“You’re the best, Sis. I think I’ll move back in the house if you’re cooking.”
Nick’s loud voice woke up Bobby and Sandy and they, too, raved about the croissants. Sandy and Bobby relived many more Jake, while Emily was in Japan stories, and we had a very early but entertaining breakfast. We, in this case, did not include Jake. He didn’t find any of these stories as comical as we did.
Sandy and Bobby were more than thrilled with the news of us living with them for a year, and Nick said he might move back into the house as well since school was done.
We walked hand in hand to Jake’s car and dark clouds grew bigger with each step. With a huge sigh, I stepped into his open arms and dreaded our separation. It reminded me of my empty days in Japan.
“I’m sad to see you go,” I whimpered. “How am I going to go the whole day without you? When will you come home?”
“Probably not till late—maybe sometime after midnight. I’ll know better as the day progresses.”
“Midnight?” My whine became even more pronounced.
“The chief told me I’ve got a tough three weeks before the wedding. You’re OK taking care of this wedding without me?”
“Yeah, I’ll be fine. I’ll just miss you!”
“I know, Love. I’ll miss you too.” He kissed me a long good-bye and unwillingly we parted. I, too, had a long day of wedding preparations.
Bobby, Sandy, and I left the house early with the intent of getting everything started today. Our first stop was to the print shop to pick out wedding invitations. We thought these should go out immediately since many guests may go out of town on a holiday weekend. Sandy had already contacted all the family members to let them know of the impending wedding. I didn’t have much of an opinion on the invitation and Sandy had such impeccable taste, I let her make most of the decisions. I would only assert myself if I really didn’t like something she picked out. The designer would send a proof via -mail later today, and they promised to print all the invites as soon as we accepted the copy. Sandy and I, in turn, promised to send addresses so they could label and mail our invitations for us. Our first stop was successful.
From here, we went to the florist. This was really Sandy’s area of expertise. The florist had worked on the house before, so she already had a layout of what she wanted to do. We explained that we wanted to get married inside the house and then hold the reception in a tent out in the vast backyard. The floral designer named off all the flowers that she would use in different parts of the house, and Bobby and I just listened, as botany was never my strong suit. My job from here was to e-mail a picture of my wedding gown, as well as the bridesmaids’ dresses, and she would e-mail back sketches of bouquets. E-mail was a wonderful invention. It saved so much time for everyone.
Next we headed to the department store to pick out bridesmaids’ dresses. Both Sarah and Jane would stand as my maiden and maid of honor. I thought picking out a dress from a large department store would be easy for Jane since she could pop into the Manhattan one for a fitting. Sandy and I easily found a cute green summer dress, formal but not so formal where they couldn’t wear it again. I took a picture of the dress and sent it to Jane and Sarah. They both gave it a thumbs-up so we bought two dresses, one here and one in Manhattan.
Not having consumed anything since six in the morning, the three of us were ravenous. Lunch was next on the list before another fitting at the bridal shop.
Finally, Jake called.
“Hi, Honey!” My voice bubbled with enthusiasm.
“Hello, my love. What are you and my parents up to right now?”
Even with Sandy and Bobby by my side, I felt such a void without Jake.
“We are eating a grilled veggie salad, and after lunch, we’re going to the dress shop for another fitting. Your tuxedo is here and they want you to come in for another fitting as well.”
“I probably won’t get there till the week of the wedding.”
“OK, I’ll stop by the store and let them know.”
I proceeded to tell Jake all that had been accomplished today, and he told me about his day thus far. I excused myself from the table and went outside briefly to finish our conversation.
“Jake?” I bemoaned.
“Yes, Love. What’s the matter?” he asked in a comforting voice.
“I really miss you. Can’t you come home any earlier than midnight?”
I could almost hear his smile over the phone as he said, “I miss you too. I’ll be home as soon as I can, but don’t wait up for me. It will probably be very late.”
I told Jake how difficult it had been today without him by my side. He had spoiled me the last week with his constant attention. Who would have believed that I had spent five months apart from him by the sound of my wimpy confession? Of course, I heard the pager go off and we said good-bye. I went in to finish my lunch.
The fitting went well, and Sandy and Bobby both loved the wedding dress.