Voice and hands fluttery, Jen’s Mom patted Brigid on the back. “You’re very welcome, Brigid, dear. Now, where should we put the lemonade?”
And so nearly the whole clan descended at five o’clock — Cousin George and his husband Bernie arriving first, as usual (never late to a party), followed by Sibella (George’s sister), her husband Peter, and their little Lucy, who would be starting the Mountain in another year, Uncle Kip, who was looking more like the youngest of her dad’s siblings rather than the second oldest, and finally Jen’s oldest brother Hank, Michelle, and their son Tommy, arm in arm with his new fiancée, Sally Beauchamp.
Jen felt a fresh wave of joy and nostalgia wash through her, looking at the young couple — at their wonder and their joy at being, finally, engaged (something
