“I can’t wait to get married.” With hands covered in grease, Brandy took her fiancée’s and let out a sigh of happiness. “As excited as I am for the big event, I’m more excited to simply settle into our new lives together. I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you, Sun.”
Sunny’s shoulders relaxed. Wonderful. She really shouldn’t tense them up like that. As a doctor, Brandy feared for her partner’s body. As a woman in love? She feared that there might be an underlying issue that somehow made her responsible.
When Sunny looked at her like that, though, with her little smile and a glint in her eyes, Brandy’s fears melted away.
Chapter 4
SUNNY
“They better not mess with my dahlias.” Sighing, Sunny sat back and wiped her brow. A small shovel, a watering can, and a flat of impatiens ready for transfer lay beside her. Lord, am I talking to the air again? She could have sworn there was another soul only a few steps behind her, but she couldn’t see them now.
Five seconds later, her close friend Anita Tichenor stepped forward, gardening gloves gracing her hands. “Why would anybody mess with your dahlias?” she asked. “You have the best dahlias in the county. They’d have to have a death wish once the locals heard about it.”
“Nobody in Portland gives a crap about what the locals here think.” Sunny took a swig of water from her canteen and tossed it aside again. Why did it have to be so warm? She dragged out her sunhat for this excursion to the grounds surrounding Waterlily House. English teacher Anita finally had some time to come help now that the school year was finished. I am still not going to high school graduation, though. Yeah, right. Sunny didn’t know any of the students graduating that year. Not even Leigh Ann, the girl who sometimes helped out at the house during the summer. She did it for the mandatory volunteer credits, but seemed to genuinely enjoy the hospitality work. Not that she was here now. Leigh Ann was off on a family vacation, and honestly, Sunny couldn’t stand the thought of a kid underfoot while she planned her wedding.
“Right,” Anita said with a chuckle. “Your fiancée insisted on hiring that pro planner from Beaverton. Now we must all suffer as big city living comes to Paradise Valley.”
Grumbles heaved from Sunny’s chest as she recalled what Debbie the wedding planner said when she first heard Waterlily House would be the site of the ceremony and reception. “Oh my Goooooddd, we’ll put the arch over here and the five tents for your three hundred guests over there! We’ll only have to trim those bushes back a bit…” Like hell they were coming for the rhododendron bushes Sunny’s aunt planted forty years ago!
“Nobody’s touching my dahlias,” Sunny continued, grabbing the flat of flowers next to her, “and nobody’s touching my impatiens.” The whole reason she went down to the gardening shop to pick up pink and white impatiens was to contribute to the “aesthetic” of the ceremony, which would be held right where they were kneeling. Within two more weeks, this lovely, green, empty yard would be filled with chairs, arches, and pink bows. It was Sunny’s idea to plant some flowers that matched the colors of their wedding, since she was planning on planting some new ones for the house, anyway, but boy did she regret mentioning it to Brandy and Debbie!
“When the big day comes and you’re drowning in stress, I’ll be sure to personally guard your flowers.” Anita grabbed the shovel. “Hand me one of those flats, would you? We should get this done in time to enjoy some iced tea before I have to leave.”
Sunny would be beyond lost without her friend. She and Anita had been close since the teacher returned to town to accept a position as Clark High School, although they knew each other as far back as enjoying student life at the same place. Anita was a year older than Sunny, but they still shared many lovely memories from their years as schoolgirls. Class of 2000, represent. Back then, it had been beyond cool to be the first class of the millennium. Too bad Sunny couldn’t remember if that was her class or Anita’s.
Anita was the one who kept her grounded while dating Brandy and finally accepting a marriage proposal. She’s the one with more experience than me, anyway. Anita had never been married, but she lived with her partner of twelve years and had plenty of other experience before that. Whenever Sunny thought she felt crazy or needed a break from Brandy’s neuroses, she ran to Anita. Likewise, Anita was usually around in the school teaching offseason to hang out on warm summer nights or help out around the house. Sunny was the only one on payroll, so she took all the help she could get.
