Not Quite Over You
Page 18
Leigh’s smiling face appeared on the screen. She waved. “Hi, Silver. Hi, Renee. Thanks for doing this. I’m so excited. Denton has patients so he’s not going to join us but he said anything I love, he’ll love, too.”
Her happiness was so much a part of who she was that Silver felt it reach through the screen and give her a big hug. Leigh had always been an upbeat person, but since falling in love with Denton, she’d become even more joyful.
“We have a lot to get to,” Renee said. “So let’s dive in. There are some elements that the previous bride has chosen that can’t be changed. The date for one. We can be flexible on the time of the ceremony, of course. The only thing to keep in mind is there’s a wedding on Sunday afternoon, so we can’t go too late.”
Leigh shook her head. “A five o’clock wedding with the reception right after is perfect. We’ll wrap up by ten, as the contract says. We’re not really stay-up-past-midnight people.”
Renee made notes on her tablet. “Okay, on to food. You mentioned you looked over the menus. Any changes?”
“Just a couple.”
Leigh and Renee worked through the various courses including the custom cookies that had been ordered.
“I love a cookie,” Leigh told them. “These are super cute. We want to keep them as a party favor.”
A wedding cake had already been ordered and Leigh and Denton would be taking that, as well. It was relatively simple, with pale gold frosting and a few swags on each of the three tiers.
When they were done with all things edible, Silver explained how the champagne fountain worked.
“I have enough coupe glasses so we don’t have to rent any.”
Leigh frowned. “Those are the round, old-fashioned champagne glasses?”
“Uh-huh. They’re more sturdy. The base of the fountain will be sixteen glasses. That makes the fountain four glasses high, which looks pretty and is very manageable. Because the fountain is for display only, I’ve ordered crappy sparkling wine for that and we’ll have it set up before the reception. But for drinking, we’ll want something good.”
Silver nodded at Renee. She’d already emailed her slides for the presentation. Renee hit a couple of keys and a large picture of a triangular-shaped glass appeared. There was a sugar rim and the liquid inside was pale gold.
“In keeping with the Gatsby theme, I’ve been coming up with Roaring ’20s drink ideas. What if we went all champagne? Champagne by the glass, along with two or three champagne-based cocktails?”
Leigh clapped her hands together. “I love that idea. What did you have in mind?”
Silver nodded at Renee, who advanced the presentation. “This drink is called a Caribou Martini. It’s coffee-flavored vodka and champagne. I know it sounds odd, but the flavors really work together. I’m also thinking a Sparkling Julep and a French 75.”
“Those sound delicious. So three cocktails, plus champagne.”
“Do you want an alternative for people who don’t like champagne? Maybe beer or wine?”
“Denton would like a selection of Scotches, but otherwise, that’s it.”
Silver made some notes. She would email Denton directly and get his thoughts on the type of Scotch he wanted. Prices ranged from around ten or fifteen dollars a bottle to a couple of hundred dollars. She wanted to make sure she knew what he was expecting the final bill to be.
“I’ll get with him,” Silver said. “Scotch is super easy.”
Renee made more notes. “Now let’s talk about the decorations. We’ve already ordered decorative drapes trimmed in pearls. In fact, pearls are a theme here. Strands of them will decorate the table. We’ve ordered teardrop-shaped balloons in cream. We use fishing line so the tethers aren’t visible, then hang them upside down from the ceiling. The tablecloths are pale gold, with darker gold chargers. The accents are black, including the napkins and the table numbers.”
They walked through everything from flowers to the guest book. Leigh showed them a pair of shoes she’d bought that were decorated with pearls and feathers.
“Silver, I found the perfect dress for you,” Leigh said. “And I ordered it, so I’m hoping you’ll love it.”
“If it makes you happy, it makes me happy.”
Leigh laughed. “You say that now.”
“I mean it. This is your day. What is Autumn wearing?”
“A little flapper-inspired dress. You’re going to love it. She’s going to be so cute.” Leigh glanced at Renee. “Autumn is my daughter.”
Silver heard the caution in her friend’s tone and knew that Leigh was erring on the side of discretion. “She knows about me and Drew and the baby,” Silver assured her.
