Chapter 1

Ring, Ring. A cell phone starts to buzz. It's three o'clock on a Sunday afternoon in mid December. The Cowboys and Vikings are playing on the TV in the living room. My mom is finishing dinner. My brother is standing in the middle of the floor in his newest Cowboys jersey that his girlfriend recently gave him for his birthday. He's always been a die hard Dallas fan, but this game seemed to be an important one; it determines who goes to the playoffs.

"Is someone's phone ringing?" my brother, Mark, says.

I pull my eyes away from the TV and to my phone sitting beside me.

"Oh it's mine."

I go to answer it, "Hello?"

"Hey Kendra. It's your Aunt Jenny."

"Oh, hey. What's up?"

"I need to tell you something important."

My brother screams loudly at the TV, "Touchdown boys, yes!"

The scream startles my mom and me.

"What was that?" asks my aunt.

"Just Mark watching the game. Hold on."

I take my phone off the charger and head to the nearest bedroom.

"Okay, so what did you need again?"

"I need to tell you something."

"Okay."

"Your cousin is getting married!"

I try to figure out which cousin she is talking about. My Aunt Jenny has three daughters and one son. Since her son is only 15, I assume it's not him. So I ask,

"Who?"

"Your cousin Sarah."

"Wow, I didn't even know she had a boyfriend."

"They've been dating on and off since her senior year in high school."

"Well, tell her I said congratulations."

"Um, there's just one problem."

"What's that?"

"She doesn't know yet."

I'm as confused as ever. How does the future Bride not know she is getting married? Is she in the hospital? Did she suffer from memory loss?

"What do you mean she doesn't know?"

"Well, Anthony hasn't proposed yet per-say."

I'm assuming Anthony is the boyfriend and soon to be fiancée.

"Um okay. So are you guys planning like a big surprise proposal?"

"Yes and I need you, Mark and your mom to all be there."

"Okay. When and where?"

"At the Hibachi restaurant in downtown Manhattan. I'll send you the address. The dress code is semi formal and the dinner is Saturday at 8 pm."

"Okay Aunt Jenny. We'll see if we can make it."

"I hope you guys can make it. I'm so excited, my baby's getting married!"

I hang up with Aunt Jenny and go to tell my mom the news.

Mom is in the kitchen taking the lasagna out of the oven.

"Hey, mom."

"Who was that on the phone?"

"Aunt Jenny. So apparently Sarah is getting married."

"What? When did this happen?"

"It hasn't happened yet."

Mom is giving me the same confused look I had when Aunt Jenny said it.

"What do you mean it hasn't happened yet?"

"Her boyfriend hasn't proposed yet. He just asked for permission."

"Well, what is he waiting for? Is she pregnant?"

My mom always thinks someone is pregnant when they marry early in life.

"I'm sure if she was she would have told me. You know how close we are."

Growing up with only one sibling, I spent a lot of time with my cousin Sarah. We are only two years apart in age, but people always mistook us for twins. Everything about us is similar; the way we speak, dress, even our facial features. Growing up one relative would ask my mom if my dad had slept with Aunt Jenny and had a secret kid on her. Mom didn't find it funny at all and, needless to say, that person never brought the subject up again.

Mom continues her questions, "Who even is this boy?"

"Some guy named Anthony."

"Anthony? Have we ever met him?"

"Not me. But Aunt Jenny invited us to Sarah's birthday dinner and he's gonna propose to her then."

"When's the dinner?"

"This Saturday at 8 pm."

Mom starts checking her imaginary planner in her head, "I think that's the day your brother has to go back to school."

My little 21 year old brother is on break for his first year of college. He is three years younger than me but only a year younger than Sarah.

"Nah, mom. I don't have to be back to school until after Christmas." Mark yells from the other end of the house. He still has not moved from his standing position in the middle of the living room.

"Okay. Tell Jenny we'll be there."

"Okay. The dress code is semi formal."

"What exactly does semi-formal consist of?"

I hadn't even thought about that. What exactly does semi-formal mean? I whip out my phone and go to Google.

"Looking at these pictures, we can wear short cocktail dresses and Mark can wear something like a nice button up shirt and nice pants."

"Not bad. I'll see what I have in my closet. In the meantime, you and your brother can come and eat."

I go to the stove and grab the spatula. I am so ready to dig into mom's famous lasagna and homemade garlic bread.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me? He was inbound!"

And there goes Mark yelling at the TV again. I hope he knows none of the Cowboys players know him.