Ghosted: Wicked Wedding Planners Series

by Alyssa Parsons

  Leanna drops by my house later that evening. She has finally been able to quit her job at Sheridan’s department store. Her true passion is health and fitness. She has had to keep working there part-time as a supervisor while she was building up her client base for her personal training.

  But with her job coming up in the new gym, she can now quit. She is over the moon. She is building quite a successful business and is now looking to qualify as a nutritionist too.

  ‘What’s up sweetie?’ she says as soon as she sees me.

  ‘I’m just exhausted and drained. It’s all becoming too much’, I burst into tears and begin to sob heavily.

  I hate losing it like this in front of other people but I can’t stop my tears. It’s like I’ve had this massive pressure building up since I heard Caspar was back and it’s suddenly all being released. Leanna comes over and just holds me until I stop crying.

  ‘Do you want me to stay over with you tonight?’ Leanna asks me after I calm down.

  ‘No I’ll be fine, it’s really sweet of you though,’ I wipe away my tears with a tissue.

  She stays with me for a while and we watch some tv together until she is satisfied I have cheered up enough. When she leaves, I go to bed and fall into a heavy dreamless sleep.

  Chapter 15

  I t’s only Tuesday morning. I feel like this week is dragging so much already. I have had one more message to ring Caspar. I am still determined to ignore him so I throw the message away.

  Back to work. Honey has discovered pineapple bouquets. Don’t you just love the internet? Yes, she has seen some florists using miniature pineapples still attached to their stalk in flower arrangements. Naturally, Honey wants to change all her flowers so that she can add in these pineapples stalks.

  It is now only a few weeks until her wedding and there really isn’t much time to change things last minute. I thought I had made her understand that it was very difficult for everyone to create what she wants for the wedding if she changes her mind every five minutes. I decide to ring Honey to discuss her latest vision for the wedding.

  ‘Honey, you do realise that flowers need to be ordered quite a bit in advance. Especially, if they are not grown in the UK. We can’t just put in an order for exotic flowers and expect them to arrive in time.’

  ‘I don’t see why the florists can’t get the pineapples in time. We have planes,’ responds Honey.

  ‘Look, I also don’t want you drowning in this pineapple theme,’ I need to be firm with her. ‘You have won me over with the pineapples. We have some very unique, spectacular features in your wedding but it can be overdone. It needs to be subtle if you want your wedding to stay classy.’

  ‘I don’t see how a couple of miniature pineapples in my bouquet is overdoing it,’ sulks Honey.

  ‘First of all roses and pineapple plants don’t work together and we already agreed on the roses so it would tie in the English country theme plus we don’t want to take away the attention from your dress,’ I remind her.

  I had worked with the florist to design a simple but stunning bouquet to compliment Honey’s dress. We had chosen some beautiful cream and very pale yellow roses to create a delicate posy. The effect was breath taking. The subtle yellow in the bouquet would tie in the with the pineapple theme. It would also avoid clashing with the gold bridesmaid dresses and décor.

  ‘I love the bouquets but now that I have seen these pineapple stems, I really want them,’ Honey is not going to let this go. I’ve been working with Honey long enough to know which battles to fight. This is not a battle I am going to win so I come up with an idea.

  ‘Maybe we could incorporate them in some of the flower arrangements at the venue,’ I try compromising with Honey.

  ‘I don’t know,’ Honey does not sound like she is on board with this suggestion.

  ‘I think that the pineapples will really work in the bigger arrangements. It’s such a good idea, they will look awesome, especially in the tropical room,’ I try flattering Honey’s ego.

  ‘Totally,’ Honey agrees.

  ‘But those rose bouquets you have are so delicate and elegant. They really represent the English country manor wedding. It’s so clever how you have incorporated everything in the wedding.’

  I continue praising Honey even though she really did not come up with all these ideas. If I had left it up to her, we would have ended up with a wedding that screamed more Hawaiian beach party than an elegant wedding.

  ‘Yes well that is true,’ Honey takes the bait.

