Fed Up (25 page)

“Um, actually, I skipped my appointment this week and rescheduled it for next week. Owen and I aren’t going anywhere for a honeymoon, so he’ll be around to go with me.” Ade saw my mother’s alarmed face. “Honestly, Bethany, I feel fine. I really do. I’m just tired, that’s all.”

“If you say so. Make yourself at home in the guest room, and come and join us when you’ve gotten some rest.”

My parents and I spent the next few hours moving all the nursery purchases from one place to another in the tent. Astonishingly, my mother was eventually satisfied. The ceremony would take place on one side of the tent, where white folding chairs were set up for the guests. The other side of the tent already had some tables and chairs in place. Fifty or so people made for a fairly small wedding, but additional tables would have to be added once the ceremony was over. Long tables covered in white tablecloths were ready for Josh’s food. Another table would serve as the bar.

Adrianna roused herself in the late afternoon. To my relief, she looked thoroughly refreshed and even energetic. Nodding at a monstrous blue box that she held in her hands, she announced, “Nail time, ladies!”

My mother and I let Ade paint our fingernails in a shade called Sheer Tutu Pink. Meanwhile, my father prepared the grill for tonight’s dinner. I called Josh, who muttered something about “crazy lamb” and “stupid pot’s too small.” Otherwise, I got barely an intelligible word out of him except a promise to be at the house for the rehearsal.

Josh and Owen arrived in Owen’s refrigerated fish truck, which held some of the food that needed to be stored at my parents’ house. “Your fridge is filled to capacity, Chloe,” Josh said, “and this stuff I won’t need until tomorrow.”

“How is everything coming?” I asked.

“We’re in good shape. Risotto is ready, squash puree is done, soup is ready. Everything. It’s all good. Dinner will be fantastic tomorrow.”

At six thirty, the wedding party assembled in the tent. I stood at the front of the aisle, flanked by two empty white podiums. Tomorrow, they’d hold floral baskets. Owen, Ade, Mom, Josh, and my father all sat before me in the white chairs while I went over the ceremony.

“Tomorrow,” I said, “the guests will mostly seat themselves, but Evan and Willie will be here to act as ushers if needed.” Owen had refused to have either of his brothers in the wedding party; he’d maintained that the risk of their misbehaving was simply too great. “Owen, come stand right here. Don’t fidget, pick your nose, touch your hair, or otherwise move unless I tell you. Stand there and watch the back of the tent for your bride. Mom and Josh, when the music starts, you will walk down the aisle together, followed by Adrianna and Dad. Let’s do that now.” The music would be provided by nothing fancier than my MP3 player hooked up to outdoor speakers.

The members of the wedding rushed to their places, and then Josh looped my mother’s arm through his and escorted her down the aisle. “Now Adrianna and Dad . . . Good. Dad, you kiss Ade’s cheek, pass her off to Owen, and sit down. Wait! Owen,
you
don’t kiss her now!”

“Sorry, sorry.” Owen beamed. “I couldn’t help myself!”

I continued. “The music will stop, and I’ll begin the ceremony. That part is a secret until tomorrow, so all you need to know is that at some point I will get to the vows and ask you both to repeat what I say. And, Owen, let me dash your hopes right now. There is no rhyming. Then I will pronounce you husband and wife.
That’s
when you get to kiss. Then Mom and Josh walk back up the aisle, followed by the bride and groom. That’s it.”

I received a small round of applause for leading such a quick rehearsal, and all of us moved to the patio by the grill. Because tomorrow would be so busy, tonight’s dinner was simple: Dad was grilling chicken, and Mom had made a big salad. Josh, I could tell, was having to struggle to restrain himself from taking over at the grill. Inevitably, Dad was singeing some of the chicken pieces.

I filled a paper plate for Adrianna, who was seated next to Owen. “You got your tux, right?” I asked.

Owen nodded. “All set. I picked up mine and Josh’s today.”

“Can I see them?” Ade spoke nonchalantly, but I knew that she wanted to make sure that Josh and Owen would, in fact, be dressed in black and not blue.

