The timid bride, Leslie, was looking more and more terrified as her mom yanked on her hair. Elly felt for her.
“Hi Leslie! I was just stopping in to say congratulations and wish you luck.”
Leslie jumped up from her chair and threw her arms around Elly.
“Thank you SO much. They are so beautiful. I love them!”
Elly unwrapped Leslie from herself and eyed Lizette over her shoulder, scowling. Elly looked at Leslie and grabbed her hands. “I wish you the many blessings on your marriage. The day goes so fast, make sure you take the time to step back and treasure what is…”
“Okay, okay, this bride needs to get married.” Lizette swept in, pushing Elly towards the door. “Thank you Elly. Great job with the flowers! They look lovely.”
Elly raised an eyebrow at Lizette.
“Really? Didn’t you want to ask Leslie about her choice of greens?”
Lizette scowled at Elly.
Leslie looked confused. “You didn’t like my green?” she asked Lizette.
“No, it was fine love, I just thought clover would have been pretty, but it looks amazing now. I was wrong. Here, why don’t we put in your tiara?”
She had a sour look splayed across her heavily made-up face. Triumph, thought Elly. She had never liked Lizette, but today she had been especially rude. Ah, sweet victory. She savored the feeling. It was just then that some chocolate dripped off her pants, under the apron, onto the floor.
“What was that?” Lizette gasped. Her voice got very shrill. The accent disappeared. “Was that poop? What IS that??”
“Okay. Thanks! Congrats Leslie!” Elly darted out of the room, holding her apron tight around her behind. It wasn’t until she was in her sweltering van that she let herself truly relax. Her shoulders sank into cushion as the air conditioning blasted on her face. She leaned her head back on the seat. It was over.
“Thank you God,” she breathed, sending up a silent prayer of thanks. Then she picked up her cell phone and dialed Snarky Teenager, who was minding the shop.
“Hi, it’s me. Get ready to load up the next wedding. I need you to run up to my apartment and grab some pants.” Elly paused. “No, I definitely don’t want to talk about it.”
CHAPTER
THREE
There had never been anything as beautiful as Elly’s couch. Never before, in the history of mankind, had there been anything as glorious or comforting as the soft tan leather couch that Elly lay face-down upon. The day was done, the wedding deliveries were over. Elly had almost cried with relief when she walked in the door. She had dropped her purse, stripped to her underwear and collapsed onto the couch. There she had stayed, dozing off and on, as the sun slowly dipped behind her curtains.
Two hours later, Elly awoke, ravenous. Before she even dressed, she was dialing the Chinese restaurant down the street, the Pearl Wok. Not totally sanitary – Elly had spied a cockroach on the floor once, but had forgiven them on account of their orange chicken and wontons. Plus, they delivered.
“June…hi, it’s Elly. Yes, hi! Again, yes. The norm. Mmmhmm. And a side of wontons. Yes I know. Twice this week. Okay. Thanks!”
She hung up the phone, determined not to think about what the implications might be of the Chinese food girl knowing her name and order by heart. It was best not to think about it. She opened the door to her bedroom and looked at her bed, which was covered with a white fur blanket. The white fur blanket lazily lifted its eyes and gazed at Elly, confused.
“Cadbury, get up! Off the bed! C’mon!”