“Bastard! You aren’t half the man that Brant is! Screw off!” screamed Holly as she shook her fist in pain. Brant stood by, shocked but amused.
“Damn, girl! That’s one crack shot!” said Brant, proud of Holly. Not only had she knocked Chris Beckman on the ground, she stood up for Brant when Chris had talked down about him.
“I told you. I need someone to fight alongside of me. Not protect me,” Holly said as she winked at Brant.
Brant laughed, “I see that now!”
“Crazy bitch!” Chris yelled as he cowered down the street defeated. For now.
Chapter Fourteen
Delegations and Preparations…
December 27, 2013
Edgemont Residence
Sloane slammed a thick white three-ring binder onto the breakfast bar in Holly and Brant’s kitchen with a bang. She gave Holly’s hand a dirty look, which was now wrapped in a bandage. It was bruised and swollen.
“What the hell did you do to yourself?”
“I knocked out Chris Beckman.”
Immediately a big grin grew on Brant’s and Luke’s faces.
“Oh, good girl!” Sloane said with a wink.
Sloane continued to rifle through her book.
“Okay, people. We have work to do,” she said in a business-like tone. She had gathered all of the members of the wedding party and was ready to get down to business. Sloane had nominated herself as the wedding planner, and Holly and Brant were glad to grant her with the task. She told them that the only thing they had to do was pick a wedding party and show up.
It hadn’t taken much thought to decide who would be in the wedding. Brant immediately asked Marv to be his best man. He couldn’t think of anyone who was better suited for the task. Not only was he instrumental in arranging their first date, he was pivotal in getting them back together, too. Then for his groomsmen, he chose Greg and Luke, who were in Brant and Holly’s first wedding, and of course, he couldn’t forget Randy. The only guy that Brant didn’t include from his original wedding party was Chris, for obvious reasons.
Holly had a pretty easy time determining who her maid of honor would be. After arranging a Christmas party, essentially paying for their second wedding, and just all in all, being the best friend a girl could ask for, Holly had no problem tasking Sloane with the job of her maid of honor. Holly’s bridesmaids include her mother Gloria, and her daughters Tressa and Belle. Belle was initially asked to be a flower girl, but outright refused insisting that she is a big girl, and she wants a big girl dress.
Sloane continued, “Okay, we have a lot on the agenda today”
Holly, Brant, Marv, Gloria, Luke and Greg all gave Sloane their full attention.
“First up. Invitations go out tomorrow. I am going to need Marv, Luke and Greg to assist. We don’t have enough time to mail them, so we are doing drive-by delivery. Marv, you and I will be taking Center City and South Philly. Luke, you can take the Northeast and Bensalem. Greg, can you handle South Jersey?”
They all nodded in agreement.
“Okay, that was easy. The guest list is 250 long.”
Holly’s eyes went wide.
“Come again?”
“250 guests. That is the bare minimum for the venue.”
“Are we going to be able to fill it up?”
“This is a Sloane Markowitz production. Of course we will. Hmm…. Ah, attire.”
Sloane began flipping through her binder.
“Gentlemen. You have an appointment at Heinrich’s Distinguished Men’s Formal Wear on Spruce Street tomorrow at 5 P.M. Don’t be late. This is a black tie affair, Brant. No sneakers or boots, please. Luke… No ironic t-shirts with a tuxedo design on them. Greg… No belching during the ceremony.”
“You take away all the fun!” complained Luke with a smile.
“Moving on. Flowers. It’s off season so there wasn’t as much to choose from. Since it’s a winter wedding, we could do red and white roses.”
“No,” replied Brant rather bluntly.
“Why?” asked Sloane, looking confused at Brant.
Of all things for him to comment on, he chooses flowers?
“Holly likes lilies. White Casablanca lilies.”
Sloane eyed Holly speculatively.
“Holly, care to comment?”
“He’s right. I prefer the white lilies. I was thinking white Casablanca lilies with heather and red winterberries.”
Sloane raised her eyebrow.
“That might actually work.”
Sloane scribbled in her notebook, crossing of her original idea, and writing down Holly’s idea. It was stressful planning a wedding on such short notice, but Sloane really made it look easy.
“Ladies. Midnight Affair Bridal Couture. 5 P.M. tomorrow. Don’t be late. Is there anything I’m missing? Oh, right… Transportation.”
Brant cut Sloane off at the mention of it.
“I have it covered.”
“But-“
“I have it covered, we’ll discuss it later.”
Holly gave Brant a sideways glance and smiled happily.
He always has a surprise up his sleeve.
“Okay, then. We’ll meet up on December 30th at Rogue at 8 P.M. for one last hurrah before the big day!”
