FG 3 - The Wedding Blitz Read online

  “Joie wake up,” someone nudged me in the side.

  “Huh?” I pulled my head off of the keyboard where I must have fallen asleep and looked up at Riley.

  “Not as easy as it looks, huh?” he smiled down at me.

  “I managed to get it done,” I closed the laptop and added, “for your information.”

  “So you just decided to take a little cat nap?”

  “I do that now, embarrassingly enough,” I widened my eyes.

  “Hawkins was asking for you, come on,” he waved for me to hurry up.

  “What does that slave driver want now?” I joked as I got up and followed behind him down the aisle.

  “Someone slept in,” Lizzie smiled when I stepped off the bus. I did a double take in her direction as I watched her carry over her shoulder what looked like a two by four that still had a chunk of plaster attached to it out to the dumpster.

  “Someone’s happy to be drinking Warren’s ‘Kool-Aid’,” I laughed as Riley and I headed into the house.

  “Hey, they have an arrangement and it’s working,” Riley cracked a smile. “There’s no shame in that.”

  I didn’t know what I noticed first, the man dressed in a white double breasted chef jacket and checkered pants or the desserts to the right that covered every inch of the counter space and the island in the kitchen area.

  “It smells like confectionary heaven,” I took in a deep breath.

  “Joie, this is pastry chef extraordinaire Francoeur Romanoff,” the man looked distinguished with white hair pulled back in a ponytail and a trimmed beard. He extended his hand for me to shake as Riley explained, “He’s going to be making your wedding cake.”

  “It’s so nice to finally meet you, Joie,” Francoeur said in a European accent I couldn’t quite place.

  “Why don’t we sit down to talk first?” Riley extended his arm to the window seat that overlooked the lake. Hawkins winked at me as I passed by him, Harlow, Warren, and Lizzie who were busy collecting what they could of the demolished wall so they could chuck it in the dumpster outside. Riley quickly dusted off a place for the pastry chef, me, and himself.

  “So tell me Joie,” Francoeur pulled out a small notepad from his pants pocket. “What’s your dream wedding cake?”

  “I’m thinking five tiers,” Riley quickly began to list, “Possibly six because I want the cake to make a statement. I’d like them to be square not round…are you getting this?” Riley looked down at the blank notepad in Francouer’s hand.

  I gave a little nod letting the chef know this was my dream wedding cake too. “Ah, but of course,” Francouer started to scribble down the notes.

  “I want fondant instead of buttercream,” Riley continued to describe the cake and honestly I was grateful because they both lost me at how many tiers. “For the outside of the cake, I want the fondant to be white but sprayed with a shimmer. I want the cake to reflect the beauty of the Chihuly stained glass we’ll be using in the surrounding wild flowers and marsh by creating small clear glass balls with blown sugar work so that it appears to be overflowing down the cake.”

  “Okay,” Francouer nodded as he continued to scribble away.

  “For the topping, I want the sugar work to twist up and out of the top of the cake in a shimmering pearl that also gives off the effect of clear glass. Oh, I have a drawing, if that would be helpful?”

  Hawkins glanced over at me probably because I found myself drooling over him instead of paying attention to Riley and the pastry chef. It wasn’t totally my fault that I became distracted when Hawkins had stripped off his t-shirt two minutes ago revealing his tight tan abdomen and defined pecks. He checked to see if everything was going according to plan by giving me the thumbs up or down and I quickly gave him the thumbs up.

  “Don’t you agree Joie?” Riley turned to ask me.

  “Ah…yes,” I cleared my throat. “A hundred percent.”

  “Now for the inside of the cake,” Francouer asked expectantly.

  “I think Joie, would actually enjoy this part,” Riley turned to smile warmly at me.

  “I get to try the desserts?” my mouth watered at just the thought of taste testing every one of them.

  “I’m not here, to take over your wedding. I’m here to help you, Joie.”

  “I know, I’d be clueless without you,” I confessed as we all stood up. “But I think I actually am going to need everyone’s help with this.”

