FG 3 - The Wedding Blitz Read online

  “Yeah really,” I said as I looked out at the grand view of the lake through the two story high triangular glass windows. The lawn below looked like something out of a Monet painting with overflowing red and yellow tiger lilies and orange blossoms along either side of a long stretch of swaying tall grass that led out to a wooden dock on the lake.

  “So who are we going to get to fix it?” I asked, wondering if it would be done in time for the baby.

  “Well I thought since everyone’s still recovering that Harlow and I could take down the rest of the this wall—

  “Wait a minute—you think we’re going to fix it?” Lizzie looked astounded. “You know you’re a millionaire or have you forgotten?”

  “I’m not like most millionaires,” he shrugged.

  “I think that’s already been established,” Lizzie widened her eyes. “Warren, please talk some sense into him.”

  “I don’t know,” Warren shrugged. “I could use a distraction right now to keep me from drinking.”

  “Does this place even have electricity?!” Lizzie rubbed her arms from the cool draft coming in through the ceiling.

  “We could use that chainsaw over there,” Hawkins pointed to the corner of the room. “To cut up this branch for firewood,” he jerked his thumb toward the fireplace which I think was intended to be the focal point for the room by the sheer size of it. “And then sleep on the bus like we always do, until the house’s ready.”

  “What about the wedding?” Riley asked. “I still have a lot of planning to do.”

  “We should be done before then,” Hawkins assured him. “It looks like a lot more work than it really is.”

  “The yard is beautiful,” Riley murmured as he looked out of the glass wall. “It has wild flowers and a little dilapidated stone wall. With a little pruning and some raking, it’ll be perfect for the wedding.”

  “You want me to get started on this wall J.T.?” Harlow offered as he grabbed up a nearby sledgehammer.

  “That would be great. Thanks man,” he patted his back looking relieved that someone was finally going to be doing something other than bitch and moan.

  “I can get started on cutting up this branch,” Warren offered next and with a nod from Hawkins, he turned around to get the chainsaw.

  Lizzie fake coughed and muttered something under her breath about still having the NBT4 virus and we’re we all out of our freaking minds?!

  “What would you like me to do?” I volunteered myself.

  “Come with me, I’ll show you the rest of the house,” Hawkins waved for me to follow after him up a set of steps which led to the next floor. I grabbed the banister as the stairs rose to a landing that allowed me to pause before continuing up to the next level. The landing provided a higher lookout at the breathtaking view of the lake. Once at the top I looked down the hallway and noticed that there was a closed room on either side. Hawkins opened the door to the right first, revealing a large empty room with a wooden floor.

  “It’s got a lot of closet space,” he nodded.

  “Well that’s good because I’m going to need that,” I joked causing him to smile.

  “Now,” he cleared his throat as he crossed over to the second door because apparently it came with instructions. “I know that the room’s going to look like blind person painted it but just imagine what it could look like after we get done with it,” he emphasized before opening the door.

  I got a sense that he meant for this room to be for the baby as I glanced around the empty room that was painted a crimson red and black like it was Goth-inspired and wondered what rebellious kid had lived in it before.

  “With a lot of love,” I slowly smiled when I realized we were actually doing this. We were going to have a house for the baby to live in that wasn’t Hawkins’ tour bus. “Maybe we can paint it a nice pear color with white accents?!” I shouted overtop of the chainsaw in the background; suddenly excited about decorating the room for the baby.

  I noticed as we came back down the steps that even Lizzie had caved into doing some type of work by helping Warren toss chunks of wood into the fireplace. Harlow looked like he enjoyed knocking the crap out of the wall and I could tell that he was already making some progress. I glanced around for Riley when Lizzie nodded at the window to the lawn outside. With a glance out at the veranda, I realized Riley was already raking up leaves and pulling out weeds in the backyard.

  “I hope he doesn’t push himself too hard!” I shouted over at Hawkins, who raised a hand up to his ear because he couldn’t hear me over top of the chainsaw and the pounding of the wall. “I hope Riley doesn’t—never mind.”

