Chapter 19 #2
I looked at my watch and smiled. “We’re ahead of schedule by twenty minutes. I just saw Cora and Taylor drive up, so we can start on the flowers as soon as you’re ready.”
In the last few days, the meeting hall where Bella Conner was getting married had been transformed.
All of the tables and chairs had been covered in white linen, with different colors of material draped in the centers to match the bridesmaids’ dresses and coordinate with the flowers that the florist, Cora, would be arranging on each table.
I looked at the five-tier cake we’d assembled without incident and breathed another sigh of relief.
Janis was a fair boss, but a harsh taskmaster who expected the best. She was adamant that nothing leave the bakery that wasn’t perfect, and today’s delivery was even more important since it was for the wedding of one of her closest friends.
“Oh, Janis! It’s beautiful!” Cora exclaimed as she walked closer. She put a large flat box on the folding table we’d been using for supplies before she said, “It’s gorgeous even before the flowers.”
“Show me what you’ve got!” Janis ordered.
“We have dahlias, zinnias, cosmos, peonies, and even a few stunning sunflowers.”
“I’ve been visiting Zoey’s at least twice a week just willing certain flowers to grow,” Janis admitted. When Cora opened the box, Janis gasped at the gorgeous array. Tears filled Janis’s eyes as she looked at her friend and said, “This is going to make Bella so happy.”
“I know,” Cora agreed as she sniffed back tears of her own. She cleared her throat before she said, “Enough of that! We’ve got to get to work so you can go get dressed.”
“Ugh! Don’t remind me. I am not looking forward to having to get all gussied up and have everyone looking at me,” Janis complained. She’d said that at least a dozen times since we’d arrived.
“You’ll be beautiful, and it won’t be nearly as bad as you think. Besides, you know it will make Bella happy,” Cora reminded her.
Janis scoffed. “Apparently, I’ve gone soft.”
“I promise not to tell anyone,” Cora assured her. She glanced at me and winked before she said, “You’re going to have to bribe Serana and Taylor with something awesome to get them to keep their mouths shut.”
“How about I bribe them with another day on earth that doesn’t include severe pain and missing limbs?” Janis asked without even looking up. Suddenly, she glanced at me and then Taylor. “I mean that rhetorically, of course.”
“Bullshit. It was a threat, and we all know it,” Taylor argued cheerfully.
It didn’t take long to arrange the flowers. Soon, Holly walked over to compliment the final creation and chat with Janis. Taylor and I cleaned up the remaining mess. Taylor drifted off to talk to Shivon, who was helping with the table decor, when Janis called out that she was going to get dressed.
“You’re gonna look gorgeous, Janis!” I cheered. She flipped me off over her shoulder. I knew it was all bluster, though. Janis would be fighting back tears just like everyone else.
“As if dating my brother didn’t already tell me enough about your intelligence, poking Janis the Bear would have cemented my opinion,” Holly teased as she pulled her phone out to take some snapshots of the finished cake.
“I knew whatever Janis made was going to be beautiful, but that word isn’t a good enough description for this creation. ”
“The flowers make the cake,” I agreed.
“And to think, you had a part in both of them.”
“I did. I’ve been watching the flowers grow as everyone gets excited for the big day. I’m glad everything worked out the way Zoey planned.”
“So am I, but I’ll be even more glad when this day is over,” Holly admitted.
“Come on, Serana! The bus is leaving!” Taylor called out from the doorway.
“You’ll be back, won’t you?”
“Yes! Bella invited all of us to attend the wedding and reception. We’re really excited about it, although we won’t know very many people.”
“You’ll know more than the other girls because of everyone you’ve met since you and Roscoe became friends.”
“That’s true.”
Holly grinned. “I assume that now you’re more than just friends?”
I felt myself blushing as I remembered the kiss Roscoe gave me before I got out of his truck this morning. “I guess it’s technically not official, but I think so.”
“Don’t sell yourself short, Serana. He’s been head over heels for you for months. If I can say anything good about my brother, it’s that he’s just stubborn and dedicated enough to get whatever he wants no matter how hard he’s got to work for it.”
“Well, he’s got me.”
“And you’ve got our vote, not that it matters - you’ll be the one that has to put up with him from here on out.”
“I’m glad your family accepts me. I know things could have gone many different ways, and I hope you understand how much I appreciate the way all of you treat me like family.”