*****
Tuxedo shopping went off without a hitch. Brant selected a simple black tuxedo with a white shirt, silver vest, silver tie and classic patent leather shoes. They were in and out within an hour, and they all walked out with all of their wedding day apparel. The girls would not have quite so short of an appointment at the dress shop.
*****
“Ah! Good afternoon, ladies! My name is Janelle and I’ll be assisting you today!”
“Hi Janelle,” said Sloane, “We made an appointment. We are with the Edgemont wedding party.”
“Wonderful. We’ll take care of your bridesmaid gowns first.”
Janelle looked over the varying ages and body sizes of Holly’s unique group of bridesmaids, all ranging in age from four years old to fifty five years old.
“It’s a New Year’s Eve wedding, so I was thinking black bridesmaid gowns. I’d like an all black affair, except for my gown, of course.”
“Oh! We have many beautiful black evening gowns!” Janelle said in delight as she led the ladies off to the back of the store where the black evening gowns were located. She pulled a variety of dresses for Sloane to model. Each time she came out of the dressing room, Holly had something to say:
“Too matronly.”
“Too goth.”
“Too funeral-y”
“Oh, my god, this is a wedding not a stripper club!”
“Too Miss America pageant.”
“That gown belongs on Dynasty. Seriously?”
“Okay, can we get serious with the dresses?”
Holly got up from her chair and started raiding through the black gowns. She didn’t like any of the ones that Janelle had picked out. So she went searching around the boutique for other gowns that Janelle didn’t select.
“Madam!” Janelle said to Holly.
“Madam?! What are you doing?!”
Holly looked at Janelle like she had two heads.
“I’m looking for bridesmaid gowns that are more suited to my style.”
“Only I can handle the gowns!”
Holly had an impatient look on her face.
“Okay, then come over here and pull four of these for me. I notice you have this exact gown in children’s sizes. We need an adult size six, an adult size ten, a child’s size ten and a child’s size 4T.”
Janelle looked taken aback. She wasn’t expecting Holly to be so up front.
“Whatever you wish, madam!”
Sloane waited patiently to see what Holly was bringing back. Janelle handed each of the bridesmaids their gown as they went into their dressing room to try it on. Sloane was the first one out of her dressing room.
“Oh, yes! This is the one!” Sloane said as she came out of the dressing room.<
br />
She had on an elegant black evening gown with one-shoulder. The bodice was elegantly beaded and it had lovely taffeta overlay that stretched from the shoulder strap, across the breast and to the back, where it hung loosely down the back adding to the mystique of the gown.
“That is gorgeous! Look it even has a little train!” gushed Holly with excitement written all over her face.
Suddenly, Tressa, Gloria and Belle came out of their dressing rooms, and they all looked just as fabulous as Sloane did.
“That’s definitely the one…”
“Okay, now it’s your turn,” said Sloane as she pointed to the area of the store where the bridal gowns were kept. Holly gulped nervously.
*****
Five hours later, they had finally left the boutique. Holly had tried on just about every size ten dress in the store, and eventually opted for the very first dress she put on. Fortunately, since there were no time for alterations, the dress fit perfectly. The ladies left the boutique with their gowns in practical garment bags. They had purchased shoes, under garments, and wraps to protect them from the winter chill. Holly even found a tiara and veil that she liked. She couldn’t believe that the big day was just around the corner.
Chapter Fifteen
One Last Hurrah…
December 30, 2013
Rogue
“Everybody raise your glasses,” started Marv, prepared to give a best-man speech. He took the job seriously, and had prepared something to read, but decided to wing it at the last minute.
“I want to toast my daughter and my son, on the second marriage. I can’t believe that tomorrow is the big day. You notice that I did not say son-in-law. Brant, I think you know by now that you are a son to me. You are good to my daughter, and my grandchildren, and you have my blessing. Be good to each other. Life is hard enough on us all. Walk through life together as partners, and as one. Be honest but be kind… and if you hurt my daughter again, I’ll pop you right in your kisser!”
Brant laughed as everyone clapped. Marv might not be the most poignant best man, but his words were meaningful.
“Holly, my beautiful daughter. There is no such thing as a fairy tale life. You are tough as nails, but you have a sweet and tender heart. I hope your happy marriage will let you find a happy medium between both. Brant won’t let you down. Put your faith and trust in him.”
“I have, Daddy,” said Holly with a tender tone to her voice.
“And to the bridal party, I have a little poem for you:
Polish your shoes.
Steam your dress.
Do your hair,
And dress to impress.
But at this time,
Tomorrow night,
It’ll be time to party,
Until the morning light!”
