by S. L. Baum
Summer leaned back in the leather seats and tried to stifle a yawn. “I wonder if Dee realizes that she has to stay married to Burke until she is twenty-five. Otherwise the money reverts back into the trust,” she said.
“You didn’t mention that before. When did you find that out?” James asked her.
“My mom was telling me, right before I passed out in the hotel room earlier. I forgot about it until just now. It just popped into my head,” she said.
“My guess would be that she isn’t aware,” Eve said.
Marcus nodded his head in agreement. “Too many people these days just do not understand what commitment really means. You should NEVER pledge your life to someone else unless you truly mean it.”
Link clasped my hand and pulled it up to his lips. He placed a gentle kiss in the palm of my hand and smiled my brilliant smile. “I fully understand the meaning of commitment,” he whispered in my ear, as he leaned closer and placed a kiss on my neck.
“As do I, my love,” I whispered back, and snuggled myself into his side.
Catherine smiled at our exchange. She’d waited many years for me to find my soul’s true mate. She had recently confided that she had somehow known, after my first movie date with Lincoln, that the two of us were destined to be together. It took me just a bit longer to have that kind of faith in a future life with Lincoln. But now I knew, without a doubt, that we were meant to be together... forever.
“It is good ammunition to have, if we get to them in time. Delilah most definitely hasn’t thought this all the way through. She probably thinks that she could turn around and divorce Burke, whenever she gets tired of him,” James remarked. “I’ve seen the way she views people. They are disposable to her.”
“It’s a good thing that I remembered it,” Summer added.
“Yes, very good,” I agreed.
After we pulled up to the twenty-four hour wedding chapel, we piled out of the limo, and entered the lobby. The smell of cheap perfume, musty air, and disinfectant assaulted my nose. My eyes, on the other hand, were assaulted by colors. The walls of the room were draped with pink satin, deep red carpet covered the floors, and purple velvet couches sat up against two of the walls. Since we were less than a week away from Valentine’s Day there were red and pink, heart shaped, Mylar balloons all over the ceiling. Each one had a long, purple, ribbon attached. After we walked through a sea of ribbons, a black lacquer desk with glass panels for viewing the tacky merchandise was directly in front of us. Elvis stood behind it.
It wasn’t the real Elvis, unless he’s an Immortal One in hiding, but I’ve never heard any tales about that. It was a pudgy, short, wig wearing Elvis. He had crammed himself into a too tight, sparkly jumpsuit. Short Elvis had oversized, gold, plastic glasses on his face. He plastered a cheesy smile on his face, as soon as we’d walked through the door.
“Group rates are available, uh huh, because you can’t help falling in love with him,” he sang, in an awful imitation Elvis voice.
“We actually came to see our friends get married. I’m hoping that we are not too late. Delilah and Burke...” I began to explain.
“The tiny little blondie and her man,” Fake Elvis cut me off. “Well, they are back in the chapel right now. She found her thrill, uh huh. But you’re a little late. Preacher man might be finished with them by now.”
“Oh no,” Summer cried out and ran toward the double door that stood on the other side of the black lacquer desk.
We scrambled after her as she burst through the doors.
Delilah and Burke were at the altar, leaning toward each other, engaged in a kiss. Delilah looked, as I expected her to, stunning. She wore a white, strapless, lace mini dress that stopped mid-thigh. Her hair was swooped up on one of her signature messy up-dos. It was that perfectly un-messy messy, that only Dee could pull off with perfection. She had on one of the highest pair of white lace pumps I had ever seen her wear. Her right leg was bent up behind her, at the knee, during their kiss.
Burke was wearing a very sharp looking black suit. No doubt purchased by Delilah, back in New York for the funeral. Together they made a spectacular looking couple.
They paused in their kiss and their heads whipped around, as Summer approached them.
“Oh God, Dee,” Summer gasped. “We’re too late aren’t we?”
“What are you all doing in here?” Delilah squeaked after a moment. She had found her voice again, after the initial shock of seeing our mini mob of seven barging through the wedding chapel doors.
