Chapter 26
Chapter Twenty-Six
W hen the zipper stalled, Mary looked over the bride s shoulder into the mirror and caught the shimmer in her brown eyes.
Mary had done nothing but triage emergencies all day, and since the makeup stylist had already left, the most pressing one was the flakes of waterproof mascara mixing with the tear trickling down Rochelle s cheek. Oh, and the fact that her wedding gown didn t fit.
Mary dropped the zipper pull, snatched a tissue from the dresser, and blotted under Rochelle s eyes. Don t worry. We ve got this.
How? The bride s voice was dangerously watery, like a Lake Mead s worth of tears threatened just behind the dam.
Exactly. How, genius? Well, we ve got two options. One is a shaper garment. She pulled the black piece of spandex from her tote bag. It was hers, but she d be happy to look lumpy under her own dress if it meant Rochelle looked fabulous.
But —Rochelle rubbed a hand over her midsection— what about the baby?
Mary looked over her shoulder. So far, they were alone in Rochelle s bedroom in her suite at La Villa. Her bridesmaids and her mother had gone out into the living room to cruise the array of snacks that had been delivered. Still, she whispered, I m sure the baby will be fine. It s the size of a banana. A small one. A little compression won t hurt.
Rochelle s lower lip stuck out.
Or, Mary continued, we can go with option B.
What s option B?
We do minor surgery on your dress. Mary circled behind the bride and examined the inside of her gown. There appeared to be enough fabric folded into the side seams to let out and give Rochelle s baby bump a little more space. And she knew someone who sewed.
Can we? Do we have time? Rochelle twisted to look at her over her shoulder.
Of course we have time. You re the bride. Nothing starts until you re ready. At least Alex wouldn t be hovering today, checking that everything was perfect. She silently thanked the thieves who d stolen the catalytic converter from his car in the hospital parking lot. Rafe had picked him and his mother up from the hospital earlier in the Tank. And now both Villas were at his mother s new rehab facility. Without wheels. Though the many just-checking-in texts he d sent her indicated sitting with his mother wasn t a full-time job. I need to make a quick call. Why don t you go have a snack?
A snack? Snacks are what got me into this mess. That and Rohaan s IUD-defying swimmers. Rochelle s chin trembled.
A snack will keep your blood sugar up. We can t have you fainting as you walk down the aisle. How would that look on the big screens Alex set up for you?
You re right, I ll eat some carrots.
Mary helped Rochelle step out of the dress and laid it on the bed. After blotting under her eyes, Rochelle put on the fluffy robe with the La Villa logo on the chest and left the bedroom to join the raucous group of women in the main room. It sounded like they were enjoying the champagne Alex had provided. Too bad the bride couldn t drink any.
With the door shut, she called Evie. I need you here at La Villa, she said as soon as Evie picked up.
Can t, Evie said tightly. Bees.
Bees?
The rain last week sent everything into bloom, and now there are bees everywhere.
I don t suppose anyone has a can of pesticide? Mary was only half joking.
Believe me, I asked. But the botanical garden folks flipped out. Apparently, pollination and the health of the bee population are more important than our guests comfort. Evie s flat tone showed what she thought of the gardeners priorities.
Shit. What can we do?
The pest control company I called suggested a natural citronella repellent that won t harm the bees. They re on their way.
Okay, that sounds perfect, Mary said. I ll ask Rafe to meet them there since he s closer. I ll get there as soon as I can to take over the wedding. Could you come here? Please? With your sewing kit. We need more room for baby in Rochelle s gown.
Dammit, Evie said. Footsteps scuffed on gravel. Didn t she just have her final fitting this week?
Baby-growing bodies can be unpredictable, I guess, Mary said. And the shaper garment was a no-go.
I ll be there in ten. A car chirped.
Same. Mary picked up her bag and walked out to give her bride the news.
* * *
This bride s tears were one hundred percent Mary s fault. And they weren t even the worst part of the situation. Mary rubbed Teagan s back as she sucked on her inhaler.
I m so, so sorry, Mary murmured.
Twyla gripped her bride s hand. She ll be okay now that we ve got her medicine.
Teagan set aside her inhaler and took a tentative, shallow breath. Her voice came out raw and scratchy. Better than Aunt Beth would ve been if one of those bees had stung her. God knows if she has an EpiPen on her.
Mary made a mental note. She needed one of those for her wedding kit. Better now? she asked.
Yeah. I just need to stay away from the flowers and that citronella spray. Remind me next time I get married to do it indoors.
Next time? Twyla smacked her arm. Here I am, beside you in sickness, and there you go?—
Teagan stopped her with a kiss. It was a joke.
You re not allowed to joke after almost dying on me.
Hey. Teagan patted Twyla s hand. Twyla s knuckles were white as she gripped Teagan s other hand. It s all good. We re married.
We are. Finally. Twyla leaned forward and kissed her bride.
A smile spread over Mary s face. Moments like this were why she d taken the risk of starting her wedding planning business. The love overflowing the brides eyes made all the stress, the late nights, and the time away from her own loved ones worth it. Seeing the brides happy together in this private moment was better even than the kiss at the end of the ceremony Mary had so carefully choreographed.
