Good News Gospel epitomized the small-town, shining-beacon-in-the-middle-of-the-postcard church with its white façade and silver steeple reaching into the sky. Arched windows marched down the west and east sides of the building, reflecting the rays of the sun.
Julia almost expected a ray of heavenly light to shoot down from the sky while a chorus of angels sang “Hallelujah”.
Despite her ongoing inability to figure out the triangles, she managed to get the church and reception hall decorated. Or rather the church wedding coordinator managed to get everything done. The woman and her crew were dynamos. Meanwhile, Betsy had been on wedding party duty.
Julia glanced at her watch. According to the master schedule, everyone needed to be in their proper places now because people should be arriving any minute. A massive collection of bridesmaids had arrived an hour ago. Julia knew they were here because she’d heard the high-pitched squeals all the way across the courtyard. The groom’s party made a similar, though not quite as high-pitched, entry soon after.
Leaving the reception hall in the more than capable hands of the wedding coordinator, Julia went in search of Betsy and the wedding party.
Please, God, let’s make sure we don’t have any wardrobe malfunctions, okay? And no insects.
Julia didn’t know when she’d started praying, but she figured divine intervention couldn’t hurt. She entered the church and hurried to the bride’s room. Even before she reached her destination she heard a host of high-pitched voices. Only now they seemed edged with panic instead of excitement, which couldn’t be good.
Dashing around the corner, Julia encountered the entire wedding party congregating in the hallway outside the bride’s room. There were dozens of women dressed in a bilious-yellow, halter dresses with big hoop skirts. So attractive. They looked like the before images from one of those makeover shows.
There were an equal number of groomsmen. The lucky guys got to wear a pretty normal tux, save for the matching bilious-yellow cummerbund. Everyone stood near the door with similar looks of bewilderment on their faces. The only person Julia didn’t see was the bride. However, she could hear said bride screeching from the other side of the door.
“Hi.” Julia called out.
Everyone turned to look at her, even as the screeching continued at an ear-splitting decibel.
“What seems to be the problem?” Julia asked.
Betsy emerged from the middle of the pack, with a look of intense relief. “Julia, thank goodness. I was about to look for you. Angela won’t come out.”
“Why not?”
“Apparently, one of the groomsmen missed his flight this morning so we’re one short today.”
“Didn’t we have a rehearsal last night?” Julia asked in bemusement. “They weren’t all here then?”
“No, we were short one last night, too.”
Typical. No doubt the number of groomsmen resided in the file somewhere.
The groom stepped forward. “My friend from college had an emergency at work yesterday so he was going to catch a flight this morning. Only the airline overbooked, and he didn’t get on. He’s stuck in D.C.”
“That’s the crisis?” Julia asked, still trying to understand. “She’s screaming like a banshee because we’re missing a groomsman?”
“Did Eddy tell you he waited until now to let me know?” Angela yelled from the other side of the door.
Julia cringed. Man, talk about a voice made to shatter glass.
“Angela, it would be much easier to handle this if I could see you face-to-face,” Julia said. “Can you come out here?”
“No! Eddy can’t see me before the wedding. It’s bad luck.”
Well, this ought to be fun.
“We didn’t find out about the missing groomsman until about ten minutes ago,” Betsy explained. “One of the bridesmaids asked about Drew, and before I knew it, Angela had locked herself in.”
To Julia’s left, a bridesmaid with curly brown hair looked ready to sink through the floor. So apparently Eddy had decided to bamboozle his bride about the AWOL groomsman.
“Why didn’t you tell me he wasn’t here hours ago?” Angela screeched again.
“Because I knew you’d react this way!” Eddy yelled back. “I’d hoped we could avoid this sort of drama.”
Julia had to admit the strategy had some merit, considering the hysterics. Unfortunately, they were still left with a bride who wouldn’t come out.
She maneuvered herself through the pile of yellow halter dresses to the door. “Angela, it’s Julia.”
“Who?” the disembodied voice responded.
“Your wedding planner.”
“I thought your name was Sarah.”
“I’m filling in for Sarah.”
“Were you at the rehearsal last night?”
“Yes, of course I was there,” Julia said, glaring at the door. “The giant redhead.”
“Oh, right! Love your hair!”
There had to be cameras somewhere, right? They had to be secretly filming this grand drama for some stupid prank-style TV show.
“Thanks,” Julia said. “Listen, we don’t have much time. Your guests will be arriving soon, and we need to get this show on the road. Can’t we go ahead without the missing groomsman? What’s important is that you and Eddy are here. Besides, who’s going to notice? You’ve got about eighteen bridesmaids and as many groomsmen.”
“There are only fourteen.”
Right. Only fourteen women in the bilious-yellow get up.
“And I can’t have my wedding with uneven numbers,” Angela said. “It’s bad luck. My whole marriage will be cursed!”
“Because you’ll have thirteen groomsmen, instead of fourteen?”
“Thirteen!” Angela gasped. “I hadn’t even thought of that. Now I know we’ll be cursed.”
Julia contemplated banging her head against the wood. The resulting concussion couldn’t hurt any less.
