Alternatively

The Outliers

It was a beautiful day; the breeze was light, the sky was clear, and the grass was greener than he had ever known. The venue was huge, much bigger than it needed to be, and it was as equally beautiful as the day.

He tried to focus on the drink in his hand, stomping down the anxious energy swirling in his gut. It wasn't because of the ring in his pocket, no; he felt ill at ease for another reason entirely. Another many, multiple reasons, wandering around without a clue to his rising panic.

Or they know exactly how nervous I am, he mused, eyeing the guests around him.

Family reunions, regardless of the family, were always daunting. You don't know half the people there, someone's always judging you, and there's never enough alcohol to make the awkward small talk any easier. Even if it were his own family, he would still have trepidation. This family, however, raised the stakes on two levels.

One: they all had an air of danger about them, a shroud of mystery that extended even to the kids.

Two: he was looking to marry into it.

"Sorry, sorry," a breathless voice said beside him, one he was glad to hear. "My uncle kept talking the stock market, as if I knew anything about Wall Street. "

He grinned shakily, handing her cup back over. "No problem."

Estelle cocked her head, brushing a strand of dark hair from her face. "Are you okay? You seem...worried."

"I'm fine," he coughed. "Just, uh, hungry. You know me."

"Hm," she squinted up before patting his arm. "I think more food will be ready in a bit, okay?"

"Why do you say it like that?"

"Like what?"

"You sound like your talking to a kid," he mumbled, sticking out his lower lip in what he hoped to be a comical action.

She rolled her eyes and flipped her sunglasses down. "Baby gets hangry, babe."

Jake barely - just barely - resisted the urge to ruffle her hair and took a exaggerated sip of his cocktail of different sodas. She might have only spent a few minutes getting ready that morning, but she just looked so damn cute, he wouldn't dare ruin it. Her blue and white sundress fluttered and he watched as she leaned into the wind, pink lips curling up absently. His heart thumped slightly and he casually threw his arm around her shoulders; just standing next to her made his decision to walk into the lion's den seem less crazy.

"Stella!"

They both turned over their shoulders, finding her mom on the deck steps.

"The  projector?"

Estelle's nose wrinkled as she wormed her way out from under his arm. "It's in the car, hold on."

Sally raised her eyebrow before ducking back inside and Jake used all his willpower not to grab for Estelle as she hurried across the yard, swinging the keys around her finger. His good feelings  gave way to more prickling anxiety the more he tried convincing himself that he was fine. Everything was normal. Nothing was going to get him.

"Jake, right?"

He nearly jumped out of his skin, but his social instincts took over long enough to stick out his hand. "Yeah, I'm with Estelle."

"I'd hope so," the man laughed, shaking his hand. "It'd be weird for you to follow her around if you weren't."

Something like a nervous chuckle escaped him.

"I'm Matt, I think you met my brother?"

"Uh," he struggled to remember. "Stella talked to him a while ago, I think."