  Lizzie was quick to pull out her cell phone, and seconds later I felt my own vibrate in my pocket. “Can you believe this? I only have a weakened immune system from a little thing called the NBT4 virus!” she texted like she was the only who had been infected.

  “Warren seems to like it and honestly I’m excited to get my hands dirty for once especially when the house has so much potential,” I texted back before looking around the room again imagining all the ways we could decorate it.

  “Are you looking at the same room, I’m looking at?” she texted back as her face pinched in bewilderment before shoving the phone into her pocket and returning to Warren’s side, who already looked a little winded. Lizzie quickly helped him toss another log into the burning fire.

  Warren had to sit a third of the way through cutting down the beastly branch causing Harlow to drop his sledgehammer and look around for Riley. Harlow dropped his gloves to the floor and swung his sandy brown hair out of his face, looking determined to check up on his significant other. Minutes later, Harlow practically dragged Riley in by the elbow.

  “But Rob, I have to get the yard ready for the wedding,” he cried.

  “Not all in one night you don’t,” Harlow insisted causing all of us to snicker.

  “This is so sad,” Riley sank down beside me on a couch we had overturned. “I only raked two piles of leaves before I had to stop to catch my breath. How am I going to get everything done before the wedding?”

  “We’ll help you,” I patted his knee.

  “But you’re the bride Joie, you can’t help me. Well—not with everything anyway.”

  “Hey, just tell me what to do and I’ll do it,” Warren volunteered himself causing Lizzie to bug her eyes out. I think she had imagined herself soaking it up in Warren’s Jacuzzi up at his mansion in Vancouver by now.

  “Thanks Warren,” Riley seemed truly appreciative; probably because it was unexpected coming from someone who usually liked to party like Mick Jagger.

  “No problemo.”

  “What’s your address here, Hawkins?” Riley asked as he pulled out his cell phone.

  “96 College Park Road, Seattle, Washington, why do you ask?”

  “I hope you don’t mind if I have some things delivered here?”

  “Nah Riley, this is your show. Whatever you need to do to make it memorable,” Hawkins nodded as Riley got up to make a phone call outside on the porch where he wouldn’t be overheard.

  “We’ll probably need everyone’s help with the preparations,” I announced on Riley’s behalf once he was out of earshot. “Riley can’t do all this on his own. They still haven’t weaned him off dialysis yet.” Everyone nodded in agreement around the room.

  “Now why don’t we help Harlow beat the crap out of this wall?” I smiled up at Rob, who turned and held the sledgehammer out for me. “It’s all yours.”

  “This could be really therapeutic,” I mumbled under my breath as I took the sledgehammer in both of my hands while careful not to overdo it because of the baby. “That’s what you get for attacking me, you SOB military operative,” I swung the sledgehammer to the sound of laughter and watched the solid metal head sink into the wall.

  Hawkins moved in to take the sledgehammer from me. “Now if you continue down this road, we might be here for a very long time.”

  “You make a really good point,” I
nodded already feeling the effects of someone who had spent most of their time confined to a bed for the past week.

  “Watch out Joie, I have some pent up frustration too,” he warned and I backed away so Hawkins could have a go at it. “This is for my father!” The whole house practically shook when the force of the sledgehammer connected with the plaster of the wall. “This is for his dialysis treatment! And not being a match!”

  Boom! Boom! Boom!

  “I’ve got ten bucks that says he’ll take down the entire wall,” Lizzie murmured beside me.

  “Hopefully not before I’ve had my turn,” Warren muttered under his breath like he had some things he’d like to get out of his system too.

  Even though Hawkins had taken a huge circular chunk out of the wall, it still didn’t fall miraculously enough, but Warren stood up more than ready to take his turn when Hawkins bent over to catch his breath.

  “This is for my sister!” Warren swung the sledgehammer with all his might sending pieces of the wall flying everywhere. Lizzie and I ducked behind the couch for the rest of his turn but even Warren couldn’t bring the thing down.

