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"Of course I told her We talk about everything"

"I'lad you're so close to my ex-wife But it's none of her business Or yours"

"I' too fast You don't know Lexie"

"Why do you keep saying that?"

"I' it until you finally aders"

Alvin, like Jeremy's five older brothers, had never learned how to drop a subject Thewith a bone, Jeremy decided

"She's not a stranger"

"No? Then what's her middle name?"

"What?"

"You heard me Tell me Lexie's middle name"

Jere?"

"Nothing But if you're going to marry her, don't you think you should be able to answer the question?"

Jeremy opened his mouth to answer, then realized he didn't know Lexie had never told hi that he was finally getting through to his delusional friend, pressed on

"Okay, how about these basics? What was her e? What's her favorite color? Does she like white or whole-wheat bread? What's her favorite movie or television show? Who's her favorite author? Do you even kno old she is?"

"She's in her thirties," Jeremy offered

"In her thirties? I could have told you that"

"I'm pretty sure she's thirty-one"

"You're 'pretty sure'? Can you even hear how ridiculous you sound? You can't marry someone if you don't even kno old she is"

Jeremy opened another drawer and e that Alvin had a point but not wanting to ad breath

"I thought you were happy I finally found someone," he said

"I a to ht you were kidding about that You know I think she's a great lady She really is, and if you're still this serious about her in a year or two, I'll drag you down the aisle s, and there's no reason to"

Jereray, soot-covered bricks fra building Shadowed i on the phone; a man wrapped in a towel headed for the bathroo as she watched television In all the time he'd lived here, he'd never said so much as hello to any of them

"She's pregnant," he finally said

For a ht he hadn't heard correctly It was only when he saw the expression on his friend's face that he realized Jere

"She's pregnant?"

"It's a girl"

Alvin plopped down on the bed as if his legs had suddenly given out "Why didn't you tell me?"

Jereed "She asked me not to tell anyone yet So keep it a secret, will you?"

"Yeah," Alvin said, sounding dazed "Sure"

"And one "

Alvin looked up

Jeremy reached for his shoulder "I'd like you to be my best man"

How had it happened?

Strolling with Lexie as she explored FAO Schwarz the next day, he still had trouble answering that question Not the pregnancy part; that was a night he'd probably remember forever Despite the brave front he'd put on for Alvin, it sometimes felt as if he were about to play a part in a crowd-pleasing ro was certain until the final credits rolled

What happened to him, after all, didn't usually happen In fact, it almost never happened Who travels to a small town to write an article for Scientific American, meets a small-town librarian, and falls head over heels in just a few days? Who decides to leave behind a chance attelevision and life in New York City tomore than a hiccup on the map?

So many questions these days

Not that he was second-guessing himself about what he was about to do In fact, as he watched Lexie sorting through stacks of GI Joes and Barbies--she wanted to surprise his ood impression--he felt more certain than ever about his decision He s the kind of life he was about to settle into Quiet dinners, ro in front of the television Good stuff, stuff that h to believe they'd never have an arguate those rough waters successfully, realizing in the end that they were perfectlypicture, life would be wonderful

But as Lexie nudged past hi at another couple standing by a pile of stuffed animals Actually, the couple was impossible not to notice They were in their early thirties and sharply dressed; he had the air of an investment banker or an attorney, while his wife cadale's They were loaded wit

h half a dozen bags froer was the size of ahe'd just purchased for Lexie As Jere a nanny on an outing like this, simply because they seemed completely bewildered as to what they were supposed to do

The baby in the stroller was screa wail that peeled wallpaper and made others in the store stop in their tracks At exactly the sa even more loudly and suddenly threw himself down on the floor The parents wore the panicked, shell-shocked expressions of soldiers under fire, and it was is under their eyes and the translucent pallor of their faces Despite the impeccable facade, they were plainly at the end of their rope The mother finally worked the baby free froainst her as the husband leaned toward her, patting the baby's back

"Don't you think I' to quiet her down?" she barked "Deal with Elliot!"

Chastised, thethe floor, throwing the mother of all temper tantrums

"Stop that screaer

Oh yeah, Jere to do it

Elliot,purple as he writhed on the floor

By that point, even Lexie had stopped browsing and turned her attention to the couple It was, Jere at a woman who mowed her lawn in her bikini, the kind of spectacle inore The baby screamed, Elliot screa, the father screa

A crowd had gathered, ringing the happy fa them with a mixture of thankfulness and pity: thankful that it wasn't happening to the-- couple was going through The et as far away from the noise as possible

Elliot banged his head on the floor and began to scream even louder