by Judy Kentrus
The Wedding Gift
Judy Kentrus
LadyKay Publishing
Copyright © 2016 by Judy Kentrus.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
Author: Judy Kentrus
www.judykentrus.com
Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.
Book Layout ©2013 BookDesignTemplates.com
Book Title: The Wedding Gift by Judy Kentrus
ISBN 978-1-4951-9028-5
Dedicated to all of my readers who wanted more of Cindi and Preston, the loving couple from
Winner Takes All.
Thank you to the real Cindi Pearl. I couldn’t have written the books without you.
Chapter 1
“B1, B for boy.”
“Speak up! The damn batteries are dead in my hearing aid.”
“B1.” Cindi offered Willie a smile of understanding and repeated the number. She’d been coming to the Spring Meadow Rehabilitation and Assisted Living Facility almost every Saturday morning for the past year. It had been a lot longer since she volunteered here as a candy striper when she was in high school. Time had been good to many of the residents. They’d been able to hold back the toll aging and illness had taken on their bodies. Others she’d come to know and love weren’t so fortunate and had entered St. Peter’s gate. They’d been replaced by newcomers she’d welcomed into her heart.
The large room was festively decorated for the holiday season. She’d purposely worn green leggings and a candy cane striped sweatshirt that reached the top of her thighs. The huge Christmas tree in the corner scented the air with a fresh pine fragrance. A variety of ornaments the residents had made in art class hung on the wide, thick branches. Garlands made out of popcorn supported red and green felt stockings, one for each resident. Gold and red sashes draped the eight windows that overlooked the small park and courtyard used in the summer months. Three inches of snow had fallen overnight, and the short walkway lamps sported frosty white hats.
Cindi retrieved another ball from the bingo cage and announced the number quickly before her “guests” started their weekly debate. This morning she was four people down, so the arguing wouldn’t be as intense, she hoped.
“I25, I for idol. I25.”
“The letter I put me in mind of American Idol,” Muriel said. “There was a real hottie on the show. Sang like Dean Martin. I loved when he sang that song about the bigga pizza pie. I wouldn’t mind trying his pepperoni on for size.”
“You and your men,” chided Sadie, sitting across the table. She picked up her long pink knitting needles and continued to work on the scarf she was making for Marla, the nursing supervisor. “You lust after anything in trousers. You’re too old, along with Dean Martin. He was a drunk. I preferred his partner, Jerry Lewis. He was funnier.”
“Stop your yapping and put down them damn knitting needles. You’re supposed to be playing bingo! Click! Click! Click! I can’t hear Cindi calling the numbers.” Willie’s nostrils flared when he complained. He picked up a plastic bingo chip and pointed it at Muriel. “You wouldn’t know what to do with a pepperoni if someone handed it to you!” His voice was still gravelly from a recent bout of laryngitis.
Muriel fluffed the curls on her newly permed carrot-colored hair and adjusted her fifties-style glasses studded with rhinestones. She was trying out the I Love Lucy look. “Yours shriveled up long ago!”
“I’ll fix all of you. I’m going out of this world Frank Sinatra style, my way.” His hand slammed down on the table, making the oversize bingo markers jump off everyone’s numbers. “I’m going in the casket facedown!”
“Good, then we won’t have to look at your ugly, wrinkled old face!” Sadie said.
“I got you there, missy. That way everyone can kiss my ass goodbye! Go in the TV room if you want to talk!” He closed the buttons on his Mr. Rogers sweater, a gift from his sister. “Why don’t they turn up the heat? It’s cold in here.”
“It’s not too cold. It’s those blood thinners you take,” Muriel snarled.
Bertie had been waiting to add her two cents into the conversation, and jumped in when there was a momentary lull in the complaining. “The TV is so damn loud you can’t hear yourself think. All they watch is those damn game shows and don’t realize they’re reruns. Half the damn people on the Match Game panel are dead, including the damn host, Gene Rayburn.”
