Greater Than Rubies, a Novella inspired by the Jewel Trilogy (13 page)

“I don’t know if I like the sleeveless,” she said, touching her shoulders.

“You’ll like it when you see the pictures,” Maxine said. “Are you going to wear the necklace from Tony?”

Robin snorted. “Which one?” Maxine raised an eyebrow. “Of course, silly. The Valentine necklace. How could I not?”

“The way the bodice makes the heart shape will seriously make that necklace look like it was made for this dress.” Sarah lifted her own curls. “And up. You need your hair up.”

Maxine nodded. “Absolutely. My hairdresser is already arranged. You’re meeting her next week to discuss hairstyle.”

Hairstyle? Robin almost groaned. “Isn’t my hair going to be under a veil? What difference does it make how it’s up or styled under a veil?”

“I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that.” Maxine hooked her arm over Sarah’s shoulders. “Tony is going to flip.”

Sarah nodded. “Kind of like he did with that red dress.”

“Yeah. I don’t mean to brag,” Maxine bragged, “but that red dress was the best idea I’ve had in a long time.”

“Amen, sister.” Sarah pulled out her phone and checked an incoming text. “We have an appointment at the hotel tomorrow morning to look at flowers,” she said as she replied to the text. “Don’t forget.”

Robin pulled her hair up and looked at the reflection from every angle. “How could I forget? I don’t even remember what my office looks like anymore. All I know is this wedding.”

“Poor, poor, Robin. Don’t worry. In two months it will be over and we can quit hearing you gripe about the hardship of it.” Maxine waved the sales clerk over and her tone grew a bit less sarcastic and a bit more scolding. “You’re planning a wedding so you can marry a hard working and Godly man who has the means to fly you to New York City in his private jet for a Valentine’s Day dinner. Most women would kill or die for that. You need to lighten up and stop being such a wet blanket. Let us enjoy it, at least.”

Robin felt contrite. She thought about what being wife to that man meant and her mind went back to the horrible interview. She put a hand to her forehead as a headache suddenly sprang up and assaulted the area behind her eyes. She heard Maxine speak to the store clerk. “We have a winner. It’s going to need some minor alterations.”

“Excellent,” the tailor said. “I’ll tell you in confidence, of the five you selected, this one was my very favorite. I’ll just get my tape and some pins.”

S
they walked into Cassandra’s office in the administrative area of the Viscolli Hotel, Stephanie said, “I took your idea for red roses. I think you’ll be pleased.”

Cassandra met them at the door. “Ladies, if you’ll follow me, please. I have a room with the same carpet and wall colors as the Grand Ballroom where I’ve set three different tables. You can choose the table settings and flowers, mix and match, whatever you want to do.”

Robin quickly chose the ivory colored gold rimmed china for the place settings. She and Maxine and Sarah moved flowers around and finally settled on an arrangement of ivory roses in the shape of a ball that sat in a tall stand. Cream colored table clothes with gold accent covers would look very elegant in the grand ballroom.

The bridal table would have an arrangement of red and ivory roses that would run the entire length of the long table.

“Your bouquet,” Stephanie said, “will be red and white roses, similar to the bridal table.”

“Are we overdoing the red?” Robin asked.

“Oh no. The room is huge with vaulted ceilings. I think the red will just compliment the gold and cream nicely,” Cassandra said.

Stephanie opened a leather portfolio and pulled out a card stock. “Here is the invitation sample. I have a calligrapher coming tomorrow to start working on addressing the envelopes.”

Robin took the invitation. On heavy off-white colored paper lined with gold ribbon were the words:

Miss Robin Bartlett

And

Mister Antonio Viscolli

request the honor of your presence

as they come together before family and friends

in the sight of God

to be joined together in Holy matrimony

Saturday, April 21
^st

At

four o’clock in the afternoon

Boston Central Bible Church

Boston, Massachusetts

Reception immediately to follow at the Viscolli Hotel, Boston

“So they are no longer two, but one.

Therefore, what God has joined together, let man not separate.” Matthew 19:6

“These are absolutely beautiful,” Robin said, running a finger over the gold ribbon. “I can’t believe how nicely they turned out.”

“I agree. They are lovely. They’ll go out the first of March,” Stephanie said.

“How many names did Tony whittle his list down to?” Maxine asked.

Cassandra laughed. “Eight hundred. But –” she said, holding up a hand to forestall Robin’s protest, “not everyone will RSVP.”

“Maybe not, but we have an open invite going to the church, too,” Robin said.

“Oh, right,” Cassandra said. “I’d forgotten that part.” She made a notation in her book. “Well, if we have to, we’ll open the doors and set up the tents. But, I’m sure we’ll be fine.”

