Once Upon a Moonlight Night (The Bella Novella Collection Book 1)

  “Mama sent me home with pot roast, potatoes and carrots.”

  “Wait. . .your mother did the cooking and it smells like that?” He gave me an “I’m not buying it” look.

  “Well, it’s kind of a long story, but trust me when I say that this meal is delicious. And free. Well, free to us, I mean. She paid a hefty price, I’m sure.”

  “I’ll take your word for it.” Off in the distance, Holly and Ivy cried. “I think they’re hungry,” D.J. said. “Or maybe they’re not feeling well. They’ve both been crying ever since I picked them up from Mother’s Day Out. I think maybe they’re lonely.”

  The vet’s words came to mind and I sighed. “I’m pretty sure they’re S.A.D.”

  “Sad? About what?” He looked up from his work.

  “Kind of a long story. But I know what’s wrong with them, and I plan to remedy it.”

  “Well, I’m glad you have a plan, because I’m up to my eyeballs in clueless.” He reached for the broom and swept up the mess.

  I went to fetch my daughters. Snuggling them both in my arms, I planted kisses all over those cherub cheeks. The girls cooed with delight and giggled out the word, “Mama.”

  “S.A.D. no more, right little ones?” I held them close, then carried them both with me into the kitchen, where I shared the sweetest dinner with my little family we’d had in ages. Maybe it was the pot roast. I wasn’t sure. But something had all of us smiling.

  And the smiles continued after D.J. and I put the kids to bed. He showered first and then I took my turn. Afterwards I dried off and put on my favorite nightie—a lovely pink number that always raised my hubby’s eyebrows. When I emerged from the bathroom, D.J.’s eyes lit up. He let out a little whistle and leaned back against the pillows on the bed.

  “Wowza. You look. . .amazing.”

  “In this old thing?” I did a little twirl to show off the nightie and he quirked a brow.

  “Yes, in that old thing.”

  I got into bed and D.J. pulled me into his arms and kissed me like I hadn’t been kissed for. . .wow, for years. And then he kissed me some more. As his lips met mine, I sensed his passion, his hunger. How long had I kept this poor guy waiting for an evening of romance with his wife? He’d been too patient. The kiss deepened and I found myself swooning in his arms.

  Off in the distance I heard my phone buzz, the familiar sound for a text coming through. I ignored it. It buzzed again.

  “Don’t worry,” I whispered.

  About a minute later, just as D.J.’s lips traveled down my neck toward my shoulder, the phone rang. My precious husband paused, then looked at me intently. “Should you get it?”

  “Nah. I’m sure it’ll wait. This is more important.”

  I glanced at the cell phone on the bedside table, saw Justine’s number. Hmm. Like it or not, she could wait. I was off the clock. And I would remind her—and every other bride—of my hours just as soon as I got back to the office. Which wouldn’t be until tomorrow morning at nine. Until then. . .well, until then, I had other things to occupy my time. Like the fella gazing at me with longing in his eyes.

  Yep. I had far more exciting ways to spend the night.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Baby, it’s Cold Outside

  News events are like Texas weather. If you don't like it, wait a minute.

  Jessica Savitch

  By the time Friday rolled around I had all of my proverbial ducks in a row. With the help of the events team I’d hired—Stages Set Design—we would have the most spectacular outdoor wedding Galveston Island had ever seen. And, celestial themed, no less, complete with stars, snowflakes, twinkling lights and even—gasp!—real snow. $2500 worth of real snow. I breathed a huge sigh of relief, half-excited to get this show on the road and half-relieved that I still had a week to tie up loose ends.

  On Friday evening the Rossi family gathered together for the most scrumptious meal I’d ever eaten: Chicken Cacciatore, garlic bread, traditional Caesar salad and yummy turtle cheesecake. No one asked where the food came from, thank goodness. Mama just served it up with a smile then offered us cups of coffee in the living room while we watched TV.

  Armando and Scarlet headed home—something about Scarlet being too tired from baking. The rest of us passed the time until the ten o’clock news came on. Just what we’d all been waiting for. Tonight Justine would introduce three very special guests to her weather program.

