Say Yes (7 page)

            “You know
what, Daisy?  Ugh, never mind. It’s not what you think, I’m sure.  He’s not
eager to see me, he just promised to call me this morning.  I’m sure from his
end he is just trying to be nice to an old friend he wanted to catch up with,
that’s all.  Just let this go already,” I snapped. As soon as I said those
words out loud, I knew that they were true.  I felt my face flush red from
embarrassment.  Why the hell did I just do that?

            Daisy looked
at me wide-eyed. “Hey, no need to be snippy. I was just wondering why you guys
were going so early, that’s all,” she said, a note of surprise in her voice. 
“I wasn’t meaning to tease or anything.  Okay, maybe I was teasing a little bit,”
she admitted when she caught my glare.  “It just seems that you two have picked
up right where you left off.  Like these last eleven years never even
happened.”  She stopped and walked over to me.  Gently raising her hands as if
in mock surrender, she said, “Can I be serious here for a minute and you not
get mad?” When I said nothing, she went on. “Lilly, I know that you are only
going to be here for just a few weeks, but that is plenty of time to rekindle
an old flame. I just don’t want to see you get hurt,” she admitted, her face
stern.

            Suddenly, I
felt my stomach flip.  “What are you saying, Dais? You think he will hurt me?”
I asked defensively.

            Her face
softened.  “Oh, honey, of
course
not. Luke is a truly great guy.  I just
think that the deeper you two let yourselves get, the harder this will be on
both of you when it’s all over and it’s time for goodbyes.  You think it was
hard the first time?  Add eleven years of ‘what if’s’ to that.” And, at that
moment, I knew she was right.  Since the moment I set eyes on him last night, I
had completely lost myself.  I was blushing and bumbling and stumbling over my
words like that nervous girl on the porch that night so long ago.  The truth
was I
was
only here for a short time.  Did I really think in my head that
this was something more than it was?  I mean, there was obviously still an
attraction there between us, but that’s all this could be.  Just an attraction
and some simple flirting.  If nothing else, after all this was over and it was
time for me to go, I still wanted nothing less than to be his friend again.  I
wanted to be able to keep in touch this time, because I really had missed his
friendship.  He was the kind of friend that upon meeting the first time, you
immediately felt at ease and knew that he was one you’d have in your life
forever, in one way or another.  I couldn’t bear to lose that again.

            “Daisy…I’m
sorry for snapping.  You are absolutely right.  I can’t let this happen.  It’s
just that being here again just brought it all back home.  I wasn’t expecting
to see Luke at all, let alone for him to be best man in Violet’s wedding.  I
was just caught off guard, and I haven’t been handling it the way I should. 
Maybe I should just cancel this thing,” I said.

            Daisy stopped
me.  “Oh no, don’t do that!  If nothing else, Lil, he’s still your friend.  You
still want to be, don’t you?”

            “More than
anything,” I admitted.

            “Okay then.  So,
just go with him, have a nice time, eat some food, catch up on everything, and
let that be that.  You two are going to be seeing each other a lot for at least
the next two weeks until Vi’s wedding, and I know that it will be so much
easier for you both if you can just, I don’t know…coexist,” she said.

            Right then, I
pulled her into a hug.  “Daisy, thank you.  I have missed you more than you
know.  When did you get so smart?” I asked.

            Patting my
back, she said, “What do you mean?  That question should be, how come it took
you so long to realize my awesomeness?”  At that moment, she reminded me a
little of Tara.  Except without the whininess and murder threats via text
message.  The thought made me chuckle.  “Come on, we have a sister waiting in
there on us, better not keep her waitin’,” she said, and we walked into the
diner together.

            As expected,
Violet was waiting for us when we walked in, and already had a table.  A very
hard thing to accomplish on a Saturday morning at Grady’s Diner.  Even at nine
o’clock in the morning on a Saturday, Violet looked impeccable.  Her long
blonde hair was curled at the ends and it hung loosely around her shoulders. 
She wore a fitted red sweater, jeans (probably designer labeled), and tan UGG
boots.  She was adorable.  As soon as she saw us, she gave us a wave.  “Hey,
y’all!”

