Several minutes later, as I was comfortably seated at my desk, my phone rang. I answered on the second ring. “Cosmopolitan Bridal, home of the Loretta Lynn gown. How can I help you?”
“You can help me by taking a break from your work and talking to me about your wedding.” I recognized my mother’s voice. “Pop and I are so excited about your big day. I’m sorry we couldn’t stick around and help you plan it, but you know how he is. He wanted to get back on the road again, headed west.”
“Oh, no problem. I’ve hardly had time to think about it since Brady popped the question. It’s been a whirlwind weekend for sure.”
“Well, I hope you don’t mind, but I took it upon myself to see when the church is available. I figured you’d want to do a springtime wedding, though that wouldn’t give you much time, this being February and all. If spring is too short notice, then summer would be nice too.”
“Well, actually, we—”
“I called the church, and they’ve got VBS taking place the second week of June, so you can’t use the fellowship hall that weekend. And, of course, there’s the annual Peach Festival. You’ll have to work around that. But I understand every weekend in July is open. Of course, it’s hot as blue blazes in July and the AC isn’t great in the fellowship hall, but maybe we could bring in a couple of window units? Those are loud, though. Might be kind of hard to celebrate with all that racket. What do you think?”
“I think Brady and I haven’t even talked about dates yet. Plus we attend a great church here in Dallas, Mom. And just so you know, Brady’s mom has her heart set on—”
“Dallas?” She spoke the word as if it brought her great pain. “Please tell me you’re not thinking about getting married in Dallas. The people you love live in Fairfield.”
“Well, half of them.” I sighed. “The other half—the people I see every day at work—live here. And the girls at the bridal shop are already very invested, trust me. They’re making plans as we speak.”
“You’re letting total strangers plan your wedding?” Mama sounded flabbergasted at this idea.
“They’re not strangers, they’re good friends. And they’re not planning the wedding for me. They’re just working on ideas. On Pinterest.”
“Pinterest?” Mama groaned. “You don’t need the internet to plan a lovely home-grown wedding, honey. And you certainly don’t need to tie the knot in the big city. Dallas is just so far away from home.” Her voice grew tense. “Don’t you want the people you grew up with to attend your wedding?”
“Mama, Dallas is an hour away from Fairfield, not halfway across the country. If people really care about me, they would probably travel here. Not that I’m asking them to . . . at least not yet. Please don’t fret. I’m sure Brady will agree that getting married in Fairfield is the best plan. And I’m pretty sure Queenie would kill me if I didn’t get married at the Baptist church where I grew up.”
“Maybe not. Queenie’s a Presbyterian now. Did you forget?” Mama’s voice held that crisp edge of disapproval she’d become known for.
The phone grew warm against my ear, so I shifted it to the other one. “I know she is, but her heart is still at the Baptist church.”
“That’s what getting hitched to a man of the cloth will do to you, I guess. You marry him and the next thing you know, everything’s changing.” Mama sniffled. “Kind of like what’s happening to you, now that you’re engaged.”
“Brady’s not a man of the cloth, Mama. He’s a basketball player.” Even as I spoke the words, I wished I could take them back. With his post-surgery knee still bothering him, my sweetie’s professional basketball career was taking a backseat to helping out at the bridal shop. “He’s not a Presbyterian either,” I added. “We both attend a community church now.”
Mama released an exaggerated groan. “I guess that proves my point. Everything’s changing. The signs are all there. I’ve been trying to ignore them, but it’s getting harder every day. You’ve left home for good.”
“Left home?” I did my best not to laugh out loud. “Where are you calling me from, Mama?”
A short pause followed before she finally replied, “We’re headed to the Texas Panhandle, Palo Duro Canyon area. We planning to see that wonderful outdoor musical I’ve heard so much about.”
“Yep. And where will you be next week?”
“Ruidoso, New Mexico.”
“After that?”
“I believe we’re headed to Colorado. Or maybe Arizona. You know how your father is, Katie. He’s got the wanderlust.”
“And wherever he wanders, you happily follow.”
“He’s my husband.”
“Exactly.” I did my best to punctuate the word.
A lengthy pause followed on my mother’s end. “Well, I suppose, when you say it like that . . .” Her voice trailed off.
“I’m just saying that when two people become one, they start carving their own path. Doing their own thing.”
“Could you carve your path a little closer to Fairfield? At least for the wedding day?”
“I’m sure we’ll get married in Fairfield, Mama, as I said. And I’ll be calling the church myself to talk to Joni about setting a date.”
“Joni’s not at the Baptist church anymore, honey. Remember? Now that she’s dating your ex-fiancé, she’s changed churches too.”
“Casey was never my fiancé, Mama, but thanks for the reminder about Joni switching churches. I guess I’ll have to call Bessie May then. She’s still Baptist, isn’t she?”
