23. Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter 23
Mason’s phone rang, pulling him away from submitting the Etsy order of three task organizers from Linda's store. He wasn’t sure he’d use them, but he wanted to support her business. He stared at the offending noisemaker in disbelief. Erin was calling.
“What’s up?” he asked, hoping no one was ill.
“Hey. I was talking to Terry, and she said she thought you were going to stay with them when you’re home for Laurel’s wedding. I said I thought you were staying with me. Just wanted to confirm.”
“Oh.” This was easy. “I’ll stay wherever it’s most convenient for you guys.”
“Geez. Make a dang decision, will ya? We don’t care.”
“Fine. I’ll stay with Dad and Terry.”
“That wasn’t so hard, now, was it? Hey, I chatted with Linda at Laurel’s bridal shower on Saturday. She said you guys reconnected in Florida.”
“She did?” That didn’t seem like Linda. He would have guessed she’d be more discreet.
“Well, connected, at least. Honestly, Dad already told me. So, what happened?”
Mason considered how much he would share. Erin could be an ally in this thing, or she could be a pain in the keister. “It surprised me to see her there. But we got caught up, volunteered for Meridian, hung out. Not much to report.”
“So, you patched things up. Romantically?”
Mason relived the most romantic moments with Linda during those two weeks in Florida. The way he’d caught her in his arms at the festival and kissed her. Falling asleep, holding her on the couch. The kiss goodbye at the airport. There were moments, but not enough of them. “No, just friendly. I’m trying to talk her into visiting me. We’ll see where it goes. I asked her to be my date for Laurel’s wedding, but she turned me down.”
“Rightfully so. You broke her heart. There’s no way she’d get back with you. You weren’t here, you didn’t see how bad it was.”
“And you did? Didn’t realize you and Linda were so close.”
“Well, I heard about it from Laurel.”
“And she doesn’t exaggerate?”
“Maybe. Sometimes. But not about this. Linda deserves better. Let her go.”
“I don’t know that I can do that, Erin. Is there anything else you need today? I have a shift starting soon.”
“No. That’s all, Nurse Mason.”
She loved that dig.
He hung up the phone and groaned. He wanted to vent to Linda, but he couldn’t talk to her about that conversation.
He texted her instead.
Mason : Did you book your flight yet?
Linda : Great minds. I did that just now.
Mason : Yeah? Sweet! When?
Linda : June 8th. Quick trip. Need to return on the 10th. Will email the itinerary.
Mason opened the calendar app on his phone and marked the days Linda would visit. Only forty-eight hours; he had some planning to do.
Mason : Can’t wait. It will be great!
The retail clerk handed Linda’s credit card back to her. “Here you go,” the too-perky young lady with the too-perky curls said, in a too-perky voice.
Linda wasn’t sure what annoyed her more, the clerk’s voice or the fact that she’d paid three hundred and ninety dollars to replace her sister’s wedding veil. She hoped that the beautiful cathedral-length veil with hand-embroidered floral detail would make it through Laurel’s wedding with no further incidents. Linda was going to lay claim to it the day after Laurel’s wedding. Not that it was her style, but by golly, she was not paying for another veil in her lifetime.
Beside her, Laurel sighed. “Only four weeks to go, and now I can say I’m ready. Thank you for replacing my veil, Lindy.”
“You’re welcome.” Linda thought about Buddy and Missy. She was going to withhold their favorite cat treats for the next month. Well, she probably would.
The clerk handed the carefully wrapped and protected veil to Laurel as Linda tucked her credit card back in her wallet.
The little piece of plastic was getting a lot of use. Besides replacing Laurel’s veil, she had all the other expenses of being in a wedding party—her maid of honor dress, her shoes, a hotel room, gifts, and hosting the bridal shower.
Plus a flight to Seattle to see Mason in two weeks.
And she’d placed product sample orders with four different producers to compare quality this week, as well.
Focus on the gains, not the losses. New brother-in-law, time with Mason, and products she could show to local retail stores.
Laurel made a show of carefully draping the length over her arm. “Do you have time for lunch, or do you need to rush back home?”
“I can eat.” Not sure I can afford to.
“Great. There’s a new restaurant near the university that I’ve been wanting to try.”
Thirty minutes later, they sat and sipped soft drinks, waiting for their food. Laurel had chatted nonstop about wedding plans and outstanding tasks ever since they’d left the bridal shop.
Linda chimed in as needed and kept imagining a new printable that she could create, a bridal countdown checklist to track all the last-minute things to do. Laurel’s mind seemed filled to nearly bursting with minutiae.
“So,” Laurel said, “have you found a date for the wedding?”
Found a date, like they were standing around waiting to be chosen. This wasn’t an eighth-grade dance. “No…but I was thinking about asking Mason.”
Laurel’s perfectly manicured eyebrows rose up, then down. “Really?”
Now that it was out there, no taking it back. “Yeah. He asked me when we were in Florida. I said no. Thought it would be too weird. But we’ve been talking or texting daily, and I’m going to go to Seattle to visit him. If that goes well, I’ll ask him then.”
“When are you going? There’s lots of wedding prep to do.”
“In two weeks.” The server put their salad plates in front of them. “It’ll be a quick visit. I fly out on Friday night and come home on Sunday. There’s nothing scheduled for your wedding that weekend. It’s the only weekend we don’t have something planned. Only time I could go.”
Picking up a fork, Laurel nodded. “I see. So, you might get back together with him?”
“Please don’t share this with Erin yet. I don’t want the two of you getting involved. I’m not sure it will work, but it was good to reconnect. Good to get past the hurt and anger.”
“Are you sure you’re past it?”
Linda considered, chewing slowly. “Yes. We talked, and he explained where his head was then. I get it. We’re both more mature now. Maybe things could be different.”
“We can hope.” Laurel sounded unconvinced.