“We still have to name him,” Lewis said, frowning. “No way I’m calling him by the one they gave him at the shelter.”
“How about we name him Harry,” Vivi suggested, “to commemorate the importance of this day?”
“Perfect! That works for me. That way we will always remember what happened today.”
I doubted the real Harry would see the honor in being remembered this way, though. Something told me the idea of sharing his name with this new furry friend wouldn’t exactly fit with his image.
Lewis and Sonny headed back to the kitchen with Arthur. Vivi and I stayed back with Bonita.
“Are you really okay with this?” I asked Vivi.
“Oh, sure, we got all kinds of space out here. That dog’ll love livin’ here with all the rib bones from Arthur’s business. You know, I’m kinda likin’ all this domesticity. I missed a lot of this growin’ up, and Lewis did, too. We’re gonna try to re-create a Norman Rockwell scene out here. I’m into it big-time,” Vivi said, grinning ear to ear.
Just then, the dog started humping Bonita’s leg.
“Good Lord, have mercy, now he can’t be doing that!” Bonita exclaimed.
“Harry, stop that right this minute.” Vivi pulled the dog off Bonita. He started humping me next.
“Oh, my heavens, y’all, I am so sorry.” She pulled the dog off again and he ran on inside to the men. “I can’t believe he did that to both of you.” She was blushing red when, suddenly, she started laughing out loud.
“What’s so funny?” I asked her.
“It just occurred to me I named the dog Harry.”
“Yeah, so?” asked Bonita.
“Well, his nickname will have to be Harry The Humper. He is named after a politician, after all. And all the politicians I have ever known seem to have the same agenda.”
“Typical politico, if you ask me,” Bonita added.
We rejoined the men and sat at the big old table. The feast was fabulous and the conversation warm and memorable. Afterward, as we began to pass around some coffee, Vivi mentioned to Arthur she’d like to ask him something important.
“Well, sure, Miss Vivi. Anything.” He smiled at her.
“Arthur, you mean the world to me. You have been my caretaker, my housemate and my friend for so long, I can’t even remember. But, most importantly, you are my family.”
Vivi had tears in her eyes and was getting choked up. “I want you to know you are welcome to stay and live here always. This is your home.”
Arthur teared up, too.
“My wedding day is coming, and the most important person in my family should be giving me away. You are that person for me, Arthur. I ask you now. Will you give me away?”
“Miss Vivi, I hate the idea of ever givin’ you away to anybody. I like you just right where you are. But yes, I will happily walk you down the aisle to your Mr. Lewis. It would be my utmost honor.” His voice was shaky as he wiped his cheeks with his napkin.
Vivi went over to him and hugged the only man in her life besides Lewis. Bonita had to get up and hug Arthur, too.
“You are such a good man,” Bonita said as she kissed Arthur’s head.
“I know he is, and I am so lucky to have him,” Vivi added.
“Me, too.” Bonita smiled and went back to her seat. “Now, let’s have us some ice cream.”
14
I woke up with Harry licking my face—the dog, not the politician and soon-to-be ex-husband. I had decided to stay at Vivi’s house, much to Sonny’s dismay. I stretched and flipped the covers off, touched my bare feet to the wood floor and headed downstairs with Harry The Humper following closely behind. I had to admit, he was cute and lovable—much more so than his human counterpart.
No one was up yet, so the early morning was quiet. The already humid air clung to the windows over the sink in the kitchen, dripping condensation down the panes.
I put some coffee on and padded around in a white oxford button-down shirt of Sonny’s that he had given me back in May when I got caught in an evening storm while running across the street to his office. I had somehow accidentally never returned it. The shirt was now my favorite nightgown.
When the coffee was ready, I handed Harry one of the biscuits Lewis had brought home last night for his new pet, then took him out to the porch.
I sat down in one of the white wicker rockers and Harry took his new spot in the dog bed Lewis had laid out for him. Bees buzzed around the hydrangea and gardenia bushes as dandelion seeds floated past the screened door to my left. The fountain on the gravel drive splashed a morning melody for the birds to sing to and bathe in. It was lovely and relaxing. This was a home now.