Her friend was also her maid of honor. Brandelyn had asked her sister – the one she barely got along with, no less – and Anita often commented that the wedding was going to be its own special mess. “This is why Bonnie and I have never gotten married, honestly,” she had said more than once. “Too much pressure for something we don’t really care about.” Anita and her partner would probably get a courthouse marriage and never bother to tell anyone. If they hadn’t already. If they ever did.
The iced tea was a welcomed refreshment after hours of digging around in the sun. Sunny always kept a pitcher of sun tea for her guests to consume, but since she didn’t have any right now, she had free rein to add as many lemon slices as she and Anita liked. A sprinkle of sugar complemented the strong flavors as they sat in rocking chairs on the back porch. Neighboring hills rolled before them, a tranquil sight even in the middle of a dark, rainy winter.
When my aunt ran this place, it was my sanctuary. Sunny always struggled to make friends, let alone keep them, and it was worst when she was an awkward, sheltered child. Her mother had been Born Again and so wrapped up in her church life that Sunny often spent whole evenings alone at home. When her father the truck driver came home for a few days at a time, he acted like he had no idea who she was – let alone his wife, the woman reciting bible verses in front of the stove. The only reason they didn’t divorce during that time was because he always had an excuse to escape. Sunny’s mother tried multiple times to get her daughter involved at church, but it had never been for her. Especially since they only tentatively accepted the “sinners” of Paradise Valley because their church membership was greatly outnumbered.
This place? Where Sunny’s aunt kept a respectful distance from her sister? This was where Sunny had the greatest memories of her childhood. Every summer was an excuse to pack a duffel bag and live out of a guest room if things weren’t too busy. Sunny learned everything, from hospitality, to cooking, to gardening, from her aunt. Losing her to cancer had been one of the most devastating events in Sunny’s life. Yet the little solace she gained when she inherited Waterlily House made up for the lost. Her aunt’s spirit was always there, and soon she would have a front-row seat to Sunny’s wedding.
Damn. Just the thought of it brought a few tears to Sunny’s eyes.
She said goodbye to Anita around five, and the promises of dinner forced Sunny back into the house, where she would touch base with Brandy about whether they were eating together or alone. I should go spend the night with her, anyway. Brandelyn had been right. They would have less time together as they approached the wedding. They should get in all the cuddling they could stand now.
Sunny locked up the house and stepped into her cottage only a few yards away. This was my aunt’s home for decades. Sunny had kept much of the décor while updating a few things here and there. Her aunt was buried at the very edge of the property, the only way the county would allow it, but a memorial urn filled with notes, dried flowers, and the colorful beads she once used to create festive ornaments for her guests to take home, stood on the mantle by the wood stove. This is also where Brandy and I first made love, Lord help me. How picturesque had it been when she brought Brandy back to an empty Waterlily House for a private, homemade dinner and a walk around the property? Never mind what they got up to once they were in the cottage and the door was locked.
Sunny only briefly entertained the offer to move in with Brandelyn. While she would probably change her official address to Brandy’s place to make things easier, sh
e couldn’t stand the thought of abandoning her aunt’s cottage. She didn’t care how much her CPA Hesper Chess slyly suggested she turn it into a proper guest house to make more money. Brandy could as easily sell her house and move in here! They could build onto the cottage to make more room for them. An extra bedroom and office would be nothing with the extra, unused space behind the cottage. Was it really so inconvenient for the busy doctor to live a mile outside of town?
Yet Brandy was stubborn like that. Most of the time, Sunny loved how confident Brandelyn was in her opinions and resolute in her stands. But God if it didn’t make for the occasional disagreement between them! How were they supposed to be a married couple if they lived in different places?
So stubborn. I’m the one who can’t move as easily. I have roots here. My job is here, and I have to be on call during the busy seasons. Why did Brandy have to be like that… about so many things?
It reminded her of that little thing hanging in the back of her closet.
Sunny pulled out her overnight bag she always used when heading to Brandy’s for the night. While she put in a change of underwear and a fresh T-shirt for the next day, she glanced at her half-open closet and wondered if she should indulge.
