Jenna let out an audible sigh as she leaned her head against the passenger window. Her neighborhood had come into view. Despite the exciting future, she was lost in thought about the past.

"Are you okay?" Trent asked his fiancée. He parked his blue Honda CRV in front of her house, a white colonial-style house with a bright red front door. They had arrived for some final wedding preparations with some friends and family.

"I'll be fine," sighed Jenna while she unbuckled her seatbelt and exited the car. "It's just... I'm excited about the wedding," she started to add, turning to face him as he came around the front of the car. "I'm just a little sad that so little of my family will be there."

Jenna grew up as a part of a large family. She lost a brother to the criminal justice system when she was eight. Her mother then passed away from pancreatic cancer six years ago. The cancer was undiagnosed until months before her death. Her father then suffered a fatal heart attack 18 months later.

She still had her 29-year-old brother A.J., as well as his husband Roland, to go with another brother, Derrick. Recently, Derrick's health had been failing. There was an increasing likelihood that he could be in the hospital for the big day.

A.J. had served as Jenna's guardian beginning when she was 15, and he was 21. He filled the void left by her parents admirably. He navigated the special bond between a girl and her mother as a surrogate. He also doted on his little sister like a proud father. A.J. was a corporate lawyer and his added responsibilities made him stoic. He'd known Roland since they were teenagers and his partner helped balance him in recent years. Roland helped A.J. recognize the joys of life, rather than focusing on the difficulties. After all, Jenna was now an adult, he should know that he can unwind a bit.

Derrick was a strong older brother. He lent extra care and attention to his sister through some difficult teen years. He then moved out of the house shortly after their parents passed and he had become a firefighter. He was the most social of the Collins boys, which made him quick to make friends. That quality added to an absence as he got older. It also allowed him to spend more time with friends to get away from difficulties at home.

Roland was a strong addition to the family and was able to navigate the changing family dynamic. He was the yin to A.J.'s yang, a dynamic that began when they became closer friends and, later, began dating. A.J. benefited from his infectious optimism and enthusiasm. Roland's meticulous and organized nature was also invaluable to the shifting family situation. He knew when the family needed light and shifted to comfort mode easily.

As both the youngest child and the only girl, Jenna was watched over fiercely by the men in her life. She pushed back when possible, developing an independent streak. She and Derrick were similar in their outgoing nature. Meanwhile, her natural enthusiasm was tempered by a stoicism she learned from A.J.

Jenna was in her third year of the digital design program at Seattle University. She never considered herself artistic, but she had a knack for graphic design. She considered moving into industrial design or drafting with a little more schooling. If her fallback was graphic design, she'd be content, but she was willing to try different career paths. She had two jobs, a well-paid internship at a local design firm and a campus job at Lemieux Library on campus. She worked a lot, but her library job offered a lot of downtime for her schoolwork and wedding planning.

It was at the library where she met Trent. He caught her eye as a dedicated student that studied at the library a lot. In reality, he was able to navigate his studies pretty well and he had little use for the library. He found actuarial science studies interesting and was naturally gifted in math. He had met Jenna in his second year while working on a history paper. He decided the library would be the best place to read, look at the internet and generally loiter. His favorite spot was the second-closest table to Jenna's counter. "I didn't want to look too desperate," he'd tell people when sharing the story of their meeting. It came two months into her time at Seattle U and they became inseparable shortly thereafter. He was quite adaptable, and Jenna appreciated his patience and decisiveness.

Jenna and Trent had started discussing marriage after two years of dating. Jenna wondered why people waited until after college to get married and Trent picked up on the hint. He bought a ring shortly thereafter and proposed last Christmas. They then found an apartment, which Trent would share with a roommate until the wedding.

Neither family subscribed to the more old-fashioned values about living together before marriage. It was for more practical reasons that everyone agreed with the decision to wait. Jenna could save money. For Trent, he had moved out of his parent's house in nearby Tacoma a couple years earlier. His former roommate moved in with him until the wedding.

A.J. and Roland lived in the Collins family house, moving in ahead of their own wedding. The house was left to all four siblings. A.J. and Roland bought out Derrick's share a year ago and agreed to buy out Jenna after the wedding. It was the perfect opportunity to give Jenna and Trent a tidy nest egg.

The remaining brother was not responsive to the executor of their parents' estate. The couple set aside money to pay off the last share of the house, should the need arise.

Jenna and Trent approached the home slowly as they discussed her feelings. Trent tugged at Jenna's elbow before the front stairs.

"I'm sorry things have been difficult the last few years," he said, putting his left arm on the outside of her bicep. "You said it yourself, this is an opportunity for you to get that big family back. My parents love you and my sisters adore you. We are all here for you."

