14

Ethan walked into the party that was being held in the garden with Amity. She had filled in a lot more about her life with her parents to Ethan by the time they reached the party.

“Ethan…. My man,” Jake screamed his lungs out as soon as he saw Ethan walking inside.

There was a wide smile spread across Ethan’s face when he saw the joy on his friend’s face. It had been a long time since Ethan had met with his friends. He had not deliberately found excuses to skip all of the reunions his college friends had made. But now, he couldn’t miss his best friend’s wedding. It’s his big day.

Jake came and embraced Ethan tightly.

“You will crush his bone,” they heard Amity’s voice and broke their hug.

“Don’t worry, little lady. I will get it fixed if I do break his bone,” Jake said looking at her.

Amity looked up at Ethan and pouted.

“What happened?” he asked after noticed her visible pout.

“I am not a little girl. Why do you all say like that?” she asked. Ethan could sense the little lady had got angry.

“Right. Jake, she’s not a little girl. Amity is a big girl.” He signaled Jake to play along with him which Jake did with a chuckle before beginning his acting.

“Ohh... I’m so sorry. May I know who are you?” Jake asked.

Amity pushed her hair and raised her chin and proudly said, “Amity Perry.”

Jake's eyes widened by hearing that name. Especially the last name. As far as he knew, Arthur and Ethan had broken up by the end of their college.

He turned to Ethan for an explanation, “I thought you two…”

“She’s Arthur’s daughter. He’s here with his wife and daughter.”

Jake simply nodded his head. He didn’t need more explanation to understand Ethan’s situation. He wasn’t aware much about Arthur after the graduations. No one was. The man had gone into hiding since the graduations and barely kept any contact with his old mates. And Jake was yet to meet him in this party.

“That’s a pretty name, Amity,” Jake tried to make friends with her now.

“I know right,” She said with much attitude.

Jake couldn’t hide his smile. He was cent percent sure she had taken after her mother. Because Arthur was definitely not this spoiled.

“I think she has taken after the other side,” Jake whispered in Ethan’s ear.

“I don’t think so. Her mom seems to be very nice,”

Jake creased his brows in a doubting manner. He couldn’t wait to meet Arthur and his wife.

“They all seem veryyy nice at first,” Jake commented.

Ethan chuckled before speaking, “You are about to get married tomorrow. Be careful with what you say.”

Jake sighed, his shoulders dropped at the reminder Ethan gave him.

“I hope this is a conscious decision,” Ethan said.

Jake nodded his head, “I have made this decision after a long discussion with myself and also with my wife to be.”

“Wife to be?” Ethan asked. He was curious to know what was his friend’s wedding story.

“Yup. It is not exactly a love marriage. It is somewhat of an arranged marriage.”

“Arranged by?”

“Me,” Jake winked at Ethan.

Ethan laughed at Jake’s response. It was not the first time his friend was staging an act to suffice and satisfy his rich Dad. But marriage was a bigger deal than that of what Ethan had seen.

Ethan felt his hand pulled and he looks down at Amity whose eyes were fixed on the food counter. By now, Ethan didn’t have to be said anything by her to know what she wants. He understood her instantly and picks her up in his arms and started walking to the food counter, with Jake beside him.

“She has you wrapped around her fingertips already,” Jake muttered.

Ethan nodded his head in agreement.

“Just like her Dad,”

Ethan nodded his head, again, in acknowledgment.

“Your friend talks a lot,” Amity said to Ethan which made a smile break out on his face and Jake gasped dramatically, “Don’t say it on his face.”

“Why?”

“He’ll be hurt. It’s his wedding tomorrow. We don’t want him to be sad on his wedding day, right.”

Now, it was time for Amity to gasp, closing her mouth and eyes wide open.

“You are the groom?” she asked. Her voice was hollowed.

Jake nodded his trying to hide his laughter at her cuteness.

“I’m sorry. Please don’t tell my Daddy and Mommy about it,” she blinked her eyes rapidly. Ethan couldn’t control himself from placing a kiss on her cheek.

“Don’t worry, Baby. He won’t tell your Papa.”

She looked at Jake, expecting his response. He smiled and pinched her cheeks, “It’s okay, Amity. I won’t tell your parents about it.”

She sighed of relief and flashed him a smile and turned to Ethan and returned his kiss, on his right cheek.

“You are such a cutie pie,” Jake said.

They reached the food counter and Jake filled Amity’s plate with all the food she chose and Ethan fed her, while they sat at a table.

“Buddy, I’ll be back,” Jake said when he spotted a few relatives he had to attend.

“Yeah,” Ethan said. Amity waved at Jake which he returned. He left them to eat after kissing Amity on her cheeks and tickling her, making her laugh.

While Ethan and Amity continued to eat, Jake caught up with a few relatives and friends of his Dad.

