Elly In Bloom

by Colleen Oakes

  The sun simmered lower in the sky when they finally finished. Elly looked at her watch: The ceremony started in two hours. They were still officially one hour behind. Frantically, she began throwing all the trash into the van that Keith had backed up into the alley. She was covered in tree bits when Keith gently took her arm.

  “I know we’re in a hurry. But come see what you have done,” he insisted. “You have reason be proud.” They walked together to the front of the ceremony – the same place where Aaron and Lucia would stand – and looked back at the empty chairs. Elly felt an unexpected rush of pride. It should have been horrible to look at it, to marvel at the beauty that was the place of their wedding, but Elly for some reason couldn’t shake the astonishment of the sight.

  It was a heavenly delight, a wildwood of pearl and peonies that swayed and blushed in the breeze. The hanging orchids quivered in the wind, and the overhead braches invited everyone to join in their fantasy. The hydrangea urns were elegant and romantic on a grand scale. The chocolate brown ribbon matched perfectly with the soft tan brick ground beneath it.

  “It’s perfect,” breathed Elly.

  Keith stared into her eyes. “Perfect,” he murmured.

  Elly was suddenly aware of their surroundings and stepped back, insecure. She faked a yawn. “I feel like I could sleep for a year.” She let out a sly smile. “I have an idea. Let’s just go home and you can make me sandwich. We’ll kick up our feet and watch some trashy daytime television.”

  Keith laughed, a deep throaty sound. “I think that we may have to finish this.”

  Elly groaned. “I can’t believe it’s only half done. We still have the reception!”

  Keith shook his head. “I can’t help you with that. My family will disown me if I don’t at least make the party. And my niece will never talk to me again. She’s three years old and very attached.” He paused. “I’m probably going to have to wear a princess crown.”

  Elly grinned as she started picking tiny petal pieces off the ground. “I bet that looks nice.” She stood, stretching out her back. “Keith, this is more than I ever had a right to expect. I would never have finished this in time. I hate to say it, but this looks incredible.” She eyed the ceremony site. “Maybe he’ll leave her at the altar.”

  Keith tilted his head. “Or maybe she’ll leave him.”

  Elly scoffed.

  Keith recanted. “Maybe the hotel will fall on them both.”

  Elly mimicked a scream and then was aware of how silly she looked as her designated butler came back around the corner. “Ma’am, they are ready for you in the reception room. I was told to ask you…” He looked at his note and cringed. Elly recognized Snarky Teenager’s messy scrawl. “Where the hell are you?” He cleared his throat. “Should I respond?”

  Elly grabbed the note from his white gloved fingers. “Tell them I will be up in five minutes.”

  She turned to Keith, who was double checking on the stability of the manzanita branches. “Thank you again, but I have to run. Can I pay you?”

  Keith’s eyes darkened and his mood seemed to immediately change. “No. I don’t want your money, Elly.” He raised an eyebrow. “Where is your hippie today? Wasn’t he supposed to help?”

  Elly stepped back as if she had been slapped. He was trying to provoke her. Again. “No, he had some important band stuff. They got hired for a job – very big deal.”

  Keith gestured to the elaborate gardens in front of them. “What could be more important than this?”

  “I don’t want to talk about it,” Elly grumbled. “I have to go Keith.” She started walking towards the hotel.

  “Elly, wait.” He grabbed her arm softly. Fire shot through Elly’s skin as Keith looked down into her blue eyes. “Good luck today. Don’t let anything or ANYONE take this day away from you.”

  Elly was confused and yanked her arm away. “Why would I want this day? This is the worst day of my life, Keith.” She pondered that for a second. “No. This is the second worst day of my life. The first one was the day I found Lucia in my bed, and today is almost as bad, because I have to live through it all over again. Only this time, I can’t run off and start a new life somewhere. Although, the idea is becoming more and more appealing.” She turned her back to him. “I will have Kim pay you for your time. I insist. Now go, don’t miss any more of your niece’s party.”

  “I’ll stay if you want me to.” Keith looked pained to be walking away.