Marv’s poem’s earned him applause from the Bridal party, specifically from Sloane and Luke, who were already two beers in before dinner had even arrived. Marv took his seat, and now Brant was standing before everyone.
“I want to thank you all for coming along with journey with us. The road for Holly and me hasn’t always been easy. But it seems when you really want something, it never is. I learned I don’t have to be the perfect husband. All I have to do is love my family and stand by their side no matter how hard it gets. I thank God for Holly every day of my life and I am so happy that tomorrow, she will be my wife again. A lot of people ask me, do you wish you could start again? And the answer is no. We’re not starting over. We have history. We have thirteen years of memories. Mostly good. It’s not starting over when you have that kind of history. Quite simply, it is deciding that you cannot be without that person in your life, and you have made the choice to continue the story on a better note. Holly is the one person in this life that I absolutely cannot live without. It was physically painful to be away from her, and I will never do it again. Besides, I don’t want to get beat up by old Marv McCresson…”
Brant earned a chuckle from the crowd. Holly stood up, with something to say for herself.
“Thank you all for being such wonderful friends and thank you for standing by as I marry my best friend. I cannot be happier than I am in this moment to have my family here and so tightly bound. Tomorrow will be among the happiest days of my life, and I cannot wait to get it started. So now, as a treat for our bridal party, please enjoy tonight’s dinner. There will be dinner served, desserts, and yes, Luke, an open bar.”
Luke put his arms up in the air in celebration, as everyone laughed in response.
*****
“I can’t believe tomorrow is the wedding,” said Holly to Brant as they gathered by the bar and waited for their drinks.
“No cold feet right?”
“My feet are quite warm, thank you.”
“No reservations?”
“None. Do you?”
“God no. I just want us to be a family again. I just want to be your husband.”
Holly kissed Brant on the cheek. He really was a diamond in the rough.
“Hey, I’ll be right back. Men’s room,” said Brant as he made a beeline for the bathroom.
The bartender served Holly a vodka and cranberry juice while she waited. She sat at the bar, slowly stirring her drink while deep in thought. Suddenly, someone sat down on the stool next to her.
“I thought you fell in!” said Holly, still looking at her drink, but when she looked up her face fell. Standing before her with a scraped up cheek and a shiner over his right eye was none other than Chris Beckman. The look on his face was pure anger, and Holly looked around nervously, hoping Brant would be on his way back to the bar by now.
“What are you doing here, Chris?”
“I’m here for a drink, is that okay with you?” he said snidely, clearly holding a grudge from Holly’s sucker punch the other day.
“That’s fine… but you don’t need to stand right there.”
“Cut the crap, Holly. I can’t believe you’re actually going through with this!”
“It’s none of your business Chris!”
“It is my fucking business, Holly!” said Chris grabbing hold of Holly’s arm and squeezing it tight.
“It’s none of your business, Chris! Leave me alone!”
“I love you, Holly! Why is that so hard to understand?!”
“You don’t know what love is then, Chris!”
“I thought we had something.”
“It was just one dance!”
“I loved you before he did!”
“I’m not a prize to be won!”
“Bitch!”
“Oww! You’re hurting me!”
*****
Brant pushed open the men’s room door and began walking to the bar when he saw it. Chris Beckman had his hands on Holly. He had her arms grasped tightly as he shook her. Chris was yelling at her, and then he violently knocked her off of her bar stool with a hard shove. Brant saw red.
Nobody messes with my Holly.
It took him only ten seconds to dart across the dining room and get in Chris Beckman’s face.
“I warned you, asshole, and now you’re going to pay!”
Chris laughed in his face, then spat right in Brant’s eye. Seemingly out of nowhere, Luke and Greg flew to Brant’s side. They grabbed Chris by the shirt and drug him outside, as Brant followed coolly behind.
“I don’t know who you think you’re messing with! Nobody lays a hand on Holly Edgemont. Now why don’t you try picking on someone your own size?” said Brant as he rolled up the sleeves of his button down shirt.
As soon as Brant and Chris were outside, Greg and Luke went back inside to make sure Holly was okay. They knew Brant could handle himself in a fight, especially with limp-wristed Chris Beckman.
With all the strength he had in his body, Brant threw an upper cut to Chris’ jaw sending him flying down to the asphalt hard.
“No one touches my girl like that! Nobody messes with my family! What a piece of shit you are! You were the best man at my wedding, and this is how you
repay me!”
“She’s a fucking tease, Brant!” yelled Chris as he got up from the ground and took a swing at Brant’s head.
“You’re a goddamn idiot. All you wanted was a one-night stand, and she made you feel stupid, so you wanted to get back at her. She isn’t interested. Clearly. Get over it!”
Down To You (The Love On Edge Series) Page 9