  ‘Plus you don’t want people to focus their attentions on the pineapples in your bouquet. They need to be looking at how beautiful you look in your dress. And think how heavy the bouquet would be with pineapples in it?’ I throw in for good measure.

  ‘Yes you’re right. I think we should just use the pineapples in the floral arrangements in the tropical room.’

  ‘Great choice Honey, of course I don’t want to promise anything until I can confirm with the florist that we can order the pineapples. There is a chance that they won’t be able to come on time.’

  ‘Well hopefully not, I ‘m sure you’ll do everything you can to get them.’

  Oh god, just what I need, more pressure, I think as I hang up the phone.

  I have arranged to go over to Nic’s for dinner on Thursday night after work. I haven’t been going to the gym at all this week as I am determined to avoid Caspar. I am starting to feel a bit sluggish and I can feel myself starting to lose the muscle tone I had built up.

  I can’t wait two months for the new gym to open to work out. I will be a flabby mess by then. I do know that Caspar tends to train in the evenings. He hates getting up early as do I. So I will have to start going in for workouts at 6:00am until I can change gyms. I’m not happy about it but I need to exercise.

  On Thursday morning I get up at 5:30am to go to the gym. It’s horrible. I am not a morning person and it is so hard to leave my comfy bed. My body is in shock when it realises I expect it to exercise so early in the morning.

  By the end of the work out, I don’t feel too bad. I am actually energised and ready for work. I did treat myself to 15 minutes in the steam room and a long hot shower. It is surprisingly busy at this time of day but not as crazy as the after work crowd.

  When I get to work, I call Debbie, the dressmaker to check in on Amelie’s dress. She is also baffled as she has gone over the dress in great detail and cannot see any mark. She says she will give it a good steam anyway. I thank her and tell her I will be in touch shortly.

  I dial the number for Petals and Gems to speak to Dana the owner. I fill her in on Debbie’s assessment of the dress.

  ‘I knew there was nothing on that dress,’ says Dana triumphantly.

  ‘I think Linda is playing games for whatever reason and I don’t really believe there ever was a mark on the dress,’ I tell her.

  ‘I never saw anything and neither did anyone else, I am completely stuck as what to do next. She is adamant that we need to pay to have the dress cleaned but how can I pay to clean a dress that has no stain on it?’ Dana asks.

  ‘If she wants to play games, then we need to play back and use some reverse psychology on her,’ I tell her.

  ‘What have you got in mind?’

  ‘The wedding planning package that Amelie has chosen comes with a complimentary steam clean of the dress. I spoke to Debbie and she is as baffled as all of us. She says she will steam clean the dress quickly again before the wedding but only charge us for one clean.’

  ‘That’s fantastic,’ Dana sounds relieved.

  ‘So we will use the steam clean and tell Linda that the dress has been sorted. That way you don’t need to be out of pocket for something that’s not your fault. Linda will have no choice but to accept that the dress is back in its original condition.’

  ‘That’s sounds good to me. I have to say though I have never come across anything like this before.’

  ‘Neither have I. I honestly don’t know if she does truly
believe there is a stain on the dress. Or if she is trying to be difficult because she hasn’t got the level of control she would like on Amelie’s wedding.’

  ‘It’s such a shame because Amelie is a lovely girl and she doesn’t deserve to have to go through all this stress,’ remarks Dana.

  ‘I know, it’s so crazy,’ I say goodbye to Dana and then I wander in to Nic’s office to fill her in on the latest Linda situation.

  ‘That woman should star in her own reality show, she would be a massive hit. Are we still on for dinner tonight?’

  ‘Of course, looking forward to it,’ I say.

  Nic’s intercom buzzes through and Jodie asks if I am there.

  ‘Yes Jodie, I am here. What’s up?’

  ‘There’s someone here who would like to see you. It’s a Mr Danes, shall I send him through?’ she asks keeping her tone professional.

  ‘Ummm no I’m busy, tell him I’m not available,’ I try not to sound panicky.

  ‘Sure Sammi.’

