Free At Wit's End by A.K. Lawrence Page A

dark hair over her shoulder when she leaned in and stage whispered, “I thought you said you were bringing some girls.” Regina’s eyes darted over Marie’s shoulder and she looked to see Wit coming through the door once again.
    “I did,” she whispered back, “she’s actually post-op. Whitney, now known as Wit.” She kept her face straight when Regina’s wide eyes met hers.
    “You have got to be kidding me! That is one fine looking Whitney,” Regina nudged her shoulder. “If my Jason hadn’t snatched me up I’d consider an experiment.”
    “You are awful! That’s actually Wit. He’s doing some work for me.”
    “I’d say,” Regina purred.
    “You’re about to become an old married woman, don’t you think it’s time to take your mind out of the gutter.”
    “Honey, if my mind hadn’t been in the gutter I wouldn’t be turning into an old married woman.” The women shared a laugh. “There are my Jason’s parents. I’d better be a good daughter-in-law and go say hello. I think we’re still waiting on Jason’s brother. Once he’s here you can switch the music and we’ll get this shindig started.” Regina glided away to greet the older couple standing uncomfortably by the door.
    Wit caught up to her as she took a breather in a corner.  He leaned against the wall, casual as a kid on the schoolyard. “How are we doing, Captain?”
    “You have got to stop calling me that.”
    “I’ll think about it. The night appears to be a success.”
    “It is very bad luck to say that before the food’s been served,” she told him, “now I’ll be lucky if someone doesn’t come down with food poisoning or we’ll discover some random allergy.”
    “There’s the optimism we all know and love.”
    “When this turns horrible I want you to remember it’s your fault. And now I can’t help it, I have a feeling this is going to turn into a disaster.” Marie hung her head for a moment and then shook it off. “It’s going to be great!”
    “That’s the spirit,” Wit told her. He reached over and gave her shoulders a squeeze. When he felt how tight they were he started massaging. “I’m sorry I cursed your evening.”
    Marie sighed in pleasure. “It’s going to be fine, I swear. We’re waiting for one more arrival, the groom-to-be’s brother, and then the chaotic portion begins. They’ll swarm the serving tables like they’re never going to see a morsel of food again. It’d be embarrassing if it wasn’t predictable and funny.”
    “I can’t wait,” Wit told her. He saw movement by the door. “I think that may be him. No one else has come in or out for a while.”
    A dark haired man stood in the doorway, turned in a hug with Regina so his back was to Marie. Regina met her eyes and gave Marie a thumbs-up so she went to the laptop in the corner and changed the music selection. A soft rock ballad from the 1980’s began playing and it was all Wit could do not to gag. Most of the crowd seemed to enjoy the change while Wit tried to reserve judgment. He failed miserably.
    Following Marie’s example, when he had a free moment he’d clean up empty glasses and dirty plates. He realized people were lazy at parties and he felt a whole new empathy for the servers at events he’d hosted and attended.
    “Bradley Witson! Kid Midas himself!” A heavy hand slapped into his back and nearly knocked Wit forward a step. He caught his balance and turned to the stranger who continued talking seemingly without taking a breath. “I’d heard you’ve been MIA for months and now you’re making a cameo at my brother’s engagement party. Is this serendipitous or what? I’ve been trying to call you, man. James Brandt, it’s good to meet you.” He stuck his hand out toward Wit who touched it gingerly. He was tugged into a one armed, back slapping man hug.
    Wit nearly swallowed his tongue. He nodded a greeting to the man who, once again, continued talking. “How do you know my brother, Bradley?”
    Wit