Once the idea was in her mind, she couldn’t help herself. She had to open her closet all the way and push aside her jackets, long-sleeved blouses, and dress pants slung over plastic hangers.
There, zipped up in a white bag, was her wedding dress.
She gingerly brought it out and laid it on her bed. The slow descent of the zipper brought the same excitement she felt the first time she spotted this beauty hanging on the clearance rack. Only one size too big. Otherwise, it was perfect.
The beaded off-the-shoulder bodice dipped into a full, princessy tulle skirt that illuminated the room. Sunny plucked it up by the hanger and held it against her body as she walked toward her full-length mirror. The sunlight hit the glass from behind her. Look at me. I look like such a girl. Her mother, who had left her church and made peace with her daughter many years ago, would cry to see Sunny in a wedding dress. Her aunt, God rest her, would find a multitude of ways to dress it up and make it a Sunny Croker experience.
The biggest difference? Her mother would endlessly comment on how “tomboyish” Sunny was finally wearing a proper dress, and a bridal one, to boot! How nice of me to fall in line… Her aunt would simply go with the flow and not make a big deal out of anything.
Brandy was more similar to one of those women. That was the thing holding Sunny back from confessing that she had already bought a dress and wasn’t interested in fulfilling every single one of Brandy’s “traditional” wedding fantasies. But she felt like she had already used her biggest foot to stomp on the church idea. Did she have the guts to bring down the other foot on wearing a tux?
It’s not that I think tuxes are bad, or that it wouldn’t suit me… Brandelyn wasn’t out of her mind thinking Sunny might prefer a tux, but it was an obnoxious assumption based on a few years of occasionally going to formal functions in simple suits (no vest, cummerbund, or tie, though) and always being annoyed with Brandy’s marathons of Say Yes to the Dress and Four Weddings. Sunny had her reasons for not wanting to watch a twelfth episode in a row. None of those reasons amounted to Wow I really hate wedding dresses and the people who wear them!
What was supposed to cheer her up now only served to bring Sunny down. She carefully hung her dress back up in the closet. Perhaps the best medicine wasn’t to obsess over her own clothing despair and to instead imagine how beautiful Brandy would be in whatever gown she chose.
It will really have to be spectacular to match her expectations. That only made it more exciting. Brandelyn in a wedding dress would be the visual highlight of their wedding. Sunny didn’t mind taking a backseat to that, but sometimes, she wished Brandy would acknowledge that Sunny was a bride as well.
Chapter 5
BRANDELYN
Brandy hadn’t a proper weekend to herself and her own interests in several weeks. Not since she and Debbie ramped up the wedding planning. Although Brandy had three-day weekends, she couldn’t remember a time when every single one of those days wasn’t spent doing some form of planning. Debbie was such a staple in Paradise Valley now that barista Heaven remembered her usual order of a non-fat hazelnut latte. Heaven also looked the other way when patrons brought their little doggies to have a treat, as long as they took the mutts outside to one of two tables set up on the sidewalk.
Main Street wasn’t exactly… wide. The tiny metal bistro tables barely had enough room for cups and a plate of donuts, and that still left Brandy’s foot hanging out in the sidewalk with not much space for pedestrians. Throw in Brutus, who made it his personal mission to happily yip at every person passing… it was a wonder Brandelyn was never asked to leave.
Brutus’s leash was secured around the back of Brandy’s chair. She kept him occupied with his little travel blanket, carefully coiled on the sidewalk behind her, and a bowl of water. He kept his cool as long as no other dogs passed, but as soon as Jessie Main took her German Shephard out for an afternoon run…
“Whoa!” Brandy grabbed Brutus before the German Shephard lunged. Teeth had been bared. A few snarls hit the air. Jessie snapped on her dog’s leash and didn’t offer a single word as they kept on running.
“I see Brutus continues to make big friends wherever he goes.” Debbie offered a to-go cup full of hot tea to Brandelyn, who preferred tea to coffee on her days off. “What a good boy.”
Her sarcasm was not lost on Brandy, but she was still too shot with adrenaline to say anything besides, “That gave me a fright. People really need to mind their dogs better.”