Eddy stepped into the doorframe. “Angie, we won’t be cursed. This is stupid.”
Oh, Dude, totally wrong thing to say. Julia screamed silently.
She socked him in the arm.
“I don’t think you’re supposed to be assaulting your clients,” he said, rubbing his arm and acting offended.
“Stop trying to help, and I won’t have to.”
The damage had already been done, however. The voice on the other side of door reached a pitch only dogs could hear.
“Stupid? Stupid?” Angela cried. “If you think I’m so stupid maybe we shouldn’t even be getting married!”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Julia said. “Let’s take a step back and calm down. Much longer and we’re going to be worrying about how to cancel a wedding, instead of the vacancy in the wedding party.”
Angela’s sobs increased in volume. “I’m sorry, Eddy. I know I’m overreacting, but I want everything to be perfect.”
“It will be perfect,” he said. “We’ll think of something.”
They all looked in Julia’s direction.
Oh, great. They were leaving this up to her? Talk about a bad plan. Except they had no other plan. Someone had to talk the bride off the ledge.
“Angela, I can’t have a conversation through the door,” Julia said after taking a deep breath. “Can you please come out?”
“I told you, Eddy can’t see me before the wedding.”
“Eddy, go stand over there,” Julia said, pushing him back so he was out of the line of sight. “All right, he can’t see you. Now, open up.”
The door cracked open, and one dark eye peeked out. “Where’s Eddy?”
“I’m over here,” he called out from his place in the corner.
The door swung open wider. Dark hair and a puffy cloud of white were revealed. Angela looked like a delicate china doll. Unfortunately, the dolly’s hysterics were holding up everything.
“We’re running out of time,” Julia said. “Can’t you go on without the fourteenth groomsmen?”
“I guess
if I had to,” Angela whispered, looking like the kid who’d had to shoot his dog in that old movie.
Yeah, Angela would go through with it, but she’d be miserable, Julia realized. So how did one go about finding a substitute groomsman anyway? Could you rent one the way you did the tuxedo?
Speaking of tuxedos. “If we could find someone else to fill in, would he even have anything to wear?” Julia asked.
“Drew’s tuxedo is at my house,” Eddy said. “We thought it would be easier to arrange that here. The groomsmen sent their measurements, and the altering was done in town.”
“So all we need is a body. How tall is your friend?”
“My height.”
“Got any spare relatives or friends about your height?”
Eddy’s face flushed. “We had fourteen bridesmaids. Everyone I know is already in the wedding.”
“Anyone else know someone who could fill in?”
Betsy raised her hand. “My brother is Eddy’s height.”
Julia laughed. Of course the dynamo with the tackle box would have a spare relative. “Okay. Go pick up the tux from Eddy’s place, and then get your brother here ASAP.”
****
Unbelievably, the replacement groomsman worked out fine, and the ceremony went off without another hitch. The reception was now well underway. The guests had dined on their choice of chicken or salmon, and the band, which looked an awful lot like a group of high school kids, had kicked it into gear.
Julia surveyed the reception hall, observing the guests as they gyrated on the dance floor. Well, the younger ones were dancing anyway. The older folks were sitting along the sidelines with perplexed expressions on their faces.
As she continued her visual trek around the room, her gaze fell on a balding, middle-aged man. His tie was askew, and his hair stood up in wild disarray. If she wasn’t mistaken, he was drunk. Though how he’d managed to become inebriated was beyond her as there was no alcohol being served. Instinctively, Julia started in his direction, but before she reached him, he lurched up from the table and started toward the dance floor.
Yeah, definitely three sheets to the wind. He wasn’t so much walking as bobbing and weaving. She picked up her pace, hoping to reach him before anyone noticed. She managed to catch up to him as he bobbed two steps away from the parquet surface.
“Hi, I’m Julia.” She gently slid an arm through his.
“Walter,” he said, after a moment’s confusion.
“Walter, how about we take a walk around the courtyard?” she asked, already guiding him toward an exit. Thank goodness he waddled along beside her without protest. They slipped through a pair of double doors.
“I’m drunk,” he announced, as they walked along the path.
“A bit.”
“Never drink. S’bad for you.”
“Where did you get the alcohol anyway?”
He reached into his suit pocket and removed a silver flask. He shook it. “S’gone,” he said. “Like my wife.”
“Where did she go?”
“Nashville. Our baby went off to college, and the next day she said our marriage was over. She wanted to live her life. Twenty-five years and poof.” He tried to snap his fingers only they weren’t working, so it looked more like he was trying to swat a fly.
Ah, alcohol as pain reliever, Julia thought. She should have guessed.
“I’m sorry.”
A door opened behind her, and Seth appeared. Her whole body went on alert. She hadn’t seen him since “the kiss”. He must have been uncomfortable, too, because he kept his gaze focused on Walter.
“Hi, Walter,” he said.
“Hi, Reverend,” Walter said. “D’ya know Julia… uh… what’s your last name?”
Amazing. Drunk as a skunk and yet his inbred Southern manners still abounded. “Richardson. Julia Richardson.”
He turned back to Seth. “D’ya know Julia Richardson?”