“Oh good. We’re all so excited to meet Drew,” Leigh said. “I’ve always been curious about him and Autumn can’t wait to finally meet her birth father.”
Words designed to make Silver feel a little nauseous. Even if she’d wanted to try to avoid Drew for the week Autumn was here, that wasn’t going to be a possibility. She had to tell him, and soon.
“She understands about the adoption and everything?” Renee asked.
Leigh nodded. “I always wanted her to know the truth. When Silver came to live with us, Autumn was still a baby. I don’t remember exactly when we started talking about it but by the time she was three, she was clear on the fact that she’d been adopted. I’m her mom but Silver grew her in her tummy.” Leigh laughed again. “Not that we describe it that way now. She’s eleven, so we can be a little more sophisticated in our conversation.”
Silver’s sick feeling grew.
Leigh glanced at her watch. “Oh my. I have to run. Is that everything?”
“For now,” Renee told her. “We’ll schedule another call next week. Have a good rest of your day, Leigh.”
“You, too.” Leigh blew Silver a kiss. “Love you, Silver.”
“Love you, too.”
The connection went dark. Renee turned off the computer.
“Do you need to breathe into a paper bag?”
Silver frowned. “Why would you ask that?”
“You went totally white while Leigh was talking. I thought you were going to pass out.”
“My stomach’s a little iffy.”
“Is that what we’re calling it?”
Silver put her arms on the table and rested her forehead on her hands. “I’m screwed.”
“You are.”
“You don’t have to agree with me.”
“I’m an honest person.” Renee put her tablet on top of her computer, then collected the napkin samples. “I take it you haven’t told Drew about Autumn.”
Silver straightened. “Not yet. I need to. I get that. I just don’t know how to start the conversation.” She sighed. “It’s weird. It’s not as if he doesn’t know I got pregnant and therefore there was a baby born, but we’ve never talked about it. Not really. I’m sure he assumes I simply gave up our child and walked away. I don’t know how to say it’s different than that.”
“You’re afraid he’s going to be mad, or feel betrayed?”
Silver groaned. “Yes, but that makes no sense. It’s not like he asked. It’s not like he ever bothered to find out what happened. I’m not the bad guy here. He’s not, either. It’s just...”
Her happiness was so much a part of who she was that Silver felt it reach through the screen and give her a big hug. Leigh had always been an upbeat person, but since falling in love with Denton, she’d become even more joyful.
“We have a lot to get to,” Renee said. “So let’s dive in. There are some elements that the previous bride has chosen that can’t be changed. The date for one. We can be flexible on the time of the ceremony, of course. The only thing to keep in mind is there’s a wedding on Sunday afternoon, so we can’t go too late.”
Leigh shook her head. “A five o’clock wedding with the reception right after is perfect. We’ll wrap up by ten, as the contract says. We’re not really stay-up-past-midnight people.”
Renee made notes on her tablet. “Okay, on to food. You mentioned you looked over the menus. Any changes?”
“Just a couple.”
Leigh and Renee worked through the various courses including the custom cookies that had been ordered.
“I love a cookie,” Leigh told them. “These are super cute. We want to keep them as a party favor.”
A wedding cake had already been ordered and Leigh and Denton would be taking that, as well. It was relatively simple, with pale gold frosting and a few swags on each of the three tiers.
When they were done with all things edible, Silver explained how the champagne fountain worked.
“I have enough coupe glasses so we don’t have to rent any.”
Leigh frowned. “Those are the round, old-fashioned champagne glasses?”
“Uh-huh. They’re more sturdy. The base of the fountain will be sixteen glasses. That makes the fountain four glasses high, which looks pretty and is very manageable. Because the fountain is for display only, I’ve ordered crappy sparkling wine for that and we’ll have it set up before the reception. But for drinking, we’ll want something good.”
Silver nodded at Renee. She’d already emailed her slides for the presentation. Renee hit a couple of keys and a large picture of a triangular-shaped glass appeared. There was a sugar rim and the liquid inside was pale gold.
