Diary of an Engaged Wedding Planner (Tales Behind the Veils Book 3)

by Howe, Violet

  Deacon nearly busted a gut trying to get out of my lap and follow Cabe. His nails, which were jagged from ripping through window tint, blinds, and a leather cushion pretty much ruined my skirt and left nasty red marks all over my legs.

  Cabe returned within minutes with a vacuum cleaner. “Found one! There’s a janitor’s closet right by the ice machine. Wasn’t locked.”

  He vacuumed the bed and the floor, and I carefully inspected the sheets for any sign of glass. No matter how many times I looked them over, I kept seeing little tiny sparkles in the light.

  “Alright, well, looks like we’re gonna have to go get new sheets and some new window blinds,” Cabe said as looked over my shoulder at the contaminated bedclothes.

  “Are you serious? Where?”

  “There’s an all-night Walmart over on the mainland, not too far from here. One of us can go in and the other can sit with Deacon in the car. We’re obviously going to lose our deposit when they see the room, but at least with sheets and blinds we can get some sleep tonight.”

  So instead of taking a nice, romantic walk along the water’s edge under the pale glow of the moon, we made a trek to Walmart, Mecca of the strange and unkempt at eleven o’clock at night. I don’t know which shift was scarier, staying in the parking lot with Deacon or going inside.

  Needless to say, by the time we finished our late night purchases, put the fresh-new-still-smelling-like-chemical sheets on the bed and installed the new window blinds with the screwdriver he found in the janitor’s closet, we were both too exhausted to even think about amorous activities. I didn’t even pull the negligee out of the suitcase and opted instead to sleep in the swimsuit cover-up I’d brought for the beach tomorrow.

  Deacon curled up across our feet as soon as we climbed in bed and was asleep within minutes. Poor baby had quite the workout tonight. Physically and emotionally.

  We hadn’t been laying there in the dark long when Cabe sighed. “What a way to end my birthday, huh?”

  “Oh crap!” I said, throwing back the covers and sprinting across the room.

  “What? What’s wrong?” He sat up and turned on the flashlight on his phone since the lamp was inoperable.

  “Your gift. In all the excitement of Capt. Deacon Destructo, I forgot to give it to you.” I flipped on the overhead light and handed him the box as I folded my feet beneath me on the bed, suddenly excited to see his response.

  He opened it slowly and read the front of the packet inside, his mouth widening in a grin that spread across his face.

  I wish I could freeze frame the expression on his face when he looked up to meet my eyes. I never want to forget it. The light in his eyes. The way the blue seemed to swirl in his excitement, the pupils moving in response to his emotion as I watched. The transformation of the stressed and tired set of his jaw to a relaxed smile, mouth open wide to expose his perfect white teeth.

  “Are you kidding me? Is this for real?” He waved the piece of paper and laughed, a deep belly laugh that tickled me down to my very being. “Oh my god, babe, how did you do this?”

  “Laura had a groom come in last month who was a music producer, and I asked if he’d ever heard of the band Running with Scissors. I told him they were your favorite group, and I’d love to get you some kind of signed memorabilia. He not only had heard of them but he asked if I knew they were working on a new album to be out next year. They’re planning on touring when the new record releases.”

  Cabe whooped another big belly laugh and looked down to read the paper again.

  “So he contacted me a couple of weeks ago and said he could get you access into a recording session so you could meet the band. I told him you play guitar a little as a hobby, and he said bring it and you can jam with them. I guess he’s close with their manager or something? So yeah. We’re flying to Dallas in February to hang out with your band for the day. Your VIP passes are in there, along with our plane tickets and hotel reservations. That’s the studio pass you’re holding.” I grinned almost as big as he did. I knew it was a kick-ass gift, and I knew how much it meant to him.

  He pulled me against him and expressed his appreciation well into the wee hours of the night.

  His birthday had a happy ending after all.

  September

  Monday, September 1st

  My phone rang first thing this morning. I have to remind Mama that I don’t have Mondays off now that we’re moving back into the busy season. I think I’ve talked to her more in the last two months than I have in the past six years.