  “I think you guys need to invest in large paintings,” Warren gasped. “Because I don’t think this bitch is coming down.”

  “I still haven’t had my turn,” Harlow, who I had always thought was a little on the hippie side with his corduroys and Birkenstocks, announced as he took the sledgehammer back with a renewed sense of vengeance.

  “This is for Riley! And all those times I wasn’t brave enough to admit how I felt,” he whacked the sledgehammer into the wall so hard that it wobbled side to side. Hawkins and Warren, who were closest to the wall, pulled Harlow back as it suddenly toppled over with one last creaking moan in the direction of the kitchen area.

  “Wow,” Riley whispered in awe behind us, apparently finished with making his phone calls.

  Warren and Hawkins looked at each other in astonishment, before Warren grunted, “Well it was only a matter of time.”

  “Sure Warren.”

  If one thing was clear, it was that we were all out of steam as everyone took a seat and sat down taking in what we had accomplished.

  “Now that we brought it down—” Warren went to say.

  “You mean Harlow brought it down,” Hawkins coughed causing Warren to playfully shove his shoulder.

  “Yeah, yeah but now what do we do with what’s left of it?”

  “Carry it out to the dumpster.”

  “What dumpster?”

  “The one I’m going to have to call to get,” Hawkins shrugged.

  “While you’re making that call,” Lizzie held up a finger. “Can you also hire a crew to finish fixing this house?”

  “Okay,” Warren gently jerked Lizzie up into his arms. “Let’s head back to the bus for a little Lizzie time.”

  “We haven’t had Lizzie time in a long time,” she looked at him in wonderment as if she could barely believe what she had heard.

  “Let’s just say being distracted by all these manly endeavors,” he said with a glance around the room. “Brings out the beast, I mean best in me.”

  “Oh in that case, don’t you think a tin roof would really compliment the rustic look of the house?” she quickly added as they headed outside in the direction of the tour bus. Riley and Harlow headed out behind them snickering something about ‘Riri time.’

  “Why don’t we sleep here tonight?” I tugged Hawkins’ arm before he could get up. “It’s our first night in the house together.”

  “You really like it, don’t you?” his eyes twinkled in the firelight as he wrapped an arm around my shoulder and pulled me close to his chest. “As long as we stay close to the fire, we should be fine.”

  “I don’t think that should be a problem,” I assured him.

  X X X

  I woke up in Hawkins strong, warm arms as we snuggled in a red and navy blue plaid sleeping bag he found on the bus. The more the fire dwindled down throughout the night, the closer we huddled together for warmth. I laid there and pulled a leaf out of my hair smiling as I twirled it around between my thumb and finger. This was my home too now.

  Soon a loud, building sound of a diesel engine drew close to the house and I nudged Hawkins in the side.

  “That would be the dumpster,” he grunted. “Wait a minute that means—” he quickly unzipped the bag to retrieve his white Calvin Klein boxer briefs and I searched for my bra that I must have discarded somewhere in the sleeping bag.

  “Morning,” Warren sauntered in causing me to cry out as I pulled the sleeping bag over my head. Even Hawkins looked caught off guard as he stood hunched over with his t-shirt over the goods.

  “What are you doing up at this hour anyway?” Hawkins asked accusingly.

  “I don’t drink anymore, my friend.”

  “Is that going to be your excuse for everything from now on?” Hawkins snickered.

  “If the shoe fits,” he shrugged as he continued to stand there looking like he wasn’t going anywhere, anytime soon. So I grabbed up what I could of the sleeping bag and sort of skated my way toward the door because I wasn’t going to search for my clothes while half naked in front of Warren.

