Page 43 of Bride Games
43
Emma
“ L ucy, hurry or you’ll be late for school.”
Chewing on a half-eaten slice of cinnamon bread, Lucy said “I know, Mommy. Our class is going to work on your wed—” Lucy gasped as she placed her hand over her mouth. “It’s a sec-wet.”
Emma smiled to herself as she instructed Lucy to wash her hands and get her backpack. “I’ll be in the car.” As she made the short drive to Appledale Elementary, Emma’s stomach did flipflops. Have we remembered everything? Did we forget to invite anyone? Are we making a mistake leaving the wedding décor in the hands of elementary school students? Emma chuckled at the last thought.
“What’s so funny, Mommy?”
“Nothing, hon.” She leaned over and kissed Lucy’s pink cheek. “Have a good day, sweetie. I’ll see you after school.” Lucy climbed out and raced inside. When she got to the school door, she waved wildly before going inside.
Emma tooted her horn, pulled behind a long line of parents’ cars, and grinned as she drove away. We definitely made the right decision to leave the decorations in the students and teachers’ hands. Even if they don’t go together or match our color scheme exactly, it’ll be perfect. Beyond perfect. After all, this is where Eli and I met all because of Lucy. Appledale has everything to do with us as a couple and a family.
Driving home, Emma wondered what the kids and teachers had in store. She was as excited—and nervous—as a kid on Christmas Eve. As she pulled into her driveway, her phone rang.
“Hey, friend. Just checking on you to see how you’re doing as we close in on the countdown to your forever happiness.”
“Good morning, Paige. It’s sweet of you to ask, but I’m still a jittery mess. Same as last night, but thanks.”
“Okay, meet me for coffee in fifteen minutes. I need to get away from the station. I never realized how much administrative crap had to be done. These meetings with accounting, human resources, and legal are beyond tedious. I’d much rather be on the air.”
“I’m sure you would, but I kind of like it for selfish reasons. Ordinarily, I never get to see you this often.” Emma put her car in reverse. “Be there in a bit.”
Emma settled in a corner booth where she and Paige could have privacy. She knew Paige preferred to face the wall so she wasn’t bothered by fans wanting to chat or take selfies. Besides, this way, she could see her friend when she walked inside. The aroma of coffee wafted around her like a comforting hug. Emma wanted to get up and order a cup but didn’t want to lose the coveted table.
Paige rushed inside and promptly took a seat. She fished out her wallet. “This is on me. Do you mind ordering? I’ll just take a black coffee today.”
“Not at all, but you don’t have to pay.”
“Come on, you need to save up for your splashy wedding.
“As splashy as elementary kids get, but okay.” Emma took the cash and approached the counter. After she returned with their coffee, Emma took a sip as Paige eyed her.
“Are you okay, Em? You seem a little down or distracted.”
Emma shrugged, “I’m not sure. I’m afraid we’ve forgotten something—or someone. I also can’t figure out our crazy color combo.” She blew out her breath. “This is just pre-wedding jitters, right? All brides do this, right?” Emma stared at her friend over her coffee. “I’m terrible with decisions lately. What color do you think the tuxes should be?”
“Relax. Everything will fall into place.” Paige crossed her legs. “As far as the tuxes, probably not black. That might be too elegant for a school, plus if you go with orange ties, it could look Halloweenish.”
Emma grimaced. “I hadn’t thought of that. Lucy would probably love that idea, but that combo is a definite thumbs down.”
Paige sipped her coffee, drummed her fingers on the table, and said, “Gray. How about a tasteful, soothing gray for the tuxes since your other colors are bold.”
“Ooh. Soothing.” Emma nodded. “I think that’s the color.”
Paige’s phone rang. She glanced at the screen and rolled her eyes. “I’ve got to get back to the station for another stupid meeting.” Paige added, “I hope I helped calm your nerves a little.”
“You did. Accomplishing even one thing helps my anxiety level. I’ll run the tux color past Eli, who won’t care a bit, and will let Nigel know.”
“Good. Check that off your list.” Paige lowered her voice as she put her purse over her shoulder. “By the way, I’m going to take you up on your covert idea.”
