When Love's at Work

by Merri Hiatt

  She jumped when she heard Sheila’s intercom buzzer sound. She overheard Sheila say she was on her way to Judd’s office.

  Sheila paused at Purity’s door. “I’m supposed to meet Judd in his office and he told me to tell you that you should come, too,” Sheila informed Pure.

  “Did he say why?” Purity asked.

  “No,” Sheila replied, looking bewildered.

  Once the two women were seated and Judd had explained the proposal, Sheila’s eyes widened. “You did this,” she said to Purity.

  “No,” Pure responded, “You did this. All your hard work, creative ideas, and consistent follow-through.”

  “I don’t know what to say,” Sheila commented, her hand resting on the edge of the chair as if she needed to touch something solid to believe what she was hearing was real. “Can I have some time to think about it?”

  “Certainly,” Judd answered. “Take all the time you need.”

  Purity and Sheila left Judd’s office and without forging the plan, the two instinctively went into Purity’s office and closed the door.

  “This is too much,” Sheila commented as she flopped down on the small sofa against the far wall. Purity sat next to her.

  “Pros and cons, okay?” Purity asked.

  “Okay,” Sheila replied. “Pro, the money.”

  “Con, more time away from Danny,” Pure added.

  “Pro, recognition, more benefits, and the job is fun.”

  “Con, you’ll still be working with me,” Purity giggled.

  “Pro, I’ll still be working with you,” Sheila commented with a smile.

  “Pro, you’ll be in charge of the Starry, Starry Night event,” Pure enticed.

  “Omigosh! Are you serious?” Sheila’s eyes blazed with excitement. “That is my all-time favorite occasion and I never get to have any say in how it’s done. I even have sketches and plans for how I would do it if I were in charge.”

  “Well, now’s the time to pull ‘em out, ‘cuz it’s your baby.”

  “What will you be doing then?”

  “I’ll take the lead on the Halloween party and I’ll be planning my wedding.”

  “You and Alex set a date?”

  “Yep. First Saturday in December.”

  They were each lost in their own thoughts for a moment. Sheila was picturing midnight blue tablecloths and silver shiny stars and Purity was imagining pine trees laden with white Christmas tree lights and maroon ribbons. They both sighed.

  “I can’t believe this is really happening,” Sheila commented, considering pinching herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming.

  “It’s about damn time, I say.”

  It had only taken Sheila 24 hours to make her decision. The answer was yes. Purity was delighted. Not only would Sheila be making more money, the job share would free up her time so she could begin making wedding preparations. It was a win-win.

  Courtney, Meg and Purity were in their usual places on Pure’s floor.

  “So, Bobby and I chose a date for the wedding,” Meg began.

  “Oooh, when?” Court asked.

  “In the spring. Meggie has always wanted a spring wedding,” Purity interjected.

  “Actually,” Meg responded, “we’ve decided to get married October 21st.”

  “What?” Court and Pure said in unison.

  “Meg, that’s less than a month and a half away!” Purity exclaimed.

  Courtney raised her eyebrows. No way could the wedding of Meg’s dreams be pulled together that quickly.

  “I think it can be done,” Meg said stubbornly. “Especially when I know a fabulous events coordinator and such a creative artist who can design my wedding invitations.”

  “Are you serious?” Courtney asked, not sure she heard Meg’s request correctly. “You want me to design your wedding invitations?”

  “Of course. Who else would I ask? I was thinking about something simple, maybe daisies. Or, if that’s too cutesy, maybe a grapevine or some kind of leaf pattern. I don’t want anything froo-froo or girlie.”

  Pure looked at Meg with shock. She was the epitome of girlie. Her brother must be having some effect on her friend. “What in the world has Bobby done to you?”

  “What have you done with Meg?” Courtney demanded.

  “Stop it, you two. I’m serious. This isn’t just my wedding, it’s Bobby’s wedding, too, and I want it to reflect both of us.”

  “How long is the guest list?” Court inquired.

  “Mmmm… maybe 40-50. We want to keep it small, cozy. Just close friends and family. We’re going to have it in the back yard of Mrs. Crav… our new home.”

  So, Purity thought to herself, she’d be planning two weddings in the next three months. She wondered if Sheila Martin would consider an 80/20 split of job responsibilities. She grabbed a pad of paper and a pen and began making a list of things that needed to be arranged.

  “Does this mean you’ll do it?” Meg asked.

  “Of course we’ll do it,” Purity replied. “What are friends for?”

  “There’s one more thing,” Meg hesitated. “Will you be my bridesmaids?”

  “You’re gonna make me wear a stinkin’ dress, aren’t you?” Courtney lamented.

  “It’s not going to kill you, Court,” Pure admonished.

  “I was thinking about a black dress for you, Court. One that clings in all the right places and has a draped neckline,” Meg explained her vision. “And, Pure, for you I imagined a deep indigo satin strapless dress.”

  “Sounds beautiful, Meg,” Pure said.

  “What about your wedding dress?” Court asked.

  “She already has her wedding dress,” Pure answered. “She’s had it for years. It was her mother’s.”

  Meg got a faraway look in her eyes for a moment. “I wish she could be here to see me in it.”

  Purity reached over and took her friends hand in hers. “She is with you, Meg.”

  Meg put her hand on top of Purity’s. Her mother was with her, in spirit.