She smiled and leaned in for a hug. Her athletic, but petite, figure was absorbed in his tall, stocky frame. Her head came just past his shoulders, allowing her a perfect resting spot for her head when he held her. She liked to tell people this as a sign that they "fit together perfectly."

Jenna pulled back. Her electric blue eyes—a trait of all the Collins children—connected with Trent's brown eyes. She leaned in for a kiss and they held each other tightly for an extra moment before turning back toward the house.

Sarah, the head bridesmaid, greeted the couple as they entered the foyer. She scrambled for flutes of champagne as she finished off a glass of her own. She'd been best friends with Jenna since they were 10 and, as such, their styles were similar. Sarah was an inch taller but had a similar build. From behind, they looked a lot alike, but Sarah had blonde hair. She also had freckles, a button nose, and brown eyes, which dispelled any notion that they could be sisters.

When they entered the living room, the rest of the party had already assembled. Trent's brother and best man David was talking with Roland on the opposite side of the room. A.J. meandered around the room while on the phone.

David was a spitting image of his younger brother in his round face and curly hair. He was just an inch shorter, but rail thin and wore glasses. Roland and A.J. made a dashing couple. His deep brown skin and A.J.'s olive complexion adorned similarly athletic builds. A.J.'s physique was a natural byproduct of a fast metabolism and stress. Roland, who was two inches shorter, had always been an avid runner. Both were smart casual dressers and they garnered admiring looks when out together.

"No, that sounds good. You know what you're doing," A.J. said on his end of the phone conversation. He saw his sister walk in the room and continued, "Listen, my sister and her fiancé just got here, so I have to get going. You're in good shape on this. If you need anything else, I can connect with you in a few hours." After a pause, he added, "Yeah," and finished, "You too. Bye."

He put his phone in his pocket and went straight to his sister. He gave her a kiss on her forehead and a half hug, squeezing her into his torso. He offered his free right hand to shake Trent's before turning his focus to the room.

"Now that we're all here, what should we tackle first?" asked A.J.

"Well, Roland has the seating chart and an RSVP count with some questions," started David. "Jenna and Trent, you need to make some final decisions on the program."

"That's it?" asked Trent. "Shit. This thing is getting close."

Jenna responded to Trent's mocking concern with a performative jab in his ribs. She added, "Last chance to back out."

He met her smile and said, "Not a chance," pulling her close and giving her a kiss.

Everyone smiled at the couple before A.J. interjected to get the group on track.

"Roland, why don't you get us started," he said to his husband.

Facing the rest of the room he continued, "Roland can give you the long or the short version. Though I warn you, the long version involves a PowerPoint presentation."

A big smile swept across his face.

"It does go fast, and the last 45 minutes are really interesting," he added to polite laughs across the room.

"Why don't we stick with the short version," Jenna interjected with a smirk on her face.

"Sorry, babe," A.J. said to Roland.

Roland chuckled to himself, took a drink of champagne. He pulled out a diagram of the reception as all eyes turned to him. Roland grew up in British Columbia and, as such, had a pronounced Canadian accent. He also embodies some Canadian cliches. He was overly polite and punctuated many sentences with a ubiquitous "eh." He was a civil engineer, loved organization and making things fit together. He was a natural to put together the seating chart and was excited by the challenge.

"Thanks everyone," he started, laying the diagram on the coffee table. "So, as you can see, I laid out all the RSVPs and expected future RSVPs at the tables. We have 76 confirmed guests, with space for up to about 75% of the late responses, yeah?"

"Here is a list," he continued, sliding a list of 12 names to Jenna and Trent, who had huddled on the other end of the table. "You can mark up who you think will RSVP or not. Taking into account who can't be by who and how close we'd want them to the head table, here is where everybody shakes out, eh."

"I ran with your theme of two families coming together and got a good mix of Collins and Arnolds at each table. No one is on an island," he continued.

Trent surveyed the materials. He was impressed, but looked at Roland, noticeably with a question in mind.

"Yeah... hmph," Roland interjected, reading Trent's mind. "Mary and Rob, eh? Your mother told me they're separated, but both would be attending. I put them far apart, but in good company"

Trent was satisfied with the answer. The discussion continued with small talk and inside jokes about some of the guests. At the end, David asked about the PowerPoint presentation and everyone had one last laugh.

Jenna was quiet throughout the discussion and had a look of consternation on her face. She had entertained the idea of extending an invitation to her third brother, Davis. She was scared to broach the topic with either of her other siblings, so she relented. They'd shot down any thoughts of bringing Davis into the fold in the past. She first introduced the idea when their mother passed. Each time, the conversation turned out to be a non-starter.

The sadness overcame her as this seemed like the final chance. She followed up the seating chart discussion by excusing herself to the bathroom.