I don’t think Harry, the human, and I had ever created that. Sure, our house was a showplace, but this magical warmth had never been a part of it. I wondered if I even knew how to make a home. I knew how to work hard and stand by my friends, but I hoped I could create this kind of magic when the time came.
I patted Harry The Humper’s head. He was still busy chewing his treat, but stood up to head back inside when Arthur appeared at the screen door.
“Mornin’, Arthur,” I chirped. “Sleep okay?”
“Mornin’, Miss Blake. Yes, I did, and you?” He was in a great mood, as usual.
“Never better. You and Bonita sure are gettin’ on well these days,” I said with my eyebrows raised.
“We do have us a good ol’ time together. She brings out the best in me, I do believe. She even said she’s gonna share that orange-pineapple ice cream recipe when I open the Moonwinx. Can you believe that?”
“That’s wonderful.” I loved hearing him so happy about his new restaurant. “That was quite a feast last night. One of the best I’ve had in quite a while, I’ll say. Her ice cream just topped it all off. It will be a great addition to your menu.”
“I’ve shown Bonita my plans, and she says I got a good head for business. It’s what I was studying when I left school so long ago.”
“Well, she’s right. I’m already hearing a lot of chatter about the opening of Moonwinx in town. And folks are talkin’ about you and Bonita, too.”
“She sure is something special. Can I get you some breakfast ’fore you have to go?” he asked.
“No, I’ve already put the coffee on and I’ll eat later. Harry here looks a little hungry, though,” I said, gesturing to the dog.
“Yeah, I saved him some leftovers from last night.” Arthur reached down and patted his head.
“He’s the luckiest hound I know, with all the food that comes outta here. Now, with the barbecue place you’re opening, Lord, Arthur, he just won the lottery.” I opened the screen door to the house and went back inside.
Vivi greeted me in the kitchen. She poured herself a cup of coffee. “Someone’s up early.” She took a sip from the steaming mug.
“Yes, I have a crazy day ahead of me.” I rinsed my cup out in the sink. “We’ve got a meeting with the Fru Fru boys first thing this morning to discuss the plan for the ceremony and reception, and then I’ve got a lunch date with Kitty, and a media stint I need to attend for Harry this afternoon. But listen, honey, I promise we’ll get to Tressa, just as soon as we can. She won’t be Lewis’s estranged wife much longer. I tracked down the name of a club Tressa worked in at one time not too long ago. I’ll call today, and if she still works there, we’ll pay her a little visit tomorrow. All right?”
“What would I ever do without you? You’re like Superwoman! I don’t know how you juggle it all.” Vivi smiled.
“All in a day’s work, hon.” I could tell that thinking about this other woman had made these past two days more stressful than she needed right now. While I still had my cases to think about, it was my duty as matron of honor to help her sort out this sticky situation.
“I can’t wait
to see that woman face-to-face,” Vivi said. “She’s just got to understand.”
“We can only hope.” I headed toward the stairs. “You’d better get a move on. Both of us have to get dressed, and the Fru Fru boys are on their way.”
Upstairs, I slipped on a navy pencil skirt and my white sleeveless blouse, my pearls, my red sling-backs and my red lipstick. I was trying to stay with a patriotic color scheme to play the part of senator’s wife. But even the outfits were getting mundane.
I brushed my long brunette hair back, fluffed it up and sprayed my Aqua Net. By the time I reached the hour of Harry’s speech this afternoon, my hair would be a frizzy mess with all this humidity. So I sprayed a bit more and brought my hair clips to put it up in case of a humidity attack later.
“Blake,” Vivi called from downstairs, “the Fru Fru boys are here!”
I ran down into the front hall. Vivi had opened the door and I could see that Coco and Jean-Pierre had arrived in style in their hot Pepto-Bismol-pink van. It was a new Mercedes commercial van, with broad white stripes stretching horizontally across the bright pink sides.
