by Ali Berman
Michael and Cindy, his fiancé, do things a bit differently. They walk down the aisle together. No one gives anyone away.
It’s probably the best ceremony I could think of. There’s a Justice of the Peace who says some nice things about both of them and talks about the joy of marriage. Michael looks so happy up there. Tess and her mom are both crying next to me, hugging each other. Michael and Cindy kiss and everyone claps. That’s what weddings do I guess. The big stuff makes you forget about the little stuff.
Everyone is clapping and the couple walks back down the aisle to the best part of any wedding. The food. Maybe Tess will make me dance. Once she finds out how bad I am, she’ll wish she never got back together with me.
After all the food and the toasts and meeting a zillion different people, it comes time to go home. Michael walked around introducing us to all of his friends saying, “This is my sister and her boyfriend. Can you believe they’re here!”
James, who is actually capable of dancing, spends the entire time on the dance floor with Beth, who seems to kind of like him.
Tess’s mom stays away from us throughout the reception. Once everything is finishing up, she follows us out to the parking lot.
“I think I’m going to go home with my mom,” says Tess. “We’ve got some stuff to talk about.”
“You sure do,” I say. “Including whether or not you’re going to tell your dad that you were both here today.”
“We’re in it together. She can’t throw me under the bus without outing herself. It’s kind of perfect, actually.”
“When will I see you?”
“I’m not hiding anymore. If they ground me you won’t see me for a while, but they can’t keep me grounded forever. So we’ll make plans. Just like a normal couple.”
“Talk to your mom about it,” I say. “After today she might have some ideas of her own.”
I go to kiss her but Tess shrinks back and gives a side-glance at her mom.
“I’m going to date you, but I’m not going to kiss you in front of my mom. That’s just embarrassing.”
“Got it.”
Tess gives Pete, Beth, and James a hug and goes off with her mom who is doing her damndest to avoid eye contact with me.
“I’ll sit in the back,” says James as we make our way to the car.
Beth says, “Just because we danced doesn’t mean we’re going to do anything else.”
“You had a good time. Don’t even try to deny it. Now I’m going to sit in the back with you, and if you’re lucky I might hold your hand.”
“Are all atheists so arrogant?” She gives him a fake glare and he grins.
I look over at Pete who is smiling, I think for the first time since he got home. Not just a half sad grin. A real actual smile.
“What?” I ask.
“Nothing. It’s just good to be home.”
Acknowledgments
To David and Glenda Berman, the very best parents in the whole world who always let me make my own choices.
To Gary Ploski, my partner, very best friend, and the most important person on this entire planet (to me).
To my agent, Laura Strachan, for her tireless effort, and her love of literature.
To everyone at Seven Stories Press for publishing work with a conscience.
To Anne Rumberger, a fantastic editor, and a champion for this book.
To the writing faculty at Sarah Lawrence College, including David Hollander, Brian Morton, Ernesto Mestre, Mary LaChapelle, Carolyn Ferrell, and Victoria Redel. I’m not sure where I’d be without any of you. Especially David who made me believe I could be a writer when I was just twenty years old.
To Renee Wicklund and Trent England, two incredible friends (and writers) who generously let me use their beliefs and experiences as research for the book, and who read and gave notes on early drafts.
To my cats, Magneto and Cthulhu, who slept on my legs/on my arms/on my laptop while I wrote this entire book.
To all the people out there who are bullied for being honest about who they are.
And to anyone out there who chooses to change the world through kindness.
About the Author
Ali Berman is the author of Choosing a Good Life: Lessons from People Who Have Found Their Place in the World. She works as a humane educator for HEART, helping to educate kids about human rights, animal protection and environmental ethics. Ali was born in England, grew up in New York, and now lives and writes in Portland, Oregon, with her husband and two cats. Misdirected is her first novel.
About Seven Stories Press
Seven Stories Press is an independent book publisher based in New York City. We publish works of the imagination by such writers as Nelson Algren, Russell Banks, Octavia E. Butler, Ani DiFranco, Assia Djebar, Ariel Dorfman, Coco Fusco, Barry Gifford, Martha Long, Luis Negrón, Hwang Sok-yong, Lee Stringer, and Kurt Vonnegut, to name a few, together with political titles by voices of conscience, including Subhankar Banerjee, the Boston Women’s Health Collective, Noam Chomsky, Angela Y. Davis, Human Rights Watch, Derrick Jensen, Ralph Nader, Loretta Napoleoni, Gary Null, Greg Palast, Project Censored, Barbara Seaman, Alice Walker, Gary Webb, and Howard Zinn, among many others. Seven Stories Press believes publishers have a special responsibility to defend free speech and human rights, and to celebrate the gifts of the human imagination, wherever we can. In 2012 we launched Triangle Square books for young readers with strong social justice and narrative components, telling personal stories of courage and commitment. For additional information, visit www.sevenstories.com.