Debbie gave her a look that insinuated Brandy might apply that same thinking to herself. Excuse you, Brutus is a good boy. He was the smartest, cutest, friendliest Pom in all of Oregon, and Brandelyn would be more than happy to prove it should the opportunity ever arise.
Except he loved to beg for donuts. Because once Sunny started feeding him nibbles of everything, this was what happened!
“Anyway.” Debbie attempted to prop her pink binder labeled MEYER-CROKER between her gut and the edge of the tiny table. Usually, they would meet inside and do this at one of the bigger tables, but Brutus was seriously itching to get out of the house. Was it really such a bother that Debbie couldn’t flip her pages at the speed of light? “You’ll be so happy to know that the caterer can accommodate fifty vegetarian plates. Honestly, when I told him that you had fifty vegetarians who had RSVP’d to the wedding, he said he was used to much more!” Her canned laughter made Brutus growl beneath Brandelyn’s chair.
“I’ve been thinking about the catering, actually.” Brandy placed a poignant finger against her lips. “I know this is so last minute, but…” She ignored the look of “Please God, don’t do this to me,” on Debbie’s aged face. “What if we made all of the entrees vegetarian? It makes sense, you know? Sunny and I are both committed to having sustainable everything, as much as we can, and I saw this documentary last night about the carbon footprint of chicken farms…”
She detailed the atrocities put forth on the environment, even by the so-called “organic” and “free-range” farms. Besides, she was a doctor. She couldn’t in good conscience serve that much meat, white or otherwise, to so many people.
“I know it might cost more, especially at the last minute,” Brandy said, “but I bet if we substitute the meats for tofurkeys or whatever, nobody will notice! I had one the other day. It was actually good.” Of course, it didn’t beat her own turkey burgers – real turkey, of course – but didn’t it make a nice alternative? She might become a vegetarian yet!
“Brandy.” Great. Here came that saccharin-coated voice that meant Debbie was about to talk down to one of her clients. I’m on to you. Brandelyn used that same voice on her patients when they came to her after a quick perusal of the internet told them they were dying of cancer because they cut their finger. “You realize that vegetarian food
still employs eggs? If you want to go vegan, we’ll have to get a whole new caterer to provide that level of…”
“I know vegetarian food has eggs, okay?” Brandy rolled her eyes. Beneath her chair, Brutus barked his confidence in his mother’s intelligence. “I’m a doctor, Debbie. I know what kind of food goes into which diet.”
“Yes, well… if sustainability is your goal… wait, have you talked to your fiancée yet?”
Brandelyn sat up straight and did her best to look like that yes, she had indeed brought this up with Sunny the last time they talked about the wedding. So maybe I had the idea while I was on my way here… “Sunny put me in charge of the catering.” And the photography. And the flowers. And God knew what else. “As long as she gets her chocolate cake at the reception, you know she’ll be happy with anything.”
Debbie looked as if she didn’t quite believe that. Tough titties. Answer my question, would you? Brandy didn’t want to deal with this. She was supposed to have a lovely afternoon hashing out the last of the details of her wedding, due to happen in about… what? Three weeks from tomorrow? Would they solidify the catering news or what? I have an appointment with Meadow the florist on Monday to make sure she’s got the orchids ordered. Things really shouldn’t be so complicated. Why did people think Brandy was getting this taken care of now?
“I can look into having more vegetarian options offered at the reception, but I’m not sure I can get them to commit to anything else right now. Was there anything else that you…”
“So about Brutus being the ring-bearer, I was thinking of instead of forcing all that fur into a little tux, we go with a bowtie and maybe a clip-on top hat.” Brandelyn turned up the charm with a dazzling smile. “What do you think? I’ve already been working with him in the evenings.” The first thing Brandelyn did after coming back from her walks with Brutus was teach him how to trot down the aisle with a little pillow of rings on his back. So far, they were only to the pillow stage, but Brandy had confidence that her little Brutie would steal the show at her wedding. Until she walked down the aisle, anyway.
June Bride Page 3