JAMES

I can barely breathe from laughing so hard. We've heard stories here at the station, but the way this woman has told hers has our jaws in pain.

"Thanks for your call, Lillian! You win lunch vouchers for O'Brien's. And to all the listeners who saw a woman in underwear running down Main Street screaming 'there is a spider in my car', that was... LILLIAN!!!" My crew claps and I see a few people cleaning tears of laughter. "This was Coffee Time with Morgan on Greenwood Radio. We have a date tomorrow from six to twelve, and don't you dare go away, because the sexy, incredible, and sassy Bree will be right here to spice up your afternoon!" I cue my jingle and down the new cup of coffee that Bree has just set next to me. "You are an angel! I don't know how I made it through my shift."

"Wedding last night?" Bree sits on the DJ chair across from me as commercials run.

"Yeah, and I wasn't even DJing, only helping my brother with random tasks. I don't know where he gets the energy to do this so often every week."

"Because he loves his work. Do you think you can get me the friends and family discount?" She shows me the ring on her hand.

"No way! No fucking way! Bree, are you serious? You've got engaged? Congratulations!" I give her a hug.

She pulls the microphone towards her and says hello to our audience, then starts a block of songs.

"Jimmy, he did the whole cheesy thing of the restaurant, the red roses, a damned violin player, and got on one knee. How could I say no?"

"Do you have doubts then?"

"It crossed my mind that it's too soon. We've only been dating for a few months and don't even live together. He looked so hopeful, and I didn't want to break his heart because I love him. And we aren't getting married tomorrow, so it will give me some time to get used to the idea that I will be someone's wife," she shrugs.

"You are so romantic," I say, and she swats my arm with the papers in her hand. "Take your time and enjoy being a bride. I'm going home now for a well-deserved nap and I'll see you tomorrow. Count on that discount," I grab my messenger bag and head towards my car.

Bree and I met working at the graveyard shift at the radio station when we were just out of college. We worked our way up and now, eight years later, we are the main daytime DJs. She became my best friend, and on the nights when we were both free and dateless, we would go out for beer and pizza to make fun of the entire world. She met George at the birthday party of a friend we have in common and hit it off immediately. He gets her and I'm happy Bree has found someone who does and truly loves her the way she is. The news fills me with excitement at her upcoming nuptials, whether soon or in the future, so I call my brother.

"Jimmy? What do you want?" He answers roughly.

"Woah. No need to be so harsh. I could have been a client, you know?"

"I don't have the time to deal with bullshit. I have a hysterical bridesmaid on the other line, so keep it short."

"Okay, I don't want to talk to you when you are being an asshole to me, but I will not let it mess with my cheerful news. Bree just got engaged. Can we work something out for her? I can play for free."

"That's indeed good news," he calms down. "Tell her to call me as soon as she can. You know how fast I get booked. Before I go back to the unreasonable person on the other line, I have a gig for you in May. It has a circus theme. Can you make something out of that without making it tacky?"

"Yeah, I guess. Are we planning kids' birthdays now?"

"It's for a wedding," he sighs.

"Oh! Are you serious?"

"The contract draft in front of me says I am. If they agree to the budget and sign the contract, I'll need all hands on deck. Abi is running the idea through some of our vendors to see how they feel about it."

"It's also worth checking with Will because you know he'll be frank, but kind. Are you free tonight? I can call him and we can eat some delivery at my house. You sound like you could use a break."

"It's been a rough day, and it's barely past noon. The circus wedding meeting was the only pleasant moment. I'll see you tonight. Thanks for the offer and sorry for being an asshole. Let me go back to my call and convince this woman that the bride is not trying to punish her with her dress choice."

Thomas and I say good bye and I must admit that I don't envy him. He puts so much effort into each event he plans and most people don't realize the amount of work he does to make everything seem perfect. And most of the time, he even acts as a psychologist to all the parties involved.

After buying groceries and running errands, I finally make it home. I'll be a mess later if I go to bed, so I sit on my couch and turn on the TV. The regular programming sucks, so I start a movie in my streaming service.

"Jimmy?"

I startle when I see Will next to me. "What the fuck! Don't scare me like that!"

"I've been ringing the doorbell for a while and you didn't answer. I could see your leg from the glass pane on the door, so I used my key to enter. I needed to check if you were alive."

Fuck! I fell asleep on the couch and I don't even remember seeing the start of the movie. "Is it dinner time already? I've been asleep for hours! This is exactly what I didn't want to happen."

"Did you even order food?" He asks and I shake my head in negative. "Thanks God you are not the event planner because you suck at it." He picks up bags from the floor and walks towards my kitchen.

"What do you have in there?"

"Lasagna and garlic bread. I called Thomas to consult on a set of stationery I'm working on and found out that I'm invited for dinner here. Did Jimmy call me to tell me? Of course not."

"I'm sorry Will. I'm so happy you are good at anticipating stuff. How much do I owe you for the food?" I rub my face to get the sleepy feeling off.

"My treat this time. Thomas said last night was on the edge of a crisis and I thought we could all do with comfort food. He said he'll be here a bit later than planned. When we talked, he was on his way to Mom because the bridesmaid dress soap opera was still going on, and that was an hour ago."

Will places the food in the oven while we wait for Thomas, and we catch up on what's happened in the last days. I can see reflected on my big brother's face that he's not having the best time lately due to his recent breakup. Under his alternative looks of long hair with the sides of his head shaven and the tattoos all over his arms, Will is the kindest soul you'll ever meet. He's also incredibly patient and wise, and all he longs for is a relationship that will last forever. Which is so different to Thomas, who's never had a serious girlfriend and his dates never make it past three months. I haven't met the right guy or girl yet, and even though I date it's not something that I've done lately due to being busy with work at the station and DJing at events.

The doorbell rings and I open the door for Thomas, who looks like shit and has a red mark on his face.

"What the hell happened to you?"

"I need a beer first," he says, walking past me.

He plops himself on the couch as Will hands him a bottle.

"Easy, boy!" Will sits next to him and we watch as Thomas chugs the bottle empty. "That bad?"

"The bride and the bridesmaid had a fight at Mom's shop. Physical," he wipes his mouth on his sleeve. "They were coming dangerously close to Mom, so I tried to intervene and got punched. Not slapped, fucking punched," he places the empty bottle against his cheek while Will and I stare at each other in surprise.

"Isn't a wedding supposed to be the happiest day in a woman's life?" I ask, still shocked.

"I don't know anymore. I'm never getting married. Please tell me you got something heavy to eat. I only had a few pastries this morning and nothing else."

"Will brought lasagna. Heavy enough?"

"Yeah, let's eat."

"How did the fight end, then?" I ask while getting plates and Will gets the food from the oven.

"The bride's mom walked in the shop right when I got punched. The bride looked like she wanted the earth to open and swallow her after what she did to me. First, because she did that to me, the stranger planning her wedding, and second, because she almost punched her friend. There were a million apologies; to me, to Mom, to each other. They cried and forgave each other, but it left me feeling so pissed. I put on a fake smile when my brain was going through an inventory of every insult I know. And you should have seen Mom. She was giving them the same look she gives us when we are pissing her or when Abigail whines. The bride's mother promised to transfer me a bonus tonight for the inconvenience."

"Let it go, Tommy," Will says as he places his food on the coffee table. "Think of it as a boxing match. You got punched and will get money for it. Eat your food while it's warm."

"Yes, mommy," Thomas says and smirks.

Thomas comparison makes me chuckle. Growing up, Will was always the one to stop the fights and treating us like Mom does. It seems as if it will always be like that, no matter how old we get.