  “I can’t really talk right now, Mama. What’s up?”

  “I talked to Tanya and Carrie both this weekend and neither one of them have heard boo from you about being a bridesmaid. Are you gonna ask your sisters to be in your wedding?”

  “Yes, I’m going to ask them. Work’s been crazy. I’ll call them tonight. I gotta go.”

  “Have you asked anybody? How many people are we talking? What about Gabe’s sister?”

  “Cabe. And I don’t know.”

  “You don’t know if you’ve asked anybody?”

  I pinched the bridge of my nose and shut my eyes against the stress. I had a pile of paperwork to do, an inbox full of unanswered emails, and a phone conference with Reynalda’s bride in twenty minutes. I had no spare time or energy to deal with Mama and my wedding.

  “No, I don’t know if Cabe’s sister will be a bridesmaid. I need to go, though.”

  “Well, why on earth wouldn’t she be?”

  “We had somewhat of a falling out, so I don’t know what’s going on there. Can we talk about this later? I’m buried at work and I have—”

  “What? What sort of falling out? Won’t she be a bridesmaid?”

  I glanced at the clock and the stack on my desk and sighed. I needed all the time I could get to prepare for the call to Reynalda’s bride.

  “I don’t know. We haven’t decided yet.”

  Mama’s voice rose an octave in distress. “But that’s his sister. She’s family. She has to be in it. You can’t leave out his sister.”

  I cursed myself for answering her call knowing I had no time to talk. “I didn’t say we weren’t gonna ask her; I said we haven’t decided yet. She’s pretty much not speaking to either one of us right now.”

  “Look here, Tyler Lorraine. When the train has left the station and you got nowhere to go, family is family.”

  “That makes no sense. What does that even mean?”

  She sighed. “You have to forgive family no matter what. You marry this man, you marry his family. This girl’s gone be your sister-in-law the rest of your life, Lord willing and this marriage works out. Don’t exclude her from the start, ‘cause she won’t forget it if you do. She’ll be madder than a wet hen and she’ll remind you every anniversary.”

  “But you don’t know what she’s done.”

  “Now, you listen to me. Your daddy’s sisters have done plenty to me over the years, and I reckon I’ve done my share to them. Your aunt Donna and me didn’t speak to each other for nigh about five years when you was little. No need to get into the whys, but I’m just telling you this stuff happens in families. You ask this girl to be your bridesmaid. You bury whatever hatchet you got to get through the day. Go on being mad at her if she’s done something deserving of it, but don’t keep her out of the wedding. Y’all gonna make up at some point, but this can’t be undone. I gotta go. My hair’s drying and you know what a rat’s nest it’ll be if I don’t do something with it while it’s damp.”

  Oh, never mind that I’m at work and have asked to go multiple times. God forbid her hair be frizzy.

  “Bye, Mama.”

  “Wait! How many dresses should I tell Wanda she’s making? She wants to get the material and she needs measurements.”

  “I’ve already told you I don’t want Wanda to do the dresses. We’ll buy dresses. Don’t plan anything with Wanda for dresses.”

  “Look here, Miss High-Falutin’, your sister Tanya lives on a very tight budget,
and I’ll not have you putting her in debt buying fancy outfits she and those kids won’t ever wear again. Wanda is willing to make them without charging you a cent out of the kindness of her heart and dedication to family. So you need to think about your sister and do what’s best for her.”

  I looked up to see Mel in my doorway and I pressed my hands together in a silent plea for prayer.

  “It’s not that I’m not thinking of Tanya, Mama. In fact, Cabe and I talked about not having Eric and Erin in the wedding so that it wouldn’t be such an expense for her.”

  “What? Not have your only niece and nephew in your own wedding? Have you lost your mind? She’ll have to get something for them to wear either way. Or are you not going to invite them at all? I mean, if they don’t mean enough to you to be in your wedding, your only niece and nephew, then I guess it doesn’t matter to you if they’re even there. Your sister will be thrilled to hear her family is not even important enough to be included.”