“They’re back at the apartment. I didn’t want to leave them in the fish truck and take the chance they’d smell like seafood.”

Adrianna looked surprised and impressed that Owen had had the foresight to avoid smelling like fish during their wedding. I felt skeptical. I didn’t expect him to go out of his way to stink of seafood, of course. Still, I didn’t trust him to present himself appropriately and wouldn’t trust him until tomorrow when—if—he was actually standing next to me fully outfitted in the conventionally handsome attire he’d sworn to wear for the wedding.

“I’d like to make a toast.” Owen rose, helped Ade out of her chair, and lifted his glass of beer into the air. “To Jack and Bethany. Before we head into the inevitable chaos tomorrow, we both want to let you know how unbelievably grateful we are to you both. You are giving us exactly the kind of wedding we want.”

Ade continued. “Owen and I didn’t want a formal, stuffy reception, and this dinner-party style you’ve put together is really us. You both know that my father is out of the picture and that my mother is not exactly the mother I would have handpicked. You two have made us feel like part of your family, and we will never forget that. And Chloe? I couldn’t ask for a more loyal, special friend. I love you.”

Owen wiped his eyes and put his arm around Ade. “I’m so sorry about your mother,” he whispered. She nodded and lifted her lemonade. “To the Carter family!”

We all clinked glasses and traded mushy hugs and kisses.

“There is one more treat for you two,” I said as I handed Owen the envelope Nana Sally had slipped to me at the end of the shower.

“Whoo hoo!” Owen yelled.“We’re going to the Ritz! Nana Sally is sending us there for our wedding night.” The groom did a goofy little dance that involved weird hip thrusts and snapping fingers.

Ade giggled and then managed to settle him down. “God, I’ve always wanted to go there. That’s going to be fantastic! Oh, and Jack and Bethany, we have something for you.”

The bride and groom handed my parents a gift-wrapped box. My father was busy burning chicken, so it was my mother who opened the package and lifted out a hand-blown glass vase.

“I know it’s not much,” Adrianna said, “but we thought you’d like it.”

“It’s simply beautiful. You shouldn’t have,” my mother said as she admired the vase.

“Chloe, we have something for you, too.” Owen gave me a piece of paper that had been rolled up and tied with a pink ribbon.

I slid off the knot and unrolled what looked like an official invitation. I read the page and looked up at my dear friends. “Are you sure?”

Ade and Owen nodded. “Absolutely.”

“What does it say?” my father asked.

I cleared my throat and grinned. “They want me to be their baby’s godmother.”

THE next morning, I turned over in one of the twin beds in the guest room and looked at Ade, who was still asleep in the other bed. The bride-to-be was curled on her side, her mouth open, drool making its way down her chin. Her hair had tangled itself into such a Medusa-like mess that I decided to force her into the shower the second she woke up; if she got a look at herself in a mirror, she’d start her wedding day by freaking out.

The ceremony was at four o’clock, and it was already nine thirty. How had we slept so late? I could hear dishes clattering downstairs, and I knew that the household must be bustling with wedding preparations.

Ade snorted and woke herself up. “I’m getting married today, aren’t I?” she said, stretching her arms.

“That’s the plan.” I got up and sat on the edge of her bed.

She rubbed her belly. “Baby, how about you move that elbow off of my bladder, okay? It’s quite annoying.”

“Can I feel?”

Ade nodded. “Go ahead. The baby doesn’t move around as much now because it’s so squished in there, but you can feel a knee. Right here.” She placed my hand on the side of her stomach, and I felt something hard against my hand. “At least I think it’s a knee. Might be some other body part, but there is definitely something pushing on my bladder, too.”

“I know this sounds ridiculous, but I cannot believe that there’s a little person in there. Right there!” I leaned in and whispered to her stomach. “Baby, it’s Auntie Chloe here. Please move around so that your mommy doesn’t spend the day needing to pee. Okay?”