A Fru Fru Affair was etched on both sides in grass-green fancy cursive writing. I went around to the back double doors, and Jean-Pierre was there, pulling out the platters that were stacked on built-in trays. The words on the back doors listed all of the events they catered: Weddings, Showers, Tailgates, Bat and Bar Mitzvahs, Even Funerals. That’s exactly how it read, word for word.
Somehow, I didn’t think it would look right for this hot-pink van to pull up at a cemetery, but I kept that to myself.
“Hey, y’all,” Vivi said as they approached the porch.
Coco ran up the front steps like it was Christmas morning and all his presents were inside. “Oh, my goodness, this place is fantastic. I am so gonna love redoing it all.”
“Wait a minute,” Vivi protested. “Exactly what do y’all plan to redo?”
“Oh, honey, we can have so much fun with all this space. How ’bout we have the porch widened a bit so your entire bridal party can all get up there for pictures?” Coco asked, sizing things up and thinking out loud.
“No remodeling. I love this place just like it is.” Vivi was trying to smile, but she never could hide her real feelings.
Coco sighed. “If you insist...but just in case, I have the number for this gorgeous construction worker.” Coco smiled at the thought, though I wasn’t sure gorgeous was counted as a real job qualification.
Jean-Pierre took out a fancy pen with a pink feather attached. “Let’s talk about the animals.”
“Animals? Y’all are startin’ to scare me.” Vivi fanned herself. “I’m gonna need a seat.”
“Well, you know we have swans comin’, and that’s just for starters.”
“Don’t swans need, like, a pond?” Vivi asked.
“Yes, sweetie.”
“Have you noticed I don’t have one?”
“Don’t worry. We’re having one dug, right over there,” Coco answered, gesturing to the land near the pecan grove.
“What? Y’all are plannin’ on diggin’ up my yard?”
Jean-Pierre continued writing with the feather pen. “It will be quick and painless and we can even leave the swans if you like. They’ll be for sale after the wedding anyway.”
Vivi looked even whiter than usual.
I quickly took the reins and interrupted all the excitement. “Okay, maybe we need to slow it way down. How about we take a moment to hear what Vivi wants.”
“I want to sit down inside outta this heat, that’s the first thing I want,” Vivi said.
We headed inside for some iced tea. I poured us all a glass as Vivi sat at the table with the guys.
Coco smiled. “You’ll love this, Vivi. We plan on having a huge crate of a hundred doves to release when your groom kisses you. How about that?”
Vivi looked nauseous. “I thought doves were only used in magic shows and funerals. This is sounding like I could have an awful lot of bird shit to duck at my wedding.”
“Don’t worry. We’ll release them far enough away from the wedding guests that they won’t hit anyone if they poop.”
Merciful heavens. A bunch of squawking swans? A hundred possibly incontinent doves? What would the Fru Fru boys come up with next? Lewis had already volunteered Harry The Humper as ring bearer last night. Pretty soon, we’d have a full-fledged zoo.
15
Just as the Fru Fru boys were driving off, Wanda Jo called and said my clients had to see me. Since I had to rush out, I decided to call Vivi as I drove.
“Hey, just checking on you. Those boys are sure full of creativity. What are your plans today?”
“In all this confusion, I forgot I have a baby doc appointment today. I’m so excited, I’m heading over there right now.”
“Oh, good. Can’t wait to hear the progress.” I was so happy to change the subject. The Fru Frus had us both going crazy thinking about all those animals.
“I may have a surprise for y’all,” she said, all singsongy. “Ta-ta.”
She sounded excited and happy. I was hoping the little surprise would be learning if she were having a baby boy or a baby girl as Vivi had been predicting all along.
I pulled into the back parking lot and got out. Visions of Sonny running across the street and in through this back door swam through my head. Just the thought of him sent heat up and down my body. The vision of him as he walked in the back door, smoldering and hungry for me... I had to shake it. I had an appointment inside.
