Managed by Chance

by Amy DeMeritt

  They walked upstairs hand in hand, and while Mel put her tee shirt and shorts on, Katie made the bed.

  “Is that another one of your pet peeves?”

  Katie looked up as she was straightening the sheet and blanket over the pillows. “Making the bed?” She shook her head as she stood up. “I wouldn’t call it a pet peeve, but I do prefer not to leave a bed unmade before starting my day. Is it one for you?”

  “Sort of. I don’t like leaving a bed looking like I just rolled out of it. And I don’t like leaving clothes all over the floor or on the bed when I go out.”

  Katie wrapped her arms around Mel’s waist and kissed her lips. “I can handle that.” She tilted her head to the side, and posed, “Wet towels on the bathroom floor?”

  “I think you know the answer to that.”

  Katie giggled and kissed her lips. “Come on, let’s go fix breakfast.”

  When they got downstairs, Katie pulled the curtains open on the sliding glass door leading to the deck and over the kitchen windows to let the sunlight in. And after getting a pot of coffee brewing, she opened the fridge with her arm around Mel’s waist so they could look at the contents together.

  “What do you want to eat? I have eggs, bacon, sausage, fruit, vegetables, steak, cheese… pretty much everything you see is fair game. We can make omelets or breakfast sandwiches or steak and eggs. Whatever you want.”

  “All of that sounds amazing.”

  Mel rubbed her stomach, which was growling with hunger. They discussed a couple of ideas, then pulled the ingredients out to make steak and eggs with avocado, tortillas, fresh salsa, and spiced apples for some sweetness.

  When they were set up next to each other at the kitchen island to work together, Mel hesitantly asked, “So, uh, small or big wedding?”

  Katie smiled as she looked up from dicing tomatoes for the fresh salsa. “In between. I’d like my closest friends and family there and I’d like it to be beautiful. But I don’t want to spend my entire life savings on it or go into debt either. What about you?”

  “I couldn’t have said it better. Indoor or outdoor?”

  “Oh, that’s hard.” She scooped up the tomatoes and put them in a bowl so she could cut peppers next. “There are pros and cons to both. The time of year would have a huge factor on that. A summer wedding in Texas would be way too hot to be completely outdoors. Spring or autumn would be best. I think an outdoor wedding would be beautiful in the right place.” She set her knife down and turned to face Mel. “Okay, don’t laugh.”

  Her curiosity piqued, Mel set the apple down she was peeling and faced her. “I can’t promise that, but I promise to have an open mind.”

  “Fair enough.” Katie lightly bit her bottom lip and took a deep breath through her nose. “When I spent some time traveling around Europe and Italy, one of my favorite things to do was explore libraries, like really old libraries.” Mel released a small laugh, and Katie laughed as she playfully slapped her stomach. “Don’t laugh.”

  “I’m sorry, that’s just so cute. And very Ravenclaw of you. Okay, go on. What about the libraries?”

  She lightly bit her bottom lip, then admitted, “I kind of always had a fantasy of a destination wedding to one of those libraries.”

  “That’s pretty unconventional, but it’s intriguing. What did these places look like?”

  “I think you would actually really love some of them. Especially this one in Manchester, England.” Katie turned to rinse her hands, then after drying them, she grabbed her cellphone from the charger on the other counter. She did an image search on the internet, then showed her screen to Mel. “This is the John Rylands Library.”

  “Oh, my god, I love this place. It looks like Hogwarts. Shit, look at those arches.” She scrolled down on the images. “It’s amazing. I can totally see J.K. Rowling walking around this place for inspiration for the descriptions for Hogwarts. I want to go here.” As she looked up at Katie, she was met with a beautiful, glowing smile. “I love you. And I love that you want to get married in a place like this.”

  While taking a deep breath to calm the jittery joy bubbling in her veins, Katie wrapped her arms around the back of Mel’s neck and kissed her lips. “I love you too. But you know a destination wedding means less guests and higher costs.”

