“What are you doing?” Jacob asked.
“I’m not sure about the rules of this court,” Fin said.
“Court?” Jacob asked.
“Isn’t that what this is?” Fin asked. “Your people bring you problems, and you resolve them at this . . .”
“Kitchen table?” Jacob asked.
“This is your castle — isn’t that right?” Fin asked.
“This is a kitchen table, and the Castle belongs to Delphie,” Jacob said.
“Very modest of you,” Fin said, “since you quite literally write the story of what goes on here.”
Jacob’s cheeks flushed, and he glanced at Honey. She mouthed “dick,” and Jacob smiled at her.
“What can I do for you?” Jacob asked.
“Yes, well,” Fin said. Now that he had Jacob’s attention, he wasn’t sure what to do with it.
“Does this have something to do with Abi?” Honey turned around to ask.
She turned back to Jacob.
“Abi’s concerned that Queen Fand with freak out over the baby,” Honey asked. “What did you name her?”
“We have a ceremony on her fourth day of life,” Fin said. “So we need a safe place to stay as well as a place to hold a ceremony.”
“Okay,” Jacob said. “I’ll talk to Delphie. As I said, it’s her home.”
“Do you have such a place for the naming ceremony?” Fin asked.
“Delphie has a chapel,” Jacob said. “It holds a lot of people and has an area in the front for ceremonies.”
“Very well,” Fin said.
“And your mother?” Honey asked.
“What about her?” Fin asked.
“What are you going to do to deal with her anger over Abi having her baby first?” Honey asked.
“What can one do?” Fin asked with a shrug. “Mother is jealous of Abi’s power. This has always been so.”
“She’s your mother,” Honey said.
“My mother is Abi’s oldest friend,” Fin said. “They’ve had worse arguments than this. I’m sure it will blow over when mother has her child.”
“Not before it gets worse,” Jacob said.
“Now how could you possibly know that?” Fin asked.
Jacob lifted a shoulder in a shrug. Honey looked at Jacob and then at Fin.
“You’re welcome to stay here,” Jacob said. “But you should know — after the last fairy meltdown, Delphie did hours of research through ancient documents. We’ve been able to fortify the Castle so that fairy magic doesn’t work well inside the Castle. I’m sure you’ve found that already.”
“Inside the walls but not outside,” Fin said.
Jacob nodded.
“You’ll be safe here,” Jacob said. “But start some ridiculous drama here? You’ll be out sooner than you can blink.”
“‘Ridiculous drama’?” Fin asked.
“I’ve met your mother,” Jacob said.
“Yes, well . . .” Fin nodded.
“You can either stay either in the basement or in one of the newer apartments,” Jacob said. “They’re on the first floor here. We’ve gutted them and finished the floors. I can get a crew and finish one up for you in a couple of days.”
“That would be very nice,” Fin said. “I’d appreciate it.”
“You can stay where you are for now,” Jacob said. “The bedroom off the medical offices is empty. There’s no kitchen, but most people use this one. There’s the large new bathroom there and a shower in the single.”
“For those of us who remember life before indoor plumbing, it’s very plush,” Fin nodded. “Might I help with the new apartments?”
“I think Abi is going to need you,” Jacob said.
Fin gave a slight nod.
“You know the rest of the rules?” Jacob asked.
“Breakfast is around 6 a.m., but attendance is not mandatory,” Fin said. “Dinner is at 6 p.m., and everyone is to attempt to make it. There’s a schedule for cooking. Everyone pitches in for food and upkeep. Public spaces are public, private spaces are private. Try to mind your own business. It’s okay to argue, but all-out war is unacceptable.”
“Close enough,” Jacob said. “We pitch in for all household expenses including the crew that cleans.”
Fin nodded. He stood up from his seat and held out his hand.
“Welcome Prince Finegal to life at the Castle,” Jacob said.
“Breakfast this morning?” Fin asked.
“There are muffins warming for you in the oven,” Honey said.
“Thank you,” Fin said.
