Chapter Sixteen #2
He walked around the room, pointing at various spots, while the delivery person made notes. It appeared Cal had a certain placement in mind for each game. When he walked back, he indicated she should precede him from the room.
Cal steered her through the front door past the rental truck. He picked up the story as they walked across the lawn toward the back of the house. “The bride and groom, Sean and Samantha, married in the chapel. It was a pretty straightforward service.
"But during the cocktail hour, Samantha changed into pants, and then the two of them went nuts running through all the different inflatables. They’d warned their guests, so many of them joined in. They did that until the end of the night. Drinking, dancing, eating and jumping in bounce houses.”
“That’s insane,” she cried.
“It was,” he replied, adding, “Pretty magical too.”
“What else?” she prompted.
“Let me see,” he said. “Some of it is sort of standard, like horse and carriage or doves. But I will tell you I’ll never allow swans again.”
“That sounds like a story.”
“Oh, it is. I still get flashbacks when I see any sort of white bird.”
She giggled. Did she really just giggle?
With a shake of her head, she replied, “You’ll have to tell me that story one day.
” She closed her mouth promptly, hoping he didn’t catch her slip.
One day implied they’d actually see each other when this project was done. Fortunately, he didn’t seem to notice.
“It’ll take a few cocktails to pry that one out of me.”
“I do love a challenge.”
“Good luck,” he replied with a grin. “I’m more likely to share the story of the miniature horses we had before I disclose the tale about the swans.”
“No! Horses?”
“Miniature horses. They were actually cute. From a distance. A nice little distance, but they were fun. But the baby goats were better. The alpacas not so much.”
“I’m sensing an animal theme with a good amount of your events.”
“Well, we have the space for it,” he motioned toward the expansive grounds. “But we’ve had other entertainment, not just livestock. Like live painters, living statues, fire performers…”
“Fire performers?”
“I had to up the insurance on that one. But they were very professional. It was all done here outside to entertain the guests. It would have been beautiful to watch if I hadn’t been so petrified they might light a guest on fire.”
“I’m surprised you allowed it.”
“I did have to consider it for a bit, but I know other venues have done it. I talked to the performers who gave me names of some places they’d done events. That certainly made me feel better.”
Cal steered her toward the patio that wrapped around the house, affording the ballroom and several other rooms direct access. Rachel looked over the back gardens and down to where the ocean was just visible. It truly was a beautiful location.
“In the early days,” Cal continued as they walked.
“I merely tried to book as many weddings as I could to get the revenue flowing and build a reputation. Although looking back, I would still probably book all the same events even if I hadn’t just been starting out. Each one was a learning experience.
“And I didn’t say yes to everything. There were some things beyond my capacity.”
“Like what?” Rachel asked. She liked him like this. He was relaxed and unhurried. It was easy in these moments to push back all the stuff about the project, and just watch him talk about the estate. “Well, the axe throwing was a hard no. I didn’t even consider that.”
“I would assume so.”
“Maybe if it was a performer, I would have thought about it. But untrained guests throwing axes? With a mobile axe throwing setup? I wouldn’t have survived the stress.”
“I’ve never been axe throwing,” Rachel said. “It looks fun and scary.”
“It’s a blast. We’ll go sometime.”
His words lingered between them, awkward and full of promise.
Trying to steer them back to more neutral ground, she asked, “You mentioned a live painter. I don’t believe I’m familiar with that.”
“Well, as the name suggests, they paint the ceremony, reception, or whatever you’d like, as the event is happening.”
“That must be amazing to watch.”
“It was. We worked with a woman who is a local artist and offers the service. The couple wanted her to capture the ceremony. She came a few days earlier to view the chapel and take photos.
“I was really interested in how she’d do a whole painting while the service was going on.
When she arrived to set up, she let me see the canvas, and I could see she’d already started sketching the chapel background.
During the ceremony, she took some photos, but mostly, she stood in the rear of the chapel and sketched, adding a touch of color here and there.
“Then I helped her move her stuff up to the reception. That’s where the painting came alive. People could come up and talk to her or ask questions. I checked in a few times and watched her work. It was amazing. And she did a beautiful job of capturing the chapel and the ceremony.”
“What a lovely idea,” Rachel sighed.
They stopped at the edge of the patio, both staring out to the sea. Rachel inhaled deeply, letting the scents of the garden and salt air relax her.
“I’m sorry about the other day, Rachel. What I said about the software upgrade. My intention wasn’t to make your job more difficult,” Cal said quietly, his gaze still fixed on the ocean.
“I appreciate you saying that. I’m sorry my job put you in a difficult position with your parents.”
Cal glanced over. “I think we’re both in a challenging spot here. Let’s just keep moving forward with that in mind.”
Rachel felt a little crack form in that wall she wanted to hide behind. Cal was a good man in a difficult situation. “I’d like that, Cal.”
He pivoted to face her. “Now, as is proper, let me take you to lunch to atone for my bad behavior.”
“Oh, there’s really no need,” she demurred.
“No really,” he replied. “I want to.”
Rachel felt her cheeks flush, hoping Cal didn’t notice. There were a dozen reasons she should say no. But perhaps it was time to try to do something a little outside of her comfort zone. It was just lunch, after all. Decision made, she grinned. “I’d like that very much, Cal.”