Marry Me, Charlotte B!

by Carla de Guzman

  **

  “Well, she told Rob she wasn’t pregnant, so I have no idea,” Nellie answers, as the cameras return to the city hall bathroom. She sweeps on the lipstick Ellie had provided and checks if her mascara is running.

  “Maybe she just wants to get it out of the way as soon as possible,” Millie jokes, giggling. She studies her baby sister through the mirror for a moment. “Hey, speaking of Rob . . . is there something happening between the two of you?”

  “No,” Nellie guffaws, stuffing her clothes into a paper bag and following her sister out of the bathroom. “His mom made him take over the wedding since I’m doing . . . something else,” she says.

  “Yeah, but I don’t see you bringing anyone else to the wedding, ahem, civil ceremony,” Millie points out, squeezing her sister’s hand as they walk toward the right room. “And he keeps talking about you. I’ve been here all of twenty minutes, and already I know how you managed to move a whole wedding into the bride’s barn when it started to rain. And that you’re planning a huge wedding in like, a week. Trust me, I’m a psychologist, so I know these things. That boy is totally smitten with you.” Millie laughs as they reach the spot where Ellie is getting married.

  Nellie is just about to argue, but she is taken aback by the scene. The cameras show her pausing mid-step, her eyes dancing over the scenery in front of her. There is a large staircase in the middle, flanked by white concrete columns and intricately carved Victorian details at the top of the staircase. Everything is practically grey, except for the filigree railings along the sides of the columns, painted a deep black. It is the middle of the day on a Thursday, so city hall seemed completely empty. Rob had booked the ceremony at the Mayor’s Balcony, giving them the full view of the hall. There were a few chairs set up in front, with a big silk bow behind each one. There was no altar, no carpet, no other decor. Nellie’s parents, Millie’s husband, and Basti’s parents are already seated. The reception would have most of the guests. It is like something out of a dream.

  The justice is already waiting for the bride and groom at the center of the room, and someone placed a hand on Nellie and Millie’s shoulders.

  “Ladies,” Basti’s voice croons behind them, “you’re both looking gorgeous.”

  “Basti!” Nellie exclaims, as Millie smiles. Basti went clean-cut for his wedding day, keeping his hair tied back into a neat topknot. He looks dapper in his grey jacket and deep burgundy tie. He even has a pocket square, like a real gentleman. “Are we starting?”

  “I’m just waiting for your boyfriend to signal me,” he says, nudging his head toward the back of the balcony, where Nellie sees Rob standing vigil by where Ellie is presumably hiding. Millie volunteers to go to Ellie and see what she needed.

  “Not my boyfriend,” Nellie reminds Basti, poking him in the chest before going to the back to retrieve their bouquets.

  “Keep telling yourself that, kiddo!” Basti yells behind her. Nellie turns and sticks her tongue out at him, making him laugh. She joins Rob at the back. He looks just a little nervous, which she finds adorable.

  **

  “It’s wedding day,” Rob says to the cameras before Nellie and Millie walked in. “Aaargh!”

  **

  “I just realized something,” Nellie says to him, elbowing him in the ribs to get his attention. But Rob is too distracted by something else to listen. He was so busy looking down at Nellie’s feet that she had to pull the sleeve of his shirt. “Listen!”

  “Hm?” he asks curiously, looking up at her, feigning innocence.

  “I just realized that I don’t have a date!” she exclaims, poking his arm. “I’m a bridesmaid without a date!”

  “Is that such a bad thing?” Rob asks, raising an eyebrow at her.

  “There will be aunts at the reception,” she tells him, yanking on the sleeve of his jacket again. “Have you ever been single around aunts? It’s a nightmare! If you come to them without a boyfriend they’re like ‘Oh dear, it’s never too late! You know, I know the perfect single guy for you’ or ‘I’m sure God has other plans for you.’ But if you do come to them with a boyfriend, they’re like ‘That explains the weight gain, then!’ And, Rob, in front of aunts, I would much rather be fat than single.”

  Throughout this whole speech, Rob simply studies her with a raised eyebrow.

