“No. I think they’re both doing okay now, and can afford to keep the apartment without me. They might like the space.” He nodded. And they were in no hurry to find their own place. Collin wanted to start looking at the end of June, early July.

They told Harlan and John a few days later, when they went back to the apartment. Harlan said he wasn’t surprised. He had been expecting something like that, or an announcement of their engagement, he said with a mischievous look at Collin, who just laughed and smiled at Victoria. They hadn’t talked about it yet, but it had crossed his mind. His sister had said the same thing, and she wanted to meet Victoria that summer. There was time. There was no need for them to do anything in a hurry. They were enjoying what they had. They had both waited a lifetime for it, and were savoring every moment. And his sister had just met someone too. Collin hadn’t met him yet, but he sounded perfect for her. He was a widowed doctor with two young kids, and his sister said they were really cute. Five and seven. Life had a way of working out. The lid-for-every-pot theory seemed to work, if you waited long enough and were patient. Victoria was now a firm believer in it. They agreed to start looking for an apartment together after her sister’s wedding, when she was no longer in a cast and on crutches and could get around. He had a lull between trials, and she’d be out of school then. She could hardly wait.

Victoria got her cast taken off three days after school closed for the summer. The leg felt a little weak and wobbly, but she had to do physical therapy and exercise, and they said that would strengthen it. And in the meantime, she had to be on her feet for the wedding. She could put her full weight on her leg, but it didn’t feel strong. And she couldn’t overdo at the gym yet. She had to do therapy first.

She didn’t say anything to anyone, but the day she got the cast off, she walked into her bathroom and weighed herself, and as soon as she did, she sat down on the edge of the tub and burst into tears. She had been careful, but not totally. There had been some pasta on bad nights when her leg hurt and she needed comfort food, a couple of pizzas, the occasional ice cream, cheese and crackers, and there had been mashed potatoes and some delicious meat loaf Harlan had brought home from the deli. And it all added up. It spelled out that, immobilized as she had been and unable to exercise at the gym, she had gained back seven of the eighteen pounds she’d lost. So instead of losing twenty-five pounds for the wedding, she’d lost eleven. She knew she might be able to knock off another three or four if she tried hard and did a regime of special herbal teas before the wedding. So now she was going to be wearing an unflattering dress that didn’t suit her, and she’d be fat. She sat there and cried, and as she did, Collin walked into the bathroom.

“What happened?” He looked worried. “Is your leg hurting?”

“No, my ass is,” she said, looking angry at herself. “I gained seven pounds with my stupid broken leg.” She was embarrassed to admit it to him, but he could see that she was crying, so she’d told him.

“You’ll lose it, and who cares,” he said, and then he had an idea. “I’m throwing your scale away. I don’t want your whole life dictated by what you weigh. You look great. I love you. And if you gain five pounds or lose ten, who gives a fuck? I don’t.”

“I do,” she said unhappily, and blew her nose in a tissue, still sitting on the edge of the tub.

“That’s different,” Collin said. “Then do it for you, don’t do it for me. I don’t care. I love you the way you are, whatever size you happen to be.” She looked at him with a smile.

“How did I get lucky enough to find you? You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me at a gym,” she said.

“We earned each other, by being miserable for a long time. We deserve to be happy,” Collin said, and leaned down to kiss her.

“And loved,” she added, and then he kissed her again, and she stood up and he took her in his arms.

“When are you leaving for L.A., by the way?” He knew it was soon, now that she had her cast off. That was what she had been waiting for, and the green light from her doctor. And now she had it.

“In two days. I hate to leave before you do,” Victoria said with a sigh, “but Gracie says she needs me.”

“Just watch out for your parents. They bite,” he warned her, and she laughed. He was right. “It’s a little bit like swimming with the sharks. And I’ll be out on the Thursday before the wedding. I tried to come out earlier, but I can’t. I’ve got to try and settle this case if I can before I come out.”

“I’ll be fine,” she said bravely, and he kissed her again.

In the end, Victoria spent the weekend with him in New York, and she left on Monday for L.A. Collin was due to arrive three days later. She assured him confidently that she could deal with her family on her own for three days—she’d been coexisting with them for nearly thirty years.

Gracie met her at the airport and drove her back to the house. She said that all her bridesmaids were in town. The dresses had been altered and tried on and were perfect. The caterer was organized. The florist was on track. They had picked their music for the church and the reception, and hired the band. She loved her dress, and Vera Wang had done it in the end. She went down her whole checklist, and everything was fine, and then she remembered that her sister hadn’t tried her dress yet.

“You should try it when we get back to the house,” Gracie said, with a worried look. “Do you think you’ll need it altered?” she asked, glancing over at Victoria next to her in the car. She looked about the same to her, but you couldn’t always tell.

“No, I’m not much thinner than I was,” Victoria said, looking discouraged.

“I meant bigger,” Gracie said hesitantly, and Victoria shook her head. That was how they all thought of her, as an ever-growing mountain that never got smaller, only bigger. She’d lost a pound since she took off the cast, but no more than that. She wasn’t exercising enough to make a difference, even without carbs.

And when they got there, their mother was at the house, checking gifts off a list. There were piles of silver and crystal in fancy boxes. They had turned their dining room into a warehouse.

