We arrived at the barn, and signs directed us to a grassy lot upon which we could park. When I stepped out of the car, the warm afternoon sun greeted me.
I had no idea what to expect. I’d been to weddings before, but they were much more casual affairs in my family.
Brianne led the way, and I took her hand. She’d assured me that her family was totally cool with us being together, which was hard to believe. I personally did not think my mother would be cool with it at all—but that was a bridge I’d have to cross later.
We entered the barn and found that many people were simply standing around and chatting and drinking. The barn itself was decorated beautifully with paper decorations, bunting, fairy lights, and tons of flowers—the effect was much better than I thought it would be.
I didn’t know a single soul here, so I followed Brianne cautiously, hoping I could get a drink at some point.
“There’s my parents,” said Brianne, gesturing with her hand. “Over there. We should say hi to them first.”
They looked perfectly friendly, but I knew they were going to be evaluating me. As we approached them, they turned their focus to us.
“Hey, Mom, Dad,” said Brianne. “This is Margie.”
“Nice to meet you, ma’am,” I said, shaking her mother’s hand.
“Oh please, call me Patricia. And my husband is Steven,” she said. “It’s a pleasure to meet you too. I’m glad you could come to the wedding.”
“M
e too,” I said. “It’s a beautiful venue.”
I was glad I was at least able to make small talk. I often found it easier to talk to “grown-ups” rather than people my own age. When parents asked questions, I knew what answers they wanted to hear.
“Margie transferred to Beasley from Amherst,” said Brianne. “She’s studying biology.”
“Is that so,” said Patricia, nodding. “How lovely. And what would you like to do with that?”
“I’d like to work with animals or study wildlife,” I said. “Maybe do field research.”
Patricia nodded, but she did look a little confused. I supposed that field research wasn’t a posh enough career path for her. But being a scientist was respectable in my book—and of course, I had great respect for anyone who worked with animals.
“Honey,” said Patricia, turning to Brianne, “that reminds me of that fundraiser we went to a while back… what was it for? The Hensleys’ daughter was running an animal rescue.”
“That’s right,” said Brianne. “Maybe you can hook Margie up. She needs a summer job.”
“That would be great,” I said. I needed something at this point, and all the prestigious and cool internships had filled up. I would be happy to work at a coffee shop, but I would prefer something that was at least remotely related to my career path.
So far, the conversation with Brianne’s parents seemed to be going well. She’d prepared me for the worst—she’d said her parents could be snooty—but this was manageable.
“We’ll send you Leah’s information,” said Patricia to Brianne. “I’m sure she could use more help. She hires Beasley students all the time.”
That made me feel a lot better about my prospects for the summer.
“Sounds good,” said Brianne. “Any other family members here for me to introduce Margie to?”
Patricia looked around the crowd in the barn. “Oh, looks like your sister’s here, Brianne.”
I gave her a glance. She knew what it meant. She’d forgotten to even tell me she had a sister.
“Let’s go say hi, then,” said Brianne. “See you guys.”
After we’d walked away from them a bit, I spoke up. “You forgot to tell me about your sister.”
“I know. Where has my brain been this past semester?” she said. “We don’t talk that much because she’s six years older than me and we don’t have that much in common. But she’s cool. Her name’s Annie.”
We approached a tall woman with Brianne’s chocolate brown curls and gray eyes. In fact, if it weren’t for the height and age discrepancy, they could have been twins.