He went to the oven. Mimicking what he’d seen done, he opened the contraption and peered in. He reached in and yanked his hand back. Honey wheeled around to help. Rather than doing it for him, she gave him a towel and helped him get out the muffin tin. She showed him where the plates were located and helped him get the muffins out of the tin. When he was done, Fin was grinning ear to ear.
“Modern life’s not as difficult as I thought,” Fin said with a smile. “Thank you, Honey.”
Honey nodded. He took the plate and some butter up the stairs with him.
“He forgot the coffee,” Honey said mildly.
“He’ll be back,” Jacob said. “Are we clear on what we need to do?”
“About Fin and Abi?” Honey asked.
“About our apartment building for wheelchair-bound accessibility,” Jacob said.
“I am,” Honey said. “I have my fitting today at 10; then I’m in a meeting from 11 to noon. I can meet you at the building permits office at 1 p.m.?”
“I’ll go now,” Jacob said with a nod. “I can get a head start on everything. Who knows? Maybe I’ll be done by 1 p.m.”
Honey snorted a laugh. Jacob grinned.
“Good luck!” Honey said to Jacob as she rolled away.
Jacob sat at the kitchen table for a moment longer. In the last week, he’d been in the Sea of Amber, lived in his cabin made by love, and been focused on helping Blane. It was a great relief to be back in the general ebb and flow of daily life.
Just a Monday was exactly what Jacob needed.
~~~~~~~~~
Monday morning — 10:05 A.M
“Why’s that?” Tanesha asked Sandy.
They were sitting in a private fitting room at the bridal shop. Sandy was wearing her mother’s gorgeous silk wedding dress. Jill was wearing the cream-colored strapless dress with cream lace roses that she was originally married in, and Honey was wearing a cream-colored lace shirt and silk skirt that Valerie had Claire Martins design for her.
“Why what?” Heather asked. She came out of a dressing room in a blush-colored fitted sheath dress.
“Sandy was saying something about wedding ceremonies,” Tanesha said. She went into the dressing room Heather had just vacated to put on her matron-of-honor dress.
“I said that I wondered if all of this ceremony was a ridiculous waste of time and resources,” Sandy said.
“You mean because we’re all married already?” Honey asked as she rolled out of the dressing room.
Yvonne went to Honey and started plucking at Honey’s dress. Honey scowled at Tanesha’s mother, and Yvonne smiled. Practiced at changing clothes, Tanesha was out of the changing room lickety-split.
“You’ve lost a little weight with those medical tests,” Yvonne said with a smile. “I just want to make sure each one of you look your best.”
“Mom just got back from being on tour with Jeraine,” Tanesha said. “Jer said she did this before every performance, with every single person.”
“They all thanked me,” Yvonne said.
“Thanks, Mom,” Tanesha said.
The other girls chimed in, and Yvonne stood up a little straighter. One of the seamstress assistants came in. Yvonne pointed to Honey, and she started working on the final changes.
“If you ask me, you can’t have too many weddings,” Yvonne said. “All of this ‘ridiculous waste’ is in celebration of love. How many times do we celebrate love?”
Yv
onne nodded. Seeing the women looking at her, Yvonne blushed.
“I mean, we spend a fortune on all kinds of ridiculous things that matter so much less,” Yvonne said. “You have love. Why not celebrate it?”
“She makes a good point,” Jill said as she came out of the dressing room.
Yvonne went to pick at Jill’s dress. Carrying a bottle of champagne, Anjelika came in from the interior of the store.
“You look so serious,” Anjelika said. “What are you girls talking about?”
“The ridiculousness of weddings,” Yvonne said.
“They are fabulously ridiculous,” Anjelika said.
“See,” Yvonne said. She touched Jill on the shoulder. “You have just a few places that aren’t exactly right.”
The seamstress had just finished marking changes to Honey’s wedding dress. Jill went to where she would get her changes marked.
“What’s going on, Sandy?” Jill asked. “You’ve been so excited about this wedding, wearing your mom’s dress, beautiful flowers, doing it together, and having the big wedding in the big basilica.”
