Our house is damned awesome. It’s a new four-bedroom, four-bath home in a great neighborhood in Mount Pleasant, a town across the river from Charleston. I’ve been hesitant to buy something this large, but Drew insisted. He was so determined; I decided to go with it since it’s his money. And I’m not gonna lie, this house rocks.
Drew, both of our parents, Shannon, Eric, Jenna, and Ben come over to celebrate our first night. Well, it’s not really our first night because we’ve been here for a few days, but we’re finally unpacked and settled. We cook out and have a great dinner, relaxing with family and friends. With the wedding less than two weeks away, time seems to be flying by.
“So, any late additions to the wedding we need to worry about?” my mom asks.
“Not that I’m aware of,” I answer. “I pick up my dress tomorrow.”
“Whatever you do, don’t let Drew see it. It’s bad luck.”
“I know, Mom. He won’t peek, I swear.” I catch Jenna biting her lip, trying not to laugh. I want to throw a hamburger bun at her.
“What can’t I see?” Drew asks.
“My dress. I pick it up tomorrow.”
“Right. I won’t peek. I’m not concerned about the dress, only what’s hidden underneath it.”
Letty gasps, “Drew McKnight! Shame on you! A wedding gown is a bride’s pride and joy.”
Drew acts chastised, but I know better. “I’m sorry, babe. Clearly I wasn’t thinking. I was only being an insensitive man.”
I want to snort at that. “It’s okay. I’ll think of a way you can make it up to me.” The fact is, Drew really doesn’t care about the gown. But once he sees me in it, he’s going to flip. It’s gorgeous. It’s not what you’d call a traditional looking dress. It’s a white silk halter dress that’s sleek and body skimming, making it very sexy. It has a lace cover up that gives it a discreet look for the church ceremony. But, for the reception, I’ll remove the lace and the dress then becomes much more revealing. At first I was hesitant to buy it, even though I loved it and it looked awesome on, but Letty, Mom, and Jenna all persuaded me to go with it. They thought it was the dress. Drew’s eyes will bug out when he sees that cover up come off. And I can’t wait.
“What’s that look for?” he asks.
“Oh, nothing.”
“Yeah. You’ve got something up your sleeve.”
Jenna, Mom, and Letty all chuckle.
“Did you all do something to me? Like booby trap something of mine? I know how you girls are when you get together,” he says.
Now we laugh even harder. “No, no booby traps. Go on and get out of here. You need to hang with the guys and leave us to our girl talk.” He leans down and kisses me.
“Okay, but if you put dye in the shower head, someone’s in for it.”
“Um, Drew. Why would we do that? I use that shower, too.”
“I know. But you’d rig it just so and wait with a camera so you could catch me on video.”
“Cate, that’s not a bad idea,” Jenna says thoughtfully.
“Drew, you’d better get out of here before you give her any more ideas.”
“Oh, don’t worry. She has plenty. Did she not ever tell you about the time she put saran wrap over all the toilets in Ben’s and my apartment?”
I look at Jenna with my brows raised.
Jenna slaps her knee and starts telling the tale. “We went to visit them for a football weekend. I knew they’d be drinking heavily so I grabbed the saran wrap from their kitchen when no one was paying attention and covered their toilets. We left and when they came home drunk that night, well you can imagine.”
“Eww. That’s gross.”
I look at Letty and my mom. Their expressions are hilarious. We all start cracking up.
Then Drew says, “What’s so foul about it is we didn’t even realize it until Ben started puking.”
I hold up my hand. “Stop! That’s disgusting.”
Jenna is snorting and holding her stomach. Now the expressions on Letty’s and Mom’s faces are horrific. Thank god we’ve finished eating. Then Jenna says, “Dessert anyone?”
We look at her and now I really do pick up a hamburger bun and smack her in the head with it. The rest of the night goes from one story to the next until we can’t laugh any more. We sit outside on the deck and I’m on Drew’s lap as we tell our stories. What a great way to christen our new home.