  “I’ll be fine now. A horny teenager, a crazy French woman and a handful of Russian immigrants are inside waiting to help me.”

  Keith laughed. “Elly, they’re from Boston.”

  “WHATEVER.” snapped Elly. “Go away, you are making me LATE. And nervous.”

  “Nervous? Really?” Keith’s eyes lit up.

  “Goodbye, Keith. Go home.” Elly walked into the hotel. She forced herself not to look back at him.

  CHAPTER

  TWENTY-EIGHT

  Elly entered into the hotel through a side door marked “Deliveries.” It was always both fascinating and sad to see the inner workings of a hotel. Elly walked down a damp cement hallway lit by flickering neon bulbs. Motivational posters lined the walls: “The customer is always correct!” “Are you clean?” “Lawsuits can be avoided!” Two giggling maids passed by Elly, pushing a large cart of dirty towels and clear bags of trash. A young waiter, a baggy sweatshirt draped over his uniform, walked by her, moving rhythmically to the music pumping out of his earphones, passing an exhausted older woman, who peered at Elly with a palpable sadness.

  At the end of the hallway, Elly made a sharp left into a service elevator. It chugged to life, climbing the twenty floors up to the ballroom level. Finally able to take a breath, Elly hung her head. She had been so rude to Keith. Why had she been so rude? It gave a final shudder, and Elly clutched the railing in fear. With a screeching sigh, the doors slid open.

  To Elly’s relief, Lucia was not on the other side of the door. Instead, she walked out into a bustling kitchen. Hispanic waiters rushed past her, carrying delicious-smelling trays steaming in the cool air and shouting rapid Spanish at each other. A long galley of stainless steel stovetops stretched out to her right, with chefs in white hats dancing around flaming woks and barking orders at nervous assistants. Huge push carts wheeled by Elly, filled with elaborate fruit tarts, their raspberries sparkling with crystallized sugar. Elly’s mouth watered. She realized that she was very, very hungry. Her stomach let out a loud and embarrassing groan. A passing chef gave her a quizzical glance.

  “That wasn’t what you think!” Elly cried. “It was just my stomach. I’m hungry.” The chef, looking embarrassed, turned away from her and began talking in low tones to a prep cook.

  “I only had some donuts today. Donuts and lemonade. That’s it.” You’re not making this better, Elly thought to herself. Stop talking. Find the reception. “Excuse me, can you point me towards the Grand Ballroom?”

  The chef pointed to a silver door on the other side of the room. “Ballroom,” he said sternly, gesturing for her to move out of the way of three waiters carrying trays. Elly jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding getting Chicken Marsala dumped all over her. She scurried to the door and pushed it open. In mere inches, the entire world changed.

  She had entered into a large hallway that skirted the Grand Ballroom. Peach marble floors stretched out in both directions. Suede chairs circled around glass tables on either side of the hallway, each with a gorgeous bouquet of pale pink peonies and seeded eucalyptus in a square glass vase. Elly smiled. Those were theirs– the girls had obviously been out here already. An entire wall of glass showcased downtown Clayton. Elly pressed her nose up against it. She could see her street from here, and if she looked hard enough, the tiny patio on her apartment roof. The cool glass felt good on her forehead. She looked up. Huge lanterns twirled on the ceiling, which was inlaid with thousands of mirrored mosaic tiles. A butler walked by her, a white cloth draped over his arms and his head held high. He bowed
slightly as he passed.

  “Madam.”

  Did that guy just BOW to me? Did he notice I’m wearing an apron? She shook her head. This was lunacy.

  Walking quickly now, Elly weaved her way through more hallways until she reached 30-foot-high cedar doors embellished with woodland murals that danced up the ceiling. What, are they keeping a dragon in there? Elly took a deep breath and pulled on the handle. Nothing happened. She pulled again, this time, harder. They were locked. So much for her grand entrance.

  Elly pounded on the doors with her fists. “HELLO!!!! Hello??” Elly waited impatiently, pacing in a circle. Finally, she heard voices on the other side of the door. She slammed her hand against the handle.

  “LET ME IN!” she yelled.