  “Oh, Jesus, I didn’t—”

  “Don’t you dare take the Lord’s name in vain! It’s one thing for you to disrespect us, your own flesh and blood. But I will not stand by and allow you to disrespect our Lord and Savior.”

  I pulled the phone away from my ear to protect my eardrum as Mel grimaced and tiptoed out of my office.

  “I’m not trying to disrespect anybody! Or be inconsiderate of anybody. But I do think that I should be allowed to make decisions on what I want for my own wedding. It’s not like I’m asking for some extravagant, over-the-top event. If anything, I’m trying to tone down what you’re cooking up. But I do have certain things that I want and don’t want, and I think I’m within my rights to say that. I haven’t asked you to plan anything, Mama. Nothing. I haven’t asked you to spend one penny. And I appreciate what you’ve done and what you’re doing, and I appreciate that you care and you want to help, but it’s my wedding. I feel like when you ignore my requests and don’t listen to what I’m asking, you’re being inconsiderate of me and disrespecting me.”

  “I did not raise you to speak to me that way. Your poor daddy, Lord bless his soul, is spinning over in his grave out yonder behind that church, and he’s likely to burrow his way to China listening to you talk to me like that. I’m hanging up and you can call me back when you’re ready to apologize.”

  Well. At least I got her off the phone so I could work. Jeez. What was I thinking? Why didn’t we just elope?

  Tuesday, September 2nd

  I didn’t have the energy or motivation to call back and apologize last night for something I think I had every right to say.

  I see brides all the time who yell and scream and demand exorbitant extravagances from their parents. I didn’t raise my voice. I didn’t act ugly to her. I simply stood up for myself and what’s important to me.

  If we’re not asking her to pay for the wedding—to pay for anything at the wedding—then why is it rude for me to say what I want?

  I called Tanya this morning after my second cup of coffee and blubbered out the whole mess, ruining my make-up in the process. I knew my sister would understand.

  “You’re preaching to the choir, honey. Why do you think Carrie and I both chose not to have weddings? You can’t let her railroad you into doing what you don’t want, but you also need to realize this is all she’s got right now. My kids are getting older and now that I’m staying at home, I call her a lot less to pick them up, babysit, run errands for me. Carrie hasn’t needed Mama since the age of two, and Brad is off in college and head over heels into Kelly. What do you think of her by the way?”

  “She’s nice, I guess. I didn’t get to spend much time with her. You?”

  “Eh. She’s okay. But back to the subject at hand, this is all Mama has going on right now. She’s bored and feeling unnecessary, and I think pouring all her energy into your wedding keeps her occupied and makes her feel good. Which we all appreciate by the way.”

  “So glad I could help. You couldn’t tell she’s feeling good by the way she talks. She’s doing all this stuff that I never asked her to do and then complaining about the time and expense of doing it.”

  “That’s just Patsy, and you know that. Mama ain’t happy unless she’s got something to complain about. Daddy used to say Mama’s philosophy was the more misery, the merrier. You gotta ignore that.”

  “She keeps telling me how rude I’m being to everybody. So where do I draw the line between wanting what I want and not being selfish? Because I see selfish brides. Brides who are so nasty to their mothers and their fiancés that I don’t know why anyone would even come to their wedding. I don’t feel like I’m being that way at all. I just don’t want silk flowers in baskets and Wanda’s attempt at bridesmaids’ dresses.”

  I wiped at my eyes and blew my nose, ignoring the call coming in on my desk phone.

  “Oh, please tell me she is not trying to convince you to have Wanda make dresses. Bless her heart, that girl couldn’t sew a straight line if she had a yard stick glued to the fabric. You need to say no.”

  I rocked my chair back to an upright position and slid under the desk.

  “Wait a minute. Mama told me I need to let Wanda make the dresses because you can’t afford to buy one and that I’m being inconsiderate of you. So you don’t want Wanda to make the dresses?”

  “Of course not! I ain’t wearing anything Wanda makes.”