In the same party, Arthur was having a rather different kind of feeling. After he walked away from Ethan and Amity earlier, his mind was completely filled by Ethan. All Arthur could think was Ethan. He hardly participated in the conversation Emily initiated. There was no more than two or three words he spoke to her.

When they entered the party, the first thing he did was to look for Ethan. But to no vail, Ethan and Amity were not found anywhere.

He spent some time introducing Emily to his other friends from college and had some light snacks.

And then, he saw Ethan walking inside the garden with Amity holding his hand. He saw everything from there. Jake greeting Ethan and Amity and how Ethan carried Amity to the food counter when he noticed her interest in food. and how Amity was clinging onto Ethan’s neck. And lastly, how he was feeding her. Amidst of the pain in his heart, he felt glittery about how Ethan had already formed an instant bond with his daughter. He knew Ethan’s charms that no one could resist. He, himself had fallen hard for Ethan and still is.

All this while, all Emily could notice was there was a change in Arthur’s behavior. He was different when he introduced her to his just friends and classmates. And a whole different person when he introduced Ethan. But she brushed it off assuming maybe Ethan and Arthur were best friends in college and probably had a fallout. So, they might be feeling awkward now.

“You seemed to have had a lot of fun in the college,” Emily said softly after she heard a lot of funny incidents from Arthur’s friends.

Arthur looked at her smiled, nodding his head. He did have a lot of fun during the college days.

“I wish you were the same now,” she said looking into his eyes. There was disappointment in her eyes. She longed to see the cheerful, happy Arthur. Not the Arthur that he was now. The man who works round the clock and spends free time only with family. He never goes out with friends or anyone if it isn’t family or work.

Before Arthur could speak anything, they heard someone calling Arthur’s name and turned to the voice. Jake had come to talk to Arthur when he saw him.

“Roomie!!!” Jake hugged Arthur tightly. Arthur had a wide smile when he heard the word roomie. It was the same word he used to hear all the time in the college. And not his real name.

Emily had a smile plastered on her face when she saw Arthur smiling hard. It was something foreign to see him like this. Sure, he had fun with family and smiles and laughs. But not this genuine smile. It is easy to spot a fake smile when you see the real one.

“Oh my goodness, it had been such a long time since I heard that,” Arthur said hugging back Jake.

“Right, my roomie.”

They break their hug still smiling wide.

“My wife, Emily,” Arthur introduces. Jake smilingly greets her and introduces himself.

“Hello, I am your husband’s friend and we used to be roomies in the college,”

“Hello. That’s nice to know. Congratulations on the wedding.”

Jake sighed and said thanks.

“You can’t be doing that now,” Arthur said raising his brows.

Jake chuckled, “You have no idea how much I am into this.”

“I still can’t believe you are getting married.”

“Me neither,”

Emily laughed at those words, “I think that’s the same for everyone.”

“You don’t know about Jake. He’s not an easy catch,” Arthur said to her.

Jake laughed, “Man, you are making me sound like a diva.”

“That you are.” All the three laughed at that. But Arthur and Jake’s laugh held a different meaning. The Jake who he was in the college was indeed a diva and more of a Casanova. He had different girlfriend every quarter.

“Did you meet others?” Jake asked.

“Yeah. I did.” Arthur nodded his head.

“Don’t miss my bachelorette tomorrow. We have a lot to catch up,”

Arthur nodded his head in understanding. They do have a lot of catching up to do. Arthur only wondered what would happen at the bachelorette when he sees Ethan without his wife and daughter. Till now they were beside him, unintentionally helping him to control himself from giving in to his feelings and urge to talk to Ethan. But what happens tomorrow is anticipated.

“I met with your little firecracker there,” Jake said referring to Amity.

Arthur chuckled understanding his reference, “She is a firecracker. Kind of.”

“Totally.” They speak for some more time. Emily got to know a lot of new things about Arthur which she had no idea that even existed.

Then Jake had to move on to meet the next guests and Arthur and Emily spent some more time at the party, talking to each other and conversing with a few more friends. They had met with Nicole, the bride who invited Emily to her bachelorette tomorrow and also Amity to tag along.

Amity spent most of the party with Ethan, mostly eating and talking about Arthur. Ethan kept his promise of telling about Arthur’s younger self. And Amity was more than enthusiastic to know more and more about her dad. After listening to Ethan, she concluded that her dad was a whole new person now and made a mental note to ask him about this transformation.

By the time the party came to an end and the people left for their rooms, Amity had fallen asleep in Ethan’s arms. He carried her to Arthur and silently passed her to him and walked away to his suite. Neither of them made an effort to talk. Maybe it is being saved for tomorrow when they get to see one another free of Arthur’s family and perhaps ditching the bachelorette party for some time.