  **

  “Oh,” he says, like a lightbulb was turned on in his mind. “This explains a lot of entries in her journal where she dreads family occasions, usually marking the date with cobwebs or something Halloween-themed.”

  **

  “We wouldn’t want that, would we?” he asks, smiling. He holds out his hand to her. “Would you like to go to a wedding with me, mademoiselle?”

  “Yes please,” she says eagerly, clapping her hand over his.

  “I posted a picture of the setup on Instagram,” he says to her, fumbling for his phone with his free hand. “People thought I was joking when I said I was the coordinator.”

  Nellie peers at the photo he showed her. He’d upped the exposure, and added some kind of filter that made the whole thing look like it was bathed in pale pink light. It was a beautiful photo.

  **

  “Ellie had eschewed hiring a photographer for the day, which Basti concurred with,” Rob explains, like using words like eschewed and concurred were part of everyday conversation. “They claimed that Nellie, Millie, and their guests were tech-savvy enough to know to take good photos and tag them later. But I’m determined to take the best photos I can, if only to preserve the moment.”

  **

  “They’re just not used to you having a day job,” Nellie says, still holding his hand. “I have to say though, this is beautiful. You were right, I do love it.”

  “Told you,” he says, grinning. “I love the new look on you, too. Are those booties new?”

  “Yep,” she answers, holding her leg forward and twisting her ankle to show it off.

  “Girls,” Millie says, appearing from behind where Ellie is. “We’re starting. Ellie told me to tell you to play the music.”

  “Right, off to work,” Rob says, giving Nellie an exaggerated wink. “See you later, petit chou.” He kisses the top of their clasped hands before walking toward the speakers plugged into the wall. Mille hands Nellie her bouquet of deep red flowers and nudges her knowingly.

  “Stop it,” Nellie warns her sister as Ellie appears behind them. She looks radiant, wearing an off-shoulder tea-length vintage dress, with red flowers in her hair.

  “Ready?” Nellie asks her, bracing herself for anything Ellie might say in her usual sharp, brassy voice. But she is surprised to see that Eleanor is calm. Her eyes are actually sparkling, and she is, for the first time ever, visibly relaxed. She gives her baby sister a warm, gentle smile, and Nellie smiles back, tears springing into her eyes.

  “Don’t cry,” Ellie laughs as the music plays. “I’m ready.”

  The cameras pan to the Ferry Building near San Francisco Port for the reception. It’s already getting dark, and the setup is simple but gorgeous. The Ferry Building has a lot of domes and metal arches, and a string of twinkling lights over them, giving it a festive feel. Rob had additional lighting set up along the sides to make it look like the columns were glowing. Their aunt set up plain white tables with black chairs and small centerpieces with the same flowers as Ellie’s bouquet. It is a simple but elegant reception, and Nellie knows her sister would not have had it any other way.

  “Hey, little sister!” Basti says excitedly, giving Nellie a hug as she comes up to him and Ellie. Her older sister is still smiling, and Nellie hopes it will be permanent.

  “I think you mean little sister-in-law,” she tells Basti, making Ellie smile as she draped her arm around her new husband. “I am so happy for you guys!”

  “We couldn’t be more grateful to you and Rob,” Ellie says, squeezing Nellie’s hand. “See, we always knew you were amazing, Nells! Didn’t I tell you, Basti?”

  Nellie is shocked at her si
ster’s sudden affection, but she manages to smile and thank her, giving her a huge hug.

  There is a time stamp on the bottom of the scene that depicts the Ferry Building at night, indicating that three hours have passed. Cut to Nellie and Millie sitting at one of the tables, their feet propped up on one of the chairs, eating the wedding cake and drinking champagne and apple cider respectively. They are gossiping about their relatives, watching their parents dancing to “Dancing in September.” Nellie’s hair had come loose at some point in the night, her lipstick has worn off from all the champagne and cake, and her cheeks are slightly flushed. She’s wearing her plain old flats again.

  “So,” Millie says, sipping her cider, “did you talk to lover boy yet?”

  “Nah, he’s the coordinator, I’m sure he’s busy,” Nellie shrugs, ignoring her sister’s little jab.