Now, let s fix your makeup so we can get this party started, she said. Fortunately, Teagan and Twyla had done their own, and it was much less formal than Rochelle s makeup. A little powder, mascara, and a fresh application of lip gloss had them both looking refreshed and ready despite Teagan s red eyes and pale cheeks.
Mary had just re-steamed the back of Teagan s gown and handed her a bottle of water when her phone rang. Alex. She sent it to voice mail and instead tapped out a chipper text.
No time to talk, but everything s great!!!
Three exclamation points were a little much. She backspaced over one of them. It still looked like she was trying too hard. She backspaced again. One exclamation point was good. It expressed excitement and didn t make it seem like she was lying at all. Shit, now she d spent entirely too much time on a one-sentence text. He d have been watching the bubbles and be concerned that it had taken her that long to type it. He d know she was lying. She backspaced one more time. No punctuation sounded breathless and distracted. Two accurate descriptors of her current mood. She hit send.
She d have added a thumbs-up emoji or three if she had the time.
Everything okay? Teagan asked.
What? Everything s fine. If she repeated the lie enough, it might come true.
Teagan sighed and looked out the window of the small classroom they d been given as a brides room. Holding glasses of champagne, their guests meandered through the bee-free garden. I m so glad you re here. We couldn t have had this gorgeous day without you.
Mary grinned. All the stress? Totally worth it. Thank you. When you re back from your honeymoon, I d love it if you d write a short testimonial. But now, if you re feeling up to it, you should rejoin your guests. And have something to eat.
Twyla put a hand on her wife s back. Come on. I want one of those mini empanadas while they re still hot.
The wives left the room, hand in hand, and Mary had only a second to smile with pride before her phone rang again. She reached to silence it—could Alex really not understand that she was working?—when she saw it was Evie. She tapped to answer.
Bad news.
Mary sucked in a breath. Again?
You remember Devon, Rohaan s nephew?
He s the ring bearer. Oh no, did something happen to his suit? She d had her doubts about his tiny all-white suit, but Rochelle thought it was adorable. Mary envisioned a greasy stain like the one on the garage floor from the time the transmission pan on Michael s Mustang had rusted through. Maybe it was still salvageable.
No. But he got into my sewing kit while I was fixing Rochelle s gown.
That didn t sound so bad. How did the dress alteration go, by the way?
Great. Plenty of room for the bride and the bump. But the little thief stole my scissors while I wasn t looking.
Mary imagined his little jacket hacked with jagged holes like a slice of Swiss cheese. But Evie had said his suit was fine. Uh oh. What did he do?
He snipped the rings off their pillow so he could try them on.
No! Silently, she started praying a Hail Mary.
Fortunately, his dad, the best man, discovered it and took the rings away.
Oh, thank God.
Hold on. There s more. When the best man went to get his backpack with some toys for Devin out of his rental car, he reached into his pocket for the key, and the rings fell out.
Mary sucked in a breath.
They rolled into a drain. It s got one of those grates on top, and we can t reach them.
Holy Mary mother of God! Both rings gone? Could she find a substitute? She still had her parents bands. She could run home to get them. But Rochelle and Rohaan would notice that they weren t using their custom engraved rings. They didn t need that kind of stress on their wedding day.
I think we might be able to rescue them, Evie said. Do you have some tools to fish them out?
Tools? She looked at her bag. She had needle and thread, safety pins, and a curling iron. Then she remembered the shop. They had a pry bar they could use on the grate. And if that didn t work, they could use the borescope to look inside the grate and a flexible grabber to retrieve the rings. Of course! I ll get Michael to bring them to you.
Michael? She could picture the curl of Evie s lip.
Rafe is still here with me on bee duty.
Okay. Fine. Just make sure he s courteous. We don t need him to stomp in here all surly and make a scene.
As much as she hated to admit that either of her brothers had a flaw, Evie was right. She encouraged Michael to stay in the back of the shop for exactly that reason. I ll talk to him.
The moment they disconnected, she called her brother. It rang seven times, each second torture. When he finally answered, he said, Everything okay?
Not really. Are you okay?
I was under a car.
If she d asked Google to translate what he d said into English, the screen would read, Why the hell are you bothering me? But I ll be nice to you since you re my little sister.
Listen, I need a favor. The rings for Rochelle s wedding went down the drain in the parking lot. I need you to take a pry bar, the boroscope, and one of those grabby things to the parking lot at La Villa to get them out. And be subtle, please. I don t want anyone, especially the bride and groom, to find out.
Can t you ask your boyfriend for help? He s got an entire maintenance crew.
Mary sucked in a breath. What would Alex say if he found out what had happened? Between the dress and the rings, he d think her incompetent. She might not want to be his wedding planner for any future weddings, but a word from him would ruin her reputation in the city. It might even break the fragile trust they d rebuilt. He wasn t like her brothers, who d forgiven her again and again, who understood what it was like to be fallible.
I d rather he didn t find out. Can you help? Please?
Okay. I ll be there in ten.
And don t drive anything ostentatious, okay?
He snorted. Ostentatious? Me?
No, seriously. I?—
But he d already disconnected.
It would be fine. Especially since, with his car missing a catalytic converter, Alex was stuck at the rehab facility with his mother and couldn t see the wedding teetering on the brink of disaster. Between Evie, Michael, and Mary, they d turn it around. She squared her shoulders and strode out into the warm evening to ensure that this wedding continued with no more catastrophes.