We waited silently, hoping that the baby might actually respond to the request. Ade shook her head. “Nothing. This kid isn’t budging. Maybe after I get up and walk around. Help me up.”

By rolling and pushing, I got Ade out of bed. Then I walked her to the bathroom and got her into the shower without giving her the opportunity to see herself in the mirror. “I’ll go get you some breakfast, okay?”

“That would be great. After that, we should get started on our hair. That’s top priority, so we don’t run out of time later.”

“Gotcha.” I tossed on my overpriced but adorable Juicy hoodie and pants, pulled my hair into a ponytail, and headed downstairs to the kitchen to see what I could find to feed Adrianna. With all the wedding food in the house, I wondered whether there were any breakfast possibilities at all.

Josh was already in the kitchen. With him were the cousin of Emilio’s I’d met yesterday at the nursery and another dark-haired guy who looked so much like the first that he had to be a relative. Both of Josh’s assistants were busy slicing their way through a mountain of vegetables. Josh himself was buried in the fridge, pulling out one container after another. “Morning, beautiful!” he chirped.

“You’re hard at work already, huh?”

“Yup. This is Alfonso and Héctor, Emilio’s cousins, who are helping me with everything.”

I waved at the two cousins, and both smiled warmly at me. I was glad that Josh spoke Spanish—or at least spoke what he called “kitchen Spanish,” enough of the language to communicate his culinary needs. “I met one of them, Alfonso, when I was picking up all those plants for my mother, but I didn’t get his name. So Emilio is here, too, I assume?” Not that I was itching to have Josh and Emilio in the same room.

“Apparently, but I haven’t run into him yet. He might be out in the tent helping rearrange the six thousand plants and setting things up outside.”

I grabbed a box of cereal, a gallon of milk, and some bowls and spoons and headed back upstairs to deliver breakfast to the bride.

“Chloe, you’re up. Is Adrianna awake, too?” My mother stopped me as I was starting up the staircase.

“She’s in the shower. She wants to do our hair as soon as possible. Sound good? Is everything going all right so far?”

“Mostly. I had to send Emilio to go pick up the flowers. The store messed things up. He should be back within an hour. Other than that, I think we’re on track.”

“Where’s Dad?” By now, my mother must have put him to work.

“Oh . . . um . . .”

“Dad,” I said. “My father. Your husband. Jack. The man who burns chicken.”

“Chloe, I know who Jack is. He’s around somewhere. Don’t worry about him. Just tell me when Adrianna is ready for me.”

Since Ade was still in the shower, I left the breakfast supplies on the dresser and made the beds. When I went back downstairs, Robin and Nelson were quarreling in the living room. “That film belongs to me, Nelson!” Robin was glaring at her cameraman. “You weren’t supposed to make a copy of it. The police were the only ones who should’ve seen it.” Robin’s dark hair was yanked tightly off her face, and her beady eyes were bulging in anger.

“The camera belongs to me, and you don’t need the film anyway,” Nelson shot back. “It’s not like the station is going to be airing the footage from that day, are they? Josh’s
Chefly Yours
episode was scrapped, so who cares?”

“Listen to me,” Robin snarled, “your job is to film the series. Since you filmed that episode for me, the film was and is mine, and since that footage obviously isn’t going to become part of the series, you shouldn’t have a copy.”

“That’s exactly why I have a copy, Ms. Director! It’s not part of your rip-off show, so I can keep it!” Nelson’s raised voice was echoing throughout the room.

The last thing Ade needed was to overhear a nasty argument. “Could you two keep it down, please?” I said sharply.

“Sorry,” said Robin, looking appropriately ashamed. “Look, we’d love to film Adrianna while she’s getting ready. Is she upstairs?”

“I really don’t think she’ll want you up there.” I certainly didn’t. On inspiration, I said, “Adrianna is a very private person. She’s thrilled that you’re going to film the wedding, but she’d rather you focus on food preparation than on . . . bride preparation. Why don’t you go into the kitchen and tape Josh while he’s cooking?”