2. Maria
Chapter two
Maria
A s I spoke about everything I had found that could be done in the Boise area (within a thirty-minute drive of our Airbnb because I wasn’t stupid enough to want to do something that’d take me far enough away I’d be useless to Stacey if she needed me), I couldn’t help but notice that Maverick had this kind of longish brown hair that looked like it had beautiful blondish highlights in the sun. His blue eyes looked like shimmering pools when the sun hit them, and I couldn’t help but swim in those pools of color.
I didn’t get a chance to say anything or ask about how he knew Elliott and Caleb before we arrived at the Airbnb. I must have been blabbering too much because I could not stop looking at him, and talking to him gave me an excuse to look.
“Wow. This is a beautiful little place. Looks so welcoming,” I said as I got out of the truck to help grab bags.
I opened the back door to grab my carry-on and backpack. Mav, as my brother had called him, opened the bed of the truck so that he could start carrying bags inside. However, I had to wait for him because I didn’t have a key to the place.
“How many keys are there for this place?” I asked as he walked up the steps with one of the larger suitcases.
“Just one key, but I think we’re getting another one or two. Since I was the first to arrive with Caleb, I have it. I think Caleb’s here. Maybe he went to see Stacey, though. I’ve been gone a while.” He shrugged as he opened the door. “Welcome to the house for the week, Miss Maria.”
“Thank you, Mav,” I said.
Mav brought the rest of the luggage in and then said, “You’re downstairs in the room with the single bed. Elliott and Caleb are sharing the room with bunk beds.”
“Perfect. She kept the plan as it was when I wrote our signs,” I said. “Well, I have a few things that Stacey wanted me to do here before everyone else arrived, so she hoped that you would get me here before everyone else.”
With that, I took my bags to my room and then started setting up. We had ordered over-the-door hooks for the rooms, and I had decorated signs for the bedroom doors that stated who would be in each room.
I came across Maverick’s sign and knew that he had already found his room. Oh, those eyes, and there was something about the way he carried himself that captivated me. Elliott had mentioned that Mav was a no-nonsense kind of guy, and already I had seen hints of that—very organized, to the point, and didn’t seem to waste much time on trivial things.
A noise upstairs brought me out of my mesmerized state. It must be Maverick moving around. I grabbed all the signs and hooks, took care of my room and Elliott’s and Caleb’s room down here, and then headed upstairs to finish my task.
“So, what about the bridesmaid dresses? Last I heard from Caleb, he had no clue what was going on with those,” Maverick said as he followed me around the house.
“We’re waiting for the last of the alterations to be finished, and the place said they’ll be ready no later than Thursday for pick-up,” I shared. “I hope you have your baby pink tie because I know Caleb and Stacey had a time and a half trying to find a company that would ship all that they needed out here. I don’t know why Eagle Falls is so hard to ship to.” I shook my head.
“We got them all, including Caleb’s crimson bow tie.”
Maverick’s voice fell flat. I turned to look at him and noticed he was studying the signs I was putting up.
“That’s not what has everyone up in a flurry, though. The tuxes haven’t shown up yet, and Caleb’s about ready to raise a lot of trouble with the shop if they don’t show up soon,” he continued. “The wedding colors are crimson and baby pink, right?”
“Yes. Why do you ask as if that’s not been the plan since last year?”
“Because those signs are purple. Why are they in purple and not a crimson red? I understand baby pink won’t show up well on the white paper, but at least the crimson would.”
“I didn’t have a dark red pen that Stacey liked the look of at home,” I replied with a shrug. “That, and my red glitter pen ran out of ink, and I didn’t have to go buy one. Stacey liked the purple, and it’s for the accommodations only, not any of the official wedding decorations. Why does it matter if they don’t match the décor color theme that we’ve gone for?”
I turned to look at him again.
He nodded slowly as if that was the only answer he needed. I wondered if it was because he wanted to see if I’d gotten Stacey’s approval or if there was something else going on here. I wasn’t looking to upstage my sister. We may not have always gotten along before this, but this was her wedding. There was no way I was going to upstage her like that.
I was about to say something when my phone rang. I picked up as I continued to put the signs up.
“What’s up, Stacey?” I asked.
I had set a special ringtone for her so that I would know it was her. The ringtone? The wedding march. She had found it hilarious, and so had I. It always let me know that she was calling.