  Hawkins and the rest of the group took a long overdue break to help dig into the bite size desserts displayed around the kitchen.

  “Oh my god, this is to die for,” my mouth salivated at the taste of butter cream and hazelnut.

  “What is this?” Lizzie moaned.

  “Vanilla cake with lemon French cream and raspberries,” Francouer explained. “The lemon is very light on the palate.”

  “You should try this, Joie,” Lizzie pointed with her fork and I moved in to take a bite of it.

  “Wow, that is good,” I had to tilt my head back so I wouldn’t drool.

  “Now this, is my kind of cake,” Warren emphasized as he turned to Francouer. “What’s in it?”

  “That’s Italian sponge cake soaked in rum with a whipped butter cream on top.”

  “No wonder,” Warren shook his head causing all of us to snicker.

  “Try this Joie,” Harlow waved me over to the kitchen counter next to him.

  “That is black and white cake with hazelnut cream,” Francouer explained as I stuffed my mouth with the dessert.

  “Umm good, Hawkins you got to try this one too,” I motioned him over.

  “You look like you’re in heaven, Joie,” he smiled as he sampled the dessert.

  “That’s because I am,” I took another bite of it so that we could both decide.

  “That is good,” Hawkins nodded.

  “Sorry Rob, but I don’t think anything’s going to beat this,” Riley pointed his fork at a

  dessert on the island.

  “That’s devil’s food cake with chocolate mousse, a thin layer of chocolate ganache and fresh raspberries,” Francouer explained as my taste buds exploded with the deliciousness of it all. Hawkins seemed to agree because all he could do was point and nod. I helped myself to another serving as the rest of the group circled around for a try.

  “You don’t even like raspberries,” Lizzie scoffed at me before throwing back the bite size dessert. I watched her eyes widened unexpectedly as she ate it.

  “And might I also add,” Riley spoke up, “That the contrast of the exterior white fondant and the dark color of the cake will match the black and white esthetic of the wedding perfectly.”

  “I don’t know, I still think the vanilla cake with the lemon cream was the best,” Lizzie gave her vote.

  “We all know which one I loved,” Warren rolled his eyes causing us to snicker again.

  “I actually liked the devil’s food cake too,” Harlow nodded as he sampled another bite.

  “Well it’s up to the bride and groom to decide,” Lizzie announced, looking hopeful that her choice would be picked.

  “And?” Francouer smiled warmly at me because I had practically eaten up most of his desserts.

  “I can’t get the taste of that chocolate mousse out of my mind,” I licked my lips. “What do you think Hawkins?”

  “I agree, the devil’s food cake’s the clear winner,” Hawkins placed down his fork.

  “Yes!” Riley quietly pulled his hand into a fist as he reveled in his victory.

  “I want to thank you Chef Romanoff for graciously coming here with the desserts,” Hawkins shook the man’s hand. “If the taste of those desserts is any indication of what you’re capable of creating, I know the cake will be the highlight of the night.”

  “It was no problem, I was happy to accommodate you,” Chef Romanoff bowed his head. “And thank you, I look forward to creating the cake because I too like Chihuly,” he braced his chest.

  “It must be a Seattle thing,” Hawkins l
aughed with the man as he shook Riley’s hand.

  “What about the rest of the desserts?” I asked because there had to be at least one tray left if we combined them all together.

  “They’re for you to enjoy,” he patted my hand before turning to leave. “Thank you all, good day.”

  “Bye!”

  I sucked on the end of my finger and then asked, “When do I get to sample the food?”

  “I’ve already made the arrangements for the food,” Riley explained. “First we’re serving crab stuffed mushrooms, shrimp cocktail, and sushi for appetizers. Then we’re having a seafood buffet because of the location. We’ll be able to get the freshest seafood in the area.”

  “I love seafood,” I dropped my shoulders in disappointment because I wanted to taste test the food even more now.

  “I’ll make sure we get you some seafood, Joie,” Hawkins chuckled as he patted my back.

  “Now we need to get this pile of crap up off the floor today,” Riley moved on to the next step in his plans. “I need this floor to practically gleam for what I have planned tomorrow.”

