by Nicole Smith
"No, Dad, I'm not. But we've decided we want to get married now rather than waiting. We don't need anything fancy. Just the family and someone to marry us. Easy."
Sophia began heading back to the front door of the house. "We're going to need our suitcases unpacked, Ed." She already had her tablet out.
* * * *
William discovered that planning any wedding was much like planning a production on stage. But in this production, Sophia was the producer and director. When Beth insisted on keeping it simple, Sophia said they could do it in two weeks, if Beth left everything to her. Beth agreed, and since then, William found himself running obscure errands, in between directing rehearsals for the play.
The auditions for the leading man had included one by the high school senior mentioned by Mary Jo. His name was Hank Johannson, and he was perfect. He looked about five years older than his actual age and William was delighted to discover that he had talent. Shy and withdrawn away from the stage, Hank seemed to come to life when on it. Although his reaction upon finding he would have to kiss Beth during the play was to go pale and clammy and nearly fall over, they were working that out.
William was informed by Sophia that he would be wearing a tux to the wedding, and the shirt would not be black. She was so stern about it that he agreed right away. That night at home, he asked Beth, "Has your mother always been so...controlling?"
Beth looked at him and laughed. "She is when it comes to fashion. And, evidently, whenever any of her daughters is getting married. Turns out she has had my gown made for over a year. She did one for each of us, hoping they'd one day be used."
"She told me I had to wear a white shirt with my tux."
"Ah. That will be strange for you, I'd bet."
"Well, yes, but actually...wait here. I have to get something."
She looked confused as he set down his wine glass and ran up the stairs. When he came back down, she glanced over at him and then stared with wide green eyes.
"You...your sweater! It's blue!"
And it was, a lightweight cotton sweater done in a blue that matched his eyes. "Do you like it?"
She was already up and touching the sweater. "I love it. Blue is perfect on you. But what caused this?"
His arms encircled her. "You. You've brought the color back into my life. How can I go around wearing black all the time when I'm so damn happy?"
"Oh, William!" She kissed his jaw, then his cheek, and finally his lips. Later she wanted to make him wear the blue sweater to bed. Until he showed her that he'd replaced the black silk pajama bottoms with blue silk.
Chapter 9
By noon the next day it was all over town that Mr. Christopher was wearing a blue shirt. Beth figured colors other than blue might take a while to add to his wardrobe, but she was thrilled by how he looked in blue.
The Playhouse was essentially completed. There were still a myriad of small details to finish it up, but the curtain had finally arrived, the seating was in place, the lighting was ready to go, and sets for the play were already done.
William decided that Beth was no longer needed in the office, so she had time to spend with her mother working on the wedding.
"Where will you go for a honeymoon?" Sophia asked as Beth tried on the dress for one final fitting.
"I don't think we'll go anywhere. The play is coming up and we have rehearsals. Maybe after it's over we'll go somewhere. William and I haven't talked about it."
"I definitely think you should have a honeymoon."
Beth's cell phone rang and she answered just as she got stuck with a pin. "Ouch! Hello."
"Beth? Are you okay?"
"Rose! Yes, I'm fine. Mom likes to use me as a pin cushion. We're doing final fitting on the dress today."
"That's what I'm calling about. It turns out I'm free to come to the wedding if you still want me."
"Want you? Of course I do! This is terrific. We'll get you a dress whipped up to match Maggie's and you'll be all set. Ouch, Mom!"
"Okay then. I should arrive tomorrow. And Beth...I'm so happy I can be there."
"Me too. Drive safe and we'll see you tomorrow."
She ended the call and turned to face her mother. "You can make a dress for her, right?"
"You're just lucky I have her measurements. But yes, I can and I'm thrilled she's coming. I can't believe she can get off work."
"She works way too hard. She sounded...different...like she'd been crying or something."
"We'll take care of her once she gets here," Sophia said. "And by the way, I refuse to make two matching bridesmaid dresses. They'll be out of the same material basically, but in styles to flatter each one of them. Maggie and Rose are very different in looks."
"Whatever. I know you can do it, Mom."
"Of course I can, darling. Nothing to worry about. Did you check with Holly and Jason to be sure they can come?"
"Oh yeah, I need to talk to her. Anyone else you want me to check in with?"
"The florist."
"Right."
As Beth settled down in her brocade chair to make phone calls, she sipped a fresh cup of coffee. Her mother had set up a sewing machine in the bedroom. Her assistant Beatrice was expected later in the day. Beth was amazed at how well it was coming together. With Beatrice's help, she knew the dresses would all be ready on time.
The choice of where to have the wedding had been difficult. The church wasn't available on such short notice, unlike Maggie's wedding. Frank Grainger offered his home, as did Holly, along with Sam. Each house had something to offer, but Beth had rejected each idea. None of them had any special meaning to her.
The discussion had been held at Holly and Jason's large home, with everyone sprawled around on chairs and couches in the big room. Suddenly, William straightened up in his chair and said, "Wait a minute."