“Covert?” Emma’s mind raced. Her mouth formed an “O” when she realized what Paige meant.
Grinning, Paige said, “Yep. I’m tying up several loose ends at the station so I can go 007 on Zach and the enemy.”
“Are you going to wear a trench coat?” Emma laughed out loud. “I needed that. And you need this for your own peace of mind.” She punched her fist in the air. “Yay, us.”
Paige repeated the gesture and blew Emma a kiss before disappearing out the front door, high heels clacking with every step.
Emma drove home to fold her never-ending laundry and check to see if any authors had contacted her about making swag. After scrolling through her emails—mostly spam—Emma was relieved her authors had paid attention to her temporary closure due to wedding planning. She had told them she’d make an exception if an author had a new release or a launch party but wasn’t open for creating routine book swag for a few more months. Emma folded towels, changed the sheets, and quickly became bored after sorting Lucy’s colorful socks. She stepped into the kitchen and was surprised by the time on the microwave.
All I’ve done is drive back and forth today. As Emma drove to the school, her thoughts turned to her best friend. I hope I gave Paige sound advice and her covert mission to check on Zach doesn’t go belly up. What if she doesn’t like what she sees? Emma groaned as she got in the familiar long line of parents’ cars at Appledale Elementary and listened to various radio stations, switching back and forth from country to rock to jazz. After hearing a romantic lyric, she realized music needed to be added to their to-do list. Emma pulled out a tiny notebook she kept in her purse for wedding ideas and was jolted out of her bridal stupor when she heard a knock on the window.
“Mommy, mommy. Let me in. The door’s locked.”
Clicking the button, Emma freed the latch and Lucy bounded inside. As she clicked her seatbelt on—an automatic routine—she said, “I have so many sec-wets, Mommy.”
“Do you remember our conversation about secrets?”
Lucy bobbed her head so hard her curls bounced. “I can only keep this sec-wet because it’s a good one and because I also told Mr. Hansen, my teacher, and the principal.”
“Very good. Just this one time, okay?”
“O-tay. Are we going home?”
Emma winked at her daughter. “I thought we could go see Nigel and try on some dresses.”
“You already have a Cinderella dress, Mommy. Aren’t you wearing that to your wedding?”
“I’m definitely wearing that gorgeous gown, thanks to my best friend, Paige, who gave it to me. But…guess what?”
“What?”
“You get to wear a fancy dress too.”
Lucy gasped. “I do?”
“You sure do. You’re going to be in our wedding.”
Cheering while wriggling in her car seat, Lucy said, “Will my dress be white like yours?”
Emma turned onto the street. “No, only the bride wears white. It’s a tradition.”
“What’s a ‘dition?”
Grinning, Emma said, “A tradition is sort of like a custom or?—”
“What’s a cus?—”
Emma loved her daughter dearly, but the child was always inquisitive. She exhaled. “It means the bride almost always wears white.”
“Almost always?”
Emma knew her daughter would never understand about second marriages or simply some women who prefer to buck norms. “Yes, almost always, Luce. Meaning, the first time a woman gets married, she usually wears a white gown.”
“O-tay. What color will I wear?”
“Eli and I are struggling a bit with colors.”
“Why?”
Emma burst out laughing. “That’s a very good question. It shouldn’t be this hard, should it?”
“How ‘bout pink?”
I knew this was coming. “I know pink is your favorite color but I want to use sunflowers, which are—do you know what color they are?”
“Wellow.”
“Yes, yellow. And Eli’s favorite color is orange.”
“Why?”
Again, Emma giggled for far too long and too hard. “I kind of wanted to ask him the same thing because it certainly isn’t my favorite, but he gets to pick his own color. Don’t you think that’s fair?”
“Yes.”
“So, we have yellow and orange. I think Nigel can help us see what colors go with those. We’re considering hot pink. That’s a lot of bright colors. What do you think?”
“I wuv pink!”
Emma hadn’t realized they were nearing the bridal store and pulled into the lot. “We’re here. Let’s try on some dresses. Maybe we’ll decide then.”