Mark My Words (5 page)

Chapter Six

A Fine Frenzy

Sloane paced the hardwood floor of her living room as everyone’s eyes followed her every movement. With her clipboard in hand, Sloane browsed the list of things to do. Holly and Brant huddled up on the sofa dressed comfortably in jeans and t-shirts, while Luke had just returned from work still dressed in a business suit. Marv, Philomena and Gloria sat at the bar sipping their beverages and waiting for directions from Sloane. Suddenly, the front door barged open and three tall thin men walked through with amused looks on their faces.

“Finally!” Sloane said as she took in her brothers’ faces.

Philomena bounced off of her barstool and ran to her three sons and kissed each on the cheek.

“Ian… You look thin. Eat something… Andrew… Fix ya’self… Your tie is crooked! Oh, Trevor. You reak of cigarettes!”

“Hi, Mother…” they said in unison as they took her nagging complaints as a sign that she truly did love them.
 

“Now, let’s be clear. You’re father is
not
to know!”

“He probably already knows…”

“I’m not kidding, Ian!”

“Fine… Fine!”

Sloane peered at her brothers with an annoyed glare, “Can we begin or do we have to wipe schmutz off their faces, too?”

“I’m sorry, honey… They look a mess, though,” said Philomena as she began wiping down Andrew’s face.

“Mom… They are approaching fourty and they are lawyers. Get it together.”

Sloane’s brothers took their seats in the living room as Sloane continued to pace.

“Okay. Plane tickets are taken care of. Luke booked the site for the reception. We booked a block of hotel rooms so everyone has a place to stay for the weekend. We are dealing with the wardrobe stuff tonight. I still need to figure out the flowers and decorations…”

“Oh, I know just what to do!” announced Philomena as she stood from her barstool again. She waved her acrylic nails all around and her hands flew about as she talked.

“Imagine this, sugar plum… It’s Valentine’s Day! We can have pink and red crepe paper hanging from pew to pew, and hearts adorning the end of each aisle. Then up front we can have a beautiful arbor or a chuppah, with a lovely cupid hanging from it… Then…”

Holly tried to control her laughter as she watched Sloane’s face turn from annoyed to irate.

“If I see one bloody fat cupid, a single heart or a single piece of confetti, crete paper or any other such nonsense, I will scream!”

“I just thought since it was Valentine’s Day!”

“Absolutely not! This is my wedding, not a circus!”

“Okay, where was I?”

Gloria spoke up, “Sloane, I used to handle the décor for the weddings at Le Blanc. Why don’t you let Holly and I handle the decorations?”

Sloane looked at Gloria with a strained look. It was hard for her to relinquish control.

“Yes…. I think that will work well. Holly knows my style.”

“As for flowers I think white and pink English tea roses will do well.”

“What am I missing?” Sloane asked as a million thoughts bounced in her head at once.

“This weekend,” reminded Luke.

“Oh, right! How could I forget?!”

“This weekend we have pre-wedding events planned. All the guys…” Sloane began.

“We have a conference in Vegas this weekend…” reminded Ian, speaking for himself and his brothers.

“Yeah, fine…. Let me rephrase. Luke, Brant, Marv and my father will be heading up the mountains to Luke’s cabin for a bit of male bonding.”

“I hope we survive the weekend with your Dad,” Luke said.

“You’re taking him to the wilderness?!” Philomena shouted as she began laughing.

“He can’t go anywhere without his gadgets!”

“There’s electricity. Just no phone signal,” Luke laughed.

“Okay, moving on…” said Sloane continuing down her list. “All the ladies will be joining me in AC for a night of gambling, dancing and fun. The next day, I have a spa day planned for us at Moet Spa, so be prepared to be pampered!”

“It sure looks like you have all your wedding stuff in order, then…” said Brant looking pleased.

“Well, we still have to go shopping, but we’re in good condition. There is just one thing that has my heart in a fine frenzy.”

“What is that?” asked Holly with a nervous look on her face.

“If this is about Arthur…” Philomena began.

“No, it’s actually not. I can deal with him. I cannot deal with this bitch Amanda, though…”

“Amanda?!” yelled Holly. “Who the hell is Amanda?!”