“What’s changed?” Heather asked.
“Nothing, really,” Sandy said. “I just . . .”
She finished the statement with a shrug. Another seamstress assistant came in and went to check Heather.
“Is something going on with Aden?” Heather asked.
“We can’t go on our honeymoon now,” Sandy said.
Jill shot Sandy a sad look.
“Why?” Tanesha asked at the same time Honey said, “What’s going on?”
“He has to work,” Sandy said. “I know it’s dumb, but I was looking forward to the whole package. You know, like you see on Facebook — perfect wedding, beautiful ceremony, amazing honeymoon. I have my bikini packed. I’m in the best shape of my life so I can post braggy photos on Instagram.”
Sandy shrugged.
“That sounds dumb when I say it out loud,” Sandy said.
Jill hugged her, and Tanesha touched her back. The women were kind and comforting.
“It’s not like this isn’t enough,” Sandy said. “All of this is certainly more than I ever hoped for. And I’m so glad that we get to do it all together. I guess, since I can’t have it all, I figure . . .”
“‘ . . . that I don’t want any of it,” Heather, Tanesha, and Jill all joined in a chorus of Sandy’s oft-repeated words.
“I guess I say that a lot,” Sandy said with a sad smile.
Honey gave Sandy an odd look.
“What is it?” Yvonne asked in a low tone.
“Aden’s scheduled off for a week,” Honey said in the same soft voice. “If he canceled, it’s not because of work.”
Yvonne and Honey glanced at Sandy, and Honey shook her head.
“I’ll get to the bottom of this,” Honey said with a nod.
“Before we get undressed and go about our day,” Anjelika said, “I’d like to propose a toast.”
Heather and Tanesha made sure that everyone had a glass of champagne. They raised their glasses for Anjelika to make the toast.
“To the best friends starting another chapter in the best story of their lives,” Anjelika said.
The women clinked their glasses together, followed by a group hug. They took turns changing out of their dresses. In a few minutes, they were standing on the sidewalk.
“Everything’s on schedule,” Sandy said. “See you this afternoon!”
Squeezing in these appointments between work, the women rushed off. Sandy waved and jogged to her car to get to the shop. Honey pulled out right after her to get to Lipson. Jill left for her next interior-decorator appointment. Tanesha lingered a bit while Heather finished up her fitting.
“You heard what Honey said, right?” Heather asked Tanesha.
Tanesha shook her head.
“Aden is scheduled off next week,” Heather said as they got into her car. “He’s not working.”
“So why did he cancel their honeymoon?” Tanesha asked.
“I think it’s more like — did he cancel their honeymoon?” Heather asked.
Tanesha nodded. They drove in silence for a minute.
“You think Sandy canceled it?” Tanesha asked.
Heather shook her head.
“Aden’s screwing around?” Tanesha asked.
“No,” Heather said. “I think Aden’s giving Sandy the whole package, like she wanted when we were kids.”
“Surprise honeymoon?” Tanesha winced out the words.
Heather nodded. Tanesha swallowed hard.
“But Sandy doesn’t like surprises,” Tanesha said.
“That’s why he needs our help,” Heather said.
Tanesha squinted at Heather.
“What did you have in mind?” Tanesha asked.
Heather told her exactly what they should do.
“I’m in,” Tanesha said when Heather had finished.
“I knew you would be,” Heather said.
Chapter Four Hundred and Twenty-three
The Fixer
Monday mid-day — 1 p.m.
“Okay, I’m on my way,” Honey said to Jacob when he answered his cell phone. The background sounded like he was at a restaurant or possibly a bar. “How did it go?”
“Good,” Jacob said. “We need an insp . . .”
“No,” Honey said. “No, we’ve had all of the inspections necessary. They just say that to stall.”
“Yes, that’s exactly right,” Jacob said. “So you’re on your way?”
“In the car,” Honey said. “Where are you?”
“I’m having lunch with a friend from high school,” Jacob said. “Would you like to meet us?”