  “I don’t care. I want to marry you in Hogwarts.” Mel’s face instantly flared bright red and she cleared her throat as she looked down, and mumbled, “I mean, I, uh, you know, if that happens or…”

  Katie lifted her face and kissed her lips for several moments. “I know what you meant. I don’t expect a proposal, especially not tomorrow or even next month. But I like that you feel comfortable talking about it.”

  “Why don’t you expect one at all? Is it because we’ve only known each other a little over a month?”

  “No, I don’t think time is relevant. You can know a person for ten years and still not know them as well as you do a person you met a week ago. It’s what you put into the relationship that matters. I guess I don’t expect it because the last time I expected it, I was strung along and it never happened. I hope it would happen, but I don’t expect it.”

  “Oh, yeah, I guess that makes sense.” Mel looked down for a moment, then looked up, and asked, “So, could you, uh, you know…” She sighed as she looked down again. Her heart was racing and her hands were starting to shake.

  “Mel, look at me.” She slowly looked up into Katie’s gorgeous gray-blue eyes. “I’m having this conversation with you because I want to have this conversation with you. Just like I wanted to have the conversation with you about children when we were laying on the couch. Whatever you want to say or ask, I want to hear it.”

  “Could you actually see yourself being married to me?”

  “Yes. I could see myself building a whole life with you, Mel. I didn’t ask you to give me another chance just so we can have a nice time together while I waited for someone else to come along.”

  “So, you do have a little bit of expectation in a proposal.”

  Katie released a small laugh as she leaned in to kiss Mel’s smiling lips. “Yes, I guess I have a little bit of expectation of things progressing there one day. But what if I want to propose to you?”

  “I’ve always imagined myself being the one to propose. But I wouldn’t freak out or be mad or anything if you beat me to it. If I had something major planned and you did it the night or week before or something, it would be kind of bittersweet though. Well, I guess that’s not the right word for it. I think it would be awesome. I guess I could still go through with my plans; they just wouldn’t have the same impact. Which is fine. I mean…” She groaned and rolled her eyes. “I am rambling so bad right now. You really should just tell me to shut up like Layla does when I get like this.”

  Katie laughed and kissed Mel’s lips. “I like when you ramble. Hearing your unedited thoughts helps me to get to know you better.”

  “Okay, one more question before I let go of you so we can finish breakfast because I am starving.”

  “Okay, shoot.”

  “What kind of pastry do you want for a coffee date Monday morning?”

  Katie fell forward laughing hard, and as she lifted her head off of Mel’s shoulder and looked at her goofy smile, she started laughing harder. After a few moments, she was composed enough to say, “I was expecting the question to be wedding related. You can surprise me.”

  “Sweet.” Mel kissed her giggling lips. “And for the record, planning more dates with you gets us closer to a wedding, so technically it was still related.”

  “Good point.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  The apartment was filled with the scents of dozens of herbed chicken legs slow roasting in the oven, apple cider mulling in a large stock pot on the back burner on the stove, dozens of fluffy dinner rolls and crisp spiced cookies cooling on the counter, and wax melting down long tapered candlesticks.

  While Blake and Mel worked in the kitchen, Layla, Katie, and Alic
e worked on the decorations. Draperies for each of the four Hogwarts houses were hung on the walls. A large birdcage was sitting next to the TV with a stuffed Hedwig (Harry’s owl) standing on top of it, which, along with a stack of index cards, would be used for a game of Truth to be played between movies one and two. Candelabras were in the process of being adorned with long streams and beads of melted wax. The entire living area was slowly being turned into a Hogwarts common room and it looked great.

  In the kitchen, Mel and Blake were working together on making several jugs of mixed drinks. In addition to the hot apple cider, they were making spiked iced tea, butter beer, lemonade, ginger beer, and refreshing water with slices of cucumbers and strawberries.

  After twisting the top on the last dispensing jug of water and putting it in the overflowing refrigerator, Blake leaned against the counter taking a swig from a bottle of beer and held one out to Mel.

  “Thanks.”

  Mel leaned against the opposite counter and twisted the cap off of the bottle to take a hearty gulp of the cold hoppy brew.