            I walked over
to the table and leaned to kiss her cheek.  “Good morning, Vi. How was your
night?”

            With a sly
smile, she answered, “Oh, well, you know.  It was great.”  I totally knew what
she meant, but it was still weird.  “I ordered a pot of coffee for us, I hope
that’s okay.  How was it being back home your first night?”

            “It was
actually really nice.  Daisy and me stayed up most of the night catching up,” I
said. 

            “Yeah, it’s a
shame you weren’t there, too,” Daisy answered, picking up her menu and starting
to glance through it.  “Ooh, these cheddar eggs look amazing.”  Apparently her
stomach wasn’t hurting anymore.

            I turned back
to Violet.  “It is a shame.  Hey, maybe we should have a little sister-slash-slumber
party thing before the wedding.  One last girl’s night, just the three of us,”
I suggested.

            Violet’s face
lit up, and I immediately knew that she loved my idea.  “That would be so much
fun!  We could do mani’s and pedi’s, order pizza, watch some gushy love
movies…yes, let’s do that!”

            “Okay, we will
definitely plan on that,” I answered, and I picked up my menu.  I scanned the
pages, but I already knew what I was looking for.  “Oh, there they are.  I know
what I am having.  Those damn apple cinnamon pancakes have literally haunted my
dreams since I left home.  Oh, yummy, yummy, yummy,” I said, and Violet and
Daisy giggled.

            At that
moment, a slender woman with red hair came to our table with a note pad and a
pencil in her hand.  She had her head down, not really glancing at us.  “Good
mornin’, welcome to Grady’s.  You ladies ready to order?” she asked, not
looking up from her note pad.

            Violet went
first.  “Yes, I’ll have the spinach and mushroom omelet, with whole wheat toast
please,” she said, and then set her menu down. The waitress was scribbling
fast, never looking up.

            Daisy went
next.  “I will have the triple cheddar omelet, bacon on the side, an order of
hash browns, and a blueberry muffin please.  Ooh, and an order of Belgian
waffles,” she said. Violet and I gaped at her, and she said, “What are you
looking at?  I’m hungry.”  I wondered at that moment how all that food was
going to fit into that tiny woman.

            Then it was my
turn. “I would like the apple cinnamon pancakes please, and I’d like to have
bacon on the side as well.”  I gathered all of our menus, and got ready to hand
them to the waitress.  When she was done writing, she put her pencil and note
pad into her apron pocket, and started to take the menus from me.  As soon as
she looked up, and she saw me, her mouth fell open in surprise.  Then she
looked to Violet, then to Daisy, and her face fell into a look of shock before
again resting her eyes on me.  I looked back at her, feeling a little self
conscious.  Why was she staring at me like that?  “Um, are you okay?” I asked.

            “You’re Lilly
Harrington,” she said acidly.  She said it more as an accusation.

            I felt my face
begin to get red.  “Um, yes, I am.  It’s nice to meet you.  And you are…”

            She tried her
best to look friendly, and she let her face relax, but her jaw was still
squared.  “Oh, we’ve never met.  It’s just that everyone around here talks
about you so much I feel like I already know you,” she said, as if it were
literally causing her pain to be cordial to me.  Out of the corner of my eye, I
saw Violet and Daisy exchange short, worried glances.  She reached out her hand
to me.  “I’m Samantha Reed,” she said.  Nervously, I took her hand in mine, we
briefly shook.  Who the hell was this woman?

            “It’s nice to
meet you Samantha,” I replied, not really knowing anything else to say.  She
still wouldn’t take her eyes off of mine, and I was getting more and more
uncomfortable by the minute.

            After a brief
(but somehow long) moment, she seemed to realize she’d been staring longer than
she should have, and a nervous smile spread across her face.  “Well, it was
nice to meet you too, finally.  I am going to put your order in, and it should
be ready soon.”  And with that, she took off toward the kitchen in a hurry.