“Yes, but stop avoiding the obvious. You and Casey were very nearly engaged once upon a time, before he started dating Joni. And I suppose it could be argued that he’s the one responsible for nudging you off to Dallas. I still haven’t quite forgiven him for that, you know.”
“Well, it’s time you did. He and Joni are happily matched, and so are Brady and me. It will all work out in the end, you know. So you and Pop enjoy yourself in New Mex—”
“The Texas Panhandle.”
“The Texas Panhandle. And don’t take any wooden nickels.”
“I’ve never understood that expression.” My mother laughed. “But if I’ve heard your father use it once, I’ve heard him use it a thousand times. ‘Don’t take any wooden nickels, Marie.’” She laughed a little louder. “Every time old man Harrison would come into the hardware store, your father would say it loud enough for everyone in the place to hear.”
“I remember.”
“I . . .” She seemed to drift away for a moment. “I miss our days at the hardware store. Do you, Katie Sue?”
“Mama, you and Pop just passed off the store to Jasper and Crystal a few months back. And from what Jasper tells me, Pop is still trying to manage things, even from the RV.”
“It’s not technically an RV, honey. It’s a fifth wheel.”
“Well, you get my point. You haven’t lost ties with the hardware store, and I don’t see that happening . . . ever. It’ll always be a part of us, as will the wooden nickel phrase.”
“Okay, okay.” Mama disappeared for a minute, then returned, breathless. “Hate to run, honey, but your father is about to drive us off the road and into a canyon. I have to help him with the GPS.”
“Dumb thing gets it wrong every time!” my father hollered.
“Pretty sure he’s talking about the GPS, not me,” Mama said. “But I can’t be sure.”
“Be safe and have fun, Mama. And don’t worry about a thing. I will get married in Fairfield and you will be in the center of the plans, I promise. I won’t leave you out.”
“Thank you, honey.” Mama ended the call.
I put the phone down and laid my head on my desk, my thoughts in a whirl.
“Things are that bad already?” Brady’s voice roused me from my ponderings. I sat up straight and released an exaggerated sigh as I saw him standing in the open doorway.
“Just more people trying to plan our big day. That’s all.”
“I see.” He moved toward my desk, his g
orgeous eyes twinkling. “Well then, let’s just run off and elope. What do you think of that idea?”
“I think they would all kill us. We’d be murdered in our sleep.”
“But at least we’d be in each other’s arms.”
“True, that.” I offered a weak smile. Still, I couldn’t help but fret. Wedding planning wasn’t supposed to be stressful, was it? I mean, all of the bridal magazines made it look like so much fun. Our engagement was just one day old and we were already talking about running off to elope? What would the next few months hold?
I rose and took a few steps in Brady’s direction. He slipped his arms around me and I nestled against him, all of my woes about the wedding slipping away. There, in that safe place, there were no cares, no anxieties.
Well, until Madge popped her head in the door and hollered, “I’ve got it, you two! Let’s do a Hawaiian-themed wedding, luau and all! I’ll bring the roasted pig!”
The groan I gave was pretty loud, but it was drowned out by the sound of Brady’s laughter. “Now there’s an idea,” he whispered in my ear, his breath sending tingles all the way down my spine. “We’ll elope . . . in Hawaii!”
Funny. That idea sounded better to me than all of the others put together.
Award-winning author Janice Thompson enjoys tickling the funny bone. She got her start in the industry writing screenplays and musical comedies for the stage, and she has published over ninety books for the Christian market. She has played the role of mother of the bride four times now and particularly enjoys writing lighthearted, comedic, wedding-themed tales. Why? Because making readers laugh gives her great joy!
Janice formerly served as vice president of Christian Authors Network (CAN) and was named the 2008 Mentor of the Year for American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW). She is active in her local writing group, where she regularly teaches on the craft of writing. In addition, she enjoys public speaking and mentoring young writers. She recently opened an online bakery, Nina’s Cakes and Cookies, where she specializes in wedding-themed sweets.
Janice is passionate about her faith and does all she can to share the joy of the Lord with others, which is why she particularly enjoys writing. Her tagline, “Love, Laughter, and Happy Ever Afters!” sums up her take on life.
She lives in Spring, Texas, where she leads a rich life with her family, a host of writing friends, and two mischievous dachshunds. She does her best to keep the Lord at the center of it all. You can find out more about Janice at www.janiceathompson.com or www.freelancewritingcourses.com.
Books by Janice Thompson
WEDDINGS BY BELLA
Fools Rush In
Swinging on a Star
It Had to Be You
That’s Amore
BACKSTAGE PASS
Stars Collide
Hello, Hollywood!
The Director’s Cut
WEDDINGS BY DESIGN
Picture Perfect
The Icing on the Cake
The Dream Dress
A Bouquet of Love
BRIDES WITH STYLE
Every Bride Needs a Groom
Every Girl Gets Confused
www.JaniceAThompson.com
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Janice Thompson, Every Girl Gets Confused
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