by Jane Matisse
DIARY OF A WALLFLOWER: Entry 122
“She’s thirty minutes late. Where the hell could she be?” Celeste paced the invitation shop, looking down at her phone for the hundredth time since she had gotten there. If there was one thing Jack knew about her, it was that she detested lack of punctuality. Especially if it had to do with her own wedding.
Jack slid his hand toward the back of Celeste’s neck and kneaded the knot there.
“Relax. She’ll be here soon, I’m sure.”
“No, you guys were supposed to meet today. That’s how this was supposed to go. You meet her, you guys become best friends and then you could help her find a date before my wedding!”
“Umm, Celeste? I thought today was about your wedding invitations?” Jack asked, a little confused.
Celeste met his stare. “It was. It is. But I really wanted you guys to meet each other. Jack, you don’t know how miserable she is! I can’t help but feel me getting engaged will probably send her over the edge! Which was why I thought it wouldn’t be a good idea to put her in charge of planning anything herself!”
Jack chuckled. “What makes you think that just because you’ve found the love of your life and are getting married, she’d want to do the same thing? Haven’t you thought that maybe she is happy the way she is?”
“Jack, you’re older than me, and I understand that, but sometimes you can be such an oblivious joker. Trust me, she’s miserable.”
Jack shook his head, unable to stop the laughter escaping his throat. “Well, Celeste. It’s been a blast doing my MOH duties with you, but I’ve gotta go. There’s a business dinner I need to get to and I’ve been learning my way around LA traffic these past couple months living here.”
“But, wait! Just a few minutes more? She shouldn’t take longer than ten minutes tops!” Celeste pleaded.
“Sorry, Celeste,” Jack replied, pulling his suit jacket over the dress shirt and handing her a tiny stack of invitations. “I chose a few that I thought looked like something you would like. Some of the designs are right up your alley. Tell your sister I said hi and sorry I couldn’t stay longer to meet her.” Jack stood and kissed Celeste’s forehead.
Celeste merely grumbled and sulked in her chair.
Jack laughed. “Stop frowning. You’re getting married in five months. I thought these were supposed to be the happiest days of your life.”
He could still hear Celeste grumbling as he walked out the door.
* * *
Penelope parked her car close to the rear entrance of the invitation shop. She looked at her phone.
4:03.
“Shit!” She ran inside and slowed her pace once she found her sister. It didn’t take a genius to realize Celeste was angry. “I’m so sorr—”
“Save it, Penny. I’m not in the mood for your apologies,” Celeste interrupted. She busied herself looking through a stack of sample invitations on the table before her. It was apparent she didn’t want to look at Penelope.
“I swear I was on my way like I told you, but I got caught up in traffic. I’m here now though!” Penelope tried to keep a smile on her face as an apology. “Where’s your friend?”
“Jackie left. Apparently you were too late.”
“Well good riddance to her,” Penelope murmured under her breath.
“What?” Celeste asked.
“Nothing.” Penelope sat down next to her sister and started looking through the invitations in Celeste’s hands.
“This one’s the best one,” she replied, tapping the invitation with the Old English script.
It was printed on beige paper with a black border. A small burgundy ribbon adorned the top of the invitation.
“Somehow I knew you were going to like that one. It’s Phantom inspired,” Celeste teased Penelope, referencing her love for Phantom of the Opera.
Well, at least she’s not yelling at me.
“Yeah, it is! But it would be such great colors for your wedding. Have you chosen the colors you want yet?”
“I’m thinking lighter, pastel colors. Baby blues, pink, yellow—”
“So, Easter colors?” Penelope asked, a little skeptical of the whole idea.
“Oh, Penny. Stop making that face. It’s my wedding.”
“No, no. You’re right. I’ll be here to support you the whole way. I promise.”
“Why do I get the feeling you’ll be judging my choices the whole way down the aisle?” Celeste asked out loud.
“I won’t! I promise,” Penelope responded, trying to be supportive. It was going to be difficult when she didn’t take weddings seriously.
