit up. “I think I should put on my dress.”

We unzipped the white gown from the garment bag, and I helped Adrianna to step into the dress. When I zipped up the back, I was quite relieved to find that the fit was perfect. “Let me look at you.”

I stood in front of my best friend and clasped my hands to my mouth to stifle my choked gasps. The crisp white material was fitted over her chest and tied halter-style at the nape of her neck. Adrianna had altered the dress so that it fell softly against her belly and accentuated the beautiful shape of her late-pregnancy body. Gentle gathers of fabric made up the skirt. Her wedding dress was simple, with no lace or huge bows: just clean, flowing lines. I felt overwhelmingly happy that Kitty wasn’t here to make snide comments about Adrianna’s decision to wear virginal white.

I grabbed a tissue and dabbed my eyes. “You’re breath-taking, Ade. You really are.” I started maniacally snapping pictures. I looked at my watch. “It’s getting close. Oh, we almost forgot the flowers! I’ll go find the bouquets. And then I have to get all my papers for the ceremony.”

“Okay. I’ll just be here.”

I couldn’t leave Ade by herself. My dad was going to walk her down the aisle, but she needed a woman to wait with her. “Don’t worry. I’ll send someone up to sit with you. Give me a hug.”

“Watch the dress.” Ade shrieked as I leaned in. We hugged gently, not wanting to crinkle our dresses or ruin our makeup.

“I’ll see you on the aisle.” I opened the guest room door and stepped into the hall.

“Oh, screw it. Give me a real hug.” Ade held her arms out.

I raced to my friend and squeezed her tightly. “This is it.”