The Wedding Day

by Joanne Clancy

  "Exactly," Nicole agreed.

  "If you decide to go with the triad theme, make the first colour your main colour and use the other colours as accents. This will make a real statement. The tetrad colour scheme is next."

  "Tetrad; is that a computer game?" Kian joked, before being elbowed into silence by Amanda.

  "No, it's not a computer game," Nicole replied.

  "Although if that is your guilty pleasure I'm sure that we can incorporate it into your theme."

  "Never mind him," Amanda said, "there won't be anything to do with computer games at my wedding. I have enough of that nonsense from my sons. I'm certainly not putting up with my husband playing computer games incessantly too.

  I'm just about to become a bride. I don't plan on being a computer game widow any time soon."

  "I know, it's terrible, isn't it?" Evette agreed. "There are several women where I work who say that they don't see their husbands all day and then within half an hour of coming home, they're glued to their computer games for most of the night."

  "That won't be me," Amanda said vehemently. "Carry on, Nicole, what are tetrad colours?"

  "Tetrad colours refer to any four colours that are evenly spaced on the colour wheel." Nicole pointed to the colour wheel to demonstrate. Purple, yellow, red and green are good examples of the tetrad colours. However, this is perhaps the most difficult colour scheme to pull off successfully as you run the risk of looking like Joseph and his amazing techni-colour dream-coat if you get it wrong."

  "Hmm, not such a good look," Amanda sighed. "It does include the colour red that I desperately want."

  "If you do it correctly, the effect can be incredible," Nicole explained.

  "We would need to use accents rather than blocks of colour. Yellow tablecloths, a small, elegant circle of red and purple flowers mixed with greenery in the centre of the table, would look sensational."

  Amanda gasped with excitement when she saw Nicole's example on the computer screen.

  "I think I'll be going with a tetrad colour scheme," she said decisively.

  "Well, you should probably take a few days to think about it before making your final decision," Nicole cautioned.

  "The colour scheme is very important."

  "I think it would be a good idea to pay a visit to your wedding venue, once you have a few ideas in mind," Evette suggested.

  "You should look at the colour schemes on the floor and the walls. There's no point in settling on a scheme only to find out a week before the wedding that it clashes with the surroundings."

  "I would never have thought of that," Amanda gasped.

  "Also, remember to look up," Nicole advised.

  "The lights in the venue will create an atmosphere. If you plan to use candles, we'll need to make sure that the lights can be dimmed, most can, but it's better safe than sorry. If the venue has very grand decor and lighting, it's probably best to keep the table centres simple and elegant. However, if the venue is quite plain and you want to make a statement when your guests arrive then we'll have to put in some effort to make the room come alive."

  "I wouldn't know where to begin," Amanda looked stricken at the thought.

  "Don't worry." Nicole patted her shoulder comfortingly.

  "Evette and I are your wedding planners. We are here to help you with everything. There are many companies that will provide us with decor for the day; from chair covers to balloons, chocolate fountains, ice-sculptures, casinos, even light-up dance floor and monogrammed rugs, there are plenty of ways to make your wedding unique."

  "Gosh, there's so much to think of," Kian groaned.

  "I know, it's mind-boggling," his fiancee agreed.

  They both looked a little shell-shocked from the amount of information that Nicole had bombarded them with.

  "Everything will work out perfectly," Nicole soothed.

  "However, we do need to make our decisions fairly quickly as we don't have a lot of time. When you decide on your colour theme I'd appreciate you letting me know as soon as possible as I'll need to contact your florist and stationers. They often have suggestions for themes that can be easily overlooked. We'll have a look at their designs and see if there are any that fit your theme or they may be able to create a bespoke design that is similar to one of their previous creations that's still in keeping with your personal style. "

  "I feel completely overwhelmed," Amanda said shakily.

  "Never mind the Champagne, I could do with a strong cup of coffee."

  "I'm just at the end of the phone or an email whenever you need me," Nicole smiled sympathetically.

  "Don't be afraid to ask questions or to look for something a little quirky. This is your wedding day. It's not an exam. There are no right or wrong wedding reception themes. It simply comes down to your imagination."

  Chapter 11

  "Wow! You deserve a standing ovation for that performance, Nicole."

  Evette got to her feet dramatically and gave her sister a resounding round of applause.

  "Stop it. Don't be ridiculous," Nicole laughed with embarrassment at her sister's praise.

  "Where did you learn all that information? I never knew that there was so much detail involved in wedding planning."

  "You know me; I'm an obsessive compulsive when it comes to the fine details. I learned most of it from planning my own wedding. Paul wouldn't let me hire a wedding planner so I had to do everything, and I mean everything. I even had to choose his suit!

  I should have paid more attention to the signals he was sending out right from the start. The closer to the wedding we got, the cooler he seemed to become towards the whole idea, but I was so caught up in planning my dream wedding that I forgot that it was his wedding day too."

  "Weddings are supposed to be about the bride," Evette insisted.

  "Maybe, I don't want to talk about it right now," Nicole said.

  "I'm starting to bore myself thinking and obsessing about where he and I went wrong and if some of it was my fault."