“Honey, we love you almost as much as Roscoe does, and you’re worth every bit of that emotion.
As the big sister and queen of the family - although we don’t say that in front of Dad or he’ll get all butt-hurt - this is my official request to keep you forever and ever, even if it’s only to help balance the scales of men versus women in my family. ”
“Whatever the reason, I’m honored to accept.”
Holly walked around the table and hugged me just as Taylor yelled, “You’re gonna end up walking, Gonzales!”
“I’ve gotta go, but I’ll see you in just a few hours!”
“I can’t wait. And when all this is over and we’ve all recovered from the excitement, I expect you and Roscoe to come back to my house for a rematch. I don’t care how long he had been waiting to get you naked; that bullshit was highly unacceptable.”
“You guys take your game nights very seriously, don’t you?”
“Maybe a little too seriously, but let’s keep that between us.”
◆◆◆
I checked my makeup in the compact I’d found with Moe when we went thrift shopping a few months ago and was happy to see there wasn’t much damage.
Bella’s wedding had been beautiful and moving, but the speech her uncle had given during the reception brought everyone in the room to tears.
As if that wasn’t heart-wrenching enough, the video slideshow that played while her father and uncles took turns dancing with her was enough to make even the most heartless person shed a tear.
I had proof of that, because even Moe - who insisted she would only cry when Jon, Clint, Sean, Chuck, Sam, Willie or Dolly died - oh, shit!
I leaned my head back and looked up at the ceiling, offering a frantic prayer.
“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to say that or hint in any way that the untimely death of any of the icons I mentioned was even a remote possibility anytime in the next century.
Please don’t let anything happen to any of them, or somehow Moe will find out I cursed them and I’ll end up at the pearly gates soon after they do.
I don’t think the world can survive another dark period like the one after Eddie Van Halen passed, and I know for a fact that I won’t be able to.
Do you remember how hard life was for everyone when you took Betty White?
Please have mercy and don’t torture us like that again.
Thank you, and Amen. Oh! And please tell Eddie, Tina, and Betty that Moe still thinks of them often. Amen again. Over and out!”
“Why are you praying?”
I looked over at Moe warily and tried to redirect her by mentioning how beautiful she looked, but she just glared at me. “What did you do?”
“I didn’t do anything!”
“I lived with you for years, Serana. I know you better than you know yourself. What did you do?”
“Oh, my God!” Taylor hissed as she leaned closer to me. “Did Moe cry during the reception speech?” When I nodded, Taylor raised her eyebrows and asked, “You sent up an SOS, right?”
“I did.”
“Okay, good. We might be safe.” Taylor glanced over at Moe before she turned back to me and whispered, “I made a friend who lives in a little town called Marlboro. She said I should come visit sometime. If I play my cards right, maybe she’ll hide us so we can avoid the fallout if something horrible happens. ”
“Good job with the networking. My parents live too close. She’d find us way too easily.”
“I know you’re whispering about me,” Moe growled as she leaned forward and glared at us. “Did you take Dolly’s name in vain?”
“No!” I said quickly. Apparently, it was too quickly because Moe’s expression turned thunderous before she whispered, “You better hope she’s okay, Gonzales.”
“Are you threatening her?”
I looked up and found the man I’d met the first night I met Roscoe and smiled when he pulled out a chair and sat down.
Dylan Conner had been to The Flower Patch several times in the last few months and had developed an odd sort of friendship with Moe - although I was positive most people wouldn’t call it that.
I think it was Zoey who referred to it as an “unholy alliance,” but then again, that sounded like something Janis would say.
“She might have done something stupid enough for me to have to kill her,” Moe said sadly.
“It sucks when your friends let you down like that,” Dylan said as he frowned at me.
“Why are you automatically on her side? I didn’t do anything!”
Dylan scoffed. “People like Moe don’t throw around the threat of murder all willy-nilly. She’s probably got a very good reason.”
“She does not! Hell, she doesn’t have a valid or logical reason for most of the threats she makes,” I insisted.
“Come dance with me, and let’s figure out the best way to get rid of her body,” Dylan suggested as he stood and held his hand out toward Moe. “It needs to be something that won’t take too long because I’ve got a list of people we should go ahead and send with her.”
“You’re horrible!” Moe said cheerfully as she took Dylan’s hand. “I’ve got a list too, but it’s pretty long.”
As they walked off, I heard Dylan say, “So is mine. We might have to start with our top three and work our way down gradually.”