Beach Wedding (9 page)

“Hello?” For the second time today, I’m wandering
through a deserted house. Only this time, I have a very bad feeling
about what I’m going to find.

I can hear Pixie laughing, the sound of my aunts’ voices, and
Enrique calling, “Cut! Print, perfect.”

I step out onto the porch. The back yard has been taken over. The
crew is clustered around, filming Pixie with the injured pelican in
her lap. “Look,” she’s squealing. “He’s
so cute! Can we get a pet pelican, babes?”

“Sure thing, sweetheart.” Clyde agrees. He’s
surrounded by pet goats, feeding them from a baggie of Chex Mix. He
puts his sunglasses on one of them, and stops to take a selfie. And
in the middle of it all my aunts are holding court, dressed to the
nines in their best crazy kaftans and costume jewelry.

“Ginny!” Rae notices me, and gives a wave. “You
missed all the fun. We’re going to be stars!”

“Great,” I call faintly. I find Marcie on the porch.
“What’s going on?”

“Isn’t this freaking perfect?” She’s looking
happier than I’ve seen all week. “You didn’t tell
me your aunts were such characters!”

“They’re not characters, they’re people.”

“You know what I mean! They’re just made for TV! We can’t
let this chance pass us by. I’ve decided: Pixie and Clyde are
going to stay here. God, once the network sees this stuff with the
animals, they’re going to flip!”

“Wait, stay here?” I imagine a month of sharing living
space with these two, Pixie using all the hot water, and Clyde
playing his hard rock music at full blast. Not to mention Nick and
Neil lurking in every corner with the cameras rolling. I panic. “But
I just found them the perfect house. Luxury furniture, amazing views.
Perfect feng shui!”

“Oh, relax.” Marcie laughs at my desperate voice. “I
don’t mean they’ll
really
live here, just pretend
to, for the shoot. We’ll come by a couple more times, get some
footage. Pixie mucking out the stables, Clyde singing to the sheep,
that kind of thing.”

“Goats,” I correct her.

“If they’ve got four hooves and would make a viral
video, I don’t care.” She beams, and smothers me in a
totally unexpected hug. “We’re going to make this happen,
Ginny.” She says firmly. “You and me. Our careers depend
on it.”

She strides off to go talk to the couple. I retreat to the kitchen
for a glass of cold iced tea. Rae and Bettina join me. “Isn’t
this a hoot?” Rae beams. “We’re going to be on TV!”

“Are you sure about this?” I try to be the voice of
reason. “Having a whole production crew trampling around the
ranch. What about your other projects?”

“They can wait.” Bettina applies a new layer of bright
coral lipstick. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to be a
part of something beautiful. A tribute to real love.”

I can hear definite shades of Marcie in that speech. “But
reality TV isn’t real. You know that, right?” I try a
different tack. “They could edit you to look, well, like the
butt of a joke. I just don’t want you misrepresented, that’s
all.”

I dread to think what Enrique will do. Rae and Betts are already
larger than life. With some selective editing, they could wind up
looking crazy. Well, crazier than usual.

Bettina pats my arm. “Relax, sweetheart, we can take the heat.
It’s just a fun little adventure. Where’s the harm in
that?”

“Besides,” Rae adds, “Marcie said, it would be a
real help to you. We’ll do whatever it takes to make this
wedding successful for you.”

Man, she’s good. Marcie knows exactly what to say to get
anyone to agree to anything. I just have to hope my aunts are right,
and this is all just fun and games.

Rae sees my expression. “You don’t mind, do you?”

“No.” I force a smile. “I just didn’t figure
on this production taking over every part of my life, that’s
all.”

“You need to relax.” Bettina gives my shoulder a
squeeze. “Just give in to the chaos, sweetheart. Let it all
flow.”

“Betsy, Rae!” Marcie’s voice sounds, and then she
sticks her head around the door. “Quick question: can you milk
those goats?”

“Sure,” Bettina laughs. “They might not be happy
about it, though.”

Marcie lights up. “Perfect! Pixie,” she turns to yell.
“How do you feel about goat’s milk? It’s organic!”

When I wake up the next morning, I think for a minute that I’m
back in New York City. I can hear the sound of someone’s radio
playing music, and weird shouts and humming from the street. I roll
over to hit my white-noise machine before I realize there’s
nothing on the nightstand but one of my aunt’s weird centaur
lamps. It all comes flooding back.

