Briar arrived wearing a white dress. Of course she did. She floated through the backyard, hugging our friends and acting like she was the guest of honor.
Finally, it was time. Everyone gathered around the big black balloon.
"Ready?"
Keaton held the pin up, grinning at the crowd. He looked so happy.
"Oh," I said, looking him dead in the eye. "I'm ready."
He popped the balloon.
The backyard went dead silent.
Everyone gathered around the big black balloon.
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Everyone was staring upward, watching the contents of the balloon drift down.
There was no pink confetti or blue glitter. It was hundreds of thin pieces of cardstock with photos printed on them. They fluttered through the air like falling leaves.
Someone bent down and picked one up.
Then another person did the same. And another, until everyone in our backyard was holding at least one photo.
Keaton turned white. Briar looked like she had forgotten how to breathe.
Everyone in our backyard was holding at least one photo.
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My father-in-law was the first to speak.
He looked down at the card in his hand and whispered, "Keaton... what the heck is this?"
Keaton took a step back, his mouth hanging open. Briar's hands were shaking at her sides.
I'd chosen a variety of photos for the balloon. One showed Keaton and Briar sitting in a booth at a coffee shop three towns over.
Her head was tucked against his shoulder. His arm was wrapped around her waist. Their fingers were laced together on the table between two mugs. It was a picture of a couple in love.
"Keaton... what the heck is this?"
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"Oh my God," my mother-in-law said.
Her voice was barely a whisper, but in that silence, it sounded like a scream.
A murmur started to roll through the backyard. It grew louder as people compared the cards they were holding.
"That's Briar."
"That's Keaton."
My father-in-law's voice rose, sharp and clear. "How long has this been going on?"
A murmur started to roll through the backyard.
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Briar finally spoke. "Kate, I can explain... It's not what it looks like."
I stepped forward for the first time.
"I don't need you to explain, Briar."
Every eye in the yard turned to me. I held up one of the photos.
"I saw you two together in my house. On my couch. In the middle of the night, while I was upstairs sleeping. Did you think I wouldn't wake up?"
Briar's face crumpled. She started to sob, but it didn't look like a real cry. It looked like someone who had been caught and didn't know which way to run.
Every eye in the yard turned to me.
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Keaton finally found his words. "Kate, please. This isn't the time or the place for this. We should talk inside."
"This was exactly the time."
I looked around at our friends. Our family. His coworkers. His parents, who had always been so kind to me. "After that night on the stairs, I hired a private investigator. She took these photos over the last two weeks."
Briar took a step toward me, reaching out a hand. "I never meant to hurt you, Kate. You're my best friend."
My sister-in-law, who had been standing by the drinks table, snapped.
"I hired a private investigator."
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"Then why were you holding her husband like that? In a coffee shop? While she was home pregnant?" She turned to her brother, her eyes full of fire. "And you... How could you do this to her?"
Another guest spoke up, getting louder. "In public! You didn't even try to hide it. You were just waiting for her to find out, weren't you?"
Briar started crying harder now.
I reached into the folder I had been holding against my side and pulled out a single white envelope.
"How could you do this to her?"
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