            I looked at my
sisters.  They
clearly
knew who this woman was.  “What the hell was that
about?  Who is she?”

            Violet was the
first to answer.  “That’s Sam.  She and Luke dated a while back.  It wasn’t
anything serious,” she said.  At that moment, I remembered our conversation in
the kitchen from the night before.  Samantha was Sam…oh joy.  So, my reputation
must have preceded me.

            “If it wasn’t
serious, then why the hell was she so weird to me just now?” I asked.

            Daisy answered
that time.  “Well, from what I gather from it, he mentioned you a bit when they
were together.”

            “He did? How
do you know that?”

            “Oh, Jack let
it slip once,” Daisy said.

            “Well, she
didn’t have any reason to be like that.  I mean, we were never together,” I
answered. “Oh wow, well, this wasn’t how I thought wedding planning was going
to go this morning,” I said.  I turned to Violet.  “I am so sorry about this,
Vi.”

            She reached
over and placed her hand on mine.  Giggling, she said, “Why on earth are you
sorry?  You didn’t know about this. If Sam is insecure, it’s not because of
you.  It’s something she needs to resolve with Luke.”

            “Either that,
or move the hell on already,” Daisy scoffed.  Just then, I heard someone call
my name.  Oh no, now what?

            “Lilly Harrington,
is that you?”  I turned around, and I felt at ease.  I saw a big, beefy man
with gray hair and a gray beard to match walking toward me.  It was Mr. Grady,
the owner of the diner.  He walked toward me with his arms out.

            I stood up,
and walked to him.  “Mr. Grady!  Hi, how are you?” I asked, hugging him.

            “I’m doin’
fine, I’m doin’ fine. I thought I heard someone say you were back in my
diner.”  My eyes quickly flashed to the counter, and I saw Sam glaring at me,
and when our eyes met, she quickly looked away.  “So, how you been, girl?” he
asked, in his thick southern drawl.

            “I’ve been
great.  How’s your family?”

            “Oh, they’re
great, thanks for askin’.  Tell me about being a big chef in California.  You
haven’t tried stealin’ any of my recipes, have ya?”

            “As if I
could.  Your food is one of a kind.  Believe me, I’ve tried recreating some of
them, and I just can’t get them to taste as good as yours.”

            “Well, aren’t
you sweet? I knew there was a reason I always liked you, Lilly,” he said, with
a deep laugh.  “So, you staying in town for the holidays after Violet’s
weddin’? Which, by the way, thank you for invitin’ me to, young lady,” he
added, winking at Violet.  She smiled warmly back to him.

            “Well, that’s
the plan.  I thought since I was already here for the wedding I’d stay on until
Christmas.”

            “Well, it’s
good to have you home again, girl,” Mr. Grady said, giving me another quick hug
around the shoulders.  “Well, I’d better get back in the kitchen, I gotta make
your food!” he said, laughing.  “And, you ladies order whatever you want, as
much as you want, because it’s on the house.” We all started to protest, but he
shook his head and put his hands in the air.  “Now, don’t argue with me, my
mind’s made up.”

            “Thanks so
much, Mr. Grady.  It was great seeing you,” I said, kissing him on the cheek.

            He smiled, and
said, “Oh, enough of that now.  You keep that up, and I may never go back in
that kitchen.”  We all laughed loudly.  “You girls make sure you say goodbye
before you leave, you hear?”

            “Oh, yes sir,”
I said, taking my seat again.

            “Alright, I’ll
catch up with yun’s later,” he said, and walked back into the kitchen.  After
that warm welcome, my encounter with Luke’s ex girlfriend was all but
forgotten.

