by Beth Carter
Alex watched as he sauntered out the front door. He had disappeared as quickly as he had appeared. She was surprised at the disappointment she felt. After all, she didn’t even know the guy’s name.
Tony grunted. “Later my ass. City slicker needs to go back to the Big Apple. Be around those weirdoes in New York City. He’s not wanted around here.”
“I’d love to go to New York someday. I hear it’s amazing.” Alex hopped off her stool and slung her purse over her shoulder. She wanted to avoid any more confrontation since Tony was obviously in a mood. “Enjoy your meeting, Miss Wedding Planner, and Hope, tell those helicopter parents to stop already with those damn participation trophies. Let the kids learn to fail. Success will mean much more when it’s earned. Problem solved.”
Hope studied her banker friend. “I didn’t think you were even listening earlier. And since when are you a high school counselor? Great advice.”
“Since I’m sick of shit. Bye, ladies.” She gave Tony a wide berth as they exited the bar. He followed her outside.
Hope watched as Alex leaned over and said something heated to Tony at the front door. Soon she did an about face and returned to the table without him.
Both of her friends raised their eyebrows but didn’t say a word in front of the couple-to-be who were all eyes and ears watching the events unfold.
“Where are my manners?” Suzy stood and introduced herself. She gestured with her hand toward an empty booth. “Let’s get our own table. My friends obviously need some space.”
The young couple laughed. The tall guy said, “And I bet you thought we were weird.”
Suzy smiled. “Not at all. Looks like I need to scout around for pumpkins for your wedding.”
Hope raised her brows. “Pumpkins? Good luck with that. How will you pull pumpkins off this time of year?”
“I’m a magician. See you ladies later.” Suzy escorted the couple to an empty booth near the beach mural featuring bikini-clad women, sand, surf, boats, and palm trees. As they settled into the booth, Suzy opened her iPad. Alex and Hope watched as the couple placed an order with Gus.
“What a strange day.” Alex stared at Hope. “What should we drink next?”
Hope held up both hands. “No more alcohol for me. How about more coffee or water? I’ve had enough booze.”
“Same here, although I could use a drink after that episode with Tony.”
“What did you say to him at the door?” Hope asked.
Alex waved her hand as if swatting a fly. “I told him he’s not my boss. I swear. He can be so domineering. I guess it’s his police training. He finally got the message and left.”
“I’m surprised he left that easily.”
“Oh, he peeled out of the driveway. I heard the tires spin on the gravel but I wasn’t about to give him the satisfaction of knowing I noticed.” Alex flipped her hair over her shoulder. “I don’t want to talk about him anymore.”
Hope nodded. “I understand.”
They finished off the cheese, crackers, and olives the men had left behind. Alex kept an eye on Suzy’s table. “Look how that girl is drinking her soda. I wonder why she uses the side of her mouth.” Alex squinted and sucked in her breath. “Oh, my God. Is that what I think it is?”
Hope didn’t bother to look up. “Forked tongue, probably.”
“And you say that so casually.”
Hope shrugged. “When you’re a high school counselor, you see everything.”
Alex couldn’t stop staring. “She’s going to regret that when she’s older. I mean really regret it.”
“She probably already does but she won’t admit it. It’s difficult to eat and drink, as you can see. Sometimes it affects their speech.” Hope shook her head. “Kids.”
Soon Gus appeared with water for Hope and decaf coffee for Alex. “Enjoy.”
Between sips, they glanced at the animated bride-to-be and her fiancé.
“I’d like to be a fly on their table. If anyone can pull off a non-seasonal Halloween wedding, Suzy can,” Alex said.
“Without a doubt,” Hope added.
“I can’t wait to hear about their wedding ideas.” Alex yawned. “I’m leaving after this cup. I hope Tony isn’t waiting in the lot.”
Hope made a face. “Men. I’ll walk you out.”