  “That is one hell of a walk a shame, Joie,” Warren nodded approvingly, making my face turn as red as the unflattering and bulky sleeping bag. I moved as quickly as I could across the front porch without making eye contact, not wanting to see the reaction on the faces of the men delivering the dumpster. Though that didn’t stop me from feeling like this was an all-time low for me as I climbed awkwardly up the steps to the bus parked beside the house. Inside Riley was busy scrolling down images on his laptop, but one look at me said it all. Riley just raised his eyebrows and smiled down at the screen.

  I grabbed up my trusty white tank top and pink rolled up sweats, which looked like I had shrunk them in the dryer now that my bump was growing, and quickly got dressed in the privacy of the back bedroom. Once I was decent again, I walked back out to the kitchen with my head held up a fraction higher than normal. Hey it wasn’t like we were the only ones ‘enjoying’ ourselves.

  With my appetite back I found a plastic jar of peanut butter and a spoon to serve as my breakfast as I dug into the creamy stuff and sat down across from Riley at the computer.

  “How do you feel about the color pearl?” he asked me like the walk of shame was a distant memory which was both relieving and a bit disturbing.

  “I don’t have a feeling about it either way, actually,” I dug the spoon into the peanut butter again.

  “I know I used to think wine would make a great color for your wedding but it would compete with the colorful Chihuly stained glass sculptures, which I plan to place around the marshy area where you come in off the lake and in the surrounding wild flowers. Now I’m thinking of a more subdued color scheme for inside the tent like white and black instead. What do you think?” he looked at me intently.

  “Then white it is,” I agreed as I sucked on the end of the spoon.

  “Having white on white with silver accents for the decorations could look very decadent.”

  “Even better,” I nodded.

  “Joie, can you at least pretend to care?”

  “I care Riley,” I insisted. “So what’s next?”

  “I’m picking out wedding invitations. I hope you don’t mind but I’ve set your wedding date for Saturday September the 22nd because it’s the first day of fall and the romantic in me likes that. Plus it should give me enough time to get everything done, hopefully.”

  “I like it,” I dug into the peanut butter again but Riley just blinked at me so I added, “I like it a lot.”

  “Your hopeless,” he cracked a smile. “Anyway, I found this website that’ll create your wedding invitations and then mail them out to the guests so that you don’t have to. You just pick out a template and then fill in all the contact information.”

  “That’s really creative and efficient.”

  “That’s a gay man for you,�
� he jokingly winked.

  “So what’s caught your eye so far?” I motioned for the laptop and he turned it to show me.

  “I like that one,” I instantly pointed to a white invitation with monograms of the couple’s married name in fancy black cursive writing at the header and a geometrical print of circles intertwined along the border.

  “I know I like that one too but it’s too masculine for your wedding,” he explained. “Now for you I like the white one with the black border that’s embossed with dandelion puffs positioned across the front as if they’re flying through the sky since it’s an outside wedding.”

  “It’s beautiful too.”

  “I also like this one with the two white outlines of flowers positioned asymmetrically on either edge on the black background but it’s not my favorite,” he sighed. “I’m torn. I don’t know which one I’m going to pick. There’s just so much to do,” he motioned for the laptop but I pulled it closer to my chest.

  “It’s been brought to my attention that I don’t care enough,” I rolled my eyes with fake sincerity. “If you don’t mind I’d like to do something, I’ll never forgive myself if I don’t contribute somehow.”

  “If you insist,” his lip curled up. “I’ll let you do it but be prepared, it may take you some time to complete,” he threw an address book across the table.

  “I think I can manage,” I murmured as I sifted through the pages of addresses.

  “Good,” he yawned. “I could go back to bed anyway.”

  “Ah Riley,” I looked up from guest list. “Why is Jake on here?” I called after him since Jake was an ex-boyfriend of mine who had thrown me out of a party while filming it for YouTube.

  “That’s strictly for fun,” Riley smirked before turning to head to his bunk in the back.

  “This can’t be that hard,” I blew my hair out of my face. “Contact information,” I mumbled under my breath as I typed, “Mr. and Mrs. Taylor at 119 Donnan Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15122. You are cordially invited…”

  X X X