“Luke… Who’s Amanda…” asked Brant as he elbowed his friend nervously. “Please don’t tell me you messed this up…”

“As if he could find anyone who could replace me!” laughed Sloane as she grabbed her television remote. “No, folks. This is Amanda…”

Sloane clicked on the flat screen TV to reveal a hurricane storming through the Atlantic, right towards the Virgin Islands.

“This is what has me worried.”

The weather forecast came onto the screen and began explaining the situation at hand.

“Tropical storm Amanda has now been upgraded to Hurricane Amanda. This is a CAT-3 storm with expected winds of up to 115 miles per hour. Right now it is about 300 miles off the shores of Antigua. It is still too early to tell what this storm will look at full force, but our technology shows that this storm has the potential to intensify further. If that is the case, the U.S. and British Virgin Isles could be adversely affected as well as Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Cuba.

Sloane clicked off the TV as everyone watched the screen in horror.

“We’re hoping it fizzles out… It’s still quite a way from St. Thomas.”

“It’s still a concern, though…” said Holly.

“So what are we going to do?” asked Philomena nervously.

“Nothing is keeping me from marrying this man,” said Sloane as Luke brought her hand to his mouth and kissed it delicately. “We move forward and monitor the situation.”

“In my experience,” Marv said, “This things tend to fizzle out before they reach land.”

He was trying to do what he could to ease the tension in the room.

“That’s my hope, Marv… Okay. I think we’re ready to go. Ladies can pile up in my Mom’s car… Gents please accompany Luke to the tux shop.”

***

“It’s best just to stand back,” Holly warned Gloria and Philomena as Sloane waded through rack upon rack of bridesmaid gowns.

Sloane was notorious for her impeccable fashion sense and reputation as a fierce fashionista. Sloane not only held down a successful career as a personal shopping, but she was also an event planner. In other words, Sloane was in her element. She was determined to find the perfect gowns for Holly, Philomena and Gloria, she just had to wade through racks of tafetta, tulle and frou-frou dresses.

“Oh, Sloane! While you’re doing that I’m going to start looking at the bridal gowns!” said Philomena excitedly.

Sloane’s eyes nearly bugged out of her head.

“Holly, don’t you dare let her pick anything out that looks like it belongs in the ‘80s. I’ll be right over!”

“Would I do that?! You’ll be gorgeous!” exclaimed Philomena.

Sloane rolled her eyes as she finally found the dress she was looking for: a tea length dress made of champagne colored satin. It was dainty and classic and perfect for a wedding on the beach. Strapless and sweet, the dress featured a sweetheart neckline and elegant ruching across the bodice.

“Oh, Sloane… That is perfect!” gushed Holly as she held the dress up to herself in the mirror.

Sloane approved immediately.

“That’s the one. Grab one for each of you and try them on. I need to go see what my mother is doing.”

***

Philomena had three bridal attendants pulling just about every bridal gown off the rack. It was a sea of lace, satin and tulle as far as the eye could see. Sloane nearly broke out in hives.

“No, no, definitely not!” yelled Sloane as her mother held up a heavy long sleeved gown with lace sleeves and a bead encrusted bodice.

“It looks just like the dress your cousin Eleanor wore!”

“Eleanor was married in what…? 1986? Let’s just put that back.”

“Well what about this one?!” Philomena said, clearly thrilled with her choice.

She held up a puff sleeve ivory gown with a twelve foot train and an elaborate tulle skirt. Holly nearly choked when she saw it. Meanwhile, Gloria was in the next aisle over where there were much more subdued and elegantly designed gowns.

“Sloane, come look at this one…” Gloria yelled.

Sloane immediately left her mother and the hideous dress and went to see what Gloria had in mind. Gloria had pulled a simple strapless A-line dress with a muted floral design on the skirt. It was much closer to Sloane’s style but still not quite what she was looking for.

While Sloane, Philomena and Gloria searched for the perfect dress, Holly discretely laid the bridesmaids gowns down and picked up a gown that she had seen the second she walked in.

“Oh, Sloane…” called Holly as she waited by the dressing room.

“Where are you? You’re my maid of honor, please help me.”

“I already have.”

“What?”

