Wedded Bliss

by Kathleen Y'Barbo

  “Thanks for the ride.” He shook Bob’s hand, then climbed out of the truck. “Hey, I’m sorry you got messed up in my crazy domestic scene.”

  “You, Bliss, and me, we used to be a team. I’d do anything for the two of you.”

  Landon studied him a minute. “You would, wouldn’t you?” He smiled. “You were always the better man, Bobby. Eventually, everyone who knew us figured that out.”

  After Landon closed the door and loped toward the entrance of Harrison House, Bob let out a long breath. “Yeah, everyone but Bliss.”

  Bob’s phone rang, and he reached for it.

  “Hi, Dad!”

  He smiled. “Hey, sweetheart,” he said.

  “Daddy, we have a situation.”

  Her voice sounded so serious he almost laughed. Surely she was teasing him. “What’s the situation?”

  “You know Chase and I had dinner with his boss, right?”

  “Right,” Bob said.

  “Well, Chase invited them to the wedding.”

  “That’s wonderful, honey,” Bob said. “What’s the situation?”

  “The situation is that now everything absolutely has to be perfect.” She paused. “This is his boss, and his whole career is on the line.”

  “Over a wedding? Honey, I doubt—”

  “I don’t understand it, either,” she said, “but Chase says it’s of the utmost importance that this wedding comes off perfectly.”

  “All right,” he said. “Calm down. I promise everything will be perfect, okay?”

  “Okay. Have you talked to the wedding planners this week?”

  “It’s only Monday,” he said with a chuckle. “We just spoke on Friday, but if it will make you feel better, I’ll call them right now.”

  “It would, Daddy,” she said. “You’re the best,” she added. “The very best.”

  Bob hung up feeling ten feet tall and bulletproof. As he scrolled through his address book looking for Divine Occasions, the office number appeared on his caller ID.

  “What’s up, Mrs. Denison?” he said when her voice came on the line.

  “Are you listening to the radio, boss?”

  “No.”

  “Well, tune in to the news station. There’s a problem you need to know about.”

  ❧

  It took the better part of an hour, but Neecie finally calmed down enough to talk. “I don’t even know where to start,” she said as she sipped her tea. “Honestly, I thought you knew about Landon and me. I just figured you were being polite by not asking about him.”

  “Me, polite?” Bliss grinned. “Perish the thought. I just didn’t think to ask, because believe me, I would have eventually.”

  Neecie smiled through the last of her tears. “I guess you must have a lot of questions.”

  “Well, of course I do, but what’s the point in asking them until you’re ready to give me lots of answers?”

  Neecie rested her elbows on the old wooden table, then cradled her chin and sighed. “If I had one more praline, I might be able to find some of those answers.”

  Bliss smiled as she rose to reach for the container. Filling the platter, she set it in front of Neecie. “That enough?”

  “Probably not,” Neecie said, “but it’s a start.”

  “So, I’ll begin with the obvious. When did you and Landon become an item? When I left for college, you were dating some guy from the chess club, and Landon was dating anything in a skirt.”

  “I guess it started the summer after our sophomore year of college. Landon was back home visiting his parents, and I was on summer break from Mississippi State working three days a week at the pharmacy.” Neecie’s face took on a faraway expression. “I’d changed a bit since high school.”

  “College will do that,” Bliss said, thinking not of herself but of Bob. “Or maybe it’s just life that changes you.”

  “True.” Neecie reached for a praline. “Anyway, I was flattered that Landon even noticed me, what with him being, well, Landon.”

  Bliss nodded. She of all people understood.

  “I can’t explain it except to say that we fell head over heels in love in a very short time. It was around then that Bobby’s wife died. I tell you, watching that man mourn Karen and try to take care of that baby girl all by himself did something to Landon.”

  “Oh?” Bliss touched her lips and tried not to think of Bobby with another woman. Silly, but it bothered her even though she knew the story of his brief marriage.