  I settled onto the sofa and watched as Twila, Bonnie Sue and Jolene walked onto the Channel Eleven set. Me? I would’ve been a nervous wreck. The ladies seemed perfectly calm.

  Their choice in clothing must’ve made quite an impression on the male reporter, whose eyes were nearly as big as the large yellow buttons on Twila’s glittery raincoat. Or, maybe it was Jolene’s polka-dotted umbrella that held his gaze. Or perhaps Bonnie Sue’s bizarre-looking rain hat and boots. At any rate, the poor fella couldn’t seem to find his words once the ladies joined him.

  He cleared his throat and stared into the camera. “And now, a special treat as these lovely ladies from Splendora join our own meteorologist, Justine, to deliver tonight’s weather report.”

  Justine introduced the ladies by name and gushed over Bonnie Sue’s rain boots, then turned her attention to the camera. “Instead of just giving you tomorrow’s weather report, I thought it might be more fun to let my new friends—the Splendora Sunshiners—tell you what you can expect.” She gestured to Twila, who ducked under Jolene’s umbrella. “Take it away, ladies.”

  What happened next would be forever etched in my memory. The ladies had apparently come up with detailed choreography for Stormy Weather, which involved the umbrella, the raincoat—which Twila removed to reveal a hot pink blouse and slacks underneath. Things were going pretty well until they reached a particular section of music where Bonnie Sue had to twirl. Jolene let go of her umbrella and it took off flying across the studio, jabbing the male newscaster in the head. He let a couple of expletives fly, then quickly recovered just as the umbrella bounced off of the desk and landed on top of a gal holding cue cards. She, too, recovered quickly. The camera swung wide, revealing dazed and confused workers, but the Splendora Sunshiners never seemed to notice. The song kept going. . .and going.

  The cameraman, likely energized by all of this action, zeroed in on the ladies, who seemed oblivious to the chaos they had caused. They just kept singing and adding those crazy moves of theirs.

  By the time the ladies hit the final chorus, Justine was singing along, tucked under the umbrella with the trio. I couldn’t help but think of her as a good sport. When the song ended the news crew clapped and the male reporter straightened his tie, looked straight at the camera and offered a polished smile, along with the words, “Well, I think that went pretty well, don’t you? Plenty of sunshine here in the studio with these three ladies around.”

  Off in the distance, still on live audio feed, I heard Twila’s voice. “Jolene, you hit that poor fellow on the head with your umbrella. I think you gave him a concussion.”

  “Umbrella? Concussion?” Jolene sounded perplexed. “It wasn’t my fault. Bonnie’s Sue’s dance moves caused it.”

  “Well, isn’t that lovely,” Bonnie Sue chimed in. “Is that all you can say, after all the time I spent coming up with that choreography? I think our song and dance number went well. Hopefully the folks at home will agree.”

  At this point, the station returned to their regular broadcasting. Thank goodness.

  I looked around the room at my family members, whose eyes were still riveted to the television. Mama finally broke the silence with a contemplative, “Wow.”

  “Wow is right,” I said. “That was. . .really something.”

  “What was Jolene wearing?” Sophia asked. “I couldn’t make heads or tails out of it.”

  “Heads or tails is right,” Pop said. “Some sort of costume, I guess. With those gals, you can never tell.” He reached for the TV remote and changed the channel.

  “Give them a cal
l, Bella,” Mama said. “Just to say hello, I mean, and to let them know we watched the program.”

  Turned out I didn’t have to. Just as I grabbed the phone, it rang in my hand. I saw Justine’s number come through on the screen and answered with a lively, “Hey, weather girl!”

  She laughed. “Were you watching?”

  “Um, yeah. It’s forever etched in my memory now. Thanks.”

  “Hahaha. Glad you liked it.” Another chuckle emitted from her end of the line. “I’ve got the ladies on speaker phone. They wanted to talk to you.”

  I turned my own phone to speaker mode so that my family could hear the conversation.

  “We just wanted to thank you for introducing us to Justine, Bella.” Twila’s voice sounded from the other end of the line. “We had such a good time tonight.”

  “Yes, we saw that,” I responded.

  “Was everyone watching?” Twila raised her volume, likely sensing she was speaking to a wider audience than just me.