  "Don't be ridiculous! Paul dumping you at the altar was in no way your fault."

  "So what did you think of our first clients then sis?" Nicole abruptly changed the subject.

  "Amanda is quite glamorous, isn't she?" Evette pondered.

  "I suppose so, in a fake, flashy sort of way. I think she'd be a lot prettier if she toned down her hair and makeup. Her hair is bleached and processed to within an inch of its life and she looks like she's shovelled her makeup on with a trowel."

  "I don't know how she has the time, money or patience to be bothered with her fake tan, fake nails and fake eyelashes. I'm sure she's had her lips done too and she's definitely had botox. Her forehead is wrinkle-free." "I was admiring her skin, actually. It's as smooth as a teenager's."

  "Kian looks a lot younger than her, don't you think? She's obviously spent a lot of time on Photoshop from the photos she sent us." Nicole mused.

  "Well, I did some snooping on Facebook and Twitter and it turns out that he's fifteen years younger than her!" Evette said.

  "No way!" Nicole exclaimed.

  "Yeah, she's forty eight and he's only thirty three! She's divorced with six children, none of whom are his and she's a grandmother for heavens' sake! What on earth does he see in her? He could be going out with a woman in her twenties or thirties without any of that baggage. I mean, they can't even have children together because she's getting too old at her age."

  "Why do people judge women so harshly for being with a younger man but it's socially acceptable for an older man to be with a much younger woman? I find the double standard very hypocritical and completely unfair," Nicole argued.

  "I say good for her and I'm sure he loves her children as if they're his own."

  "I think it's all about having the right attitude," Evette declared.

  "What are you rattling on about now?"

  Nicole was getting quite exasperated at her sister's hypotheses and sweeping assumptions about other people's lives.

  "Amanda
, or Mandy, clearly has the right attitude. She sends out a vibe that she is very much in love with herself and that she could have any man she wanted. Men fall for it every time.

  She's fairly attractive, but there's nothing out of the ordinary about her, yet she still managed to get a man who's more than a decade younger than her! I can't believe he's willing to take on that amount of baggage. He must be a saint."

  "Maybe he simply loves her," Nicole interrupted her sister's diatribe.

  "There's no way that he'd be putting up with her and her six children if he wasn't madly in love with her. Love is blind, so they say."

  "Yeah, and marriage is an eye-opener," Evette retorted, without missing a beat.

  "Oh God, sorry Nicole, that was insensitive of me."

  "Don't worry about it, sis. Anyway, never mind all that. How the hell are we supposed to get a reference from our first client? Our first client was me!" Nicole suddenly turned on her sister.

  "Sorry," Evette apologised again, not looking in the least bit sorry.

  "I improvised, what can I say? I could hardly tell them the truth, could I?"

  She shrugged her shoulders dismissively.

  "Well, let's just hope and pray that we dazzled them enough with our presentation today that they'll forget about asking for a reference again. I dread the embarrassment of having to tell them the truth," Nicole sighed.

  "Well, sis, we have a lot of work to do. It's time we went home to our office and got cracking on our first client's dream wedding."

  Chapter 12

  "Surprise!" Nicole almost jumped out of her skin.

  She arrived back to the apartment and was laden down with grocery bags. Evette was supposed to be working until late that night and they'd planned to meet up in town after her modelling class for a few celebratory birthday drinks.

  She'd spent a very pleasant afternoon wandering around the shops and treating herself to some luxury goodies and she'd expected to have the whole apartment to herself for most of the evening.

  "Happy birthday, sis!" Evette immediately pounced on her sister and handed her a large glass of white wine.

  "What are you all doing here?" Nicole glanced around the little group of smiling faces and tried to force a smile.

  She really didn't like surprises of any kind, especially when she wasn't dressed for the occasion.

  "You didn't honestly think that I'd leave you to celebrate your birthday all by yourself, now did you?" Evette seemed quite horrified at the thought.

  "You shouldn't have," Nicole stammered.

  "You're welcome." Evette mistakenly assumed that her sister was overcome by emotion at her thoughtfulness.

  "Let me take your bags," Ben disentangled himself from the group and picked up her shopping.

  He carried it through to the kitchen.

  Evette had completely outdone herself. The entire apartment looked like a children's birthday party. There were balloons and streamers hanging from the ceiling and lots of sparkly crackers strewn across the seats.

  She'd put together a delicious feast in the kitchen and the tables and counters were laden down with cakes, sweets, biscuits, chocolate, finger food and of course, lots of alcohol.

  Jack had clearly made himself the designated bar man for the evening and was already busy refilling people's glasses.

  Sarah and Olivia had escaped outside to the balcony and were puffing away on their cigarettes. Nicole longed to join them.

  "Happy birthday, darling," Imelda, the sisters' mother kissed her daughter in greeting.

  "Thanks, mom."

  "Happy birthday, stranger," their father said reproachfully.

  He shook Nicole's hand firmly as he didn't like public displays of affection.

  "It's been too long since we last saw you."

  "I know and I'm sorry, dad," Nicole replied shamefully.