  Neecie set the remainder of the praline on her plate. “Landon changed. I mean, really changed. Two weeks after I went back to Mississippi, he called and said he wanted to marry me as soon as football season was over. You know how Landon is. It’s hard to say no to someone so charming.” When Bliss nodded, Neecie continued. “He came home for Christmas with a big diamond ring and the key to a two-bedroom apartment, both of them courtesy of the football coach and the alumni association.”

  “That’s very romantic,” Bliss said. “But how did your parents feel about this? Kind of sudden, right?”

  “Sudden, yes. They wanted us to wait, to spend more time getting to know one another. But hey, we thought we knew better. You know?”

  Neecie pushed the praline across the plate, and Bliss rose to grab the dish towel. “You don’t have to tell me this.”

  “I want to,” she said. “Anyway, I loaded the car with everything I needed to take back to school and let them think I’d listened to everything they said. I drove out to the old school-house and left my car parked out back by the bayou. Landon picked me up in his Firebird, and we rode all the way to Orange, Texas, with the top down.”

  “So you eloped.”

  “Yes, I walked out of the courthouse Mrs. Landon Gallier.” She swung her gaze up to meet Bliss’s stare. “Marrying someone like Landon, well, it was like I’d been elected prom queen and made cheerleader, all on the same day. Isn’t that strange the way my first thought was of high school and how far I’d come since then? In a way, it was like I’d never left high school.”

  “I’m not sure we ever get past that feeling, honey. Not completely,” Bliss said. “What I mean is, those years—”

  “Bliss!” Bobby’s yell echoed through the shop. “Bliss, where are you? Bliss!”

  “Oh, my word. What is wrong with that man? Bobby! Neecie and I are back here,” she called. “We’re still in the kitchen. I know you and Landon have probably already been to Iberia and back but—”

  Bobby fairly flew into the room, eyes wide and face pale. “Bliss,” he said as he seemed to be hanging on to the door frame for support. His mouth moved, but he couldn’t seem to say the words. Finally, he managed one: “Wedding.” Then another: “Emergency.”

  Bliss and Neecie exchanged glances. “Amy’s wedding?” Neecie asked.

  “Is there something wrong with Amy?”

  “No,” he said. “Not Amy, the wedding.” He shook his head. “No, I mean, the news, today. . .”

  “Something on the news today related to Amy’s wedding?” Bliss asked. “Are you sure?”

  Bobby nodded. Then he said another word: “Fire.”

  Fifteen

  It took a few minutes, but Bliss finally got the story out of Bobby. The shopping center where Divine Occasions was located had gone up in flames. Once again, Amy Tratelli was without a wedding planner.

  And her father was without hope—or at least he looked to be.

  “You don’t understand, Bliss,” he said as he shook his head. “I promised her not an hour ago that I would make this wedding perfect. I promised.” He paused. “Like as not, the files were already toast by then.”

  Bliss exchanged glances with Neecie. “At least she still has her dress, Bobby. Is there any way Amy might consider scaling down the wedding a bit?”

  “Scaling it down?” He looked skeptical. “You mean like uninviting people?”

  “I guess that wouldn’t work,” Bliss said.

  They sat in silence for a few minutes. Then
Neecie grinned. “You know, Bobby, I think I have a solution.”

  “You do?” Bliss and Bobby said at the same time.

  “Sure.” Neecie hopped off her stool and began to pace, all signs of her prior distress now gone. “Your daughter’s getting married in three weeks, right?” When Bobby nodded, she continued. “Okay, well, you have the church, right?”

  “Yes, that I do know. The reverend confirmed last week.”

  “Okay, and Amy has the dress. I know that for sure. So it’s a simple matter of phoning the tux rental shop where the groomsmen were already measured.” She swung her gaze to meet Bliss’s stare. “Could you do a wedding cake and something for the groom? I’m thinking simple elegance for six hundred.”

  “Six hundred?”

  Neecie nodded. “General rule of thumb in a wedding is that half the people who are invited actually show up. Now, what do you think about a casual chic theme?”

  “Neecie, I don’t have a clue what that is, but if you think Amy will go for it, I’m in.”