I pull on a robe and wander out onto the porch, yawning in the
morning sun. Rae’s cross-legged in her nightgown on a yoga mat
in the middle of the back yard, doing some kind of meditation chant
under the trees. She hums and rocks back and forth, banging tiny
bells together. The rest of the music is coming from Bettina’s
studio. I can hear her working on a piano piece that’s full of
forbidding doom, the goats bleating along from their pen by the
river.

Just another morning in Pelican Key Cove.

I head back into the kitchen, smiling, and put the coffee on.
Usually by now there’re a dozen messages from Marcie blowing up
my phone, demanding my presence on set ASAP, but today it’s
strangely silent. I don’t know whether to be worried or
relieved, but I’m not going to let this morning peace go to
waste. I’ve been so busy running around, I’ve barely had
a chance to catch up with my aunts. I decide to cook us all
breakfast. Pancakes, bacon, the whole nine yards. My kitchen back in
New York is barely big enough for a toaster oven, so it’s
almost a luxury to get some space to play with.

I put the radio on to a classic rock station and get started,
humming along as I find eggs, flour, and milk in the overstuffed
fridge.

“Morning, sweetheart.” Rae comes in, and sets her yoga
mat on the side. “Did you sleep well?”

“Great, thanks.” I turn on the griddle to heat, and pour
Rae a cup of coffee. She shakes her head.

“None for me. I’ve gone all herbal.”

“You and Pixie both,” I remark.

Rae smiles. “Now there’s a funny girl. Did you know she
saw my sculptures and asked me where she could go see the centaurs,
too?”

I laugh. “I don’t know whether she’s lost her mind
or just chooses to ignore it.” I finish whisking up the pancake
batter and turn my attention to the rest of the meal. “How do
you want your eggs?”

“You don’t have to do that!” she protests. “You’re
our guest.”

I laugh. “I want to! Besides, you guys have been so helpful,
it’s the least I can do.”

Rae goes to the cupboard and starts taking out bottles of pills.

“What are they?” I ask, worried. “Are you feeling
OK?”

She smiles. “Just my vitamins, don’t you fret. You
should try them. Fish oil helps your joints.” She swallows a
massive green pill and smacks her lips together.

“I think I’ll pass,” I shudder, laughing.

“You’re not getting any younger,” she warns me. “I
wish I’d started taking care of myself when I was your age. All
those late nights out at festivals, smoking—well, we won’t
talk about that, will we.” She winks.

“The only late nights I have are watching TV and working,”
I reassure her, but Rae frowns.

“You need to get out and live a little! What happened to that
Daniel guy, the photographer you met shooting that wedding?”

“That didn’t work out,” I reply, remembering that
sordid story. “I went to take a look at his portfolio online,
and found a bunch of photos of naked women.”

“So?” Rae asks. “The female form has been
celebrated in art since the dawn of time!”

“Yeah, but these female forms were tied up in bondage gear with
a ball-gag in their mouths.” I wince, remembering my surprise
when mild-mannered Daniel turned out to be not so mild after all.

Rae laughs, downing another vitamin. “Oh, honey. Don’t
you worry, you’ll find someone soon.”

“Who’ll find what now?” Bettina comes in. Her
greying hair is caught up in a messy bun, with three different
pencils stuck through it. “Mmm, is that coffee? And bacon? I
knew you were my favourite niece.”

“I’m your only niece!” I protest, laughing. I pour
her a cup, and send it down the counter.

“I was just telling Ginny that she needs to get out there and
have some fun.” Rae says. “Back when we were her age, we
were hitchhiking to Oregon and getting bad tattoos.”

“That old camper van!” Bettina lights up at the memory.
“God, we got around. Who were those boys we rode with that
summer? Musicians, I remember.” She winks at me. “Never
pick the lead singer. It’s the drummers who know what to do
with their hands.”

“La la la!” I cover my ears. “I’m not
listening.”

“Oh, relax.” Bettina grins. “You’re a grown
woman, you know what happens when you sleep six to a bed.”

I really don’t want to know, so I change the subject.
“Breakfast’s ready!”

We grab plates and go sit on the porch outside. “This looks
delicious, sweetie,” Rae says, digging in.

I devour a couple of pancakes, finally relaxing. Sitting together in
the sunshine, it’s like old times.

“What’s your plan with the wedding now?” Bettina
asks, already on her second cup of coffee.

