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Her defection left Griffin -who had it coming, of course-too often alone at the long head table. Laura (he could tell) coerced her bridesmaids to dance with him, and out of a similar sense of duty he’d asked Andy’s mother, who said, no, no, she really couldn’t, as if the single dance ticket she’d been issued at the door had already been redeemed by her son. Joy’s sisters had their husbands to deal with and they didn’t like him besides, so he steered clear there. Joy herself was going from table to table, making sure people had what they needed and were enjoying themselves, a duty he begrudged her until it occurred to him that it was his as well, so he started at the other end of the room and did the same thing, as slowly as possible, lest he be forced to return to the nearly abandoned head table.
His sense that something wasn’t right intensified as the evening wore on, though he had no idea what the hell might be wrong. Everybody seemed to be having a good time, especially the young people, Laura and Andy’s college friends, which was as it should be. The only person more disco
Gradually Griffin came to understand that he was waiting for another moment of grace, like the one at last year’s wedding when Laura pulled Su
Feeling his emotions come untethered and rise dangerously toward the surface, he left the wedding tent, whispering to Marguerite that he needed to visit the gents. Inside the hotel he found Su
“Do you enjoy single-malt scotch?” he asked when Griffin slid onto the bar stool next to him.
Even in the dim light, he could see the young man’s eyes were full. “I do,” he admitted, although hard liquor was probably the last thing he needed right then.
Su
“Are you sure?” Griffin said. “Not being able to afford something isn’t the same as disapproving of it.”
“True,” Su
“He’d have been proud of you,” Griffin assured him, because he hadn’t meant to suggest any such thing. “Hell, we’re not even related and I’m proud of you.”
Which clearly pleased the young man, though his smile vanished as quickly as it appeared, replaced by confusion. “Laura’s uncles? Jason and… Jared?”
Griffin chuckled. Back in the tent he’d noticed the twins had taken a shine to Su
“They mock their father,” he said.
Su
Su
“Otherwise they aren’t bad fellows,” Griffin said. “They’d be good to have on your side in a fight. Of course”-he pointed to his eye-“if you’re with them there’s a much better chance there’ll be a fight.”
“I made the mistake of telling them I don’t have to be back in Washington until Monday. They want me to go with them to Bar Harbor tomorrow. Do you think I shouldn’t?”
“No, I wouldn’t say that. Just remember they act first, think later, and then neither clearly nor deeply. Have you ever thought of getting a tattoo, Su
“I’m sorry?”
“I ask because if you go drinking with them, you could wake up with one.” And it would say Laura.
Su
“No kidding? Congratulations.” They clumsily clinked glasses. “You want to tell me about her?”
“Yes.” But then, for a long moment, he didn’t. “She’s Korean,” he finally said. “From a fine family. She’s been very patient waiting for me to ask for her hand.”
“Will the wedding be here?”
“No, in Seoul. I’ve invited Laura and… Andrew, but of course I’ll understand if they can’t come. It’s a long trip and very expensive. I’m hoping we’ll get together later. Andrew’s never been to Washington.”
“You’ll live in the U.S., then?”
“Yes, of course. My mother’s here, my brothers, and my work’s important, too.”
“Yes, it is.”
He seemed pleased to be given this vote of confidence, but troubled, too. “Why does a rich country like ours blame people who have nothing for its problems?”
“Good question. It’s a problem that predates Lou Dobbs, and it’s probably not just us in the States.”
“No, but we’re not responsible for other countries.”
“Are we responsible for this one, as individuals? Isn’t that a lot to ask?”
“Yes. But I do believe we are responsible.”
Griffin nodded, surprised to discover that despite raising the question he agreed with Su
“She’s very happy,” Su
Love, Griffin thought, smiling. Only love made such a leap possible. Only love related one thing to all other things, putting all your eggs into a single basket-that dumbest yet most courageous and thrilling of economic and emotional strategies. “I think she is,” he said, almost apologetically. His daughter was happy and deserved to be. Yet, sitting here in the dark, quiet bar with Su