“I know that, Lila,” Patricia says. “Nothing is about me. I’m aware!”
Gary’s mother is still standing, confused, so Gary gets up to join her.
“Let’s all hold hands,” Gary says, and Lila rolls her eyes. But they all hold hands and say grace one last time.
“Now we’re going to be late to the fireworks,” Lila announces after.
“Can we really miss the fireworks?” Jim asks. “We can see the whole sky from up here.”
“Yes, Jim, one can miss the fireworks,” Lila says. “Because there is a setup down on the beach with a bonfire and blankets and a guy who is probably already making s’mores for everyone.”
“Isn’t the fun of s’mores that you make them yourself?” Marla asks.
Lila looks like she might explode, but instead she turns to Phoebe and Jim.
“Actually, I think we might have to cut your speeches,” Lila says.
“Cut the speeches?” Gary asks.
“Jesus Christ, Lila,” Jim says.
“What?” Lila asks.
“Jim worked hard on his speech,” Gary says, visibly disappointed by Lila’s decision.
Phoebe is disappointed, too. She didn’t have a speech, but she was still looking forward to getting up there, speaking in front of the crowd, saying nice things about what Lila has meant to her this week, and really taking her place as Lila’s friend. But maybe this is why Lila has no real friends, Phoebe thinks. She doesn’t know how to keep them. She keeps trading them in for something else.
“Well, I’m sorry,” Lila says. “We’re paying a thousnd dollars a minute for those fireworks. And we’re late already. You can email me the speech tomorrow if you like.”
For a moment, Jim looks bereft, as if he might cry, as if this moment has become the moment he feared. He really will get cut out of the family’s scheduled programming. But then he smiles to himself, as if he’s just learned something vital. He folds his napkin, puts it on the table, and goes up to give his speech.
“Jim!” Lila hisses. But he doesn’t stop. Doesn’t pull out a piece of paper. He just begins talking.
“Well, Gary,” Jim says, “we’ve been through a lot.”
He begins by listing all the things they did together over the years, like riding horses in Wyoming and building a sandbox for Juice in the backyard.
“But the biggest thing we did together,” he says, “was watch my sister”—and that’s where Jim gets stuck.
He can’t finish the sentence without crying. Lila holds her dessert fork tightly in her hand. Gary looks down at the table. Phoebe feels suddenly nervous for Jim, the way she felt when an unprepared student gave a presentation. Jim bites the side of his fist to keep from crying, and each time he seems ready to speak, he starts to cry again. Eventually, Gary’s father stands up and starts clapping and says, “We’re here for you, Jim.” Then everybody starts clapping, everyone stands up, and this makes Jim cry and laugh at the same time. Finally, when Jim has composed himself, he finishes.
“I know I’m not supposed to stand up here and talk about my sister,” he says. “But I don’t know how else to talk about Gary. I’ve never known the kind of love that Gary has shown both me and my sister over the years. I never watched a man endure something so painful with so much grace. And on top of all that, he still has time to answer all your questions about whether the colors of your shits are normal—”
Everyone laughs. Lila blushes. Juice takes a sip of Jim’s wine.
“I mean, the man even asks follow-up questions,” Jim says. “‘Would you say it’s more of a mauve? Or a maroon?’”
The room laughs even harder.
“Gary is the best. We all love Gary. Everybody loves Gary. Gary is good. But the one thing he’s not good at? Being a wingman,” Jim says. He looks at the painting on display. “Because when we were at the gallery that day, I thought I was the one who was hitting on Lila.”
The crowd laughs. They hear all of this as a joke—but Lila freezes. Lila seems to know it’s not a joke.
“I thought, Who is this enchanting woman? Because that is one thing we know about Lila. She’s enchanting. She has such a big personality. So many ideas. The most particular person I know, you know? Lila knows exactly what she wants. I mean, look at this place—look at these centerpieces, look at how amazing it all is.”
The first firework of the evening goes off. It explodes behind Jim with a big red burst, but Lila does not see it. She’s transfixed by Jim’s words.
“Listen to that firework,” Jim says, and the crowd laughs. “Who else would have had fireworks? Who else could have made this happen? Who else would have asked us to stay here for an entire week?”
“Six days, Jim,” Lila corrects, and the crowd laughs again.
“Not including the travel days,” Jim says.
They are good together. A comedy duo.
“See? Lila’s bold—God, I really do love it. That’s her great gift. That’s what is going to make life with Lila so fun. So much bigger than the rest of us could dream for ourselves. And I’m so grateful to have been brought here, after a really dark time, to be given this chance to be included in that dream, to play my small part, to come together. It’s what I’ve missed more than anything.”
Another firework. Jim pauses, as if he’s waiting for the lights to burn out of the sky. Then, he raises his glass. The whole room is moved, and Phoebe can feel it, too.
“A toast, to Lila and my brother Gary,” Jim says.
Gary’s eyes are bright red with tears. Everyone claps, and Gary stands to hug Jim. Juice takes another swig of Jim’s wine just before he takes his place back next to Phoebe.
“You going to finish your fillet?” Jim asks.
“No,” Phoebe says.
Lila just stares at Jim in silence as he finishes the fillet.