  “We’re all here, Twila,” Mama called out. “We were watching. Cute raincoat, by the way.”

  “Thank you! I bought it at the mall. On sale.”

  “I tried to tell her that color of yellow washed out her complexion,” Bonnie Sue chimed in, “But would she listen to me? At least she took it off before the song ended.”

  “I thought you looked adorable, Twila,” my mom said. “You did the town of Splendora proud.”

  “They did our station proud, too,” Justine added. “My producer just told me that the phone has been ringing off the wall ever since we went live. The Splendora Sunshiners have had fourteen offers to appear at local events—one bar mitzvah, and one man wanted to know if Twila was single.”

  “Heavens.” Twila fanned herself. “I hope you told him that I’m happily married. And I’m extremely busy these days. I’m the mayor of Splendora now, you know.”

  “I didn’t know your schedule, for sure, but definitely stopped him when he got to the part where he wanted your email address and phone number.” Justine giggled.

  “Well now, if that doesn’t take the cake.” Twila laughed and I could almost envision the look of embarrassment on her face.

  At this point the ladies went off on a tangent, talking to each other about their favorite cake flavors, likely forgetting they were still on speaker phone.

  “Speaking of taking the cake. . .” Jolene’s voice sounded, off in the distance. “That reminds me, didn’t Scarlet send a little celebration cake, Justine? I seem to remember hearing her mention something about that last time we were in Galveston.”

  “Yes, it’s in the break room,” Justine responded. “The news crew has probably already sliced it up by now.”

  “I’m sure they wouldn’t mind if we had a teensy-tiny piece,” Jolene said. “I won’t eat much. I’m trying to watch my girlish figure.”

  “It’s getting easier to see every day, Jolene,” Bonnie Sue chimed in. “But I must admit, a slice of Scarlet’s cake sounds divine right about now. You’ll have to have a big piece to celebrate, Justine.”

  “I can’t have any,” Justine responded. “I’m gluten-free.”

  “Well, not me,” Bonnie Sue’s voice grew more animated. “I didn't fight my way to the top of the food chain to be a vegetarian.”

  “She’s not a vegetarian, Bonnie Sue,” Twila said. “She’s gluten-free.”

  “That the same thing as a vegan?” Bonnie Sue asked.

  “Vagan?” Jolene gasped. “I knew a vagan once. Don’t even get me started on her. Would you believe that woman argued with me about the existence of God?”

  “No, not pagan, Jolene,” Twila responded, and then groaned. “I said ve-gan.”

  “So, you’re a vegan, Justine?” Bonnie Sue asked. “It’s okay, honey. Jesus loves you, anyway. And you can remedy that problem right here and now by asking Him to live in your heart. That’ll put an end to your pagan days and set you on the right track.”

  “I. . .I’m not a vegan. I’m gluten-free.” This, from Justine, who seemed a bit discombobulated.

  “I gave up glue in the second grade after Joey Chambers challenged me to swallow down a whole bottle of the icky stuff,” Bonnie Sue added. “Not sure my intestines ever recovered. So, I guess you could say I’m glue-ten free, too, honey.”

  “Not glue, Bonnie Sue,” Twila said. “She didn’t give up glue. She gave up flour.”

  “Flour? How will you eat your own wedding cake?” Bonnie Sue sounded horrified by this idea.

  “Scarlet’s going to make a special little cake just for me,” Justine responded. “Gluten-free.”

  “Well, Jesus loves you, anyway, hon.” Bonnie Sue released a sigh and then her voice drifted away.

  “Oh my goodness, Bella!” Justine cried out. “Are you still on the phone? I totally forgot I was talking to you.”

  “I’m here. We all are. And the Splendora Sisters—er, Sunshiners—have that effect on people, trust me.”

  “Tell me about it,” my dad said, and then laughed.

  “I’m so sorry. I just called because they wanted me to. Hope I didn’t bother you.”

  “Nope. The whole thing was downright entertaining.”

  “You can say that again,” Pop muttered, turning his attention back to the TV. “Better than As the World Turns.”

  “Just for the record, Justine, I didn’t realize you were gluten-free. I’m glad Scarlet knows and can make a cake just for you.”