  Snarky Teenager stood in front of her, gorgeous, even in her dirty apron. “Come in, we’ve been waiting for you. Wait until you see it.” She gave a happy grin, and it was so rare that Elly stepped back out of alarm. She followed Snarky Teenager down a long corridor. “How did the personal flower drop off go?”

  “Pretty smoothly. We took the guys’ flowers first. That went…as expected.”

  Elly was thankful for Snarky Teenager’s omission of information; the last thing she wanted to know about was how Aaron looked in his tuxedo.

  “Sunny’s ex-husband was plastered already, very classy. He definitely hit on me while I was pinning him.”

  “Poor Sunny.”

  “I know, right? She’s like a pinnacle of elegance and he’s like the pinnacle of the perverted guy at the bar!”

  Elly laughed. It felt wonderful to laugh on such a dark and stressful day. “And the women’s flowers?”

  Snarky Teenager’s mouth set into a frown. “That went…well, somewhat smoothly. The bridesmaids were in a different room than Lucia, so I just brought their bouquets in and set them on the table. They loved them – and were falling over themselves. The flowers were so lush – they had no prayer of disliking them.”

  “And Lucia?” Elly bit the inside of her cheek.

  “She was…”

  “It’s okay you can say it. I know what she looks like.”

  Snarky Teenager ran her hands through her hair. “She does look pretty incredible. Her dress is couture – I’m sure it’s custom-made. She was pretty rude to me, as expected. I wanted to slap her but restrained myself.”

  “Good job.”

  “I put the bouquet down and she looked over really bitchy like and said, “I guess that will do. Did Elly enjoy making it?”

  Elly felt a shot of fury snake up through her veins.

  Snarky Teenager looked up at her and smiled. “Ardelle kept muttering odd French words around her. I’m not sure what they meant, but I’m pretty sure that she wasn’t complimenting her. Seriously, Ardelle is nuts, but it was pretty amusing. I like her.”

  Elly managed a small smile. Snarky Teenager continued “Sunny on the other hand, burst into tears upon seeing it. She literally kept staring at it, picking it up and saying, ‘My dear, come look at this. This is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.’”

  Elly nodded slowly. “I’m glad. I knew Lucia wouldn’t appreciate it, but we are doing this for Sunny.”

  “And for $45,000.”

  “And for $45,000.”

  Elly slowed, just before entering the ballroom. “Speaking of money…”

  Snarky Teenager whirled around with her hand on her hip. “You better not tell me that you aren’t paying me for this. I’m serious! I’ll go work at Hot Topic or something. Do you know that one time they told me that they would just PAY me to stand in the store wearing their clothing?”

  Elly put her hand on Snarky Teenager’s shoulder. “No. I will pay you what I promised for this day.”

  Snarky Teenager raised an eyebrow. “And I’ll buy you an iPod.”

  “Good.”

  “What I was going to say, before you interrupted me, is that I’m giving you the raise you keep demanding.”

  Snarky Teenager’s mouth dropped open. “Really?”

  Elly nodded. “Really. I know that you and I have always had an...interesting relationship. We aren’t close like you and Kim are.” Snarky Teenager nodded and crossed her arms awkwardly. “But you have shown maturity, growth and such fierce loyalty to me over the past few months. You have gone above and beyond what I ever could ask of a worker, and I appreciate you. I hope you stay with us for a long time, and it’s an honor to have you as a part of my team.”

  Snarky Teenager’s thick lashes blinked rapidly, filling with tears.

  “Of course,” added Elly, “If you dressed more appropriately for work…”

  “Okay, you’re done.”

  “I’m done.” Elly linked her arm through Snarky Teenager’s and they walked together into the gigantic ballroom.

  Elly’s first thought was that she had never seen anything as beautiful as the chrysanthemum chandelier that hung over their heads. Its long legs draped down over a raised platform that held a small sweetheart table where the bride and groom would sit. Huge white poofs of flowers billowed out from the ceiling, mixing elegantly with tiny crystals that were worked in amongst the dewy petals. She turned to survey the rest of the room. It was an amusing mix of extravagant loveliness and a huge flowery mess.