Her father was at the office, and Victoria didn’t see him till that night. When she did, he hugged her and commented that she looked well. With him, healthy and well were always synonyms for bigger and fatter. She thanked him, said he did too, and walked into the other room. She hadn’t seen him since he met Collin in New York. And she remembered Collin’s comment about sharks and steered clear.

She managed to tread water for three days until Collin arrived. They had a family dinner that night, for both families, which was fairly benign. And the rehearsal dinner was the next day at the Wilkeses’ country club. The wedding reception was being held at the Dawsons’ swim and tennis club in a huge garden, under an enormous “crystal” tent that had cost a fortune. Five hundred and forty guests had accepted.

The morning that Collin was due to arrive, Victoria got a few minutes alone with her sister and asked her once and for all if she wanted to go through with this and if she was sure about Harry. And if so, she promised to forever hold her peace. Gracie looked at her solemnly and said that she was sure.

“Are you happy?” she asked her. She didn’t look it. She looked terribly stressed, and whenever Harry was around she was jumping through hoops to please him. If she married him, that was what her life was going to be like from now on. It was what he thought he deserved. Victoria hated it for Gracie.

“Yes, I am happy,” Gracie answered, and then Victoria sighed and nodded her head.

“Okay. I’m on board. That’s all I want for you. And you can tell him from me that if he ever makes you unhappy, I will personally kick his ass,” Victoria said, and Gracie laughed nervously. She was afraid her sister meant it.

“He won’t,” Gracie said seriously. “I know he won’t!” She sounded like she was trying to convince herself.

“I hope you’re right.”

Victoria didn’t bring it up again after that, and she was relieved when Collin arrived. Harry went to considerable lengths to impress him and charm him, and Collin was polite and went along with it, but Victoria could see that Collin didn’t like him. And she didn’t either. But they were stuck with him now. For better or worse.

The rehearsal dinner was a monumental affair, done by the fanciest caterer in L.A., with all the most important people there. The Wilkeses were extremely gracious, and they made an effort to make all the Dawsons feel at home, and they said all the nicest things about Gracie. She was young, of course, but they said they thought she was the perfect wife for their son. And Jim Dawson went on and on ad nauseam about how much he loved Harry. And there were endless speeches at dinner, some of them clever, and most of them very boring. Victoria was going to have to say a few words too, but she was doing it at the wedding, as older sister and maid of honor.

Victoria was looking beautiful in the pale blue chiffon gown she had bought for the occasion. And Collin had complimented her several times. Her father had had quite a few drinks, when he came over to Victoria and Collin after the rehearsal dinner started to break up and people were milling around. He had on his hale-and-hearty voice, which Victoria knew was usually a bad sign, and when he was most likely to take potshots at her. She wanted to warn Collin as her father walked over, but she didn’t have time. He was standing on top of them before she could say a word.

“So,” he said, looking at Collin as though he were fourteen and had just shown up to take Victoria out for the first time, “you’ve made a good choice here. Victoria is our smart one. Gracie’s our beauty. Smart women are always interesting to have around.” It was his first shark attack of the night. She hadn’t seen him talk to Collin till then. And there was blood in the water. As usual, it was hers. Collin looked at him pleasantly as he put an arm around Victoria’s shoulders and pulled her close to him. She could feel his strength as he held her, and his protection. And for once in her life, she felt safe. She always did with him. And loved.

“I’m afraid I don’t agree with you, sir,” Collin said politely.

“About smart women?” He looked surprised. Usually, his opinions were never challenged, no matter how outrageous, inaccurate, or insulting. No one ever bothered.

“No, about your family beauty and brain. I’d say Victoria is both, beauty and brain. You underestimate her. Don’t you agree?” Her father stammered for a minute, and then nodded, not sure how to respond. Victoria almost laughed, and she squeezed Collin’s hand in silent thanks. But her father wasn’t willing to let it go at that. He didn’t like being contradicted or interfered with while belittling his daughter.

He gave a hollow laugh, which was another bad and familiar sign. “It’s amazing how genes skip generations, isn’t it? Victoria looks exactly like my grandmother, she always has, and nothing like us. She even has my grandmother’s build, coloring, and nose.” He was hoping to embarrass her, because he knew how much she had hated her nose all her life. It was his revenge for the protection Collin provided her. Innocently, Collin leaned closer and studied Victoria’s nose, and turned to her father with a puzzled expression.

“It looks very much like her mother and sister’s nose to me,” Collin said honestly. And of course it did, thanks to Dr. Schwartz, but Collin didn’t know that, as Victoria blushed. Her father looked annoyed and looked closer himself, and he had to admit, to himself if not to Collin, it did look like Gracie and her mother’s nose.

“Strange, it used to look just like my grandmother’s,” he muttered. “She’s a big girl like my grandmother though,” he said with a malevolent glint in his eye. It was the description she had loathed since she was a child.

“Do you mean tall?” Collin asked with a smile.

“Yes, of course.” Her father recanted for the first time ever, and then without further comment, he slunk off into the crowd. His barbs had been as sharp as ever, but this time they had missed their mark. It was obvious to her father that Victoria didn’t care, and even more so that Collin loved her. Her father had lost the target of his jokes and putdowns forever. Victoria sighed as she watched him find her mother and tell her it was time to go.

“Thank you,” Victoria said quietly to Collin. She would have liked to confront her father herself, but she was still afraid to. There was too much water behind that dam. Maybe one day, but not now.