The wedding day started with an overcast sky. Elly pushed back the curtains and frowned, hoping that Lola’s big day wouldn’t be ruined by rain. She showered and put on her outfit for delivery (a super combination of sexiness that no man could refuse: tan Crocs, gray yoga pants, and a long black T-shirt embroidered with her store logo) and pulled her plastic-wrapped dress for the evening from the closet. Her wedding invitation had arrived in the mail last week, a gorgeous navy striped envelope made of linen that unfolded to become a pop-up invitation exploding with orchids and raised piping inviting her to the wedding of Lola Plumb and Joseph Keats. Elly was thrilled and nervous. She had attended weddings in the past that she had also designed, and it never went well. Even though she was supposed to be a guest and enjoying herself, Elly was always checking centerpieces and keeping a wary eye on the bridal bouquet as it was flung every which direction during the reception. Eventually, she would always excuse herself to the bathroom and then make a hasty retreat after sneaking a piece of cake. In short, it was not very fun. But this was different. Elly had forged a bond with Lola, and it was an honor to be invited to the wedding of the year. Sadly, the only man she wanted to be her date would be breaking it off from her tomorrow night, so that wasn’t going to work.
Tightening her ponytail, she headed down the hallway to Dennis’s room. He was still asleep. She nudged his arm once, twice, and then finally, using a trick she learned from her mom, pinched his arm softly.
“Wha’?” He lurched up in bed.
“Oh, hey. I was wondering if you wanted to be my date for Lola’s wedding tonight. She invited me.”
Dennis rubbed the sleep out of his blue eyes. He looked better than Elly had seen him look in a long time. “Uhhh … really? You don’t want to ask Anthony?”
Anthony. Elly cursed herself for forgetting Anthony. He would have been a fabulous date, whereas Dennis looked less than thrilled. It was too late to ask him now. “Well, you don’t have to go.”
“Yeah, I might not. It’s just, you know, not my thing. Sorry.”
Elly patted his leg. “That’s okay. Go back to bed.”
With a grumble, Dennis buried himself under the sheets and began snoring almost immediately. Elly smiled. Somehow, she had never been happier to have him in her house. After yesterday, when she feared she might lose him forever, stinky laundry piles didn’t seem so bad. She grabbed a piece of homemade quiche from the fridge—thank you Kim!—and headed down for what might be the longest day ever.
As always, the cameras were waiting for them. Elly assembled her team around her—Kim, Snarky Teenager, Anthony, and about seven extra workers that Kim had found—and explained their tasks for the morning, which had been broken into five parts: transportation, communication, set-up, clean-up, and finalization. Elly bounced nervously on her toes, praying that the different flowers wouldn’t cause Gemma to have a nervous breakdown, or even worse, Lola to be thrown off her fragile tightrope.
Snarky Teenager looked down at the sheet with her directions. “I’m on finalization? Without you? What about you?”
“I’m going to the wedding.”
Their mouths dropped open. “You get to go to Lola’s wedding! You aren’t cool enough to go to Lola’s wedding!”
“Maybe not, but I got an invite. And yeah, it was awesome.”
Snarky Teenager stomped off, grumbling to herself as she began pulling things out of the cooler. Elly only heard snippets. “Ridiculous … not even … ideal bone structure … love handles … made out with a French model … twice.”
Elly walked over to her. “I’ll make sure everything is perfect before I go. But I’m trusting you with the final check. That’s the most important job there is.
“Yeah, yeah.” She hoisted a box of fifteen twisty glass vases spilling over with varying shades of pink and white sweet pea onto her slim shoulders.
“Are you good with that?”
She eyed Elly. “If you ask me again, I will murder you in your sleep with your own muumuu.”
“Okay, then.” They began loading up the flowers, one huge box at a time into air-conditioned vans that idled outside. There was so much work that two of the cameramen finally put down their cameras to help them, feeling guilty as they all labored in front of them.
Elly did a final check on the store, carrying Lola’s bouquet in her hand, not trusting anyone to move it except for her. It was strange to be in her clean store, when she knew that outside, eight vans were bursting with more flowers than she had ever transported in her life. The fan circled overhead and she closed her eyes. Oh please Lord, let this all be okay. Let Lola have the day she deserves. With that, she blew her little studio a kiss and headed to the wedding of the year.