  “Oh my gosh! I am so relieved. I don’t want Wanda to sew the dresses, but I didn’t want to put you out. Cabe and I even talked about not asking Eric and Erin to be in the wedding since I know that’s a huge expense. Um, by the way, will you be my bridesmaid?”

  Tanya laughed. “Of course, sweetie. You know that. Look. If you want the kids in the wedding, ask the kids to be in the wedding and let me know what you want them to wear. If I can come up with it, I will. If we can’t, I’ll tell you. Just be reasonable with what you pick and I’m sure it’ll be fine. We’re living on a budget but we’re not destitute.”

  “I don’t care specifically what you choose for them. Maybe just something white or silver for Erin to go with the winter theme, which Mama also says is stupid.”

  “Really? Because she’s been bragging all over town about how her daughter the wedding planner has chosen a winter wonderland theme for her wedding. So she may be giving you crap about it, but to everyone else she’s singing your praises.”

  “So what do I do about these silk centerpieces? I really don’t want them. I’m not knocking it for anyone else who likes it. If it works for them, that’s great. But it’s just not my taste, you know?”

  “You don’t have to apologize for what you want, Ty. It’s your wedding. Hopefully the only one you’ll ever get. I never had one, so I didn’t get any say-so at all. This is your opportunity. Take it. Make it your own.”

  “What do I do about Mama though?”

  “Apologize to Patsy and mend the fence. Why don’t you give her a job? Like, think of some task you don’t care that much about, and tell her to run with it. That way she has some control and can make some decisions, and you get to focus on the stuff that’s important to you.”

  “That’s actually a great idea. Thanks, T.”

  “You’re welcome. Little T.”

  I dreaded making the call all day. I even waited until after dinner and a glass of wine. Finally, I bit the bullet and called my mother. I told her I was sorry I’d lost my temper and that I was sure it was due to the nonstop work schedule and pressure I’d been under. I bit my lip and said a prayer that my sister’s suggestion would work.

  “There’s something I’d like to ask your help with.” My voice sounded more uncertain than I had intended.

  “Oh, really? Do tell. Because it seems like you don’t want my help at all. You’ve criticized everything I’ve tried to do, and no matter how hard I try to make you happy, all I get is attitude and ungratefulness.”

  Her voice broke in between her guilt-inducing pleas.

  “No one in the world loves their chi
ldren more than I do.”

  Sob.

  “But ain’t nobody that gets treated with more ungratefulness than I do.”

  Sob.

  “From all four of you. Ain’t a one of you appreciates all I do for you.”

  Sob.

  “One of these days I’ll be dead and gone. Buried out yonder by your daddy—” She couldn’t continue for the sobbing.

  I gave her a minute or so to regain her composure before continuing.

  “Mama, I appreciate all you’re doing. I really do. There’s just some things I want to handle on my own, and I have ideas in my head of what I want. But I was thinking since you and Aunt Pearl are so crafty and so artistic, maybe the two of you could come up with an idea for a favor.”

  “A what?”

  “A favor. You know. Something you give everyone that attends the wedding.”

  “Well, why are you giving them gifts? It’s your wedding. They need to be giving you gifts.”

  “It’s a token, Mama. Something that says you appreciate them coming. Some folks do a little bag of chocolate kisses or Jordan almonds.”

  “Oh, I hate those things. I cracked a crown off my tooth eating a Jordan almond at Earleen’s granddaughter’s wedding. It’s given me fits ever since.”

  “Well, we’re not doing Jordan almonds so that won’t be a problem. I was thinking maybe y’all could come up with something that fits the winter theme, or maybe something that reflects our family’s heritage.”

  “Our heritage? Hmmph.”

  She was silent a moment, and I waited to see if she was building up steam to blow again or just mulling over an idea.

  “Okay. Let me talk to Pearl and see what we can come up with.”

  Hallelujah. Peace on earth. For a moment at least.

  Thursday, September 4th

  Charlotte came running into my office today clapping her hands and hopping up and down like a hyperactive Energizer bunny.