“I’m so stressed out, Maria. I need help getting answers from the alterations shop. Would you be willing to come along? I heard from Elliott that you guys landed a little earlier than he thought you would and that someone was delayed, so you’re already at the Airbnb like ten minutes from here.”
“I’d be more than willing to help you get answers if that’s what you need, Stacey. Do you want me to call them? Go with you to the shop? What are we doing?”
This wasn’t my first visit to Eagle Falls, but it was my first week-long visit. The other ones had been weekend trips to make sure that I could get the alterations done at this shop, like the rest of the bridesmaids—who all lived in the Boise area.
“I’d rather go there in person, but I understand if you’d rather call.”
“Can you give me an hour to recoup from being on a plane so early in the morning?”
“Go take a nap, you goof,” Stacey said with a laugh. I’ll see you in about an hour and a half.”
Maverick had wandered off, so I walked back down to my room and closed the door behind me. I kicked my shoes off, climbed onto the bed, and then passed out on it, not even bothering to get under the covers because I didn’t need to sleep for very long.
After about an hour, I woke up. I checked my phone and found that I had slept for about fifty minutes. That was all right. Waking up early just meant that I would be ready to help Stacey faster.
Upstairs, I heard voices. I wondered if the rest of the groomsmen and Elliott had arrived from the airport.
As I walked up the stairs, I could hear Caleb’s voice, too. Just Caleb and Maverick, actually.
“I think Maria laid down for a bit. Those flights left earlier than we originally thought they would,” Maverick said as I entered the kitchen. “Oh, hello Maria. We’re getting some groceries delivered. Is there anything you can think of that you’d like on the list?”
“Chicken, parmesan cheese, oregano… all the stuff for chicken parm, basically,” I said. I love the meal so much that I thought I’d make it one of these nights.”
Caleb handed me the list, and I wrote down the items I would need. “I assume you mean for your recipe?” Caleb remarked.
“It’s technically Stacey’s recipe. Speaking of Stacey, is she here?”
“She went to get herself a bottle of sparkling water at the store down the street,” Caleb replied without looking up. “She’s been up fussing about the alteration store since seven this morning, and she’s been so stressed about these dresses that I don’t know how much I’m helping or hurting. And she said she had told you that you could have some time to nap.”
“I didn’t need long.”
“Clearly, that's a good trait in a maid of honor,” Maverick said. Elliott and everyone are still at the airport. They decided to wait because Jacob’s flight also got delayed. I’m going to go at least pick up what people and luggage I can.”
“A good idea.”
Just then, Stacey walked in the front door. “Stacey,” I squealed as I ran to her and gave her a big hug. “Oh my gosh, this is going to be a great week,” I said.
She laughed a little. “Glad you got a nap in. I’ve not been able to sleep much lately,” Stacey admitted. “Too many things on my mind. But it’s so good to see you. Did you and Elliott have a good flight?”
“Indeed, we did,” I replied. “It was great that we could catch a flight together out of Las Vegas. Now why don’t we go to the tailor shop and see what we can find out?”
Stacey nodded. We both headed to the kitchen, where Stacey kissed Caleb goodbye. I waved at both Caleb and Maverick, who just grabbed his keys and walked out the door. Stacey raised an eyebrow.
“Mav always like that?”
“When he’s on a mission,” Caleb replied. “He’s picking up more people and luggage from the airport. Some of them may want to find their beds and take a nap.”
Stacey nodded. With that, we went to the alterations store about twenty minutes away. Stacey was a force to be reckoned with when she was angry, and this shop had been giving us the runaround since December. It was now June. Mid-wedding season. They needed to stop with the runaround.
Stacey demanded to see her dresses on the racks. After confirming that they were there and had indeed been altered, she promised to leave a nasty review if they didn’t at least deliver on the timing. The employees explained that many had been fired, and it was just two of them… that quelled Stacey’s anger.
“Oh, my gosh… if you had said something when these issues first started, I wouldn’t have gotten so mad with you,” she said softly. “I’m so sorry.”
“Your alterations have not been complicated, which is why they’re not yet done,” one said. “We had other more complicated alterations to do.”
“I think we'll be all right as long as we can pick them up before the end of the day on Friday,” I said. Is that doable?”
“Yes! We have just a hem on two dresses left, and one of them needs some mesh lining that should be coming in today,” the employee we were talking to said. “Relax, ma’am. We have your dresses in good hands, but we only have so many hands available right now.”
“Then, we will leave you to it.”