by Dale Mayer
“So they’re not mass-marketed? They’re not something we’d be buying off a shelf?” Faith asked. “I like that they are so unique.”
“What about sizing? Do we have time?” Honey asked.
Kat nodded. “Not only that, we could get them engraved. I’ve been talking to the manufacturer off and on for a week. He said Labor Day was doable. They would sit down for an afternoon with a designer and get them worked up.”
Morning said, “I love this ivory one that’s the reverse to the titanium one.” She held it out.
They could see it was a matched set.
“Is that a butterfly in the center?” Honey asked.
Kat nodded. “Aren’t they beautiful?”
“The thing is, they would be wedding rings. Not fancy engagement rings. No diamonds or jewels and no five thousand dollar price tag. They’re not cheap, but they’re each under five hundred. So, for a grand, we get matching rings for both of us.”
“That’s quite reasonable,” Honey said.
Kat nodded. “We could also go cheaper yet again. But I think it would be important for each of us to have a design we really like. And one that we think the men will really like too.”
“Exactly. The thing is, you notice they don’t wear any jewelry. And they’re not into anything ornate. They would want something simple.”
“They would want something strong, something that represents union and strength.” Faith studied the rings in the photos. “I have to admit. I have been looking online, and I’ve seen lots of diamond rings and emerald rings that I thought would be my preference, but”—she waved her hand—“they just don’t appeal. The man I’m with is not of that world. Neither am I.” She tapped the photo in front of her. “But honestly, I love these.”
Kat nodded. “That’s how I felt. They seemed so much more like what Badger would want. They’re simple. They’re elegant, yet they’re masculine. And, more than that, they’re a symbol of strength for somebody who surmounted incredible odds to be where he is today.”
“Exactly,” Allison said, looking at the rings. “And lots of designs are here. You know? I wouldn’t mind having this one myself.” She tapped a matching set. “I think this is jade, isn’t it?”
“I think it’s inlaid with jade pieces, yes,” Kat said. “These designs have all been created, each unique. But we can make slight tweaks so they’re ours.” She glanced down at her watch. “Dammit. I’ve got to run again. Keep these. I’ve got more at home. If you want, I can send them to you by email. But, if this is what we want to do, we have to decide fast.”
With a quick glance at the others, she waved and took off. One of these days, she would be able to sit and relax and have lunch with the girls. But it seemed like they came in with a million questions and had to run with a million more.
Back at the office, her assistant was grinning as he met her at the front desk on the way to her office. “Well, you ready?”
“It seems like, not only am I not ready but I’m getting further behind,” she fretted. “How is it that a wedding can take so much time to get through?”
“Oh, the wedding itself will be like five minutes,” he said with a chuckle. “But all the details, now that’s where it counts.” He glanced at his calendar. “Marisa needs you to make a bunch of decisions on the decorating.”
She stopped in her tracks and groaned. “Oh, my God. I forgot about that. But I do have to go to the dressmaker’s. Maybe I can meet Marisa afterward?” She frowned. “I could always meet her for drinks somewhere and go over stuff. I can’t have her come to the house, not without raising suspicions.” She nodded, as if that was decided. “Do you really think this isn’t over-the-top? I mean, a little bit of decoration, but we can’t have too much?”
“Not at all,” her assistant said with a wave of his hand. “We’ll come in and set up ten tables. Next thing you know, it’ll be done and fixed up nice, while you guys are still standing around taking pictures.”
“Pictures!” she cried, her face paling. “Oh, my God. I forgot a photographer.” She stared at him in a panic. “It’s only a couple weeks away.”
He looked at her. “Wasn’t somebody supposed to do that?”
She thought so, but, at the same time, she couldn’t remember. “I’ll contact Honey because we do need photographs.” She marched into her office, plunked her butt down behind her desk and sent Honey a quick text.
By then her assistant was at the door, saying, “Mrs. Marshall is here for you.”
She sighed and put it all to the back of her mind. With a determined smile, she plastered a bright welcoming look on her face and stood to greet her next patient.
Badger wandered the backyard. The rest of his unit was all here. “She’s got some kind of a planner. Something like a party planner or event planner. I didn’t want to get very fancy, but I don’t know how to tell Kat to keep it low-key.”
“If she makes it too fancy, Ice will get suspicious,” Erick said as he walked beside his friend.
They both held beers, kind of a celebration after coming away from the lawyer’s office triumphant, and yet a little warier, having gone through the steps of incorporating their business. They’d all signed on as equal partners, and, as much as it was a daunting thought, it was also a brand-new beginning. They had all decided to come to Badger’s for a beer and to celebrate. But, once the discussion came up about how many people would be here for Labor Day weekend, the topic turned to the outdoor space and how to decorate it.
“Well, you’d think that an event planner would come in with lights, make it look nice for the afternoon and evening, and the next morning it can all go away.” Badger laughed. “What do I know? I’ve been to funerals, and I’ve been to a couple weddings. But they were pretty big fancy deals. An engagement party, I have no clue.”
“Right?” Laszlo said from beside them. He looked at the large expanse of grass. “If this is nicely trimmed, we can have a lot of people out here.”