“We’ve met,” Seth said, flashing a brief smile in her direction. “I saw you two leave and thought I’d better make sure everything was all right.”
“We were getting some fresh air,” Julia said.
“I’m drunk,” Walter declared again.
“I know,” Seth said, his gaze filled with compassion. “I’ve told you, a bottle isn’t going to help.”
Walter sighed. “I know. Been doing better, but then the wedding. Niece’s wedding. Couldn’t miss it. S’just sad. Still remember how pretty Janet looked.”
“Well, you’ve done your duty,” Seth said. “Why don’t I call you a cab?”
Walter’s shoulders bobbed up and down. “‘Kay—”
Seth glanced at Julia over his shoulder as he led Walter away. “Wait here. I’ll be back in a minute.”
****
It took only minutes for a cab to arrive. Seth instructed the driver to make sure Walter got inside. He waited until the cab turned the corner and disappeared out of sight before venturing back toward Julia.
He should bolt in the opposite direction, but his feet didn’t want to cooperate. Their kiss a few days ago had replayed in his mind a million times. He’d gotten a few more sleepless nights out of it, too. At this point he’d probably end up in a funny farm after he went crazy due to sleep deprivation.
A funny farm might be worth it if it meant experiencing one more kiss, though. Even the one might be worth it.
Julia stood waiting in the courtyard. He’d expected her to take off the minute he walked out of sight. He’d half hoped she would. Trust her to listen to instructions at the worst time. Why couldn’t she be contrary as usual?
“I could have handled Walter,” she said as he approached. “You didn’t have to come save the day.”
“I’m know, but he’s a friend.”
She sighed. “Poor guy.”
“Yeah, he’s had it rough. Sent shock waves through the town when Walter and Janet split up. They were a staple around here.”
“Guess the real world has finally made its way to Covington Falls.”
“I hope we never get so jaded that we look at divorce as commonplace,” Seth said, with a shake of his head.
“You keep on hoping,” she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
Oh, a challenge. He loved these. “Is it only your parents who made you so cynical?”
“Remember the keen eye for observation you find so endearing?”
The corner of his mouth quirked up in spite of himself. “Did I say it was endearing?”
“It’s my most attractive quality apparently,” she said, batting her lashes.
His eyes drifted over her face. Then down. “I’m not sure I’d go that far.” Seth heard the words come out of his mouth and couldn’t believe he’d just uttered them. “I shouldn’t be saying things like that.”
A choked sound escaped as her eyes went wide. “Anyway. That observant quality means I don’t look at the world through rose-colored glasses. Walter and Janet aren’t the exception. They’re the rule. I simply realized it early in life.”
Embarrassment turned to anger, though for once his ire stemmed from another source. “Your parents have a lot to answer for. How many times have they both been married anyway?”
“Dad’s on number five, or maybe six. I lost count. He married a twenty-three year old fitness instructor named Tiffany about a year ago. Seems the older he gets, the younger they get. My mom is on her third husband. She’s actually been with him for ten years, so maybe she can make it work. I’m just glad to be out of the whole mess.”
“It must have been traumatic for you growing up.”
“I didn’t live in a war-torn nation,” she said, her voice once again dripping with sarcasm. “They didn’t lock me in a closet and give me only bread and water. I was mostly an afterthought in their lives.”
“Did you live with your mother?”
Wariness crowded out her annoyance. “Why are you so interested in the soap opera that was my life?”
“I guess I’m trying to understand why
you’re so skeptical about love.”
“Why? So you can fix me? Make it all better with your wise counsel?”
How could he have the urge to kiss her and throttle her at the same time? “No. I want to know you.”
She drew herself up, as if readying for a battle. “You want to know what makes me tick, Rev? Fine. Might as well start at the beginning. My father left my mother for a lounge singer named Vanessa when I was five.”
“A lounge singer?”
“I know, not very original,” she said, wrinkling her nose. “Vanessa wasn’t crazy about kids, so I rarely saw my father for the next couple years. Then my mother married a Frenchman named Henri. He hated kids even more than Vanessa, so I got shipped off to my father’s.”
An image of a little redheaded girl filled his mind, and Seth’s heart broke for her. “How old were you by then?”
“Ten. Vanessa was replaced by a corporate lawyer named Brooke when I was thirteen. Can you guess her feelings about kids?”
“She didn’t like them.”
“Ding, ding ding! Got it in one. Give the man a prize,” she said. “Off to Mom’s I went, who by this time was re-divorced and re-married to Charles Winthrop, an English aristocrat who claimed he was 211th in line for the throne of England.”
Despite the horrifying story, he smiled. “211th? That close?”
“I’m not even sure if it was true or something he made up to impress everyone,” she said, grinning back.
“Then why not pick a number a little closer? Like 114th?”
“I love how you’re making light of my traumatic childhood.” Her mouth turned down in a mock pout. “Here I am spilling my guts, and you’re not taking it seriously at all.”
In an instant, his amusement vanished again. “Believe me, I‘m taking your story seriously. I’d like to get your parents alone in a room.”
Marry Me Page 13