“I don’t know. Pixie’s being pretty vague, so I
thought I’d try and get some time alone with her today, pin
down some of the details she’d like.” I sigh. “Usually,
I’d have months to plan a wedding on this scale, but everything
has to be pulled together in a couple of weeks.”

“If anyone can get it done, you can,” Rae reassures me.

“I hope so. The new house they’re renting could work as a
venue, it’s gorgeous and modern. But I’d like to find
something else, something really romantic and special.”

I see them exchange a look. “The new house?” Rae asks,
trying to sound casual.

“Yes, one of Luke’s properties,” I say, so they
don’t have to pretend to dance around the issue anymore. “I
went out and saw him there. Why didn’t you tell me he’d
started his own company?”

Bettina puts down her fork. “We weren’t sure you’d
want to know.”

“Leaving was so hard, you were crying down the phone that whole
year,” Rae adds, looking stricken. “We decided that we
wouldn’t say anything to remind you unless you asked. And you
never did.”

She’s right. I forced myself to move on and pretend like the
love of my life wasn’t a thousand miles away, hating my guts.

“I know,” I sigh. “I just wish I’d known –
about his dad, especially.”

“That was a tough break,” Bettina nods. “But by
then, you were up on your feet, you’d both put the past behind
you. We weren’t sure if either of you would want to have that
brought back up again.”

“You’re probably right,” I nod, regretful. “The
last thing Luke would have wanted would be to deal with me on top of
his dad passing, not after the way I left things.”

There’s a pause. Only my aunts know the reason behind my
leaving, the secret I’ve kept from Luke for ten years now.

“Have you thought about maybe sitting down with him, clearing
the air?” Rae asks gently.

“I tried to talk to him the other night,” I say. “But
he didn’t want to get into it. He says it’s all in the
past.”

I understand why Luke wants to leave the ghosts of old love behind.
Still… I wish he’d give me a chance to explain. I’ve
been carrying around all this guilt and regret for so long, I’d
love to finally share the truth.

Bettina reaches across the table and pats my hand. “Maybe
that’s why you’re back here. A chance to explain, once
and for all.”

“Yes,” Rae’s eyes widen. “The universe called
you back for a reason. This could be why you’ve never been able
to find anyone else,” she adds, looking serious. “Your
energy is still bound up in his. You should definitely talk to him,
and then maybe we should do a cleansing ritual to purify your aura—”

“The cleansing can wait.” Bettina cuts her off. “The
important thing is finding a way to say the things you need to say.”
She gives me an encouraging smile.

“But what if he doesn’t want to speak to me?” I
ask, troubled. “I need to respect his wishes. I can’t
just ignore what he wants.”

“You’ll find a way.”

*

After breakfast, I drive over to the beach house to see Pixie. That’s
what I tell myself, even as I keep an eye out for Luke’s brand
new truck. But there’s only a cluster of production vans out
front, so I relax as I climb up the back stairs.

“Hey boss!” I find Theo inside on the couch with Pixie.
She’s showing him something on her phone. “I was just,
um, checking if our beautiful bride-to-be needed anything this
morning.”

He has a weird, guilty look on his face, but maybe it’s just
because he’s spent the past week running around after Pixie and
Clyde instead of helping me out with my wedding plans.

“Pixie, how would you like to do some wedding planning?”

“Sure.” She shrugs. “I mean, I guess. Marcie wants
us back by sunset to take a romantic walk along the shore.”

“We’ve got plenty of time,” I reassure her. “We
can even hit the ice cream shop for a little treat on our way back.”

“Yes!” She leaps up, smiling now. Theo rises, too.

“Not you. You’ve got the morning off,” I tell him.

“Are you sure? I could drive, and—”

“Nope.” I cut him off. “You stay here, make sure
Marcie’s on-track. Girls only.” I wink at Pixie, and she
giggles.

“No boys allowed!”

We leave Theo and hit the road. Pixie seems relaxed, humming along
with the radio, Buster cuddled tight in her lap. I’m hoping
that getting her away from Marcie and the whole production will give
me better insight into her personality and what she’s imagining
for her big day. She seems so eager to please, I want to make sure
she’s not just rolling over and agreeing with what everyone
else wants. Sure, a wedding is about both the bride and groom, but I
know from experience that the big day can mean a whole lot more to
the bride. It’s the day when all eyes will be on her, the big
event she might have been dreaming about ever since she was a girl.