“Do you think it’s safe with it being grass?”
Laszlo nodded. “It’ll be fine, providing the weather is good. Did you consider what you’ll do if the weather is lousy?”
Badger groaned. “If it’s lousy, I can hold a mess of people inside. Unless we want to be outside and put up cabanas. But I sure wouldn’t want to if we didn’t need to.”
“Did you get a menu from Kat yet?”
Badger shook his head and groaned. “No. Every time I broach it, she gets all flustered and clams up. I can’t tell if she’s stressed about making too much of these plans or if she’s thinking I’ll get upset because she either hasn’t planned enough or has planned too much.”
“As long as there’s lots of good food, I don’t care.” Talon walked out of the kitchen door, a cold beer in his hand. “That’s what she has to remember. People need food. And not just girly food.”
“What’s girly food?”
The men snickered.
“Those little tiny things you can’t pick up and eat. They’re like ready-to-pop-in-your-mouth one-bite foods. Or veggie platters,” Talon said with a snarl. “I mean, I don’t mind sliders. At least they are burgers. But I really don’t want little tiny canapés or fluffy things. And I definitely don’t want little tiny desserts that won’t taste like anything.”
“Okay, you guys are scaring me,” Badger said. “I didn’t put any thought into that.”
“We have to trust in Kat.”
“Not only trust in Kat,” Badger said, “we have to treat her well, and we have to like whatever it is she’s done because she’s gone to a ton of effort over this.”
“I think she’s involved Honey too because I see Honey always with a notepad, jotting down stuff, crossing off stuff, making phone calls, sending emails. I asked her a couple times what she was up to, and she said she was helping Kat.”
“Right, that’s the same for Allison. She said she was meeting the girls for lunch to discuss a few things with them.”
“And yet they don’
t know about the real reason for the formal party, right?”
The men all shook their heads.
“No, they just think it’s a nice weekend bash.”
Badger nodded with relief. “Because that was the one thing Levi wanted to make sure of, that the women didn’t know,” he warned. “You know that, as soon as one of them knows, they’ll all know.”
“You got to make sure there’s beer here, Badger,” Erick said. “I’ll have a glass of champagne and toast with the rest of you, but you know I’d really rather have a beer.”
“So would I,” Cade said. “It’ll be funny enough to be in a suit again.”
“I’m kind of looking forward to it,” Laszlo said. “I want to wear my suit to something other than a funeral for a change.”
That silenced them all.
“Do you think it’s okay to wear a black suit for this thing?” Geir asked. “It never occurred to me to wear anything different.”
He watched as relief washed over the men’s faces.
“Don’t forget it’s not us on display,” Badger said. “This is all to help support Levi. It’s important to him. He’s done a lot for us.”
Erick said, “Not a problem. If Levi needs this from us, we’re happy to help.”
Badger smiled. “I can’t wait to see Ice’s face.”
“Right, she must think he’s never going to ask her.”
“Badger, did Levi tell you when he would do this? Like at dusk or whenever, so we know when to pay attention?” Erick asked.
Badger shook his head. “Levi said he’d wing it, when he felt the time was right.”
“Have any of you considered this whole event?” Erick asked, a note of humor in his voice. “I mean, all this preparation for Levi to pop the question. What the hell? Since when is that a thing?”
That started a heavy discussion about the trend in engagements, the old-fashioned route versus new social media and parties.
Badger thought all of it was garbage. “Isn’t it just better to find a quiet time and ask her in privacy, where she can say yes or no?”
“If I was ready to ask Morning, I wouldn’t be asking her anyplace where she has an option to say no,” Geir said in surprise. “No way in hell I want to face rejection at that point.”
And that sent the men off yet again.
“That makes sense,” Badger muttered. He walked to his lounger and sat down, looking out at the yard, envisioning it lit up with nice lights, and everyone formally dressed, and he smiled. “I wonder if Levi thought about photographs.”
The guys took one look at him, and Talon said, “No idea. We don’t really need a photographer, do we?”
Badger shrugged. “Maybe. But, if Kat is dressed up, I want a picture of her.”
The others grinned.
“Right. Do we know a photographer?” Cade asked.
They all shook their heads.
“We’re not slouches in that department,” Badger said, “but neither are we professional photographers.”
“I think you mean engagement-party photographers,” Erick joked. “I still think the whole thing is over-the-top.”
“Yeah, but you know something? Women love over-the-top,” Laszlo said.
Erick shook his head. “There’s over-the-top, and then there’s over-the-top,” he exclaimed.
That had all the men talking yet again.
Finally Cade looked at his watch and said, “I can tell you one thing. We’ll all be in deep shit if we’re not heading home soon.”
Badger checked his watch and realized it was six already. “I wonder where Kat is.”
The men pulled out their phones.
“None of the women have contacted us.”
They shook their heads. But they all made their way to the front door and disappeared.
As soon as they were gone, Badger picked up his phone and called Kat. When she answered on the second ring, her voice sounded distracted. He said, “Kat, you okay?”
She groaned. “I am. I’m just here with Marisa, trying to get the last of the details hammered out for the party.”
“It’s still a couple weeks away, honey. We have time.”