  While Mel drank, Blake asked, “What do we need to do next?”

  “We have a couple of buffet tables and a dozen folding chairs in a storage locker in the basement that we need to bring up here. If we all go, we can probably do it in one trip.”

  Blake walked out of the kitchen, and as she sidled up next to Layla, she slipped a hand in one of her back pockets, and softly asked, “Hey, babe, are you and the girls able to help me and Melrose get the tables and chairs from the basement?”

  Layla took Blake’s beer and nodded as she took a few gulps. “Yeah, we need to get those up here so we can decorate the tables. Hey, Katie, Alice, we’re going to take a break so we can get tables and chairs from the basement.”

  Katie and Alice blew out the candles on the last of the candelabras till they get back, and as Katie turned to face Mel, she smiled as she accepted her beer to take a sip.

  “Thanks.”

  “The candelabras are looking great. You having fun?”

  “I am. I’ve never done this before. And I really love how they look. I’m going to have to steal this idea for Halloween.”

  Mel grinned as she wrapped an arm around Katie’s waist. “We go all out for Halloween too. We pick a new theme every year. Last year the apartment became a haunted spacecraft. The year before was a bug apocalypse.”

  Alice laughed a little, and said, “That one was insane. I had nightmares of being eaten by giant roaches for two weeks.” As they all started walking to the door, Alice asked, “I know it’s early, but have you discussed this year’s theme yet?”

  While Layla locked the door, she answered, “A little bit. We’re thinking about a vampire castle theme.”

  Blake grinned as she bent into Layla’s neck, quietly said, “I approve,” then firmly bit her neck, eliciting a giggling moan from her.

  Layla turned in her arms, and with her lips pressed against her ear, she whispered, “You better still be around by then,” and teasingly traced the tip of her tongue around the curve of Blake’s ear.

  Mel rolled her eyes while making a mocking gaging sound, jeered, “Get a room,” then took Katie’s hand to walk down the hall to the elevator.

  With a laugh, Layla sprinted and tackled Mel around the back, causing her to stumble into a wall. They laughed as they got back in step with the others with their arms wrapped around each other. Layla messed up Mel’s hair and Mel swatted at her hand, then grabbed her sides to tickle her, making Layla laugh hard and squirm to get out of her arms. Layla playfully pushed Mel off of her, then looped her arm through Blake’s.

  Blake gripped Layla’s jaw, saying, “You’re so fucking adorable,” then bent down to give her a kiss.

  When they got on the elevator, Layla and Mel discussed what they had left to do before the start of the party, which was in just two hours. They still needed to clean the tables and chairs that they were on their way to retrieve from the basement. Decorate the tables so they were ready to be spread with all of the food people were bringing. Go buy ice for the four coolers that they had just remembered they also needed to bring up from the basement. Then after a last-minute sweep and vacuum, they would need to shower and get dressed.

  It took two trips to the basement to get everything they needed, then all of them worked together to clean the dust from the tables, chairs, and coolers.

  “Melrose, you come with me. We’ll go get ice.” Blake gave Layla a kiss on the cheek. “Anything else we need to grab while we’re out?”

  “No, I think we’re good.”

  “You sure? How much toilet paper do you have?”

  With a laugh, Layla shrugged a shoulder and walked down the hall to check. She opened the hall linen closet and counted five rolls.

  “Okay, we’ll pick up another pack. You’ll probably need it with as many people that are going to be here all weekend. Ready, Melrose?”

  “Yeah, sure.” Mel gave Katie a kiss on the lips. “I’ll be back. You need me to get you anything?”

  “Nope. Have fun.”

  Mel snorted, “Yeah, loads.”

  Katie grabbed the front of her tee shirt and pulled her into a brief kiss, and as they broke apart, and with a brilliant smile, she said, “I love you.”

  “I love you too.”

  Blake slapped a hand down on Mel’s back, startling her out of a dreamy staring contest with her girlfriend, making Blake laugh.

  “Let’s go, lover boy.”