“Trying to stop you from making a huge mistake,” James told her. He usually has a way of speaking to people, that calms them and puts them at ease, but Dee was too worked up.
“How on earth is securing my inheritance a huge mistake?” Delilah countered. “There’s no way I was going to allow my mother and father to have control of my money for even one day. I’m eighteen and married now, as you can see. It is too late for whatever silly intervention you guys had planned,” she declared, with a self-righteous look on her face.
“It’s not an intervention,” Summer said. “Your mom was worried to death about you.”
“Worried? Is that what she told you? More like worried about her own financial security. Especially the way she was talking about investing my money to make her bank accounts grow,” Delilah spat out the words.
“What are you talking about?” I asked in confusion.
“I’m sure my mother held back that information from you guys. She wouldn’t want anyone to know how upset she was after Grand-mére Prideux’s will was read. You see, I was granted the bulk of the estate. Grand-mére always loved how much I looked like her daughter, and she hated my father, so Mommy got snubbed. She only got about a tenth of the inheritance I got. But she would be able to have some control over my portion until I met the requirements. Marriage or twenty-five. I won’t have her sticking her grubby hand into my money, so I chose marriage,” Dee said, grabbing onto Burke for support. “You should have heard her crying and complaining that she should have been the one to get more money.”
“You know you have to stay married to him for at least the next seven years to keep your money. Otherwise it reverts back to a trust. And what is to stop Burke from divorcing you in a little while then grabbing a huge portion for himself?” I asked.
“What? Do you think I’m stupid? Do you think I wouldn’t consult the lawyers? My lawyers are drafting a pre-nup right now, for us to sign as soon as we get back home. I wonder if that makes it a post-nup. Whatever. I’ll be offering Burke quite a settlement to stay for the minimum amount of time required,” she shot back.
A wounded expression immediately crossed Burke’s face. “I’m not going anywhere,” he said in a small voice.
“Are you sure this is the right decision for you, Delilah dear?” Catherine asked her.
“Yes it is,” Burke quickly answered.
“What about her, Burke?” Marcus asked. “What if she decides to leave you? Not through divorce or anything, but what if she decides to have a bit of fun on the side?”
I looked at Burke and knew, without a doubt, that the same thought had already crossed his mind.
“I would never!” Delilah gave Burke one of her famous pouts. “Anyway, with the promise of two million dollars, and the fact that we just promised to be faithful, you’ll stay married to me. We love each other, don’t we baby?” Delilah cooed, and then slid her arms up around Burke’s neck.
She drew him to her for a salacious kiss. I almost wanted to turn my head. I felt as if I were intruding. Watching the two of them made me sure of two things - that girl knew no shame and Burke wasn’t going anywhere.
“Baby, I love you so much,” Burke breathed. “We did it babe, we’re married. You are mine now.”
“We are, and I am.” Dee jumped up into Burke’s waiting arms.
A look of smug satisfaction came over her. She was sure that she had won this round of the prizefight against her mother. Burke just stood there in relief.
He thought he’d found a way to have Delilah all to himself, forever. I had serious doubts that she would honor their marriage vows. She was banking on Burke’s almost stalker like devotion to her, and the promise of millions, to keep him around. I had to admit, she was probably right. She had him right where she wanted him.
“What am I supposed to tell your mother?” Summer asked, stunned by the whole scene.
“You don’t have to tell her anything,” Delilah said, and wiggled out of Burke’s arms. She grabbed a white lace clutch from the chair that was nearest her and pulled out her phone. She pushed a few buttons and then held the phone up.
It was on speaker, and it was ringing.
“Dee, baby, thank goodness you called,” her mom’s voice came through the phone’s speaker. She sounded groggy from sleep.
“Hiya, Mommy. I’m sorry to wake you,” Delilah spoke with an obviously fake, sticky sweet, voice. “But, I just wanted to let you know that I am a married woman now.”