“I know. I’ll be home in another hour.”
He smiled. “No problem. Are you eating dinner there?”
“Yeah, I am. Sorry. I should have said something.”
“Not an issue.” He put away his phone, walked into the kitchen and pulled out leftover salads and served himself.
Holding the plate, he wandered around the lower floor of his house, Dotty keeping pace with his footsteps, figuring out just what they should do if they ended up with, like, forty people inside. He could handle twenty easily, but forty trying to stay out of the rain might be a bit much.
Just as he finished eating, his phone rang. He glanced down to see it was Ice. He lifted the phone to his ear. “Hey, Ice. What’s up?”
“Do you happen to have an extra room Saturday night? Alfred is coming with us but will be staying at a friend’s on Friday night,” Ice said, fatigue in her voice. “But he doesn’t have a place to stay for the second night.”
“Sure, no problem,” Badger said. “Ice, you sound tired.”
“Yeah,” she said. “Just really busy right now. And Levi seems to be a little more distracted than usual.”
It was all Badger could do to keep his mouth shut. But he ended the call with a big grin. He held up his beer in a cheer to Levi and said, “Man, have you ever set something in motion.”
And he popped the top and took a big long drink.
Chapter 9
The following week Kat sat down at the restaurant. This time she was the first one in. She had her notepad out, going over her list. She’d been to the dressmaker. Check. She’d been to the florist. Check. She had a tie for Badger. Check. She’d gone over all the final details with Marisa. Check. Jim had taken a huge list of details for him and Marisa to handle. Later. She was more or less feeling in control.
When Hindy walked in with a surprised look on her face, Kat asked, “What’s up, Hindy?”
“You’re a day early.”
Kat stared at her in shock. “Today is Tuesday, right?”
Hindy shook her head. “Today is Monday, honey.”
Kat groaned and sat back. “But, hey, I was just checking things off and feeling really good about everything, and now I realize I’m a full day early.” She smiled, followed by a heavy sigh. “Well, since I’m here anyway, will you bring me a salad and a coffee? I’ll keep working away.”
With a big grin, Hindy turned and walked away.
Kat picked up the phone and called Honey. “Guess where I am?”
“At the restaurant?”
“How did you know?”
“Because I was about to head there myself, and I realized it was the wrong day.”
“Well, come anyway,” Kat said. “Because I’m sitting in the room all alone, feeling like an idiot.”
Honey laughed. “Okay, I’ll be there in five.”
By the time her friend arrived, Kat had ordered coffee for both of them.
As they compared lists, Honey said, “You know we’re really close.”
Kat nodded. “I even got in the ring orders for everybody. Of course we’ll need to pick them up the day before. They’ll need every day to get them all done by then.”
“I know. We left that part to the last minute. Another thing that was worrying me,” Honey said. “Our hair. Did we ever get that locked down?”
Kat nodded. “We have three hairdressers coming in that day. Which means, somehow, I have to hide that from Badger.”
Honey nodded. “It’s a problem for all of us, but we could do some of it at my house and some of it potentially at someone else’s, and we just all meet at your place at the right time, with our hair done.”
“But we’re supposed to all be together that day, completely dressed up, and, when it’s time, go get changed and still have our hair looking gorgeous. And we need our makeup retouch
ed. And then we’re supposed to come out, right?”
That started a discussion about logistics and timing.
Honey sat back with a groan a good half-hour later. “This is why there are rehearsals.”
Kat chuckled. “Like we’ll get a chance to do that.”
“We could try at my house,” Honey said, “but we need a reason to get rid of Erick because we really do need a chance to figure out how the timing will work. We can’t have the men know ahead of time.”
Kat thought about it. “We only have this weekend. The following weekend is the wedding.”
“And we’ll need every day this week and this weekend to make this work.”
Kat nodded. “I don’t think I can wait until the final day.”
“Why don’t we take off Friday afternoon before the wedding? Have everybody meet at my place, and we’ll go through a logistics rehearsal.”
“That might work,” Kat said thoughtfully. “Levi and Ice are coming Friday evening. So, we’ll have a social time with them, and then Saturday I think they said they were doing some running around. The party is supposed to start at what, three? And then the wedding itself starts at seven?”
“That all works,” Honey said. “I’ve got the additional tables and dishes being delivered early. They couldn’t come later, so the delivery is set for eight-thirty that morning.”
“It’s a bit early,” Kat said, frowning, “but at least we’ll have it all for when we’re ready.”
“It has to work,” Honey said. “The supply company was pretty adamant about the time frame. They’re really behind on so much because it was very short notice.”
“True enough,” Kat said. “But we also have Alfred coming early on Saturday.”
“Right.”
They sat there for a long moment. Kat shuffled back in her chair and looked over at Honey. “Second thoughts?”
Honey shook her head. “No. This is what I really want. But I do have misgivings about forcing them into this.”
Kat nodded. “My thoughts exactly.”
“But I won’t dare quit,” Honey said, “because I think that would be devastating to everyone. We’ve all done this. We’ve all come this far. We’ve made such great plans. We’ve got a huge outlay on expenses. No way we can back out now.”