“How come every other word out of your mouth is the word damn?” Oscar, one of the new gamesters, sat next to Willie. This place was much better than the other home he’d been in. The women may be old, but they were feisty and the food was much better. Bertie put him in mind of his late wife Sarah, with her pretty silver-white hair.
“When I was growing up, it was unheard of for a woman to curse. I said the word damn and my mother put lye soap in my mouth. Tasted like shit.” Bertie shuddered. “Times have changed. I’m ninety years old and can damn well curse if I want to. Shit! Damn! Shit!”
Cindi had heard enough. It was the same, week after week. Actually, they were quite entertaining. They’d just given new meaning to a stick of pepperoni. “Are we going to talk or play this last game? I have a special surprise for each of you when we’re finished.”
“What is it?” Muriel hoped it was more jewelry. Had to keep up appearances. The next time she got her hair done, she was going to try a new color, Bombshell Blond. The old geezers would go crazy with her Marilyn Monroe look.
“Is it something to eat? Maybe cookies from your friend Samantha,” Willie asked hopefully.
“If I told you it wouldn’t be a surprise.”
“Well, let’s get to it. I ain’t getting any younger,” Bertie said, wishing she’d refreshed her lipstick before coming to the game. Muriel wasn’t the only one who appreciated a nice-looking man. Oscar had golden brown eyes, like her first husband.
They managed to get through the game without additional bickering. Cindi gave each of them a gift box of cookies from Samantha. Willie and Oscar loved their new ties decorated with dancing Santas, and bottles of Old Spice aftershave. Muriel and Bertie got silk scarves with matching beads. She’d also included a personal bottle of Snow Kissed Mint hand sanitizer. She left the gifts for the other four people who couldn’t play bingo under the tree.
The men left munching on their cookies. Cindi collected the cards, put the bingo game away in the storage cabinet, and straightened the chairs. She sensed something was afoot. The women gathered close to the tree and were whispering and giggling like schoolgirls. They loved nitpicking one another, but were the best of friends. Before setting up for the bingo game, Cindi had stopped by to see Marla Barry, a friend and supervisor of the nursing staff. Marla gave Cindi a heads-up that the women had recently formed a singing group, the Lemon Sisters, and might burst out in song at any given moment.
Cindi braced herself for the unexpected. “Ladies, it’s time for me to head out. I’m meeting Preston this afternoon and we’re going to the florist to make the final flower arrangements for our wedding.”
“Oh, my,” Muriel said, patting the front of her flower-covered dress that proudly displayed her new pink beads, her favorite color. “Be still my heart. He is a h
ottie. I’ll bet he puts Dean Martin’s pepperoni to shame.”
“Muriel! That’s not nice! What they do behind closed doors is their business.” Sadie fanned herself with her new yellow paisley scarf. “But I agree. He is a hottie. Men who wear glasses are sexy.”
“Enough, you two. Let’s give Cindi her present.” Bertie reached into the side pocket on her scooter and withdrew a box wrapped in red foil paper and tied with a shiny silver ribbon.
“We wanted to give you something to make your wedding night extra special. Your young man is very lucky to have you.” Bertie held out the box with fingers that had touched the hands of time, but her nails had been painted Christmas red.
“Thank you so much.” Cindi kissed each of the women, holding back sentimental tears. She loved the Lemon Sisters dearly. “Is it okay if I open it now?”
“Wait!” Muriel put her scooter in gear. “Let me lock the door. Need to keep those pervert old geezers out. Don’t matter any way. Their tallywackers don’t work. Should have given them bottles of Viagra rather than ties and cologne.”
Cindi silently questioned the women’s peculiar behavior and wondered what they’d purchased that the men shouldn’t see. “Ah, before I open the box, how did you get this present?”
“We had one of the candy stripers order it online, but we gave her the money. Oscar has a laptop, but we didn’t want him to see what we were ordering,” Bertie said.