  “Do you really think we can pull it off with such a short time frame?” Meg asked, doubts flooding her thoughts.

  “Are you kidding? Piece of cake,” Pure commented, dismissing even the slightest idea that Meg’s wedding would be anything less than perfect.

  Fall was approaching quickly. With it came wedding plans, coordinating schedules, and finding a delicate balance between work, friends, fiancées, spiritual life, sleep and alone time. There was a lot of juggling going on. Most of it was successful for all parties involved.

  Occasionally Purity stepped on her friends’ toes or caught a look in Alex’s eyes that told her she wasn’t spending enough time with him. This was all new terrain and Pure reminded herself often that transition time was important and to try and be patient with herself, and everyone else.

  “We’ve been waiting for half an hour,” Meg said, annoyed that Purity was late, once again. It was beginning to be a habit with her.

  “I know,” Pure sighed as she sat down in the plastic chair, heated from being in the direct sunlight. She stood back up and placed the short-sleeved sweater she was wearing over the seat to protect her legs and rear end.

  “We ordered a Diet Coke for you,” Courtney said.

  “Thanks,” Purity reached for the glass and took a big swig.

  “You look tired,” Courtney remarked.

  “I am tired,” Pure replied.

  “If planning my wedding is too much for you, you can just say so,” Meg said, a sharp edge creeping around her words.

  “What do you have stuck in your craw, Meggie? I never said I was too tired to plan your wedding or that it was too much for me. I had a busy day, prefaced by a busy yesterday and a busy week before. There are just times when I’m drowning in frustration and this happens to be one of them. I’m sorry.” Purity felt the tears burning to escape. “I’m sorry.”

  “I didn’t mean anything,” Meg offered. “It’s just that everything is changing and there doesn’t seem to e
ven be time to breathe any more. I’m swamped at work and Bobby wants more of my time. I just don’t have any more to give.”

  “Well,” Courtney joined the conversation, “my life is going along great. Sucks to be you two.”

  “Such compassion,” Purity replied with half a smile. “Maybe we should ditch our fiancées and go back to living carefree single lives, Meggie.”

  “Not a chance,” Meg remarked. “As crazy and busy as the last several weeks have been, I wouldn’t trade Bobby in for anything.”

  “Me, either,” Pure responded.

  “So, how are we going to find a way to get through the next month without having a nervous breakdown?” Meg asked.

  “Alcohol,” Courtney suggested, watching Meg roll her eyes. “How about we find some time each week to get together and just be together? Forget about men and work and weddings and all that jazz. Just be us.”

  “Yes! Let’s do that,” Meg’s eyes lit up.

  “I’m on board,” Pure said, then added, “Let’s schedule the dates and times right now, so we won’t change our minds or put it off ‘til later.”

  The three women synced up their calendars and a plan was set to meet every Thursday evening. They took turns choosing the location, but it was always at a restaurant so no one felt the need to clean their home or prepare food.

  “To us,” Courtney said, raising her glass high above the table. Meg and Pure followed suit.

  “To us,” they all said, clinking their glasses and spilling their drinks in the process. They giggled as Meg tried to clean up the liquid with her napkin.

  “Can’t take us anywhere,” Courtney said through her laughter.

  “Never could, never will be able to,” Purity agreed.

  It was date night. Pure and Alex, Bobby and Meg, Tapestry and Chance, and Courtney and Geoffrey were having dinner together. Meg called Geoffrey Montgomery, her associate back when she worked at the accounting firm, because Courtney’s shtick about being a third wheel was growing old. Besides Geoff was a lot of fun and he’d show Court a good time. They might even hit it off.

  The women were in the bathroom applying make-up, talking, exchanging tips on how to apply eye shadow, and giving Court the low-down on Geoffrey.

  The men were in the living room biding their time.

  “You know we’re going to be late,” Bobby said.

  “Yep,” Alex responded, putting his hands in his pockets and shifting his weight from his left foot to his right.

  “You know this isn’t the last time we’re going to stand here cooling our heels while these women spend hours and hours getting ready,” Bobby stated with frustration in his voice.

  “Yep,” Alex commented.

  Geoffrey and Chance looked at one another and then sat back down on the sofa they occupied earlier.

  “You know they don’t need all that crap on their faces. They look beautiful just the way they are,” Bobby said.

  “Yep,” Alex remarked.

  Bobby sat in the recliner and pulled the footstool out with the lever on the side of the chair. Then he placed his arms high against the backrest and rested the back of his head in his hands. “You know it’s going to be worth the wait,” Bobby said.

  “Yep,” Alex commented. It would definitely be worth the wait.

  The women were finally ready and the men were right, it had been worth the wait.

  At the restaurant, an air of excitement seemed to surround them. At one point, Pure glanced around the table at her friends and the man who had shown her how to love again. When life was good, it was very good. Court and Meg were laughing at something Bobby said and Tap and Chance were engrossed in an intimate conversation. Geoff and Alex were having an in-depth discussion about motorcycles.

  Pure wanted to freeze the moment in time. She drank in the scents, the energy, the laughter and the feeling of family that permeated her soul. It was what she had always wanted, and now here it was, laid out before her.

  Her eyes met Alex’s and she felt as if she had been engulfed in love’s embrace. Purity Indigo Zyetta had created her own home in the arms of her family of choice.

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