  "I've been hiding out at Ev's since the whole wedding disaster."

  "We gathered that, darling," Imelda gently patted her daughter's arm.

  "I tried calling you on numerous occasions but you never returned any of them. I was about to telephone the police and send out a search party for you when Evie called to let us know that you were staying with her for the foreseeable future. She said it was best to give you some space and that you'd be in touch when you'd recovered."

  "I'm sorry, mom. I've been very thoughtless. I should have called you, I know."

  "We understand, dear," her father interjected. "It's been a very difficult time for everyone."

  Nicole bristled at his tone.

  "What do you mean by "everyone", dad?" she asked.

  Ev glared meaningfully at her to let it go, but Nicole couldn't, not this time. Their father always spoke his mind, regardless of the consequences or the hurt he might cause to other people's feelings.

  She decided then and there that it was about time that she spoke her mind too.

  "Pardon?" her father looked at her in surprise. He was taken aback by her temerity at questioning him so forcefully and he didn't appreciate her challenging tone.

  "Come along, John, darling. Let's have some sushi. I've never tried it and it looks delicious."

  Imelda tried valiantly to distract her husband. She could feel his temper rising and she didn't want her daugher's birthday to be ruined by a heated exchange of words with her father.

  "No, mom. I want to know what dad means," Nicole insisted.

  "You're not the only one who's been affected by your wedding disaster. Your mother and I are heartbroken that you and Paul broke up," John continued.

  His soft, lilting Kerry accent broke for a moment as if he was overcome with emotion.

  "I mean, we've lost a son-in-law and we never see you anymore. We miss you. I miss you."

  Nicole relented when she saw the sadness and loneliness in her father's eyes.

  "Dad, you do know that he cheated on me, don't you? How could I possibly forgive him for that?"

  "Oh, darling, how very young you are," her father looked at her kindly.

  Nicole felt her temper beginning to rise at what she perceived to be his patronising tone, but she took a deep breath and decided to listen to what he had to say.

  "I think that Paul not marrying you and revealing his indiscretions at the altar, on your wedding day, was absolutely despicable, but not unforgiveable," he explained slowly, as if he was measuring his words.

  Evette and her mother groaned and decided to retreat further into the kitchen to avoid the impending argument which they were sure was about to erupt at any minute.

  "How can you say that, dad?" Nicole cried. "Are you on Paul's side?"

  "Of course I'm not on Paul's side," her father insisted. "I'm not on anyone's side. There are no sides in this whole sorry affair."

  "No pun intended," Nicole interrupted sarcastically.

  John chose to ingnore her sarcasm and continued.

  "You two built a wonderful life together," he continued.

  "You had your entire lives ahead of you and your relationship is finished because of one silly indiscretion." "I'd had hardly describe it as an indiscretion, dad. He ruined my life."

  "I know he's sorry and I know for an absolute fact that he still loves you and would do anything to turn back time."

  "How the hell do you know what Paul is thinking or feeling?" Nicole asked.

  Her father looked uncomfortable.

  "I have to confess that he's been spending rather a lot of time with your mother and me since the wedding." "Hmm, I always thought you preferred him to me. Even now, you're making me feel like I'm the one who did something wrong!"

  "Nicole, you're being ridiculous!"

  "I'm not being remotely ridiculous! Have you spared a second to think about how I'm feeling? Paul completely humiliated me. It was supposed to be the best day of my life and instead it's the worst. You can't even imagine what I went through, what I'm still going through!"

  "Nicole, can you stop being so melodramatic for just a moment and try to listen to
what I'm trying to say to you."

  "Fine."

  Nicole looked like a petulant child and it was all that her father could do to restrain a smile.

  John took his daughter's hand in his his.

  "Darling, you must believe that I have your best interests at heart. I understand that this is a very personal issue between you and Paul. Nobody knows what goes on between two people behind closed doors, but I truly believe that you and Paul are perfect for each. You're my daughter and I love you, darling. I want you to be happy."

  Nicole relented slightly at the evident kindness and love in her father's voice.

  "I know dad, I love you too."

  "Do you trust me?" he asked.

  "Always."

  "I don't want you to look back at this time in years to come and regret not having tried to salvage your relationship. Is there truly no hope left for you and Paul?"

  "I don't know, dad," Nicole said uncertainly.

  An unexpected tear rolled down her cheek and her father gently wiped it away.

  "Does any part of you still love him?"

  Nicole didn't want to answer the question. She didn't want to face the reality of her feelings for Paul. She wasn't ready yet. She was still numb to the true extent of what had happened to her. She missed him and was scared to face the full reality of life without him.

  "Nicole?" he prompted. "It's a yes or no answer, sweetheart."

  She hesitated for a moment before responding. John studied his daughter's worried face and sincerely wished that he could take away the pain he saw etched there.

  She usually had such a sunny personality that he couldn't help a pang of worry at her more demure demeanour now. Her mouth was uncharacteristically turned down at the corners and she had dark circles under her eyes which she'd tried to conceal with makeup, but her father could still see the hurt and pain in her face.