“Open it! Open it!” Muriel urged.
Cindi carefully untied the silver ribbon and opened each end of the red paper. She removed the cover of the box to discover mounds of shocking-pink tissue paper. That should have given her a clue it wasn’t a Christmas present. Her mouth dropped when she pushed the wrapping aside and carefully lifted out silky lingerie. “Oh my!” The camisole top and tap pants were a virginal white, but that was the only instance the word “virginal” could be inferred. A short, transparent skirt with a sexy side slit was attached to the lace-trimmed demi cups. The satin-trimmed elastic waist of the see-through tap pants would ride low on her hips. Preston’s mouth would hit the floor. “Frederick’s of Hollywood?”
“No, Shirley of Reno. Don’t you just love it!” Muriel said, before joining her friends in a giggle.
“Thank you so very much. This will make our wedding night extra special.” When Cindi’s cell phone indicated an incoming text message, she smiled. “Speaking of the groom, I’ve got to meet him in an hour.” She repackaged the lingerie before reaching for her puffy quilted jacket. “I won’t be here next week, but Suzie Q will run the bingo games. Behave yourselves.” Cindi told herself it was wishful thinking. The senior citizens reminded her of the three flower girls in the wedding. Susan, Vicky, and Edith attracted trouble like a magnet, but she felt confident everything would go smoothly.
The December air attacked her cheeks the moment she stepped outside, but there was a spring in her step when she walked across the parking lot toward Pansy, her orchid VW. Knowing she would see Preston in a little while made her heart sing with happiness. In two weeks she’d be Mrs. Preston Reynolds. At times, she pinched herself to make sure this wasn’t just a beautiful dream.
When she stopped at the light at Trinity Church, the bells sounded twelve noon and her empty stomach grumbled. After they finished conferring with Suzie Q, their florist, they would stop at the Spoonful for lunch. When her cell phone rang, she smiled at the familiar number. Her mother and father had been away on a cruise and were to return home that morning.
Cindi couldn’t have asked for better parents. Kevin and Joyce had provided a home filled with love. They’d worked hard all their lives, as dairy farmers, but they’d downsized several years ago. Her mother prided herself on planting a large garden every spring, and canned the vegetables in the fall. Last year they were approached by a company to install two natural gas pumps on a section of their farm acreage. Her father now considered himself a “gentleman” farmer, but still cared for his prize horses. She was happy they were finally able to enjoy life.
“Hi, Mom, welcome home. How was your trip?”
“Fabulous! I think I’ve gained ten pounds from all the wonderful food. Dad picked up the mail that was being held at the post office, and there was a letter for you. I opened it to make sure it wasn’t anything important.”
“Who was it from?” Cindi pulled over to the curb because she’d forgotten her Bluetooth. She had plenty of time to make her appointment.
“Stevensville High School is having a special holiday party. It’s not a reunion, just a get-together for everyone who graduated in the past twenty years. You were supposed to RSVP a week ago, but we were away so you couldn’t get the announcement. And, of course, they didn’t have your new address.”
“When and where?” She really didn’t have time for this. Besides, it brought back too many bad memories.
“It’s tonight at the Roadhouse in Laurel Heights. That’s where they had Jessie Adams’ promotion party.”
“Tonight! That’s insane! Who the heck plans a semi-reunion three weeks before Christmas?”
“It’s signed by Merrilee Howard and Florence Knightly.
“Sounds exactly like something they would do.” Along with a few classes, Merrilee and Florence were in cheerleading and the drama club with Cindi. She sucked at acting and never had any aspirations to be an actress, but they had a lot of fun in the school plays. Merrilee had gone through two husbands and was probably on the prowl for victim number three. Florence had married a dentist and was the mother of two children. They communicated through an occasional email, but Cindi hadn’t reached out to her high school friends since last Christmas. She reflected on how much her life had changed in the past twelve months, and lowered her eyes to the sparkling engagement ring on her finger. Her prince charming had made all her dreams come true.