“Hey, Wanda Jo,” I said as I walked in, setting my bag down on the credenza and my keys in the pink glass bowl. I grabbed the mail and headed into my office.
“Hey there, Miss Blake. I got messages out the wazoo for you this mornin’,” Wanda Jo said, joining me.
“The clients called and said they’ll be here a few minutes early, so I’m glad you’re here.”
She stopped at the doorway and smiled. She was wearing red pants and a white short-sleeved blouse with long red beads. I guess America was the theme of the week. She handed me the file as she headed to the kitchen.
“Did you work late last night?” she called from the other room.
“No, I left about half an hour after you, but Harry dropped by just as I was closing up.”
I was hoping she didn’t see anything, but I guess I should have known Wanda Jo and her eagle eyes.
“Oh, crap,” she said. “I sure as hell hope the cop was gone by the time Harry got here. That would’ve been a dee-saster just waitin’ to happen.” She returned from the kitchen, smiling and kept talking as she handed me my Diet Coke. I hadn’t even asked for one, but that was Wanda Jo. She just knew.
“Yes, Wanda Jo, my worlds didn’t collide if that’s what you’re asking. It was all very discreet. Though I guess not discreet enough if you knew what I was up to.”
“Well, nothin’ gets by me, missy. And you just got that look on your face.”
“What look?” I asked.
“You know, that look of ‘uh-oh, what am I doing?’ I can see it a mile away.”
“Well, I hope you’re the only one.”
I took a sip of my drink, remembering full well Sonny grabbing his pants up and running out the back door with his shoes in his hand and Harry finding my desk items on the floor—the ones I pushed off as Sonny lifted my ass up on it to devour me. No, my worlds did not collide, as long as you don’t count near midair collisions.
I smiled at her and said, “Let me know when the Aarons arrive. I need to glance at the file.”
Wanda Jo grinned and closed my door. I sat at my desk in the cool of the air-conditioning, and my mind wandered off to thoughts of Sonny and a time in college before I met Harry.
My sophomore year at the University of Alabama was the
most fun I had had in school up to that point. I entered every beauty pageant on campus.
I had been a bit nerdy in high school; the debate team was my life if that tells you anything. But when college started I was able to reinvent myself. I was still focused on school, but I was also dating several guys that year, all very different, and that wasn’t like me at all. I was having a moment. A man moment. I must have blossomed that year because suddenly everyone wanted to go out with me. It was fall semester and crisp blue-sky football Saturdays were what we lived for.
I was so confident, still tan from the summer, wearing my tightest jeans and tightest low-cut shirts, and loving riding on the back of a convertible in every parade, wearing my sexiest gowns with a crown on my head.
Pumpkins were on all the porches, and homecoming banners draped the doorways of all the fraternities and sororities on campus. It was the best time of the year, and I was at my peak as a college girl.
One of the guys I was seeing was a model. Yes, I said model. I met him in an acting class, and he and I were assigned scenes from Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. That is one passionate piece of literature. We decided we needed to practice—a lot. Though it seemed like Steve and I only practiced the passionate scenes. The ones that required him to lie on top of me, without his shirt on, and deeply kiss me for hours. Oh, wait, that play doesn’t have any scenes like that...
Well, we wrote them in ourselves, reasoning that unless we were “comfortable” with each other, the real kissing scenes wouldn’t look right. Ah, yes, all in the name of character development. That was serious method acting.
His body was luscious, ripped and hard. He had jet-black hair, dimples and dark brown eyes. He was delicious. We practiced for hours every day. Then, like a harlot, I would go out at night with another guy. I mean, I didn’t feel like a skank, Steve was only “rehearsal,” after all.
Later in that glorious semester, I ran into Sonny on campus. He was working for the university police and going to school at Alabama, too. It was a weeknight, about ten o’clock, and we were in the stacks at the main library. My heart skipped when I saw him. I hadn’t spoken to him in at least a year. We were both at college doing our thing. For me, that meant sorority life and beauty pageants; for him, it was criminal justice classes and police training. Our circles never overlapped.
Wedding Belles Page 8
