Chapter 2

As we headed downstairs, Chloe almost took a tumble.

She hitched up her loose dress and grumbled, "This borrowed dress just doesn't fit. Later I'll have my husband buy me a nice one."

Naomi and I didn't say a word the whole way, but Marjorie played along. "Well, your husband sure treats you right."

Chloe couldn't have been happier.

The dorm supervisor was in the first room on the ground floor. Chloe waved. "You all go wait by the wedding car first. My husband and I will do the greeting tea and be right out."

Once we were out of the dorm building, I stared at the two rows of shared bikes and said nothing.

The guy on the bike was pretty gracious. "Hop on, sis, we're going to be family from now on."

I gave an awkward smile. "No need, I'll just scan one for myself."

When they came out, the groom waved grandly. "You all worked so hard escorting Chloe today. Here—Chloe, I'll Venmo you twenty-four bucks. You can each buy your girls a bottle of soda later!"

The second Maxwell said that, the guys next to him started whooping it up.

"Maxwell, what a class act!"

"His wife's family has got to be taken care of right!"

I did the math in my head—twenty-four dollars, four people, six each, just enough for one bottle of cheap bottled soda.

Chloe, though, was so touched she could barely stand it. She linked her arm through Maxwell's and beamed. "See, I told you my husband's generous."

Maxwell waved it off like it was nothing. "It's the least I can do. You all worked hard escorting Chloe today. We're all family now, so don't stand on ceremony with me."

Marjorie nodded, holding back a laugh. "Thank you, then."

Hearing herself treated like real family made Chloe even happier. She took Marjorie's hand. "See? I told you he's such a good person, right? He may not have money now, but being a good person matters more than anything."

Naomi and I traded a look and, by unspoken agreement, kept quiet.

The wedding party didn't head straight to dinner. Chloe said there was still the most important ceremony to hold, so we followed them out to the athletic field.

It was the middle of the afternoon, so they didn't dare go anywhere crowded. They picked the shadiest spot at the very back.

A dozen or so shared bikes were parked in a neat row nearby. A few guys carried Bluetooth speakers over from the dorm and tied some red balloons to a tree.

Someone asked if they should set up a red carpet, but Maxwell looked down at his feet. "No need. This rubber track is already red."

It dawned on the group all at once, and they all praised him for being so thoughtful, so good at making a dollar stretch.

I glanced down at my own feet and realized for the first time that if you just rename something, you really can save a whole lot of money.

The moment the wedding march started playing, students passing by all turned to look.

Two girls stopped to take pictures.

Chloe quickly fixed her hair. "Naomi, you take pictures too. Send them to me later—I want to keep them as a keepsake."

One of Maxwell's roommates used a water bottle as a microphone, cleared his throat, and announced, "Dear friends and family, welcome to the wedding of Mr. Maxwell Dickerson and Ms. Chloe Finch."

The crowd immediately broke into whoops and cheers.

Chloe stood beside Maxwell holding up her ill-fitting white dress. The waistband kept sliding down, and she had to keep sneaking her hands up to tug it back.

The emcee asked the groom to say his vows. Maxwell took Chloe's hand, his expression unusually serious.

"Chloe, it wasn't easy for us to make it to today. Your parents never approved, but I believe that as long as the two of us truly love each other, there's no obstacle we can't get past."

Chloe's tears were already falling. "And besides, we've already met each other's resident advisors, so it's all official and aboveboard now."

When I heard that, I couldn't help glancing at Marjorie, and she was already looking at me.

Since when did meeting the resident advisor make anything official and aboveboard?

Marjorie's lips moved slightly, mouthing without sound, "Don't ask."

Maxwell went on. "From now on, I'll treat you right. As long as I've got a bite to eat, I'll never let you go hungry. We don't have much right now, but I'll work hard in the future, and I'll make everyone who doubted us regret it."

A few guys nearby broke into applause.

"Well said!"

"Marry him already, wifey!"

Maxwell took a deep breath and shouted, "Chloe, marry me!"

Chloe burst into tears right there. "I do!"

She threw herself into Maxwell's arms, sobbing so hard she could barely breathe.

Applause erupted at once, and some people even started making firecracker noises. "Pow! Pow-pow!"

"Kiss her!"

"Give the bride a kiss!"

I stood at the back of the crowd, the handwritten "bridesmaid" tag still pinned to my chest, feeling like I'd wandered into some kind of large-scale performance art piece.

And yet every single one of them was dead serious.

The emcee waited until they'd hugged long enough, then moved on with the program.

"Next, the bride and groom will exchange rings!"

The place suddenly went silent. Maxwell froze, and so did Chloe.

The emcee held out his hand to Maxwell. "The rings?"

Maxwell patted down every pocket, then scratched his head awkwardly. "Forgot to buy them."

The emcee was floored, and muttered to him under his breath, "You're getting married and you didn't buy a ring?"

Chloe jumped in for him right away. "It's fine, a ring is just a formality. We don't care about that stuff."

That was all well and good, but they'd gotten this far in the program, so the guys started scrounging around for something.

Someone suggested a keychain ring, someone said twist two out of wire, and another guy dug two staples out of his backpack, saying they could be bent into circles.

Then one guy's eyes landed on the sodas in our hands. "Got it! Got it, got it, got it!"

Before Marjorie could react, he'd already grabbed two cans and yanked the pull-tabs right off.

"Aren't these rings?"

Maxwell's eyes lit up. "That works."

The two soda-can pull-tabs were solemnly presented to the newlyweds.

Maxwell took one and slid it onto Chloe's ring finger.

It didn't fit.

He pushed on it a couple more times, and Chloe sucked in a sharp breath from the pain.

"Guess it's a little small."

In the end it would only go on her pinkie.

Chloe looked down at the pull-tab, and the tears came again.

"Honey, this means more to me than a diamond ring."

Maxwell hugged her, moved. "Once we have money someday, I'll buy you a real one."

"No need."

Chloe shook her head. "I love this one. It's proof that we went through hard times together."

The people around them all applauded.

Marjorie stood next to me and whispered, "That soda was the one I drank out of."

I quickly nudged her with my elbow. "Don't go ruining their proof of love."

She nearly laughed out loud.

After the wedding, I thought we could finally eat, but instead a few guys hauled out a folding table, pulled out a notebook and a ballpoint pen, and started recording the gift money.

"Wang Hao, twenty."

"Liu Qianggui, eighteen."

"Zhao Lei, twenty-five."

The gift amounts were all over the place, and the guy keeping the ledger was extremely diligent about it.

When it came to one guy, he handed over thirty-five dollars. "Vivian Chavez, thirty-five."

The bookkeeper looked up. "How do you spell Vivian?"

Vivian pressed his lips together slightly. "Vivian, V-I-V."

"How do you spell that?"