“Mother, I don’t have time. Preston and I are meeting the florist to finalize the flower arrangements for the wedding, and then we are going to start going through our shower presents. It’s important to send out thank-you notes before the wedding.”
“Daughter of mine, you have always been very independent and I’ve held back from giving you too much advice, but I need to speak my mind. It still irks me that a certain someone, who shall not be named, caused you to leave town in embarrassment. Your words, not mine. We never did get his side of the story, but his bitch of a momma claimed you weren’t good enough because we were farmers and his family was big-shot lawyers.”
Cindi didn’t have to be reminded about the humiliation she’d suffered, as well as the pain of a broken heart. At eighteen, her world had come to an end, or she thought so at the time. She’d escaped to New York and gone to NYU. After graduating with a BS degree, she literally ran into Lincoln Adams with her hot latte. Through her wonderful boss, she’d met the man of her dreams. Her life had never been richer or fuller.
“Cindi, are you still there?”
“Yes, Mother. I was just thinking.”
“Look at it from Preston’s angle. If he finds out about the get-together and you don’t go, he might think you are ashamed of him because of his leg.”
“Mother! How could you say something like that? He is the most wonderful, courageous, handsome, kind, generous, loving man in the entire world!”
“Thought that would shake you up. You know how much we love him, and he’s made you so happy. We couldn’t ask for a better husband for our daughter. We are not prideful people that flaunt our good fortune, but are humbled by what God has given us. This isn’t a normal situation. Prove to everyone you’ve made a success of your life. Preston is the ultimate prize. Flash your beautiful ring and make sure you arrive in his Aston Martin. The other women will drool with envy. You can smile back and tell them to eat their hearts out.”
“Mother, I’m not one to broadcast my good fortune.”
“Cindi Pearl, I know exactly who and what you are, and so does your future husband. We couldn’t ask for a better daughter. Just walk in, hold your head
high, and be proud of all you’ve accomplished. Most important, smile at the man you love.”
“Mother, you could sell snow shoes to polar bears.” They could spare a couple of hours to walk down memory lane. This time, she’d have Preston with her to keep the bad memories at bay. “What time does this thing start?”
“Now you’re talking! Seven o’clock.”
“I’ve got nothing to wear.”
“Excuses, excuses. That’s why you are going to stop at your favorite boutique in the train station depot across from the Adams Security building and get a new dress. I’m sure Preston would be happy to help you pick it out.”
“Thank you, Mother. I don’t know how I survive without you.”
“You do just fine, but it’s nice to hear. Let me know how you make out with the florist. Remind Suzie Q you are using one of your father’s antique carriages and we’ll decorate it with pine boughs and red bows. Of course, he’ll be driving.”
“Tell Dad I love him for taking care of transportation. Talk to you tomorrow and I’ll fill you in on the party. I’m just heading into town to meet Preston.”
“Give him our love,” Joyce replied.
Main Street looked so festive decorated for the holidays. The Chamber of Commerce specified all of the stores be decorated with fresh pine garlands, tiny white lights, and wreaths with huge red bows. Through the generosity of an unnamed individual, Santa’s village had been built in the park. It was open on the weekends so the children could visit the jolly old elf. Volunteers were needed as Santa’s helpers and to pass out hot chocolate and cookies. She hadn’t told Preston they would be pulling Santa duty the following weekend. He was going to look so adorable in his elf costume.
She pulled up in front of a restored Victorian home decorated like a Currier and Ives picture, right down to an ornamental sleigh on the front lawn overflowing with colorful wrapped gifts. Suzie ran her flower shop from the basement of her home and was one of the kindest, sweetest women Cindi had ever met. Suzie taught a weekly craft class at the assisted living center and gave the women weekly manicures. Her husband was a mailman and helped out whenever and wherever he was needed. The couple had recently been recognized by the Chamber of Commerce for their humanitarian deeds throughout the town.