  “Yep. She’s known all along. But speaking of cake, I’d better go chase down those Splendora ladies. Thanks again for recommending them, Bella. I have a feeling the people at Channel Eleven news won’t forget them anytime soon.”

  “No doubt,” Pop said, and then laughed.

  Justine ended the call and I turned to face my family.

  “Well, that was different.” D.J. grinned. “Guess they’re really putting Splendora on the map.”

  “Ooh, putting Splendora on the map. I should’ve had them say something about the wedding facility in Splendora. Those ladies would be great advertisement for us, don’t you think?” On and on I went, talking to them about my plans to use the Splendora Sunshiners to promote our new facility in Splendora.

  Well, until D.J. glared at me.

  “Could we just, for once, have a fun evening without talking about work?” he asked.

  “Well, I. . .I. . .” I sighed. “Sorry.”

  I was, too. And though my plate was full—figuratively speaking—I’d learned my lesson. God first. Family second. Work third. Everything else? Well, everything else could wait for another day.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me

  When all is said and done, the weather and love are the two elements about which one can never be sure.

  ― Alice Hoffman

  The strangest dreams invaded my sleep that night. In one of them, I danced atop fluffy pillows of white clouds. In another, the Splendora sisters crooned Stormy Weather while all of Justine’s wedding guests wept. The final dream really took the cake. In that one, D.J. played a Spanish love song on his guitar while the wedding guests danced. Very, very odd.

  D.J. and I spent Saturday getting our house Christmas-ready. Mama and Pop watched the kids on Sunday after church so we could drive into Houston to shop for Christmas presents. Though we didn’t get everyone on the list, we made a great start of it, filling the back of the family van with toys, electronics and other goodies for family members. I felt much better about the way things were going as we rolled into the new work week. I awoke Monday morning, the 14th, settled and calm.

  Well, until Justine called to ask if she could come for an unexpected get-together to discuss last minute plans. I pressed my other work aside and ushered her into the wedding facility an hour later.

  “Thanks for meeting with me again on such short notice,” Justine said as I led her inside of Club Wed. “I just felt like we needed one more meeting before the wedding to make sure we’re on the same page.”
She giggled as she shifted her purse to the other shoulder. “And I’ll be honest, I wanted to see what the gazebo area looked like with lights up.”

  “You realize the lights are the only thing we’ve put up, right? The set design folks from Stages won’t be here until Friday morning to start setting up the chairs and décor.”

  “I know.” She sighed. “I’m impossible, Bella. Now that I’m off of work for the week I just need to be busy. And my mind is reeling with ideas. You’ll need to stop me if I talk your ear off. The ideas just keep on coming.”

  “Might be a little late to add to the plan,” I countered.

  “Oh, I know.”

  She followed on my heels as I led the way through the foyer and past the reception hall, where we paused to talk through the layout of where the cake table and other such things would go.

  “So, I know it’s none of my business, really,” I said. “But did you get things squared away regarding the new step-mother? Assuming they’re married now?”

  “Yeah, they’re married. And yes, I got it squared away. Talked to my dad. She’s not coming. I hate to hurt her feelings, but she never plays nice and I just can’t risk ruining my big day. My dad seemed okay with it. Don’t really care what she thinks, if you want the truth.”

  “Good for you,” I said. “Keeping it safe is best for your welfare and the welfare of your guests, too.”

  “Harold is happier.” She grinned. “He was so afraid of drama at the wedding. I assured him I’d keep all my drama on the stage.” A giggle followed. “Guess that’s my theater background coming out: keep your drama on the stage. Ha.”

  “Hey, being theatrical is a good thing, especially in your line of work.” I led her across the room and through the back door.

  “Yeah, well, kind of funny that I’m marrying such a nerd,” she said as we stepped outside.

  Ouch. Did you really just call your fiancé a nerd?

  As if she could read my mind, Justine laughed and waved her hand in my direction. “I know, I know. You can’t believe I just said that out loud. But I’m just voicing what he always says, himself. He’s such a geek—a science guy who loves astronomy—and I’m such a theatrical drama queen, my emotions changing like the weather. But we’re perfect together. Polar opposites.”