Elly looked around her disheveled shop. “Do we have everything?”
Kim waddled over with a clipboard. “I think so. I have everything marked down for the second pick-up, and I loaded all the emergency supplies into your van already. Our fearless young worker and Ardelle have all the extras arrangements for the parents’ room, the bride’s room, the bathrooms…” Kim ran down the list. She got to the end and remarked, “This is simply ridiculous.”
Elly laughed. “Tell me about it. Okay, we’re ready.” Her voice quivered at the end. “I wish you were coming.”
Kim’s eyes brimmed with tears. “I wish I could be there. I feel so stupid, stuck here behind the desk, doing nothing.”
Elly grabbed her hand. “You are running things, and you have no idea how much peace you have given me. I would never have made it here if it wasn’t for you.”
Snarky Teenager walked into the store and rolled her eyes. “Okay, LAME. You guys are best friends. We get it, let’s GO!!”
Elly smiled in spite of herself. “I need another donut.”
“No you don’t,” replied Snarky Teenager. “You need a carrot.”
Elly took a bite of a powdered sugar donut, blowing white powder all over her face.
Snarky Teenager called out to Ardelle. “We’re finally going – she needed to eat! Let’s get this trainwreck on the road!”
Elly dusted off her hands. “Alright, alright, I’m ready.”
She wasn’t.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-SEVEN
At 8:30am, Elly pulled the Posies van up to the garden entrance of Hotel La Vie. Hotel La Vie was the most posh hotel in Clayton, an already rich area. The French Art-Deco style lent itself out perfectly to the most highbrow of society events, and its minimum for renting out the ballrooms was rumored to be in the six-figure range. The rooms in the hotel went for five hundred a night or above, and Elly had heard that each room came with a personal butler, chocolate mints with tiny gold flecks on the pillows, and a dirty martini at check in. She had never stayed there. Obviously.
The path to the outdoor gardens was long and completely inconvenient. It wound through a grey stone alleyway, up some stairs and through the hotel’s graveyard for old serving trays. Her arms full with two large urns, Elly uttered a low moan of relief when the courtyard came into view. It was the one of the loveliest places she had ever seen.
A long brick wall arched over yellow tipped maple trees. On either side of an aisle sat long, low fire pits filled with pretty river rock and charcoal. Two hundred and fifty bamboo-backed chairs flanked the fire pits, with a simple white ribbon tied across the aisle. The breeze blew, bringing a slight chill in the air. The day could not be more beautiful. Birds twittered happily away in the trees, and the warm sunshine flooded the small gardens on either side of the courtyard.
“Shoot,” muttered Elly. “I was hoping it would rain.” Her hired hands had already been here, as was evident by the massive flower piles on either side of the aisle. Everything was strewn about in chaotic fashion, but Elly was still glad that her carrying would be minimal. Lord knew, she had enough to do.
Sitting against the corner of the fire pit, Elly took a minute to catch her breath. She gazed up at the hulking hotel, a postmodern glass and steel high-rise that mingled gracefully with its stone entrance. Somewhere, inside that building, Aaron was putting on a tuxedo, getting ready to marry Lucia, the love of his life. And Elly was sitting here, in the hotel’s backyard, looking up through the windows, pondering the sad irony of it all. Her thoughts were interrupted by a handsome waiter.
“Ma’am? Miss Sunny Kepke ordered this to be delivered to you here.”
He set down a black tray laden with a dripping glass of lemonade and assorted scones. Elly felt foolish, sitting out on the fire pit when there was so much work to be done. She jumped to her feet and wiped her hands on her bright yellow Posies apron. “Thank you.”
The waiter bowed to her, as Elly reached for the tiny note on the tray. Her head smashed roughly into his. “Oh my gosh – oh, I’m sorry, are you okay?”
The waiter scurried off, holding his head. Elly stood perfectly still. This was the kind of day she was going to have. She let out a disgusted sound and opened the note.
Elly – I cannot wait to see your amazing talent in full force today. The best decision that I’ve made in this whirlwind of planning was to hire you and your extraordinary team. Your patience and glowing enthusiasm for this wedding… Elly gave a curt laugh …have made this experience the highlight of my year. Thank you, my dear.