            After eating myself
into a pancake induced stupor, and looking through all of Violet’s plans from
her “Wedding Bible” as she called it, I felt like it had been a pretty
productive morning.  This wedding really was going to be beautiful.  She showed
me some sketches of her wedding dress, which was
gorgeous
. I could not
wait
to see her in it.  She also showed me a picture of Daisy in her bridesmaid
dress, and I was ecstatic.  They were beautiful, thank God.  Surprisingly, her
colors weren’t holiday themed, given the time of the wedding, which was only
five days before Christmas.  Our bridesmaid dresses were a delicate ice blue,
and the only difference in them was Daisy’s dress was strapless, and mine had
wide straps in order to distinguish us.  They were fitted at the top, and then
they started to flow out at the waist.  Over the ice blue satin lay a sheer,
almost tulle-like overlay, and the bottom of the dress flowed around like a sea
of crystal blue water.  They were so amazing, and I couldn’t wait to try mine
on.  Violet had really done an amazing job with this wedding.  She wanted it to
be like a winter wonderland, and I really think after seeing everything, she
was going to knock it out of the park. 

            Just then, I
glanced up at the clock on the wall, and noticed the time.  It was fifteen
minutes until eleven.  I started to panic a little bit.  Luke was going to be
here in fifteen minutes.  I glanced at my watch, and Daisy noticed.  “Hey,
Violet,” Daisy asked, “we probably are done here today, right?”

            She smiled. 
“Can’t wait to be rid of me, huh?”

            “Oh, no, it’s
not that.  I think I ate too much or something, my stomach’s upset again.  I
think I may have to start carrying Tums around with me.” Daisy said.

“Well,
just because you can eat like a starving trucker doesn’t mean you should,”
Violet said, laughing.  “But in all seriousness, we are done here, so go home
and get some rest.”

“I
think I will do just that. Lil, you ready to go?”

            “Yeah, just
let me go and say goodbye to Mr. Grady.”  I walked over to him and met him at
the kitchen door, and he gave me a tight bear hug.  He reminded me to come back
and see him soon, which I promised I would.  We all walked to our cars
together, and I hugged Violet goodbye.  “Well, thanks for catching me up, Vi.
This wedding is going to be amazing.”

            “I’m glad you
think so, and I am so, so glad you like everything.  I have a rehearsal with my
kids for the Christmas festival tomorrow, but would you maybe be up for a gown
fitting Monday evening?” Violet asked.

            “Yeah, Monday
is perfect.  I’ll see you then.  And give Evan my love,” I said, and we broke
apart.  Violet gave us one final wave, and she got into her car and left.  I
breathed a sigh of relief.  “Thanks for helping me wrap this up, Dais.  He
should be meeting me here any time.”  And right as I said that, his car rounded
the corner and pulled in Grady’s parking lot.  He slid into the spot that was
next to Daisy’s car, turned off the engine, and stepped out of the car.  I felt
my breath catch in my throat.  He was devastatingly handsome.  He wore dark
wash faded blue jeans, black leather boots, and a tan sweater under his black
leather jacket. His hair was styled into a messy look with the bangs in the
front spiked up just a bit, and he had just a bit of a five o’clock shadow on
his jaw.  He was so gorgeous it hurt.  He smiled at me.

            Out of the
corner of her mouth, Daisy noticed my reaction and mumbled, “Be cool, remember
what we talked about.”  I rolled my eyes and smiled.

            “Good morning,
Lilly.  Hey Daisy,” he said.

            “Hey,” we both
said at the same time, and the three of us laughed.

            “Okay, so, how
was breakfast?  Did Old Man Grady feed you until you could barely move?” Luke
asked.

            “Well, I ate
the amount that a normal person eats. Daisy, on the other hand…” I trailed off.

            Daisy pointed
her finger at me and said, “Hey now, I have been feeling sick the past few
days.  I had catching up to do.”

            “Well,
hopefully you will feel better soon.  Evan told me the other day that he has
five patients due this week. He’s gonna need your help,” Luke answered.

            “Then I better
go home and get some rest.  Have fun you two,” Daisy said, winking at me.  She
got into her car, started it, and waved to us as she drove away.