C5 Chapter 5

VIOLA

He is slim and muscular. Not too muscular but he clearly spends time in the gym. His hair is jet black and short but not military style. His blue eyes sparkle and his strong jaw is perfectly proportioned. White teeth sparkle with his smile and everything about him says ‘I am in charge.”

He can be in charge of me any day, I think as I take him in. He’s looking at the newly married couple but must feel my eyes on him because he turns and our eyes meet for the briefest of moments. I blush and look away quickly as I soak my panties.

I didn’t see that he was with someone and I wonder where his partner is. Surely, he can’t be at this wedding alone? Not someone as gorgeous as him!

I feel his eyes on me but I resist the urge to look at him again. I wait until the couple is heading down the road in the wedding carriage and then I key my walkie-talkie and call the team together for a meeting.

We meet on the church grounds where we eat lunch. In my business, I have a lot of contacts. One of them is a caterer I use regularly for food for the team. They’re not expensive and the food is always good. They also know what food is needed for every team member so I don’t have to worry that someone might get the order wrong. It just makes everything so much easier. One more part of the well-oiled machine that my wedding planner business is.

Catering also lets us eat somewhere away from crowds in a restaurant with no distractions. We can focus on what needs to be done and adapt our plan any way we need to without interference.

The team all confirm they are ready for the role they will play in the reception. The photographer is the only one who is absent since he has a full day with the bride and groom.

The band confirms that they are ready with their equipment and will head to the reception location after lunch to begin setting up and testing their equipment.

I move through the checklist and mark off items one by one as the team members confirm that their part in the ‘show’ is ready to go.

Catering. Check. Band. Check. Decorations. Check. Flowers. Check. MC. Check. The list goes on and each item is a check.

I finish the checklist and everyone continues eating.

Ashley approaches me. She’s the counselor I use when the bride or groom get’s cold feet. I never expect her to stay around after the wedding. Her job is pretty much done after the couple has said ‘I do’.

“Ashley,” I smile and embrace her. We have worked together for a long time and are good friends now.

“You did a great job as usual,” I smile when we end our embrace and I look at her.

Ashley looks at the team quickly and then back at me. “Can we speak somewhere privately?”

I sense concern in her voice and nod my head. “Sure. Let’s go inside.” We enter the church through a side door and take a pew beside each other.

“What is it?” I ask Ashley.

Ashley looks at me. “This was the hardest session ever,” she says. “I don’t know if I’ve done the right thing.”

I frown in confusion, “What do you mean you don’t know if you’ve done the right thing?”

Ashley wipes away a stray wisp of black hair from her face and continues, “I get that people have cold feet sometimes and I know it’s my job to get them through that so the wedding can go off well. But sometimes there’s more to the reason for their cold feet than it just being cold feet. No-one has ever given me a reason before today but today the bride gave me a reason.”

“I’m not sure I’m following you,” I say.

Ashley looks as if she’s about to cry and she opens her mouth to continue but then closes it.

“Is everything okay?” a voice asks from behind me.

I turn around and see the minister who married the bride and groom.

“Yes father,” I say standing out of respect. “Ashley is just emotional to see her sister is married.” I wait for the lightning to turn me to a crisp for lying to the father but it doesn’t come.

“As long as it’s happy emotions,” the father smiles.

“I couldn’t agree more,” I smile. Ashley simply nods. I know she doesn’t trust her voice as she looks as if she is about to break down altogether.

“Very well then,” the father says and pats Ashley’s shoulder as he moves off.

Ashley’s eyes close and she begins to sob silently. I sit beside her and put my arm around her. “It’s okay. Talk to me. What is the problem?”

Ashley cries for a long time and then finally she calms enough to stop crying. I have given her all my tissues and she blows her nose again and dabs at her makeup which is ruined. At least she has time to fix it before the reception. She doesn’t have to attend but normally she does.

She becomes silent for a moment and then finally, trusting her voice to be stable she tells me what has her so upset. “The bride had cold feet because… because she thinks the groom is cheating on her.”

The words hit me like a Mack truck. “What? Are you serious?”

Ashley nods her head and, as she begins to cry again, she manages to say, “I may have convinced the bride to marry a cheater!”

I’ve never had this situation before. Ashley tells me that the bride has no proof. She’s not even sure who the groom might be cheating with if he is cheating.

I calm Ashley enough that she stops crying and I try to make her feel better. I remind her of what a great job she has done for me every time I have needed her and that everything has been fine. I try to assure her that everything will be fine today too. I suggest that she rather goes home and does not attend the reception but she insists that she will.

I am tempted to pull the groom to one side before the reception and tell him what I’ve been told and tell him to keep his dick in his pants at least for today figuratively speaking. But it’s no business of mine. If the bride is wrong and I bring this up, I could be sued, and so could Ashley. I would probably lose my whole reputation and my business, never mind the fact that I would have to refund the money I have been paid for this wedding. I could do it but that’s beside the point. I would possibly never get another wedding in my life.

No, the show must go on. I think positively and try to assure Ashley again that everything will be fine. There’s no harm in positive thinking. Right?

Ashley goes home to rest and fix her makeup before returning for the reception. The team has finished their lunch and has left by the time I go outside again.

I leave and head home where I rest a bit and have a shower. I always build in the time to get home, get changed, and have a shower before the reception. The job of a wedding planner is not an easy one and the amount of sweating that I do at the church is unbelievable. There is no way I can go all day without a shower and a change of clothes.

Ready for ‘round two’ as I refer to the reception, I get in my car and head to the location. I’m early as always. The reception is being held at the Bel Air Bay Club.

I move through the building and out to the gardens making sure that everything is going according to plan. I search for the man I saw outside the church earlier but he doesn’t appear to have arrived yet. It’s still early though and not many guests have arrived yet.

There are no hiccups and aside from what Ashley told me, I think the reception will go off perfectly.

The wedding couple and their families arrive and are directed to the gardens. It’s time for the photos to be done before the reception starts.

I watch the bride and groom together. The bride seems happy. I watch her and notice that her face gives away nothing other than the appearance of being happy. I’m sure it was just nerves and paranoia I tell myself. Now the bride is married and she realizes there is nothing to be worried about at all.

The families gather, meet, greet and chat as they wait for their turn to pose in the photos with the happy couple. It always makes me happy to see the union of two families through one happy couple. The marriages don’t always last but I don’t think of that. What matters is today and the happiness that the couple shares. The bride seems to relax and even smiles and laughs.