  “You heard the man,” Hawkins waved for the rest of the group to join him. “Let’s get what’s left of this fallen wood and plaster in the dumpster.”

  I looked down at what was left of the collapsed wall that had scattered debris across the floor but noticed that most of the major pieces had already been removed. I knew the real challenge was getting the white dusty floor embedded with dirt and leaves to gleam by tomorrow.

  “Warren,” Riley continued in his relentless pursuit to micromanage probably because he felt guilty that he was still on dialysis and not able to do actual physical work himself. “Do you think you can chop up the rest of that branch and pile it over beside the fireplace?”

  “I’m on it boss,” Warren smiled as he saluted him and went to retrieve the chainsaw in the corner of the room.

  “Am I the only one who needs a serious sugar rush nap?” Lizzie groaned.

  “Lizzie,” was all Warren had to say for her to quickly sing a new tune. “So do you need help piling the logs?”

  Wanting to contribute, I retrieved a broom, mop, water bucket, a box of garbage bags and a couple of rags that Hawkins’ cleaning service kept on the bus and began to sweep up what I could of the dirt and leaves.

  Three hours later, the only memory that a wall had even existed between the kitchen area and the family room was the absence of the cherry hardwood boards on the floor where the wall had once been, and the different colored paint on the walls and ceiling delineating the two separate rooms. A small pile of wood now laid neatly beside the fireplace. But even though I had bagged enough leaves and soot to fill three garbage bags, the cherry wood still didn’t gleam. The floor needed a good scrubbing, if not two to take off the many layers of dirt that I couldn’t sweep up with a broom to make it truly shine.

  We were all exhausted from the hard work especially when the only thing to refuel ourselves in the house was the remaining sugary desserts but Riley was insistent on taking off at least one layer of dirt by himself. I knew whatever was happening tomorrow with the wedding preparations meant a lot to Riley which often in our friendship translated into something that would mean a lot to me. He must have been able to tell that we were all dead tired because he stopped dishing out orders and got down on all fours to scrub the floors clean himself.

  Warren was sprawled out on the cleanest section of the floor he could find with Lizzie using his chest as a pillow. Hawkins was sitting with his arms braced over his knees and his back against the wall beside me. Even Harlow looked too drained to do anything but watch Riley. Of course that all changed when the bucket of water suddenly tipped over and Riley’s arms gave out from exhaustion.

  “Riley!” Harlow and I cried out in unison as everyone bolted forward to help him back up. All the color had drained from his face and beads of sweat were dripping off of his brow when Harlow gently pulled him up and wrapped his arm around his shoulder for support.

  “I’m fine guys.”

  “Like hell you are,” Harlow muttered.

  “It’s crucial that the floors get cleaned,” Riley twisted his head around in our direction as Harlow helped him out. “I swear I’m not being dramatic this time.”

  “We’ll get it done, Riley,” Hawkins assured him. “Just concentrate on resting for now.”

  Once Riley was out the door and out of earshot, Lizzie sighed, “Okay, he’s taken this to a whole new level of craziness.”

  “He’s doing this for me because he knows that no one else will,” I came to his defense. “And it probably helps take his mind off of his kidneys and the dialysis treatment he has to go through tomorrow where they’ll hook him up to a machine that will churn his blood around and clean it for three painstaking hours. Honestly, if it was me in his shoes, I would need something to distract me too.”

  “With his health being what it is though, he’s in no condition do all of this alone,” Hawkins gently broke it down for me. “My mom’s been talking about this wedding planner she knows—”

  “It would crush him, if he thought we didn’t think he was good enough.”

  “We’re going to need her, Joie,” Hawkins insisted. “He can’t set out the decorations, the gifts, check on the guests, and arrange for the wedding party pictures all at the same time.”

  “I didn’t think about it like that,” I slowly nodded okay. “Who’d she have in mind?”

  X X X

  The next morning, I was awakened by a whispering Riley who kept his voice down so he wouldn’t wake up Hawkins who was in bed beside me. “Do you think you could drive me to the hospital for my appointment?”