“Dee, honey, we can get that annulled. It’ll be like it never happened,” her mom responded.
“Nah, I don’t think so. Oh, and Summer, and Emily, and her whole entourage just showed up... just as I was kissing my husband... you know, at the ‘you may now kiss the bride’ part. So, they were too late. Oh yeah, you should also know that I won’t be coming back to meet you in New York,” Delilah continued.
“Sweetie, what are you talking about? What about school?” Dee’s mom sounded confused.
“You see, Mommy, I am not as irresponsible as you think. Burke and I are flying back to Telluride from here. I need to pack up my stuff and get ready to move into our new condo. We will finish out our senior year and get our diplomas. Then I’m outta Telluride, for good! Although, I did promise my husband that we would come back for vacations.”
“Now wait just a minute, young lady.” Her mom’s voice took a harsher tone.
“Buh-Bye now,” Dee snarked, pushed the END button, and then waved to the mouthpiece. She turned back to us and said, “See. All done. Now if you’ll excuse me, I am on my honeymoon. I’ll see y’all back in Telluride. Come on, baby,” Delilah cooed.
She grabbed Burke’s hand and strutted out of the chapel.
“See ya round,” Burke smiled as they walked past us.
“Seriously?” Summer called after her. “You are seriously just going to leave?”
Delilah spun around, just before she made it to the door that led outside into the parking lot. “I love you, Summer. I really do. You’re a great friend. But I just got married, and I want to spend some time alone with my husband. Call me in a few days.”
Then they walked out, while Fake Elvis sang “Viva Las Vegas” to us all, at full volume.
“She’s got twisted realities again,” Eve whispered to me. “I saw more than one version of the conversation she had with her mother, after the reading of her Grand-mére’s will. That head of hers is a big mess of dual realities.”
“Why does that not surprise me?” I whispered back.
Summer was in shock for the entire ride back to the hotel. After she sent a text to her mother to say that we were too late to stop Dee, and added that she’d like to stay in Las Vegas for an extra day so she could be there for my wedding, then she just sat there staring into space. We all were mostly silent. I was exhausted from running around all night, and I slumped against Lincoln in the limo. Catherine rested her head on James’s shoulder, with her eyes closed. Eve and Marcus sat with their heads close, having a whispered conversation.
I smiled to myself as I heard Eve tell Marcus how much she loved him and thanked him for his devotion to her. He kissed her nose and smiled, then told her that he’d be with her until the end of their days. A warmth spread through me as I thought of Lincoln and how much I loved him, how much he meant to me, and how I would be with him no matter what.
For richer or for poorer, for as long as we both shall live... I couldn’t wait to say those words to him, and to hear them back.
We headed to one of the cafés in the hotel when we got back. It was either that or raid the mini bar for snacks when we got up to the room. Chips, nuts, and candy bars just didn’t sound appealing. So after a quick snack at the café, an elevator ride up to the rooms, and a hug and a kiss for my fiancé, we separated and entered our different suites. Summer stayed with me.
It may have been technically morning, but I was strangely exhausted and ready to go to sleep.
****
chapter eight
WHITE WEDDING
I woke up to the realization that it was finally happening. I would actually be walking down the aisle in just a few hours. I still couldn’t believe that the whole Delilah and Burke fiasco had ended the way it had. Delilah’s mom had wanted us to ship them back to New York, but they were still in Vegas somewhere and were headed back to Telluride soon. I had tried. What was done was done, and whatever happened, happened. They would have to sort out their own mess.
I opened my eyes and said a word of thanks to the genius that invented black-out curtains. I knew the sun was shining bright outside, but was unwilling to blind myself with its light at the moment. I slipped out of bed, trying not to wake Summer, and entered the bathroom. When I clicked on the light, I blinked and rubbed my eyes, as they adjusted to the brightness. A long hot shower was desperately calling to me.