Want to let the world know you and your significant other are married? Okay, that’s great! Want to let the world know you love each other? Sure, that’s a great idea. But why the big hullabaloo? Why the thousands of dollars invested on one day?
That was Penelope’s view on weddings. She couldn’t fathom how much money people spent on weddings every year. She would have preferred saving money on the wedding and spending it on a great honeymoon. Not that she was planning on getting married anytime soon. She needed a boyfriend first.
“How about this one?” Celeste picked out another one from the small stack. It was a nice ivory paper with a baby blue ribbon decorating the border of the invitation.
Penelope had to admit it looked very pretty. “I like it.”
“Really?” Celeste asked.
Penelope nodded. “Reminds me of your name. Blue.” She smiled at her sister.
Celeste laughed and nudged her big sister with her elbow. “I love you, Penny. You make everything better. Sometimes.”
Penelope merely shrugged with a smile on her face.
* * *
“So, how did it go with the wedding invitations?”
“They went fine, I guess. We brought the choices down to three different styles,” Jack casually responded, walking toward the refrigerator to grab a couple beers. He tossed one into Dylan’s hands.
“Oh how fun,” Dylan deadpanned. “Did you get to meet Celeste’s sister?” he asked, opening the can, trying to slurp the fizz off the disturbed beer before it hit the sofa.
“Naw. You know something? I’m beginning to think she’s a heartless witch. No decent woman would let her own baby sister make the wedding arrangements by herself.” Jack handed him a napkin.
“Bitter, maybe?” Dylan suggested.
Jack shrugged. “Probably. Maybe she needs a good fuck partner.”
Dylan laughed so hard his beer almost came out his nose. “I can help. She hot?”
Jack lifted his shoulder slightly. “She should be, she’s related to Celeste! Unless Celeste stole all the good-looking genes in the family and left her the ugly ones.” He smirked a little at his joke.
Dylan’s eyes widened. “Don’t even joke that way. Knock on wood!” He jokingly rapped his knuckles on the hardwood floor. “Well, when are you planning to meet her?”
“Probably the engagement dinner, this upcoming Saturday.”
“You planning to bone her if she is hot?”
Jack gave an exasperated sigh. “What is it with you and my sex life? Last time I checked, I never ask you about yours.”
“All right, all right. I won’t ask anymore. But tell me one thing,” Dylan insisted.
“Go for it.”
“Can I have her if she blows you off?”
Jack laughed. “Shut up, fucktard.” He thought back to the mouse he had been with a few weeks back, and for a brief moment he wondered where she was. But just as the thought had entered his head, he pushed it aside and chugged down the rest of his beer. He’d thought of confessing what happened that night to his friends countless times, to try and reason why he couldn’t shake her out of his head. But no matter how many times he tried to start the conversation, he always chickened out.
Was it because he was afraid of being judged by his own friends? He’d never been in a serious, romantic relationship with anyone before. After the initial attraction, everything
else just bored him. Yet here he was weeks later trying to figure out why he couldn’t stop thinking about Penelope. Shy, innocent Penelope had consumed his thoughts, and it was driving him insane.
“You okay, man?”
“Yeah, just press Play,” Jack instructed, and lay back on the couch to stare blankly at the moving pictures on the screen.
CHAPTER SIX
In my field of work, I don’t really get a chance to talk to others who work in the same job as me. Being a book editor has been my dream for as long as I can remember, but sometimes I do get rather lonely. Then I remember I’m my own boss and the loneliness fades away. Sometimes. Just sometimes.
DIARY OF A WALLFLOWER: Entry 126
“Thank you so much for agreeing to meet with me, Penelope.”
“It’s my pleasure, I assure you. I needed to meet the woman who is able to make me feel all hot and bothered.”
Sarah Johnson laughed heartily, a giddy gleam in her eye. “I’m glad you’ve appreciated Bradley as much as I have.”