~ ~ ~
After leaving Coconuts, Tony pulled into a Walgreens parking lot less than a block away. He had already glanced at Gage’s rental car since Mr. Sunglasses was sans limo tonight. Tony had memorized the license plate number before going into Coconuts and called his contact.
“Do me a favor and run these plates. They belong to a guy from New York, Caucasian, about 5’11,” with a buzz cut. He’s a limo driver for a New York socialite, Cheri Van Buren. That’s all I’ve got. Call me right back.”
He pulled into a McDonald’s drive-thru, ordered black coffee, and drove past Alex’s street. He wanted to make sure limo asshole wasn’t parked in her driveway. He wasn’t. Tony pulled over and parked as his cell rang. His jaw tightened as he listened to the caller. “No priors? Are you sure? Not even a speeding ticket or a DUI? Damn. Okay. Thanks, bud.”
Chapter 43
When the Halloween bride and groom-to-be excused themselves to have a private discussion, Suzy glanced at a chipper text full of exclamation points from Jon saying how happy he was about getting his dream-come-true beach wedding and asking what resorts she had found. As she read the exuberant message, she chuckled because her son wasn’t normally this animated.
After Priscilla and Rodney returned to their seats, Suzy beamed. “Would you like more coffee? It’s on me.”
They bobbed their heads. The groom-to-be ordered a mocha latte and his bride requested a macchiato, whatever that was. She hoped Gus knew how to make the concoctions. Coconuts wasn’t Starbucks, after all.
After they received their fancy coffees, Suzy couldn’t keep from ogling Priscilla’s forked tongue and noticed the bride had great difficulty with her straw. She tried using it in the front to no avail and eventually held it at the side of her mouth. The bride talked with a slight lisp. No wonder. Suzy wasn’t about to judge—or ask questions—and carried on as if she were having coffee with her grandmother.
Suzy retrieved a yellow legal pad from her black tote, along with her favorite pink and black Weddings by Suzanne pen. “I’m old school. I have an iPad but prefer to use paper.”
The groom said, “Whatever works.”
They discussed potential wedding dates, food possibilities, unique Halloween decorations, and attire. The bride continued slurping her drink from the side as Suzy peppered them with questions. “I can’t decide if I want to wear a black dress or an orange one. I think black.”
“Cool” was her fiancé’s input.
Suzy nodded. “How about if your bridesmaids wear orange dresses?”
Her face fell. “It’s just us.” Then she brightened. “Maybe Rodney could wear a black suit with orange socks.”
“Or an orange hat,” he offered.
Priscilla frowned. “That might look lame. We need to come up with something cool.”
“Check eBay and some vintage clothing shops,” Suzy said.
Priscilla patted Rodney’s knee. “Let’s ask our guests to come in costume. Won’t that be fun?”
Suzy made notes. “That’ll definitely set a festive mood. We can request costume attire on the invitation.”
“And spider webs,” Priscilla said. “I want lots of those.”
Suzy drew a spider in the margin and giggled. “This will be the first wedding where a bride asked me to bring spider webs rather than make sure they were cleared away.” She held her pen in the air. “How do you feel about pumpkins and mums? That is, if I can find them this time of year.”
The
girl wrinkled her nose. “Too pretty. Too normal. I’m thinking skulls, ghouls, and dead, black roses. Think Walking Dead.”
Suzy grinned. “Got it. And since your guests will be in costume, why don’t you two wear costumes instead of traditional black and orange?”
“Ooh. I like that. I could be a witch or a zombie.” Priscilla studied her fiancé. “How do you feel about being Frankenstein? You’re tall.”
Rodney chuckled. “Think we can find bolts to come out of my neck?”
“Sure,” Priscilla said. “Ace Hardware, my favorite store. We’ll paint them green.”
Her fiancé grinned. “That’s my girl.”
Priscilla peered at Suzy. “If he’s Frankenstein, we should find lifts for his shoes so he’ll be uber tall, right?”
“Yep. I love planning unique weddings. Given your ideas, I think we should use tombstones with family names or your friends’ names at the venue. It’ll look creepy and set the mood.”