After turning on the water, and tossing my clothes into the corner of the room, I stepped inside the beautiful stream of warm clear liquid. I turned the knob, making it even hotter. With handfuls of soapy bubbles, I washed every last bit of worry and stress out of my body, wishing it good luck as I imagined it all sliding down the drain. I emerged from the steaming, hot shower and toweled off, then peeked back into the bedroom.
Summer was sitting up in the bed, stretching her arms up to the sky. “What time is it?” she yawned.
“Two o’clock in the afternoon,” I answered, as I towel dried my hair. “You’d better get moving. We have exactly three and a half hours until we need to be at the wedding chapel.”
“I’ll get in the shower now,” she mumbled, and shuffled into the bathroom.
Check your phone, Marcus broadcast into my head. Link told me to make sure you were awake. Sorry.
I picked my phone up from the nightstand, and saw that I had missed three texts. Two were from Link and one was from Summer’s mom. I had switched the phone to silent before going to sleep. I didn’t want to be awakened by a buzzing phone, but there was no stopping a broadcasting Witch.
I texted Link back, adding lots of hearts and XOs to the message, then I texted Summer’s mom to say that Summer was in the shower and I’d have her call soon. When that was taken care of, I picked up the hotel phone to order room service. I was in desperate need of pancakes and orange juice.
As I waited for room service to arrive, I threw a robe on and sat down on the bed to blow dry my hair while I flipped through the channels on the television. By the time Summer came out of the bathroom, with one towel wrapped around her head and another around her body, my hair was all dry, and a plate of pancakes was in front of me, with another one waiting for her.
“Yay! Food!” Summer exclaimed. “I’m starving.”
“Call your mom,” I said. “She’s worried.”
“mmmK,” Summer said, after she tore a piece from her pancake and put it in her mouth. “I’ll just text her back now, and call her later. What am I gonna wear? My last minute packing for this trip consisted of two pairs of jeans and a couple of tops, which were thrown into my backpack.”
“Don’t worry. Eve, Lizabelle, and my aunt will be here any minute. Last night at the café Eve mentioned that she’d bring over a black wrap dress for you to borrow. Those strappy sandals I was wearing last night should do for shoes, although they might be kinda big on you. You wear an eight right?”
“Oh good!” Summer breathed a sigh of relief. “Yeah, those shoes’ll work just fine. I was scared I was gonna look like a hobo at your wedding.”
The doorbell to the suite rang just as Summer was finishing her sentence. I got up, opened the door, and smiled at the three gorgeous women who were about to give me the full make-over experience.
Catherine walked in first. She carried the monstrous garment bag that contained my gown. Eve and Lizabelle followed, each carrying a small case, which I assumed were full of tools for my hair and make-up. Within minutes, the television was turned off and I connected my iPod to the portable speakers I’d packed. I selected the playlist that I had made just for this very occasion. Then the poking, prodding, and primping began. I let the music take me away from all the fuss over my appearance.
Catherine worked on my hair, while Eve and Lizabelle coordinated on my make-up. Summer unzipped the garment bag and let the dress flood out of its confinements. She also located my shoes and jewelry for me and had everything ready to go before she went to work on herself. When my hair and make-up were finished, it was time to wriggle me into my dress without ruining my face, or my hair… and without my face, or my hair, ruining my gown. We’d have to be careful.
“I can’t believe you are blasting this cheesy song!” Eve exclaimed as she helped Catherine gingerly slide the gown over my head.
“Hush your mouth,” I fake scolded her. “Don’t you disrespect Billy Idol. This is the perfect song to be playing right now,” I insisted. I tried to stay absolutely still as Catherine was working her way through the row of tiny buttons up the back of the dress. She had insisted on button closures instead of an easy zipper, because, she said, it was more elegant.
“Oh my gosh! I love this song,” Summer squealed. “My mom has an eighties greatest hits CD and this song is on there.”
Eve picked up a hairbrush, put the handle to her mouth like a microphone, and started to sing along with the lyrics. When she got to the line that ended “Who’s your superman?” she flipped the handle over to my mouth like she had just asked an important question in an interview.