  **

  “Actually,” Nellie points out, standing by one of the farther spots in the reception, the party still going on behind her, “I haven’t really seen him since the start of the reception.” She laughs as the camera features a black-and-white flashback of her dragging Rob around to meet her aunts. “I made it a point to introduce him to all the aunts I could see. All of them said I was getting fat,” Nellie sighs. “Rob swears one of my aunts pinched his bottom.” And the flashbacks show that Rob was telling the truth. “It feels weird though. He shouldn’t be out there running around and coordinating. He should be here, at the party, charming everyone’s socks off.” She chuckles.

  **

  Back at the party, Mille and Nellie are still in their seats. “Yeah, busy posting photos on Tumblr,” Millie points out, whipping out her phone and showing Nellie. “He’s a really good photographer, and his artwork isn’t half bad. Plus he has the voice of an angel. Can he really play the guitar?”

  “You’re stalking him on Tumblr?” Nellie hissed, looking over at the photos. They were mostly of Ellie and Basti at city hall, still with the same pink-yellow filter. There were quite a few of the whole family, Millie and her husband Brandon, and one of Nellie. He’d caught her laughing over something her father had says, and she looks—different. Beautiful, classy and confident. She blinks quickly, as she hardly recognizes herself. “He managed to capture you at the right moment,” Millie points out. “And look at you, so pretty when you’re not self-conscious.”

  “He is pretty good,” Nellie agreed, withdrawing slightly. Millie catches her looking at the photo of herself and sighs, shaking her head. “Nells,” she says, putting down her glass and resting her hands on her rounded stomach, “when are you going to realize that someone liking you is not as Mission Impossible as you think?”

  Nellie frowns at her sister’s statement.

  **

  “Trust Millie to be the one to psychoanalyze me,” Nellie sighs, rubbing her hands over her face after Millie’s husband whisks her off to dance. “A part of me thinks that it is impossible that Jason would notice a small, quiet little assistant. But how could I explain to Millie that Rob is just trying to help me? In fact, he wasn’t even supposed to be helping me anymore, since Jason already asked me out. Technically, his part of the deal is done.”

  **

  “Heya, date,” Rob says, appearing out of nowhere. He looks slightly worn out, but upon seeing her, he perks up. He’d tossed his jacket aside somewhere, and now he is just a guy in navy-blue trousers and a crisp white linen shirt. He gives Nellie an adorable, boyish grin. “I just asked the DJ to play your favorite song. So I’m going to give you a lesson in dancing.”

  Nellie looks up at him in confusion, unaware that he actually knew what her favorite song is, when “I’m Beginning to See the Light” by Ella Fitzgerald plays over the speakers. The smile on her face matches his and she eagerly accepts his outstretched hand to dance. He pulls her up like they were already dancing and gives her a little twirl before placing his arm around her back, their fingers still intertwined.

  “You know, you’ve been a pretty bad date,” Nellie points out to him as they danced along to the music. “You disappeared during dinner. I should be proud, as your coworker, but as a date, I’m pretty miffed.”

  “Well, that’s what I get for dating on the job,” he jokes, spinning her around. “I promise I’ll make it up to you in the future.”

  The song is perfectly jazzy, with big swing band instrumentals, setting the mood perfectly. Nellie looks like she’s actually having a lot of fun. Around them, most of her relatives are also dancing and singing along. It is kind of surreal, especially with the flowers and the orange glow of the room. Nellie comments that they could be in a big setup from the networks.

  “Someone’s paranoid,” Rob laughs, taking her hand and twirling her around. “All right, on to the lesson,” he says, keeping his hand on hers and using it to pull her body flush against his, making Nellie stumble a little. “Whoops! Careful,” he warns, placing a hand on the small of her back again, like it is the most natural place for it to be.

  “I know how to dance, you know,” Nellie points out to him, her cheeks flushed red.

  “Of course you do,” Rob says, still charming as ever. He twirls her again, and this time, she keeps a little space in between them, trying to distance herself from him. But Rob is having none of that, and pulls her in again. He holds her perfectly, carefully. Nellie is laughing nervously as she makes a couple of missed steps.

  “Don’t be scared,” he mumbles into her hair, and we can hear him inhale deeply. “Just relax, Nellie.”