When they'd all looked at him, he continued. "This is a production, right? Then let's put it on stage. The Playhouse is brand new, and quite polished-looking. Beth and I both love the stage. We could get married there, with all of you gathered around on the stage with us. We could do a semi-circle of those white wedding chairs. Add some flowers and voila! A theater wedding...what could be more right?"
While Beth had kissed him, the rest of the group agreed that the idea would work. They were going to have two large floral arrangements in wrought-iron stands to either side of where she and William would be standing to give their vows. Plus, there would be the bouquets. Hence, Beth's need to check in with the florist to make sure everything was going according to plan.
She made the call and remembered to order a bouquet for Rose. Then she called the local shoe store and ordered a pair of the shoes to match the dress, after getting Rose's shoe size from her mother. Being one of Sophia's children was sort of like having a CIA file except that it was compiled by her mother and kept on the ubiquitous tablet. Any detail about any of them could be found there.
Beth then spent time making the rounds to tell people Rose would be attending. Holly, Jason and Harry would be coming. The tuxes would be ready for William and Sam...And then she realized they needed another groomsman to even it out now that Rose was coming.
A quick call to William led to Cody joining the wedding party. William felt one of the Graingers should be up there with them.
Finally, Beth stared at her phone, debating whether to toss it in the trash. She knew realistically that she couldn't do that, but she did turn the sound off for a while. When she'd thought about getting married, she'd had no idea of all the details, large and tiny, that would come up. All she wanted was to say, 'I do' but it seemed to take a lot to get to that point.
She thought back to a conversation with William before they had fallen asleep the night before.
"Shouldn't we be inviting your friends to come, from the city?" she'd asked him.
"There aren't any."
"None?"
"Not really. I have tons of professional acquaintances, but no true friends. It took Sully Point to show me that
friends are important and that people are worth taking the time to know."
"There is something about this place, that's for sure," Beth had said.
Now as she got up to make more coffee, she wondered what would have happened to her if she hadn't come here, to this quirky little town. It caused her to shudder. She would never have met William...and yet, their relationship felt as if it had always been meant to be.
"Darling...is there a reason you're staring at the Keurig as if it holds the secrets of the pyramids?"
Beth jumped, startled, and then said, "No, Mom, I was just thinking how life works. And how I'm glad William and I are going to keep his house here in Sully Point. I like this place. It will be good to come home here after we spend time in the city."
Sophia flicked the coffee maker on, and nodded. "I know. Your father and I...well, don't tell anyone this yet, but we're seriously considering moving down here."
"What? For real?" Beth hugged her mother in excitement. "That would be great. We'd have everyone here except for Rose."
"We'll have to work on her while she's visiting. Just don't spread it around yet, about us moving here. We need to decide what to do with the house in the mountains, and a few other things before we're sure."
"You'll come here. I know you will. You won't be able to stay away from all of us clumped up here together."
Sophia laughed. "Yes, you're probably right."
Later that day, Beth headed for Deb's Deli to get sandwiches for lunch. When she walked in, she was immediately inundated with congratulations as well as questions about the wedding that would be held on a stage. And there were other comments about the wearing of the blue shirt by William. Everyone had a different theory as to why he'd started wearing a color all of a sudden.
Beth answered what she could while placing her order for turkey and cranberry sauce sandwiches for herself and her mother. Many of the people in the deli had attended Maggie's wedding and they wanted to know all about Sophia's latest wedding dress creation for Beth.
When she got back to the apartment and sat down with Sophia to eat a late lunch, she told her mother about the dress questions.
"Well, it's gratifying to know they all remember Maggie's dress. For a small town, people do dress remarkably well..."
"Mom?" Beth asked, when her mother's voice trailed off.
"That's it," Sophia said in a wondering voice. "The Sully Point Collection! Once I move here...oh this is going to be fun!"
* * * *
Anna answered her front door, surprised to see Eric standing there. "Eric, come on in."
"Thanks," he said. "Do you have a minute? I wanted to talk to you about something."
"I'm just working on the wedding cake, so you'll have to join me in the kitchen."
"Sure."
The countertops were filled with sugar flowers and leaves. Anna picked up where she'd left off, making a rose. "What did you want to talk about?"
Eric took a seat on the bar stool at the counter. "Joshua, actually. I saw what he did at the dinner. His giving totals of all those items."
Anna chuckled. "Yes, he loves to give random numbers like that."
"Anna." She looked up at him, and then shrugged.
"Okay, so he has some ability with numbers."
"I think it's more than just numbers, isn't it?"
Anna was quiet for a moment. She wasn't sure what Eric was after. "Look, Josh is special. But we don't want people treating him different because of it."
"Don't worry. I wasn't planning on treating him different. But I thought maybe I could help."
"Help?" She started a row of connected ivy leaves.
"Help you guys keep his mind occupied. He could spend time at the computer lab with me when he's ready. I could give him things to work on. I think it's important to expose him to as much as possible right now."
Anna sighed. "Yes. That's what the people at the university told us. We are letting him choose where he wants to go, while presenting him with as many new things as possible. You'd be willing to help, and not spread it around?"
"Absolutely. I was considered a weird kid myself, and I know how that feels, just because you're smarter than everyone around you. Anything I can do to help, just let me know. And I'll bring over a computer for him to work on, if you'd like."