  Nic looks at me in surprise. Before I have a chance to explain, Jodie buzzes through again.

  ‘Sorry to disturb you again Sammi but Mr Danes said he really needs to speak to you so could you please arrange a convenient time when he can return to meet you?’

  I don’t believe this. The guy just won’t give up. Can he not see that I don’t want to speak to him? I also know that resistance is futile. Caspar is stubborn as hell and when he wants something he will get it. I can’t have him turning up here everyday, so I will need to see him at some point.

  I am so annoyed that he has backed me into a corner but I ask Jodie to tell him I can meet him at 1:00 pm at Cassie’s, a local coffee shop.

  ‘What is going on?’ Nic asks.

  ‘Oh don’t, I can’t get into it now, I will tell you everything tonight. It’s complicated.’

  I hide out in my office until 1pm.There is no way I will be able to concentrate on any work until then. I check the time….it’s only 11:30am. I surf the internet looking for florist wholesalers who can supply Honey’s beloved pineapple stalky things. They are called pineapple flowers.

  It’s not looking good. The first few suppliers say that there is no way they can get the number of pineapple flowers we need to arrive in time for the wedding. I decide to ring Honey’s florist to discuss the problem with her.

  She also says it’s highly unlikely we can get anything like that on time. She doesn’t normally order pineapples flowers but she knows it is an unusual flower so most wholesaler only hold small numbers. In the end, we decide to order smaller amounts from a number of wholesalers. It’s not ideal as it will cost more but money is no object for Honey.

  I look at my upcoming schedule and see I have a meeting at Darlington Hall with Amelie and Renata next week. I wonder what next week’s instalment with Linda will bring. I don’t know how much more of it I can take.

  Time seems to trickle by at a very slow pace. I am stressed about meeting Caspar because it is not going to be a pleasant conversation. I hate confrontation but unfortunately it will be inevitable. Caspar will want to know why I never showed up and I will have to tell him I found out about Alice.

  Ughh…..my stomach flip flops at the thought of it. I can feel my neck and shoulder muscles tensing up. I hope I don’t get a headache. It’s almost 1pm so I make my way over to the coffee shop. I dread every step as each one brings me closer to it.

  I feel sick as I open the door and walk in. I scan the coffee shop but I don’t see Caspar anywhere. I find the most remote table I can as I certainly don’t want anyone to overhear our conversation.

  Today, Cassie’s is filled with the ‘mums who lunch’ type. They are in tow with their babies and toddlers. The place is littered with prams and babyccinos. It’s not a bad thing as these ladies are probably too preoccupied with their kids to even bother about us.

  I take my seat and nervously wait for Caspar to arrive. I jump every time the door opens. It’s 1:10pm and he still hasn’t arrived. Maybe he is giving me a taste of my own medicine and won’t show up. I wish he doesn’t show up. The door opens again and I look up to see Caspar walking in.

  A couple of the mums look up and give him the once over. They obviously aren’t too busy to notice a handsome man walk in.

  ‘Sammi hey, you showed up this time,’ Caspar pulls out a chair at our table and sits down.

  I am about to apologise but stop myself. How dare he take issue with me when he stood me up on my 21st birthday and disappeared for 8 years?

  ‘Well about that Caspar,’ I look him coolly in the eyes. ‘I found something out the day before I was going to meet you. After that, I really didn’t care to meet you anymore.’

  Caspar looks a little taken aback. ‘Sammi what are you talking about?’

  The waitress comes over to take our orders. I ask for a peppermint tea while Caspar chooses a cortado coffee.

  When she leaves, I answer his question. ‘I’m talking about why you ditched me on my 21st.’

  Caspar doesn’t say anything so I start getting everything off my chest.

  ‘You disappeared for 8 years without explanation. I had to come to terms with that and deal with it. Which I did. Then you come back to Roseford and act like we are old friends that just drifted apart. I agreed to meet up with you even though I was in two minds about it.’

  Caspar looks a bit surprised but I carry on.