“Just come here.”

Holly held the strapless Empire line wedding gown by its hanger allowing Sloane to see the beautiful detail and the elegant lines of the dress. The gown was ruched from top to bottom with a beautiful damask sash with a white and champagne design that flowed gracefully down her back. The skirt trumpeted at the bottom like the petals of a rose, and stretched out into a simple court train, where the champagne damask pattern continued. To be quite clear, the dress was perfect.

“Where did you find that? That is exactly what I’ve been looking for.”

“Right up at the front, by the window. I saw it when I walked in.”

Philomena began to cry loudly when she saw the dress that Holly had picked out for Sloane. Gloria beamed brightly as she imagined what Sloane would look like wearing it on a beach in St. Thomas as she married the love of her life.

***

“I think we’re done here…” said Sloane.

The dresses all fit perfectly, and while Philomena pitched a fit about the dress being strapless, she quieted down when Sloane said that she could wear a shawl over top if she wanted to. Fortunately no one needed alterations, because there really wasn’t any time to spare. Alterations could take weeks; by then the wedding would be over. As Holly and Sloane loaded the gowns in the back of Philomena’s car, Brant’s truck pulled up with Marv in tow.

“Where’s Luke?” asked Sloane with a perplexed look.

Brant nodded behind him, as a Harley came to a grinding stop. Sloane smirked broadly as she took in Luke. He took off his motorcycle helmet and pulled his hand through his hair.

“You coming, or what?” Luke said with a sexy smirk on his face.

“Ooh! Luke! Can I come for a ride?!” yelled Philomena.

Sloane shook her head in embarassment. Luke smiled but declined her request.

“Sorry, Philomena… Not tonight. I have plans with that gorgeous daughter of yours…”

Sloane waved goodbye to everyone as she slid her own helmet on. She grabbed hold of Luke’s waist and they sped off, leaving their friends behind them.

***

“Are you nervous?” asked Luke as he brought the bike to a halt.

He took them to one of their favorite spots in Penn’s Landing where you could see the beautiful lights of the Ben Franklin Bridge reflect against the water of the Delaware River.

“Only about the storm. I’m really excited, actually.”

“And what about your Dad?”

“I’m sure my mother will work her magic, somehow.”

“Maybe.”

“Do you know something that I don’t?”

“I might. You’ll just have to wait and see.”

“Do you think this storm is going to ruin our plans?”

“It will be gone by the time we arrive. Most of these things downgrade before they can cause any real damage.”

“I hope you’re right. That bitch Amanda is not messing up my dream wedding.”

Luke smirked as he revved his engine again. In the blink of an eye they were gone, speeding back home, appearing to be nothing more than a shooting star in the night.

Chapter Seven

A Woman’s Intuition

Holly and Brant woke up early the next morning. Holly wanted to make a pancake breakfast for everyone but when she realized her cubbards were running low on just about everything, she decided to treat them to breakfast at Gina’s Diner and then take them to school.

Brant and Holly weaved through the bright aisles of the supermarket as Holly threw random items into the cart. Brant stayed out of her way mostly, unless he saw a particular item of junk food he really wanted.

“Another bag of chips? There goes my diet…” Holly complained.

“Diet? You look great.”

Holly grabbed a box of spaghetti and threw it in the cart, followed by a tall jar of marinara sauce.

“Oh, sure I do. I’ve looked like crap for days.”

“You just seem tired, that’s all. Go to bed early tonight. Take a break from all this wedding chaos.”

“I’ve barely been able to keep anything down the last couple of days,” said Holly.

“Are you sick? Do you think you should go see Dr. Weiss?” asked Brant in a concerned tone.

“No, I have a sneaking suspiscion as to what is causing this nonsense.”

Holly grabbed a box of cake mix and some chocolate frosting and added it to the growing pile of groceries in the cart. Brant followed Holly into the pharmacy section of the supermarket.

“I don’t think it was food poisoning… I ate Marv’s cooking and I was fine.”

“I don’t think it was that either.”

“Then what is it?” Brant asked, getting worried.

Holly gave Brant a knowing glance as she pulled a pregnancy test off the shelf and threw it in the cart.

“Call it a woman’s intuition.”