CHAPTER 1

Five Years Earlier New York City, 2000

See, it's simple," Alvin said. "First, you meet a nice girl, and then you datefor a while to make sure you share the same values. See if you two arecompatible in the big, 'this is our life and we're in it together' decisions.You know, talk about which family you're going to visit on the holidays, whetheryou want to live in a house or an apartment, whether to get a dog or a cat, whogets to use the shower first in the morning, while there's still plenty of hotwater. If you two are still pretty much in agreement, then you getmarried. Are you following me here?"

"I'm following you," Jeremy said.

Jeremy Marsh and Alvin Bernstein were standing in Jeremy's Upper West Sideapartment on a cool Saturday afternoon in February. They'd been packing forhours, and boxes were strewn everywhere. Some of the boxes were already filledand had been stacked near the door, ready for the moving van; others were invarious stages of completion. All in all, it looked as if a Tasmanian devil hadburst through the door, had himself a party, then left once there was nothingelse to be destroyed. Jeremy couldn't believe how much junk he'd accumulatedover the years, a fact that his fiancée, Lexie Darnell, had been pointing outall morning. Twenty minutes ago, after throwing up her hands in frustration,Lexie had gone to have lunch with Jeremy's mother, leaving Jeremy and Alvinalone for the first time.

"So what on earth do you think you're doing?" Alvin prodded.

"Just what you said."

"No, you're not. You're messing up the order. You're going straight to the big'I do' before you even figured out whether you two are right for each other. Youbarely know Lexie."

Jeremy shoved another drawer's worth of clothing into a box, wishing Alvin wouldchange the subject. "I know her."

Alvin began shuffling through a few papers on Jeremy's desk, then shoved thestack into the same box Jeremy was loading. As Jeremy's best friend, he feltfree to speak his mind.

"I'm just trying to be honest here, and you should know that I'm saying whateveryone else in your family has been thinking in the past few weeks. The pointis, you don't know her well enough to move down there, let alone marry her. Youonly spent a week with her. This isn't like you and Maria," he added, referringto Jeremy's ex. "Remember, I knew Maria, too, a whole lot better than you knowLexie, but I still never felt as if I knew her well enough to marry her."

Jeremy removed the pages and put them back on his desk, recalling that Alvin hadknown Maria even before he had and still remained friends with her. "So?"

"So? What if I was doing this? What if I came to you and said I met this greatlady, so I'm giving up my career, abandoning my friends and family, and movingdown south so I can marry her? Like that gal ... what's her name ... Rachel?"

Rachel worked at Lexie's grandmother's restaurant, and Alvin had hit on herduring his short visit to Boone Creek, going so far as to invite her to NewYork.

"I'd say that I was happy for you."

"Puh-lease. Don't you remember what you said when I was thinking about marryingEva?"

"I remember. But this is different."

"Oh yeah, I get it. Because you're more mature than me."

"That and the fact that Eva wasn't exactly the marrying type."

This was true, Alvin admitted. While Lexie was a small-town librarian in therural South, someone hoping to settle down, Eva was a tattoo artist in JerseyCity. She was the woman who'd done most of the tattoos on Alvin's arms, inaddition to most of the piercings in Alvin's ears, making Alvin look as if he'djust been released from prison. None of which had bothered Alvin; it was thelive-in boyfriend that she'd neglected to tell him about that finally doomedtheir relationship.

"Even Maria thinks this is crazy."

"You told her?"

"Of course I told her. We talk about everything."

"I'm glad you're so close to my ex-wife. But it's none of her business. Oryours."

"I'm just trying to talk some sense into you. This is happening too fast. Youdon't know Lexie."

"Why do you keep saying that?"

"I'm going to keep saying it until you finally admit that you two are basicallystrangers."

Alvin, like Jeremy's five older brothers, had never learned how to drop asubject. The man was like a dog with a bone, Jeremy decided.

"She's not a stranger."

"No? Then what's her middle name?"

"What?"

"You heard me. Tell me Lexie's middle name." Jeremy blinked. "What's that got todo with anything?"

"Nothing. But if you're going to marry her, don't you think you should be ableto answer the question?"

Jeremy opened his mouth to answer, then realized he didn't know. Lexie had nevertold him, nor had he ever asked. Alvin, as if sensing that he was finallygetting through to his delusional friend, pressed on.

"Okay, how about these basics? What was her major in college? Who were herfriends in college? What's her favorite color? Does she like white or whole-wheatbread? What's her favorite movie or television show? Who's her favoriteauthor? Do you even know how old she is?"

"She's in her thirties," Jeremy offered.

"In her thirties? I could have told you that."

"I'm pretty sure she's thirty-one."

"You're 'pretty sure'? Can you even hear how ridiculous you sound? You can'tmarry someone if you don't even know how old she is."

Jeremy opened another drawer and emptied it into another box, knowing that Alvinhad a point but not wanting to admit it. Instead, he drew a long breath.

"I thought you were happy I finally found someone," he said.

"I am happy for you. But I didn't think you were actually going to move from NewYork and decide to marry her. I thought you were kidding about that. You know Ithink she's a great lady. She really is, and if you're still this serious abouther in a year or two, I'll drag you down the aisle myself. You're just rushingthings, and there's no reason to."

Jeremy turned toward the window; beyond the glass he saw gray, soot-coveredbricks framing the functional, rectangular windows of a neighboring building.Shadowed images swept past: a lady talking on the phone; a man wrapped in atowel headed for the bathroom; another woman ironing as she watched television.In all the time he'd lived here, he'd never said so much as hello to any ofthem.

"She's pregnant," he finally said.

For a moment, Alvin thought he hadn't heard correctly. It was only when he sawthe expression on his friend's face that he realized Jeremy wasn't kidding.

"She's pregnant?"

"It's a girl."

Alvin plopped down on the bed as if his legs had suddenly given out. "Why didn'tyou tell me?"

Jeremy shrugged. "She asked me not to tell anyone yet. So keep it a secret, willyou?"

"Yeah," Alvin said, sounding dazed. "Sure."

"And one more thing."

Alvin looked up.

Jeremy reached for his shoulder. "I'd like you to be my best man."

How had it happened?

Strolling with Lexie as she explored FAO Schwarz the next day, he still hadtrouble answering that question. Not the pregnancy part; that was a night he'dprobably remember forever. Despite the brave front he'd put on for Alvin, itsometimes felt as if he were about to play a part in a crowd-pleasing romanticcomedy, one in which anything was possible and nothing was certain until thefinal credits rolled.

What happened to him, after all, didn't usually happen. In fact,...