  “Don’t call me a boy.”

  “Don’t take things so literal.” Blake waved at Katie with a wink. “See you later. I promise I’ll take good care of your girlfriend.”

  “You better. I’m very fond of her.”

  After giving Katie a quick kiss on the lips, Mel followed Blake out of the apartment, leaving Layla, Katie, and Alice to finish setting up for the party.

  They drove in silence for a couple of miles, but as they were passing a gas station, Mel looked back, and said, “Uh, you missed the turn.”

  “I’m going to the restaurant supply store. We’ll get a better rate there.”

  “Don’t you have to have a business license to shop at those places?”

  “I work at the club on the weekends and bartend at Terracotta Cantina during the week. I go there all the time for supplies, so they know me. It won’t be an issue.”

  “Why do you have to buy the supplies? Don’t the club and restaurant have people to do that?”

  With a laugh, Blake said, “Yeah, and I’m one of them. I’ve worked at places I didn’t get to pick the supplies. Trust me, it’s better having a say on what we use. Some restaurant managers think getting the cheapest napkins or garnish picks is the way to go. But you end up with shitty products that cost more money in the long run when you go that route.”

  “Do you like bartending?”

  “Most of the time.”

  Mel waited for a couple of minutes to see if Blake would explain why she doesn’t always like it, but she didn’t and she felt awkward asking, as if it was touching on something personal that Blake didn’t want to reveal.

  When they got to the store, Blake grabbed a long flatbed cart and walked straight to the paper products section.

  “Are you and Layla allergic to any brands of toilet paper?”

  “Uh, not that I know of. We don’t like that thin stuff though. Oh, and we don’t like that super soft stuff either because it leaves paper lint behind.” Mel looked at the brands, walking up and down the row, then slapped a hand down on a giant pack of rolls. “This is what we usually get. Damn, this is actually a good deal.” She laughed, and added, “I feel like I’m preparing for an apocalypse. We’re going to have toilet paper for like three months if we get this.”

  “Toss it on the cart. Do you have enough napkins, paper plates, cups, and plasticware?”

  “Other people are bringing those. We shouldn’t need to worry about it.”

  After Mel set the large pack of toilet paper on the ca
rt, Blake pushed it down the aisle, heading back to the front of the store to get the ice.

  “Whoa.” Mel stopped in the glassware section, completely in awe with the huge variety of uniquely shaped and colored glasses. “Awesome!”

  Blake snickered a little at Mel as she picked up a goblet style glass made with a smoky gray basin with cobalt glass cut and carved in an intricate design that looked like blue crystals growing up over the gray glass.

  “This is awesome.” Mel looked around at the other glasses. “Damn, I guess it would be crazy if they actually had this design in each of the Hogwarts house colors. This is perfect for Ravenclaw.”

  “I’m sure you can find something in each of the house colors if you want to.” Blake pointed down the row. “There’s a green goblet for Slytherin.”

  Mel and Blake walked down the row to check out the green goblet up closer.

  “It’s not as ornate, but it’s nice.” Mel turned. “Oh, there’s a scarlet one for Gryffindor. We just need a yellow one for Hufflepuff.”

  Blake snorted, “Hufflepuff. What do we need goblets for those losers for?” Mel glared at her, and Blake smirked as she smacked the back of Mel’s shoulder with a laugh. “I’m just fucking with you. How many of each of these do you want?”

  “Uh, I don’t know.” Mel walked between the green, scarlet, and cobalt goblets, looking at the prices. Each glass was between three and six dollars. She mentally went through the party invite list, trying to remember how many of her friends were in each of the four Hogwarts school houses, but she couldn’t remember offhand. “I need to call Layla.”

  “I’ll look for your Hufflepuff goblet while you do that.”

  As Blake walked away, Mel dialed Layla’s cellphone.

  “Hey, what’s up?”

  “Hey, we’re at the restaurant supply store and they have these really awesome glass goblets in each of the house colors. I’m trying to figure out how many of each house I need to buy so everyone has one.”