“Oh, you have no idea! I’m only halfway through the book, and I’ve already found myself in love with the guy. He’s a perfectly flawed hero,” Penelope responded, holding the manuscript in her hands. She sipped a bit of her iced coffee and looked up at Sarah. “What did you need to see me about?”
“I was going through some of my own ideas for the next installment of the series and I wanted to consult with you. An email would have been easier, but since I’ve decided to use you for the next two books in the series, I’d like for us to have an author-editor relationship on a personal level.”
“Wait a minute,” Penelope started. “You want me to edit all the books in the series?”
“I’ve enjoyed your work so far. You give it to me straight. It’s the kind of motivation I need,” she paused. “Which is why I was wondering if the edits could be finished by Monday.”
Penelope was torn between excitement and frustration. This was one of the biggest opportunities for her. Sarah Johnson had to be one of the most well-known names in the indie book world. Despite the hardships of self-publishing, she had managed to grow a large fan base with her own writing and perseverance. Not to mention it was great for Penelope’s business.
She hesitated. “Yikes. I have to be honest with you, it took me four days to get through half of the manuscript. It’s kind of a busy month for me. And on top of my job, I have a wed—”
“I wouldn’t be telling you this if I didn’t have any faith in you. I trust you wholeheartedly with my writing. You came to me highly recommended, and I have not once doubted your work,” Sarah pleaded.
It wasn’t that Penelope couldn’t get the job done on time. It was just that with her sister’s wedding plans, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to finish her work, support her sister, and still have time to eat and sleep. Why did it feel like every time an opportunity knocked, she had to choose between her sister’s happiness and hers? All those times as children Penelope had to share her brand new toy with Celeste only to have her break it in mere minutes. Or when it came time for college, Penelope’s parents couldn’t afford to pay for both girls to go to school, so Penelope decided to do community college and then transfer, all so her sister could have the opportunity to go to her top choice in New York.
Here she was again, having to choose between her sister’s happiness and hers. Penelope looked at the time and figured she had about an hour before having to meet up with her sister and dear Jackie at the florist. She typed up a quick message letting Celeste know she would try to make it on time.
She turned to Sarah as soon as she hit Send. “Now, where were we?”
* * *
“I swear I’m going to lose it if this woman doesn’t show up,” Jack muttered to himself as he paced along the sidewalk right outside the flower shop. He kept looking at his watch and looking at each corner of the street for a gray Corolla riding just around the corner. No such luck. The street was full of cars, but none of them the style and color of Celeste’s sister’s.
He took his phone from his pocket and was scrolling through for Celeste’s number when it began to ring.
“Celeste, where’s your sister?”
“Hey, sorry. She sent me a text letting me know she was held up at one of her meetings. I’m almost there. Just a couple minutes—”
“Why the hell does she even bother to say yes to the plans if she’s not going to stick with them? You know that’s one of my biggest pet peeves, Celeste,” Jack responded, trying to control his temper.
“Hey, hey, it’s all right. I’ll be there in a few,” Celeste tried to soothe. “She’s my big sister, she’s busy. She’s just—”
“Yeah, apparently too busy to do her baby sister some favors. Look, I’m not a sentimental guy, but I was taught family always comes first. I’m sorry, but your sister just infuriates me. I’d rather not meet her now.”
“Jackie, come on. This is my sister you’re talking about. I love her, I adore her, and sometimes she’s gotta have some time to take care of herself.”
“Please tell me you’re at least going to make her pay.”
“Well, I did tell her I would be the one choosing her dress for the engagement party on Saturday.” Celeste laughed through the receiver.
“That’s it?”
“Hey, if you knew Penny, you would completely agree that wearing a dress I’ve chosen is punishment enough. If she had her way, she would probably wear sneakers, jeans, and a hoodie to the party. Now I get an excuse to dress her up!”
“I’ll never understand you,” Jack responded simply.