“Yeah, man. Nice touch,” Rodney said.
“What about black cats?” Suzy asked.
“She’s superstitious.”
Suzy laughed. “You’re superstitious? Now that’s funny. How about a coffin?”
The young woman’s eyes lit up. “A coffin at the reception would be lit.”
Rodney added, “Let’s put food in it.”
Priscilla nodded. “Yeah. That’d be gross but cool.”
Suzy’s thoughts swirled as she made notes. “Food in a coffin would be unique. Definitely doable.” She wrinkled her nose and then smiled. “Actually, it’s perfect.”
She glanced at her legal pad. Her scrawls included dead, black roses, skulls, cobwebs, costumes, black candles, Frankenstein, and a coffin. She could picture the theme in her mind and couldn’t wait to tell Alex and Hope about this crazy wedding. “Have you thought about a venue?”
“We’d love to get married at Crystal City Park—at the mouth of the cave,” Priscilla said. “If we time it right, the bats might fly above our heads.”
The groom added, “And from a practical side, they have plenty of parking. The park is beautiful with a lake, ducks, and everything—not that we want pretty but the guests might enjoy the setting.”
“Did you say bats?” Suzy shivered. “That fits the theme, though.” She added another note. “I’ll check with the city and see if they’ll allow us to have a wedding in a public park. If it’s allowed, just be aware that we can’t close the park, so I can’t control screaming kids or barking dogs. I don’t want to be blamed for noisy—”
“We’ll just scare the little buggers away,” Rodney said.
“You probably will. Do you have a backup venue if there’s an issue or conflict?”
They both shook their heads. The bride answered. “Nope. We met at Crystal City Park. It has to be there.”
“Understood. I’ll do my best.” Suzy was positive the couple was meant for each other. Their union will probably last longer than my first marriage.
She poised her pen in the air. “Have you thought about music?”
The couple looked at one another. Priscilla spoke first. “We have a tiny budget and have some friends who are in a band. We’re going to see if they’ll play for free food.”
“If you’re in a public park, there’s likely a sound ordinance. I’ll check but I doubt you can have a full band. In the meantime, want me to research Halloween love songs, if there is such a thing?”
Priscilla bobbed her head. “There are plenty like ‘Thriller’ by Michael Jackson.”
“That’s a good one.” Suzy wrote the song title down and made a note to call the Crystal City park board. Straightening her green skirt, she said, “I think we’ve covered plenty of details for now.” She reached into her purse and plucked out a pink and black Weddings by Suzanne business card. “Here’s my card. Call, text, or email me with any questions.” Suzy stood and shook their hands. “This will be a fun, unique wedding. I’ll take good care of you and will be in touch soon. Thanks for trusting me to plan your special day.”
Suzy noticed the young woman’s eyes welled with tears. Priscilla sniffed several times, obviously fighting back waterworks. Rodney handed her his hankie and turned to Suzy. “Thank you for not laughing us out of the restaurant. Full disclosure—we met with two other wedding planners who were apparently so weirded out by our appearance they wouldn’t even listen to our ideas. They both had—he made air quotes—emergency phone calls and supposedly had to leave right away. Neither one called us back.”
The bride-to-be dabbed her eyes with the hankie. “Thank you.” She sniffed. “We appreciate your respect.”
Suzy immediately felt horrible for even noticing the forked tongue and horns. She frowned. “I’m sorry that happened to you. That wasn’t professional of those wedding planners. I’m glad you contacted me.” She hugged Priscilla, shook hands with Rodney, and gathered her belongings to leave.
Chapter 44
As Suzy stuffed her notes in her purse and prepared to leave, she felt someone brush against her shoulder.
“Penny for your thoughts.” Ken kissed his wife. “You didn’t even see me walk in.”
“Hi, sweetie. You won’t believe my day.”
Ken slid onto a chair. “Tell me.”
Suzy smiled. “The girls and I met Cheri Van Buren.”