  “Yikes” said Elly, walking up to Ardelle, who was busy fixing a centerpiece with a pair of tweezers, “It’s like a flower shop puked in here.”

  “What are you talking about? Wait and zee, all will be perfect when we are done. No go away, I am creating here.”

  Elly sighed and reached for her supply bag. The ballroom itself was awe-inspiring. Immense floor-to-ceiling windows surrounded the room, broken only by tall, thin mirrors lined with pale granite. It was the size of a baseball field, only covered with inch-thick Persian carpet, swirled with deep shades of wheat. Its scope was as grand as the wedding itself. Totally appropriate, thought Elly, good job Sunny. She made quick work of unpacking her tools and had started to work herself into a trance when she heard a familiar clicking sound.

  Lizette was walking up and down in the aisles between the tables, adjusting and moving things around while Ashlee, her hapless assistant, trailed after her with a large clipboard in her hand.

  “Remember to ask Erin about the linen steamer, and mention to them that if there is one single wrinkle on any of these table cloths that it will be their job.”

  She approached the bandstand, where a group of very attractive young men and one woman were warming up their instruments. She clapped her hands loudly and the music died abruptly.

  “Ya’ll sound great, just great. I love that ethnic sound.”

  Oh no, thought Elly, someone is going to shoot her.

  Lizette gestured for the lead singer, a stunning African American woman with ebony skin and bright eyes, to come forward. She walked to the front of the stage.

  “May I help you?” she asked breezily.

  “Yes, I’m the wedding coordinator and I need to discuss your dress.”

  The woman glanced down at her attire, a short creamy flapper dress covered with tiny silver trinkets. It was fabulous.

  “What’s wrong with my dress?”

  Lizette looked at the girl like she was the biggest idiot she’s ever seen. “Are you aware, little missy, that only the bride is supposed to be wearing WHITE? Mah bride is upstairs throwing a fit because you didn’t have time to look at an etiquette book. You need to get one of your ‘boys’” - she raised her fingers to make quotes - “to go get you another dress that does not steal the limelight or take away from the beauty of Lucia.”

  The woman’s mouth dropped open.

  “Don’t sit there with your mouth hanging open like some sort of gulley fish. Go get a new dress, or you can kiss this fat check in my pocket for you and your band good-bah.” Lizette waved her hand dismissively and spun on her heel.

  The singer stood perfectly still for a moment with her eyes closed before she took a deep breath and flipped open her phone. Don�
�t worry about it, thought Elly. This wedding has made us all compromise our better judgement.

  Elly averted her eyes back to the floral arrangement she had been touching up and tried to look as busy as possible.

  “Ellyyy Jordan, my my. These look…well, they look incredible. I do say, I had my doubts and I let Sunny know them, but this has all turned out to be quite exquisite. I’m not easily impressed. I went down and looked at the ceremony site with Ashlee here – which was just about as helpful as looking at it by mahself – and I was satisfied. It’s like its own little Eden paradise.”

  She grabbed Elly’s arm roughly, her long red fingernails digging into her arm. “Listen,” she hissed. “Did you think about mah offer? Because I have kept my mouth shut about your little secret.”

  Elly shook her arm free. “Lizette! I am not going to talk with you about this now. We are running behind and I have work to do – don’t you?”

  Lizette raised an eyebrow. “I suppose you’re right. I’ll find you later.”

  Elly turned her back to her and headed down one of the aisles.

  “Oh darhlin.”

  Elly turned, on the edge of fury.

  “Did you notice that this rose here is looking a little wilty? It’s a bit like you.” Lizette pulled the rose out of the centerpiece and flicked it to the floor.

  Elly heard a gasp of air behind her and a shrill bark of anger. Ardelle flew forward past her, lunging at Lizette, her short lavender nails clawing at the air.

  “How dare you touch my work? Who are you to destroy a masterpiece?” she screamed.

  Elly flung her arms around Ardelle, but wasn’t fast enough. Ardelle’s nail grazed the side of Lizette’s cheek, drawing a paper-thin line of blood.