  ‘I thought I did actually deserve an explanation for your behaviour. When you said some family issue had come up, I decided to give you the benefit of the doubt.’ I manage to deliver my speech in a very calm manner.

  Caspar doesn’t say anything for a while and I am pleased to say he looks a bit shaken.

  ‘You’re right Sammi, everything you just said is true. Trust me, I have felt terrible about that night ever since.’

  ‘If you did feel so terrible, why didn’t you contact me?’ I ask him.

  ‘Partly because I was scared to speak to you after what I did,’ he admits.

  ‘I’m going to stop you there. I know what happened so you can stop trying to work out how to break the news to me.’

  ‘How do you know?’ he looks confused.

  ‘Through Shana, Leanna reconnected with her and we all went out for drinks,’ I wait a minute before delivering the next part. ‘She told us about Alice and the pregnancy.’

  Caspar goes a bit pale but manages to compose himself quickly. ‘You know about Alice?’

  ‘Yeah, Shana was always dropping her into conversations back then when we worked at Sheridan’s. She didn’t seem to like the fact that we had become close. She was always very protective over you and Alice.’

  The waitress comes over with our drinks so I wait until she leaves before continuing.

  ‘Shana was always more than happy to tell me about how you used to be in a long-term relationship with this amazing girl called Alice. According to Shana, you were perfect for each other but then you split up.’

  ‘Caspar tries to say something but I interrupt him.

  ‘I’d like to finish what I am saying. I thought you couldn’t have been so perfect together if you had broken up. Plus you were showing interest in me. Shana did say that she thought were in an open relationship with her but I didn’t really believe that could be true. I never had you down as that sort of bloke. Plus your mum was keen on us getting together. So I never ever believed it. Surely that’s true Caspar, you aren’t a complete douchebag?’

  ‘Look Sammi, it’s complicated,’ he hesitates for a bit. ‘No we didn’t have an open relationship. I have no idea why Shana said that. I need to tell you the whole story or you won’t understand what happened.’

  ‘No Caspar, that’s just it. I understand everything I need to. You chased me for whatever reason. I don’t know if it was all just a silly game to you. A cliché… to get with the geeky girl next door. I always thought that you ended things because I was never really pretty enough or cool enough for you. I was devastated and embarrassed about that.
’

  ‘No Sammi, I can’t believe you ever thought that. I had a lot of things going on back then. It’s know it’s not an excuse for what I’ve done. I was also immature and needed to grow up. The timing just wasn’t right for us, it wasn’t you.’

  ‘I’m not sure that’s a good enough reason to justify what you did. The way I see it is simple Caspar. I treat people the way I want to be treated. I don’t play games with people. I would never arrange to celebrate a friend or boyfriend’s birthday and not show up. If some emergency came up and I couldn’t make it, I would let them know. I would never just completely disappear off the face of the earth like that,’ I take a sip of my mint tea.

  ‘Sammi trust me, I usually wouldn’t do something like that either. My head was all over the place. I couldn’t cope with what was going on.’

  ‘That’s fine Caspar but surely you should have tried to explain things to me eventually.’

  ‘Look Sammi, all I want is the chance to tell you what happened.’

  ‘That’s just it Caspar, I already know. Alice got pregnant, you found out about it probably on my birthday and you bolted out of my life.’

  ‘There’s more to it, please Sammi, hear me out.’ Caspar has turned pale and I can see he is shocked I know the truth.

  ‘It’s too late for that now, I already know all I need.’

  ‘But you need to know that this was never about anything that you did. You are more than good enough for me Sammi, I can’t believe you ever thought you weren’t.’

  His words almost crack my resolve to stay strong. For years, I have wanted to hear him say that. It would be so easy to forgive him and let him tell me his side of the story. We could become friends and maybe even more. But I can’t. I must remember the pain and despair he put me through. Plus he got Alice pregnant while we were together.

  ‘It’s too late Caspar.’

  ‘Sammi, don’t throw our friendship away,’ Caspar looks really upset. I have never seen him like this.