  “I think she just might. I’ve got a florist friend who does amazing things with lilies, and there’s that beautiful rose arbor in my shop that would look just right decorating the altar at the church. Add a few tulle bows on every other pew, a carpet runner of some sort, and we’re in business.”

  Bob nodded. “All right by me.”

  “Now, about the reception. Do you have any invitations left? I’d like to see what they say in regard to the reception.”

  “I’ve got invitations in the truck, but the reception was supposed to take place in the garden, outside the church. That’s already been reserved by another bride.”

  “Get me an invitation anyway,” Neecie said.

  “Sure, just a sec.” Bobby bounded out of the room with what seemed to be newfound energy.

  “Neecie,” Bliss said, “have you lost your mind? We can’t put on a wedding for six hundred people.”

  “Sure we can,” she said. “Where’s your confidence?”

  “It took a reality check. And as for baking a—”

  The front door slammed, and Bliss winced. “Got it,” Bob called.

  Neecie accepted the invitation and opened it to read the details. “Okay, well, looks like you’re having a crawfish boil out at your place.”

  “What?” Bobby reached for the invitation. “That’s not what this says. This says reception and dinner to follow.”

  “Exactly.” She retrieved the invitation and handed it to Bliss. “Do you see anywhere on this thing where they’ve specified a location for the reception?”

  Bliss glanced over the writing, then shook her head. “No, I don’t. I suppose they’d planned to usher the guests out the church door to the outside garden.”

  “Then we’re having a crawfish boil. This is Louisiana. People will be intrigued. Let me ask you this, Bobby. You know that old Piper airplane of yours?” When he nodded, she continued. “Can you land that thing anywhere near the church?”

  “Sure,” he said. “There’s a field south of the building that would work just fine as long as it’s not too wet. Why?”

  “Because that’s how our bride and groom will be making their exit. It does hold three, doesn’t it?”

  “It can in a pinch.”

  “All right, so do you think you can assemble a crew to do a crawfish boil? I’m talking potatoes, corn, the works. And we’ll want to have a band. Oh, I know, there’s this guy in New Iberia who’s really good.” Neecie pointed to Bliss. “Paper and pen. This is good, but I know I’ll forget half of it if I don’t write it down.”

  Bliss scurried after the paper and pen and returned to find Neecie and Bobby discussing how best to get the guests from the church to Bobby’s place. “I’ve got it,” Bliss said. “What if we send them up the bayou by pirogue? Your place is only a mile or so upstream, and it will be such a pretty ride this time of year.”

  “Pirogue?” Neecie asked. “Do you know how long it would take to move six hundred people by pirogue?”

  “I’m just thinking of the wedding party. We can get the rest of them there by limo. I’m sure there are plenty of them available.”

  “I’ve got a better idea. A client of mine married into a family that runs airboats up and down the bayou.” She paused. “What if I call her?”

  “Sure.”

  She pulled her cell from her pocket and punched in the number. Five minutes later, they had a dozen airboats and their captains to chauffeur the guests to the reception.

  It was Bobby’s turn to work his magic. He picked up his phone and called the office. “Mrs. Denison, could you get me James at Richards on the Atchafalaya River? Their number is in my. . . Oh, you already have it. Great.” He exchanged smiles with Bliss. “Thanks. Yes, please put me through.”

  In a conversation that seemed to be more about hunting, fishing, and a newborn colt than catering a wedding reception, Bobby negotiated a deal to have an entire Acadian feast provided on the day of the wedding. In exchange, the colt they had chatted about would belong to James.

  It was a hard bargain but a fair one, according to Bobby.

  “All right, so everything’s under control, right?” Neecie said.

  Bliss opened her mouth, then shut it tight. There were only two ways she could accomplish the task of baking the cakes in the time frame that Neecie asked. Either she bumped someone else from the schedule, or she broke her own rule of only doing one wedding each week.

  “Well, actually,” Bliss said, “I’m pretty much booked that week.”

  Both sets of eyes swung to stare in her direction. Bobby nodded.

  “I can’t ask that of her,” Bobby said. “Everyone in town knows how busy Bliss is.”