“Am I supposed to know who that is?” he asked.
“Don’t you ever read the tabloids at the grocery store or watch Entertainment Tonight?”
He shook his head. “Can’t say that I have. Who is she?”
Suzy lowered her voice since she didn’t want other Coconuts patrons to overhear. “Cheri’s from an extremely wealthy family. Multi-millionaire rich from what I understand. She’s from New York, grew up with a private chef, and arrived here at Coconuts in a limo. Surely I mentioned that.” She shrugged. “Maybe I forgot to tell you.”
Gus appeared with menus.
“Oh, hi, Gus. The usual, please.” He took Ken’s beer order and retreated.
“You have a usual?” Ken asked. “How often do you come here?”
Suzy crossed her arms. “You know Alex, Hope, and I meet here at least weekly, plus any time we have an emergency.” She laughed. “Which seems to happen often lately.”
Gus returned with a merlot and a beer.
Ken sipped his Budweiser. “Back to the New Yorker. What does she do again?”
“She’s a caterer and owns Fifth Avenue Catering.”
“Too bad she doesn’t live here. You two could team up.”
Suzy steepled her fingers. “That’s a great idea. I’ll have to mention it to her. I’m not sure how long she’ll be in town, though. Apparently she came to the area to sell her grandmother’s house in Branson but couldn’t bear to let it go. I think she may keep it as a retreat.”
“I guess with all that money she can afford multiple homes,” Ken said.
Suzy bobbed her head. “Must be nice—or not. I’d hate to clean two or three houses.”
Ken winked. “I’m sure she has people for that.”
“Don’t get the wrong idea. She’s very down to earth. Extremely friendly, in fact. Except for her designer clothes, shoes, and that limo, you’d never know she was worth millions.”
“I’m glad you have a new friend.” Ken reached for his wife’s hand. “Have I told you how much I love you?”
“Me too.” Suzy squeezed his hand. She wanted to address her concerns about Izzy’s rudeness but didn’t want to ruin the nice moment. Now wishing she hadn’t put a roast on so they could go out to dinner for a date night, she ran her finger along the rim of her wine glass. “You’d get a kick out of my newest clients.”
“Why?” Ken asked.
“One has horns and the other has a forked tong
ue.”
“What?” Ken’s forehead creased. “Suzy, who are you working with?”
Suzy patted her notes. “They’re two young kids fresh out of high school who are trying to find their way. They’re very loving and respectful, have been disowned by at least one set of parents, and are trying their best to work within a miniscule budget.”
“Okay, okay. Point taken,” Ken said. “I shouldn’t judge.”
Suzy nodded. “It’s all right. At first, I thought they were strange. Now, I see them as creative, thoughtful, young adults who are madly in love and want to have the perfect wedding to match their unique personalities.”
“What kind of wedding are you planning for them?”
Suzy’s eyes twinkled. “A Halloween-themed ceremony complete with black roses, blood-red punch, spiders, skulls, and a skeleton to greet the guests. It’ll be perfect.”
Ken chuckled. “Sounds about right. They’re lucky to have you and so am I.” He drained his drink. “Can we leave? That roast is calling me. It smelled scrumptious when I dropped some paperwork off earlier this afternoon.”
“Sure.” Suzy and Ken left arm in arm and drove home in separate cars.
When they parked in the garage, Ken hopped out and said, “I’m starving. I may have to eat the roast right out of the crock pot.”
Chapter 45
As they entered the kitchen, Suzy noticed the kitchen sink overflowed with dirty dishes. She glanced at the counter. The lid was off the slow cooker. She peeked inside. The roast, carrots, and potatoes were gone—obviously devoured by Izzy’s friends or hungry wolves. The television blared but the kids were nowhere to be found. Suzy turned to Ken. “I hope you like grilled cheese.”
“Dammit. I was looking forward to that.”
Suzy banged plates and glasses onto the counter and slammed a frying pan onto the stovetop. “I’m not doing their dirty dishes. Izzy is going to do them.”