Stephanie gestured to another table. “Here are some favor options I’ve worked on with Cassandra.” On a tray lay strawberries dipped in white and dark chocolate that had been decorated to look like wedding dresses and tuxedos, handmade chocolates, and some wedding themed cookies. “My personal favorite is the strawberries.”

“What are favors?” Robin asked.

Sarah said, “They’re gifts you give the guests. It’s just something fun.” She pointed to the tray. ‘Those strawberries are amazing.”

Maxine looked over Sarah’s shoulder. “They are. I’d go with the strawberries.”

Robin worried she’d forget some other detail she didn’t know anything about – like favors for guests. “Okay. We’ll go with the strawberries.”

A waiter wheeled in a service cart. Cassandra clapped her hands in glee. “Awesome. Thank you, Ben.”

“My pleasure, Cassandra. Radio when you want me to clear.” He left.

Cassandra put a gentle hand on Robin’s forearm. “This is the tasting of the menu! These are some of my all time favorite sides.”

Four covered dishes sat on the cart. Cassandra removed all of the covers. One plate held a sampling of
hors d’œuvres and canapés
from caviar topped crackers to smoked salmon bites. One plate held a small lamb chop sitting on a bed of chick peas next to roast quail with some spring greens. Asparagus draped over cauliflower mashed potatoes added more green to the plate. Another plate had the vegetarian sampler, with a falafel and some labneh yogurt sauce, polenta on a bed of greens, and some asparagus. Maxine and Robin grabbed forks and napkins and tasted the meats, leaving Sarah to sample the vegetarian plate.

“This is amazing,” Robin said before swallowing a tender bite of lamb seasoned perfectly with rosemary and garlic.

“I love that you went with lamb instead of beef,” Stephanie said. “It will be something different.”

Sarah dipped another bite of falafel into the labneh. “Oh wow,” she said, mouth full. “I can’t believe how good this is.”

Cassandra grinned. “We have a chef from Dubai. The things that he can create starting with dried garbanzos would make you cry.”

“This quail is so moist,” Maxine said. “It’s always dry whenever I’ve eaten it before.”

“That will certainly be the challenge for the chef. Poultry can dry quickly. As you can see, though, that is moist and wonderful, and was plated about ten minutes ago. I think we’ll be okay.”

Robin nodded after taking the offered bite from Maxine. “I agree.” She wiped her fingers on a cloth napkin. “What’s under those domes?” she asked.

Cassandra use exaggerated motions to lift the silver lid. “Cake!” She said, dimples appearing on her round cheeks. “We have French Vanilla with a Chocolate Mousse, Red Velvet with Infused Whipped Cream, and Chocolate Fudge with Peanut Butter Mousse.”

Robin took a small bite of the chocolate with the peanut butter and thought her tongue was going to just start dancing inside her head. “Oh my,” she said. “This is wonderful. But someone might have a peanut allergy.”

“The servers will all have careful instructions. Not to worry.”

Maxine tasted the red velvet. “Oh! Oh, man. Oh my stars. Robin? You have got to taste this,” she said, holding the fork out to Robin. She looked at Sarah. “No cake for you?”

Sarah held up her hand, palm out. “No. None.”

Robin snapped her fingers as she swallowed the most heavenly bite of red velvet she’d ever tasted. “Oh, right. Eggs and milk.” She looked at Cassandra. “We’ll need a vegan tier.”

“No we don’t,” Sarah said.

Robin winked. “Yes, we do. My sister is having cake at my wedding.” She waved a hand over the samples. “I say yes to them all. The cake is going to have eight tiers. It’s not like there’s not room for different flavors.”

Cassandra laughed and made a notation while Stephanie said, “If all of my clients were as easy as you.”

ERRICK
DiNunzio waited in the reception area just outside of Tony Viscolli’s office on the top floor of the Viscolli Hotel, Boston. He wore a long coat with tails and held a top-hat in his gloved hands. For the last few days, he had been learning how to be a doorman and greeter for the hotel.

Over two months had gone by since Derrick had shown up right here in this office. Tony had offered him a salaried position with full benefits. He laid out a plan for Derrick’s life for the next 3 years. Tony had hired a private education center to determine Derrick’s strengths and weaknesses. Almost immediately, he started working with them.

“I’ve already worked with these people,” Tony had said. “You know Sarah. She’s going to be a nurse and these folks are optimizing her time and classes so she can get intern hours under her belt for credits, too. I think they are good choice for what we will do with you.”

Derrick went to the private education center every day for two weeks and sat for test after test after test. With his results in hand, the specialists at the center set about getting Derrick on track to obtain his General Education Degree, the equivalent of a High School Diploma. He needed it since he had dropped out of school a few years earlier.