  Hawkins opened his sleepy eyes when I rolled out of his arms and nodded for me to go. “Take my car,” he said gruffly before I kissed his lips and slipped out of our bed.

  I got dressed in my usual attire which consisted of my white tank top, grey sweats which read Pink along the side. I added a grey hoodie because of how cold I remembered the hospital being. I found Hawkins’ car keys in the back pocket of the jeans he had worn yesterday and nodded for Riley to head down the aisle of the bus as I closed the bedroom door behind me.

  I took a quick glance over at the house and stopped suddenly when I saw an unfamiliar silver Altima in our driveway. “Riley this isn’t some kind of scheme to get me away from the house, is it?”

  “What are talking about? I’m going to need someone to hold my hand,” he fake coughed.

  “Youuuu,” I waggled my finger at him as we came around the side door of Hawkins’ car and got in.

  Fifteen minutes later, we pulled into the patient parking lot at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. I honestly didn’t enjoy seeing the place so soon again so I could only imagine what Riley was feeling when they finally prepped him for his dialysis treatment. For someone who looked like a buff Abercrombie and Fitch model, he seemed out of place with the dialysis machine hooked up to his arm. He tried to stop me from mothering him by pulling a thin blanket up to his chest but I insisted that this was what he got for tricking me.

  “Why don’t we talk about something a little bit more serious?” I murmured as I rested my head on his shoulder. “Do you think maternity sweat pants are a ghetto look?”

  “If you’re going to cover up your bump with more of those color blocked summer dresses, then no,” he rested his head against mine. “Besides, Hawkins loves your ghetto ass.”

  “That is true.”

  “Let’s talk about something you can actually help,” he cracked a smile. “Have you thought about where you want to go for your honeymoon?”

  “Oh Riley,” I groaned. “That involves planes and out of the country destinations. I don’t want to eat some foreign food and come back with some other infectious disease.”

  “The odds of that happening are highly unlikely, Joie.”

  “I know, but the only place I can think of are those huts on the ocean and I only know about them because of you
.”

  “Bora Bora! That’s exactly where you should go.”

  “Riley that’s your dream vacation, not mine.”

  “No Joie, trust me, you’ll love it. Just imagine clear water for miles and snorkeling off the coast where you’ll see exotic fish and the most colorful vibrant coral reefs. And you’ll get to eat until your heart’s content, all the seafood you could ever want.” For a moment I could tell Riley had gone there in his mind. “Trust me Joie, have I disappointed you yet?”

  “About that,” I cringed.

  “What? Tell me now while I’m still tied up to a machine.”

  “Hawkins was worried about your health—

  “Ah, noooo.”

  “We hired a…co-planner to help with the workload. You still have complete control over how everything goes,” I quickly added. “She’s just going to be your…second in command.”

  “Who is she?”

  “Someone Hawkins’ mom knows,” I explained.

  “And it just gets better,” he snickered as he made a stabbing motion at his heart. “Let’s just go back to talking about Bora Bora.”

  “Oh Riley, no,” I pleaded. “I swear I will keep that bitch in check. This is your wedding. Nothing’s going to change that.”

  “You better keep her in check,” he joked.

  “I will, I so will,” I promised as I curled up with his free arm around me and we snuggled together for the rest of his time at the hospital talking about anything but the wedding and the new wedding planner.

  On the drive back to the house though, I couldn’t help but start to wonder what Riley’s big surprise was going to be. But when I had to park Hawkins’ black Saab three fourths of the way down the driveway because three large vans were already parked there, I realized that the surprise was bigger than I had anticipated.

  “Ah Joie, why don’t you head up to the bus so I can see if things are in order,” Riley waved his hands at me and I turned to head up the bus. Once inside, I was surprised to find Lizzie.

  “Hey, I didn’t know you were up here. What’s going on in the house?”

  “I have been sworn to secrecy,” she admitted as she finally stepped out of the way of a black and white Crate & Barrel box.