  She seems to find that request a little hard. She lets him lead their movements as she stumbles slightly. The self-conscious smile on her face has disappeared, and her face wrinkles into a frown. The music slows down, and “Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered” starts to play. It’s the Celine Dion version, and with the sweet, rolling violins and the matching sounds of the oboe.

  Without blinking, Rob pulls their intertwined hands to the back of his neck and lets go, gently trailing his now free hands to her waist, resting right at the curve of her hips. Nellie places her other hand around his neck to meet the hand that is already there. She leans forward, resting her head on his shoulder. They slow their movements to match the song, simply shifting their weight from foot to foot, looking at each other as they do.

  **

  “I’ve never danced that closely to anyone before that night,” Nellie admits in a backroom interview, shot a few months after the events were recorded. “It was kind of nice.”

  **

  “You did an amazing job with the wedding,” she tells him, looking up into his bright blue eyes. She’s smiling again, more confident now than worried.

  “Well, I had a very good teacher,” he replies, this time taking one of her hands on the back of his neck to clasp against his chest. “Although I’m not really looking forward to doing this again.”

  “What would you be doing, if you weren’t doing this?” Nellie asks him. There is a crinkle in Rob’s eyes as he processed her question.

  “Oh, I don’t know,” he says, keeping her close while the other couples were slowly spinning around. “Travel maybe. Find a way to make a bit of money off the weird things I do for the Internet. How about you? I don’t think being Maman’s assistant is the end goal for someone as brilliant as you.”

  “Stop it,” she says, although the protest is halfhearted. “I’ve always wanted to do this. Weddings make people happy, and I used to think that if I could do that, I could be happy too,” she says with a self-conscious chuckle. “I’d forgotten that, until today.”

  There is that laugh from Rob again. It rumbles from his chest and spreads into hers, as close as they were to each other.

  “I forgot to say,” he says, feeling Nellie relax a bit more against him. “You look beautiful tonight. I like the flats more than the boots, to be honest.”

  Nellie’s eyes grow a little in surprise. She has almost no makeup left on, her hair is messy, and her flats are the same plain ones she uses every day. Anything that she’d got
ten out of Donna’s makeover is lost in the post-wedding fun, and she is the same as ever, albeit in a pretty dress.

  **

  “There’s a part of me that knows Rob is being sincere. He’s always been honest, and I don’t have any reason not to believe him,” Nellie tells the cameras. It’s a clip from after Nellie and Rob’s meeting at the cafe in the office. “I just . . . wasn’t sure what to make of it all.”

  **

  “And, we’re going for the dip,” he announces suddenly, pushing their clasped hands away from him as he spins her out, and pulls slightly to spin her back in. Nellie allows herself to relax at his touch as she brushes against him, and she falls back, her head lowering to the ground as he looks at her like she is someone completely different. His eyes are wide in surprise, the lights of the room flickering in his eyes. They are both breathless and panting.

  “Perfect,” he says in a whisper so soft the show had to subtitle it, pulling her back up. In that smooth motion, Nellie found herself leaning forward, placing her hands around his neck, and pulling his lips to hers in a soft kiss. Rob pushed his lips against hers, kissing her back.

  “Wait, wait, wait,” she says, pulling back from him before he could kiss her again. “What?”

  “What?” he asks innocently, brushing a stray strand of hair from her face and smiling.

  “I just . . . I didn’t . . .” Nellie stammers, shaking her head in confusion. Her words left her, and she kissed him instead.

  The scene cuts to another slightly open door, and we see that Nellie and Rob are inside, still kissing. His bag is tossed on the desk, a few of his belongings scattered on it. The flowers that they hadn’t used for the ceremony were there too, making the room seem all the more romantic. The lights are all off, but they have a view of the bay outside, with moonlight trickling in.

  Nellie is burning up, and the kisses he plants along her lips, neck, and jaw soothe her skin, but only mildly. Nellie pulls him closer to her, feeling his chest rumble under her hands as she touches him, threading her fingers through his long ginger hair. He pushes against her and she grasps him tightly. They tumble into the darkness, giggling and whispering things the cameras couldn’t really catch and the producers couldn’t subtitle.