Anna laughed. "He has computers, Eric. But right now what he likes most is taking them apart and trying to put them together."
"Can he put them back together?"
"Not like they were before."
"Oh. Well, I'm sure he'll figure that out."
"You don't understand. He took three computers and made one. That one runs three times as fast as each of them individually. He put them all together."
"Oh! That is...awesome. Can I come over tomorrow to play with him?"
"Sure. That would help me out as I need to finish up this cake tomorrow."
"Cool."
She gave him a hug at the door. "Thanks, Eric, for understanding."
"No problem. We're family after all."
She shut the door after waving good-bye. When she got back to the kitchen she found Joshua up from his nap...icing spread across his face, eating a rose.
* * * *
By the next day, Beth decided that time had speeded up. Suddenly everything was coming together and the wedding would be that night. William had hired the lighting guys he planned on using for the play to light the stage for them, and the reception at Holly and Jason's house was on schedule with the caterer already there cooking in their large kitchen. They'd decided to use that particular house because it was the largest in Sully Point.
Beth was at her apartment for a few moments of quiet in the late morning, when someone knocked on her door. She opened it to find her sister, Rose.
"You're here!" She grabbed Rose and dragged her into the apartment, hugging her.
Rose was laughing. "Hang on, you're going to strangle me."
Beth pulled away and looked at Rose. Beautiful as always, with shining strawberry blonde hair falling to her waist. Beth knew that she put it up in a long braid when she worked. Yes, Rose was still her gorgeous self, with a luscious body and a pretty face. But something in her eyes...
"Rose...are you okay?"
"Sure. When am I not okay?"
"Maybe now. Seriously, has something happened?"
Rose burst into tears and Beth gathered her up and led her to the sofa to sit down.
"The clinic is closed. Lack of funding. All the people I've been trying to help...now they'll have nothing."
"Rose, I'm so sorry."
"Yeah, well, I protested its closing a bit too much, and the hospital has told me take a sabbatical. They didn't quite fire me, but..."
"What? But you're a great doc!"
"I did kind of go overboard this last year. I was stretched too thin, trying to put in my hours at the hospital and then work at the clinic the rest of the time. Anyway, I don't know what I'm going to do now. No job. No clinic. It's like my world has crumbled away beneath my feet."
Beth handed her a box of tissues and patted her on the back. Then she thought about what Rose was saying.
"You mean, you're free? You're not stuck in Philly anymore?"
"I guess you could put it that way," Rose sniffed.
"I've got the solution," Beth said with a smug smile. "Move in here, into this apartment. I'll be moving into William's house. This place will be empty, but as you can see it's all furnished. Come stay at Sully Point for your sabbatical. Get some rest, be around the family, and take some time to figure out your life."
"You think?"
"I do. And I'll tell you something else as long as you keep it a secret. Mom and Dad are going to be moving here. They're making plans for it. When they do, we could all be in one place again. Could be great, you know."
Rose gave her a tremulous smile. Her dark brown eyes were still wet, but she looked a bit lighter in her face. "Okay. It sounds like a great idea. And at least I'd know where I
'd be. Now," she said, standing up. "Where's my dress?"
* * * *
William, Cody, Eric and Sam met at the Diner for his 'bachelor party luncheon.' They parked themselves in a one of the big booths at the back and proceeded to eat a lot and laugh even more.
Each man had advice about being married to give to him.
"Don't let things fester. Bring them up and be angry or whatever, but then make up," said Cody.
"You're marrying a Carter woman," said Eric. "Always keep chocolate or pastries on hand."
They all laughed, and then Eric said, "Seriously, just live in the moment and enjoy every second."
They all turned to Sam. He thought for a moment. "Let each other be whoever you are. You and Beth are both in the same field, both creative. Be her support and let her be yours, even as you let her go to find her joy. She'll always come back to you, but let her fly free."
They all sat silently for a minute contemplating that last comment. Mary Jo appeared at their table with refills on drinks...which were coffee, tea and soda because none of them wanted to drink before the wedding.
"So Mr. Christopher, is the Playhouse something that belongs to the town of Sully Point? Some people were talking about it the other day and I wondered. Or does it belong to the Foundation?"
Sam spoke up. "It belongs to the town. The Foundation only helped to build it and will support upkeep, but the Playhouse is for the town."
"Oh, cool," she said. "Have a great wedding, Mr. Christopher."
"Hmm, I wonder if they'll propose changes to my schedule of plays if they think the Playhouse belongs to them," William said.
"You never know in Sully Point," Cody said solemnly. Then he grinned and they all agreed.
William was facing the door and saw Beth come in with someone else. "Who is that with Beth?"
Sam turned around and then slid out of the booth and stood up and waved. "Rose! Over here."
William heard Cody say, "Holy cow, is that their other sister? She's..."
"Yeah," Eric said. "And every man in this place is staring at her. She's the dedicated responsible doctor?"
Beth and Rose reached their table. "Hey everyone. This is Rose," Beth said, and then she scooted into the booth next to William so she could give him a peck on the lips.
