My cell phone rings. I look at my clock and groan. It’s only 7:00 AM! Who would be calling me now? I pick up my phone and look at my caller ID. I groan again; it’s Atto. “What?”

“Well, good morning to you too!” he says indignantly. His anger instantly fades away. “Are you ready yet? My cousin can’t put her wedding off any longer.”

“Sure, I’ve just got to take a shower and get dressed and, oh yeah, WAKE UP!”

He clicks his tongue, “Touchy touchy.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, when did you wake up?”

“6:45! Well, hurry up, I’m already outside you house waiting for you.”

I look out my window and see Atto standing in my driveway. “Atto!”

“Yes?”

“Why are you here already? When is this wedding anyway?”

“It’s at nine of the clock, but we have to go all the way to the Pacific Junction Wedding Chapel in Olmsted Falls.”

“I’ll be down in a minute.” I grumble. I quickly throw on a white dress shirt and a pair of black slacks. I comb my hair and grab my bike from the garage. When I get outside, I see Atto standing there, holding a unicycle. He is wearing a white version of his usual outfit and his tie is now a big ruffled bow tie.

“Come on,” he says, “We’ve got to go!” We ride all the way from my house in North Olmsted, Ohio, to the Chapel in Olmsted Falls, Ohio. When we get there, I see the couple (Two very normal looking people) kiss, and hear everyone cheering. They all walk out to the back for the reception. Atto follows them, so I follow Atto.

“So Atto,” I say as he walks toward the newlyweds,”Is your cousin the bride or the groom?”

“She’s the bride. Her name’s Patricia. She’s my mom now.” He says, a bit angrily.

“That can’t be allowed, can it?” I ask.

He sighs through his nose. “She’s the cousin on my mom’s side. My mom divorced my dad because he was hitting on her niece. Before you ask, I only stay with my dad on the weekends.”

“Oh, so how old is your dad?”

“Dad’s 50, Pat’s 22, Mom’s 38.”
“Gag,” I say, “Why would she marry him?”
He shushes me as we approach the couple. “Congrats Pat.” He says in a strained voice.
She is pretty; long, blonde hair and crystal blue eyes. “That’s mom to you, boy,” Says the man standing next to her. He is what the girls in my class would call “movie star handsome”. He is slim and tall, his hair is black, thick and wavy. His smile is a blinding white and his eyes are green. I wonder if Atto’s eyes are green. I also wonder how she fell in love with him, even if she thinks he’s handsome.
“Hi dad,” Atto says. I can practically feel him getting angrier. “Is mom here?”
His dad laughs, a deep, rich laugh, “Mom’s right next to me.”
“Is my biological mother here?” Atto asks.
“Yes, I think she was by the punch bowl.”
“Thanks.” Atto says as he’s walking away. We walk over to the punch bowl, where Atto taps on the shoulder of a shapely woman in a turquoise dress. She spins around, tossing her red hair over her shoulder. “Hey mom, this is my friend…”
I shake her hand, “You can call me Smith, everyone else does.” She shakes my hand back.
“Nice to meet you Smith, I’m Miss Anormales.”
“Well, I just wanted to introduce you to my family, so we’d better get going if we’re going to meet everyone.” Names and faces blur together as I am introduced to a whirlwind of relatives, all of them seemingly normal. Finally, the wedding is over. Atto’s mom rides me home in her car because “it is just too too late to walk.” When I get home Atto sends me off with a friendly hug.
“By the way,” he says, “I’m going to miss the last day of school, I’m leaving for camp.”
“I’m going to camp at the end of the summer, I guess we won’t see each other until school starts.”
“I guess not. Oh well, when school starts then.”
I grin, “See you on the other side of ninth grade. High school starts in three months.”
Atto sighs, “I can’t wait.”