  She was about to agree and thank him for understanding when she tumbled into the depths of his blue eyes and was lost. “No, I can do it,” she heard herself respond. “It’ll be my gift to your daughter.”

  The eyes blinked, and their owner rose to cross the distance between them. “You won’t be sorry.” Bobby’s arms gathered her to him, and she rested her head on his chest. Across the kitchen, she caught Neecie looking at them. Was that a tear she saw glistening on her friend’s cheek?

  Landon. Of course. She’d almost forgotten.

  “Bobby,” she whispered, “don’t forget we’ve got another problem.” She discreetly gestured toward Neecie.

  “What can we do?”

  “I wish I knew the answer to that,” said Bliss.

  “Let me think on it, okay?” he replied.

  ❧

  Bob pulled away from the curb and drove his truck toward New Iberia. He’d given up on going to work today. Tomorrow he’d make up for lost time. Today he was too busy making up for lost years.

  He pulled into the parking lot of Harrison House a short while later, then knocked on the door. A dour-looking man with a thick patch of gray hair and an uneven set of false teeth answered the door.

  “Landon Gallier, please,” he said.

  “Wait here.” The man nodded, then closed the door. Bob waited a full five minutes before reaching to knock again. The same fellow answered the door. “I told you to wait.” His eyes narrowed, and he peered down his nose at Bob. “You his probation officer?”

  “Pro—? Um, no, I’m his friend.”

  The old man snorted. “Ain’t nobody ’round here got no friends. You the law for sure, and ain’t nobody comes to the door for the law. That’s probably how you got that nasty bump on your head. Probably got popped ’cause you’re the law.”

  Bob shrugged. “Look, I’m not the law.” He pulled a business card out of his pocket and handed it to the man. “Give this to Landon and tell him to call me.” The man ignored him until Bob retrieved a twenty from his wallet. “If I hear from Landon Gallier before sundown, you’ll get this the next time I see you.”

  The old fellow looked skeptical. “How am I going to know if you’re pulling my leg?”

  “You won’t,” he said slowly, “but what do you have t
o lose?”

  For some reason, Bob’s truck turned left instead of right at the city limits, and he found himself sitting in front of the Cake Bake again. Neecie was back at work inside Wedding Belles; he could see her standing at the counter talking on the phone.

  He almost threw the truck into reverse, but something told him he’d be better served to go see Bliss before he headed back to work. When he walked up to the cake shop, he found the door open to the March breeze and Bliss at the cash register ringing up a sale for a retired teacher.

  Rather than make his presence known by going inside, Bob hung back on the sidewalk and watched Bliss make conversation with the elderly matron. He’d leave for work in a minute, for no doubt Mrs. Denison was wondering where her boss had gone off to. And there was the pile of work he’d allowed to grow on the corner of his desk.

  Still, there was no denying that age had been kind to Bliss. Even back in school when Bliss had no idea how beautiful she was, Bob had known she would never lose her sweet smile and bright eyes, no matter what her age.

  She glanced his way and aimed that smile at him, and Bob’s heart lurched. “Easy, boy,” he whispered as he slipped the guard back over the place in his heart where he kept his love for Bliss. She’d let him kiss her. That had to be enough for now.

  Or did it?

  “Can I help you with that, Mrs. Boudreaux?” he asked as his former high school English teacher attempted to pick up three cake boxes at once.

  “Well, hello there, Robert.” Her eyes narrowed, and she stared at him as if he’d forgotten to turn in his homework. “What in the world happened to you? Are you still playing football without a helmet?” She chuckled. “I remember when you nearly knocked Landon Gallier unconscious right on my front lawn.”

  What she didn’t know was that particular time he’d landed a well-placed blow on his best friend to temporarily end Landon’s bragging about his possible conquest of Bliss. Far as Bob knew, Landon never thought again about seducing Bliss. For that matter, he never bragged about Bliss’s possible crush on him until yesterday, either.

  “No, ma’am.” He winked at Bliss, then followed Mrs. Boudreaux to her car. The task complete, he loped back inside and grinned as he placed three quarters on the counter.