There was a small pause. “Look, she’s always taken care of me, always been the voice of reason in my head when my parents were too busy with work to pay attention to their rebellious younger daughter. Just cut her some slack, it hasn’t been easy for her either.”
Jack could hear the pleading in her voice. “Jesus, Celeste. You make me sound like a monster. All I’m saying is why should she bother to commit to help with the wedding plans when she isn’t going to be involved in any of the planning. I get it, she’s not the maid of honor, but she did agree to choose the flower decorations for the engagement party. The least she could do is try to be interested.”
He could hear Celeste take a deep breath on the other line. “I’m almost there, Jackie. Don’t move.” Click.
Jack turned the screen off on his phone and stuffed it back into his pocket. He couldn’t understand how it was that his kindhearted friend Celeste had a sister so mean, so bitter, and so completely vile. He had never met the woman yet he didn’t think he would ever want to meet her after all she’d done—or hadn’t done. It was one week until the engagement party and she didn’t even have the decency to check up on any of the plans. Sure, she wasn’t the MOH, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t seem at least a little concerned for her sister’s engagement party plans.
Wasn’t it supposed to be a big deal for women that their wedding events be perfect as they led up to the big day? Besides, he had no fucking idea what kind of flower arrangements to get for the party. If it were up to him, he would have eloped in Vegas at a drive-thru wedding chapel. For the reception: a round of drinks at a bar and fucking around with the slot machines. That sounded like the perfect wedding to him. No need for so much planning, puffy dresses, angry bridesmaids, and cold, disgusting wedding food.
There was only a week until the engagement party and then only a little over two months before the actual wedding. Jack didn’t understand the rush. Celeste was with Bryan 24-7 already; it wasn’t like marriage was going to change that anytime soon. He supported her nonetheless, and believed in her happiness, which was more than what he could say for her awful, uninterested sister. He had half a mind to ask Celeste for her number and give her a taste of angry Jack over the phone.
He spotted Celeste’s car parking on the street. “To her happiness,” he whispered and walked toward her car to meet her.
* * *
Penelope was ju
st about to lose her mind, if she hadn’t lost it already. Two books edited in the span of five days. Reading wasn’t difficult. What made it difficult was the amount of mistakes she was expected to correct and the polishing she was getting paid to do. It didn’t help matters that she was a slow reader. Penelope was feeling guilty for blowing her sister’s plans off the entire week. She didn’t go look for a DJ, or choose the flower centerpieces for the engagement party, or even the food, which had to be her favorite part at gatherings. She was dreading the promise she’d made to Celeste about agreeing to wear the dress of her choosing.
She wasn’t worried about the dress being ugly or making her look like a clown, but she was almost completely sure it wasn’t going to be comfortable. Celeste was all about fashion and looking good while Penelope was all about comfort, whether it made you look frumpy or not. That black lace dress she had worn the night she’d lost her virginity, Celeste had chosen and Penelope had bought on a whim. Would she ever wear it again?
There was a quick knock at her apartment door. Penelope jumped a bit, feeling jittery. She stood and walked over to the door to unlock it. Celeste barged in.
“Penny, why did it take you so long to open the door? You got company? Hmm? Oh, here’s your dress. I bought it for you. I mean, of course I bought it for you, who else would—”
“Celeste! Respira! Can you take a deep breath and talk slower? You’re going at a hundred miles per hour with that mouth of yours.” Penelope tried soothing her sister’s rant while silently giving the clothing box the stink eye.
Celeste took a deep breath. “You know, I should actually be angry with you at the moment. You haven’t been very supportive lately.”
Penelope sighed. “Celeste, I told you. My week was filled with two books that needed thorough editing, and on top of that the authors wanted to meet up face-to-face in order to go through the changes. These aren’t just any authors. They are New York Times best sellers! I couldn’t just blow this opportunity, you know that!”
“Actually, I don’t know that. I don’t know about authors you work for. What I do know is that I’ve felt a little abandoned by you. Jackie has been wonderful with the preparations. We’ve been going everywhere to get the planning done for today.”