“Sure,” Honey said with such irritation that Jacob smiled. “Where are you?”
He told her the name of the restaurant and clicked off the phone. Honey gave an exasperated growl. She and MJ had been around and around with these planning people. Jacob said he would help, not go to lunch with one of his buddies.
“Probably one of those hockey players,” Honey said out loud with a sneer.
At the next stoplight, she typed the address into her GPS and realized the restaurant was right next to the Wellington Web building, where Permitting was located on its second floor.
She crossed her fingers that her favorite handicapped parking space was open and was delighted to see that it was. She went through her van and got in her lightest chair. She took the lift to the ground and wheeled her way into the restaurant. She was pleasantly surprised that the restaurant had enough space for her to easily roll in. Jacob waved her over to their table. She was almost there when she realized that Jacob was sitting with the manager of Community Planning and Development. She knew who he was because she’d called his office a few times to beg for help.
“Honey!” Jacob said. He leaned over to hug her. “Devon, this is my sister, Honey. She went to Machbeuf a few years after we did. You might remember her husband, MJ? He was a year or two ahead of us.”
“Scully?” Devon said. He stood up in greeting to Honey. “You’re getting married this weekend.”
Honey blushed bright red. Devon looked like a Colorado boy. He was handsome, with the ruddy skin of spending too much time outdoors. Two of his fingers were wrapped in Band Aids, and he sat down as if he had road rash on his rear.
“MJ and I were in Iraq at the same time,” Devon said. “Although, he was SF, and I was a lowly grunt. My girlfriend and I are going to be at the wedding.”
“How did someone so young get in charge of Planning?” Honey asked.
“Straight-up nepotism,” Devon said with a laugh.
Honey smiled. She glanced at Jacob, who was grinning.
“Come, sit with us,” Jacob said.
Honey rolled her wheelchair up to the table. They were eating corn chips and drinking iced tea.
“I ordered you some lunch,” Jacob said. “I think it’s all stuff you can eat. And these are gluten free.”
“So’s the salsa,�
� Devon said. “My mother’s gluten intolerant. Nothing like Crohn’s, but I’m ‘gluten aware.’”
“Thanks,” Honey said.
“How was the fitting?” Jacob asked.
“Good, but Sandy thinks that Aden can’t go on their honeymoon,” Honey said.
Jacob gave her a fixed smile.
“If he thinks that he’s going to surprise Sandy, he really should think again,” Honey said. “She’s now saying she doesn’t want to go through with the wedding.”
“I’ll talk to him,” Jacob said.
“Sandy was really upset,” Honey said.
“I’ll talk to him,” Jacob repeated.
“Good,” Honey said, with a nod.
“I’ve heard what’s been happening,” Devon said.
Honey smiled.
“You’ve been going from Hospital Permitting to Residential Permitting and back around again,” Devon said. “The problem is that Permitting isn’t really set up for a project like yours. It makes sense to me that you’d go back and forth.”
“And go nowhere,” Jacob said.
The waiter came and set their plates in front of them. Jacob had fish tacos, Devon had an enchilada plate, and Honey had her favorite meal — chicken fajitas. For a moment, they were silent as they happily ate.
“How can we get out of this loop?” Honey asked.
“We have a plan,” Jacob said with a nod.
“You do need one more inspection,” Devon said. “But I’ve set the entire thing up. Both inspectors will come out. They will both make recommendations, and my guess is that you’ll leave with permits to open business.”
“Wow,” Honey said. “When will it happen?”
“I put it on the schedule for Wednesday,” Devon said. “I said it was a wedding present for a disabled-veteran friend. They were happy to squeeze you in. Since you’ve already had some inspections, this should be a piece of cake.”
“Great!” Honey said. She gave him a glowing smile. “That’s wonderful. You’re wonderful.”
“Let’s see if we can get this going before we celebrate,” Devon said. “Your idea is fantastic. If we figure out how to get it open, we can open more of them. Jacob said you’re looking at building one near Craig Hospital, for people who need places to stay but aren’t quite done with treatment.”
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