“In keeping with the Gatsby theme, I’ve been coming up with Roaring ’20s drink ideas. What if we went all champagne? Champagne by the glass, along with two or three champagne-based cocktails?”
Leigh clapped her hands together. “I love that idea. What did you have in mind?”
Silver nodded at Renee, who advanced the presentation. “This drink is called a Caribou Martini. It’s coffee-flavored vodka and champagne. I know it sounds odd, but the flavors really work together. I’m also thinking a Sparkling Julep and a French 75.”
“Those sound delicious. So three cocktails, plus champagne.”
“Do you want an alternative for people who don’t like champagne? Maybe beer or wine?”
“Denton would like a selection of Scotches, but otherwise, that’s it.”
Silver made some notes. She would email Denton directly and get his thoughts on the type of Scotch he wanted. Prices ranged from around ten or fifteen dollars a bottle to a couple of hundred dollars. She wanted to make sure she knew what he was expecting the final bill to be.
“I’ll get with him,” Silver said. “Scotch is super easy.”
Renee made more notes. “Now let’s talk about the decorations. We’ve already ordered decorative drapes trimmed in pearls. In fact, pearls are a theme here. Strands of them will decorate the table. We’ve ordered teardrop-shaped balloons in cream. We use fishing line so the tethers aren’t visible, then hang them upside down from the ceiling. The tablecloths are pale gold, with darker gold chargers. The accents are black, including the napkins and the table numbers.”
They walked through everything from flowers to the guest book. Leigh showed them a pair of shoes she’d bought that were decorated with pearls and feathers.
“Silver, I found the perfect dress for you,” Leigh said. “And I ordered it, so I’m hoping you’ll love it.”
“If it makes you happy, it makes me happy.”
Leigh laughed. “You say that now.”
“I mean it. This is your day. What is Autumn wearing?”
“A little flapper-inspired dress. You’re going to love it. She’s going to be so cute.” Leigh glanced at Renee. “Autumn is my daughter.”
Silver heard the caution in her friend’s tone and knew that Leigh was erring on the side of discretion. “She knows about me and Drew and the baby,” Silver assured her.
“Oh good. We’re all so excited to meet Drew,” Leigh said. “I’ve always been curious about him and Autumn can’t wait to finally meet her birth father.”
Words designed to make Silver feel a little nauseous. Even if she’d wanted to try to avoid Drew for the week Autumn was here, that wasn’t going to be a possibility. She had to tell him, and soon.
“She understands about the adoption and everything?” Renee asked.
Leigh nodded. “I always wanted her to know the truth. When Silver came to live with us, Autumn was still a baby. I don’t remember exactly when we started talking about it but by the time she was three, she was clear on the fact that she’d been adopted. I’m her mom but Silver grew her in her tummy.” Leigh laughed again. “Not that we describe it that way now. She’s eleven, so we can be a little more sophisticated in our conversation.”
Silver’s sick feeling grew.
Leigh glanced at her watch. “Oh my. I have to run. Is that everything?”
“For now,” Renee told her. “We’ll schedule another call next week. Have a good rest of your day, Leigh.”
“You, too.” Leigh blew Silver a kiss. “Love you, Silver.”
“Love you, too.”
The connection went dark. Renee turned off the computer.
“Do you need to breathe into a paper bag?”
Silver frowned. “Why would you ask that?”
“You went totally white while Leigh was talking. I thought you were going to pass out.”
“My stomach’s a little iffy.”
“Is that what we’re calling it?”
Silver put her arms on the table and rested her forehead on her hands. “I’m screwed.”
“You are.”
“You don’t have to agree with me.”
“I’m an honest person.” Renee put her tablet on top of her computer, then collected the napkin samples. “I take it you haven’t told Drew about Autumn.”
Silver straightened. “Not yet. I need to. I get that. I just don’t know how to start the conversation.” She sighed. “It’s weird. It’s not as if he doesn’t know I got pregnant and therefore there was a baby born, but we’ve never talked about it. Not really. I’m sure he assumes I simply gave up our child and walked away. I don’t know how to say it’s different than that.”
“You’re afraid he’s going to be mad, or feel betrayed?”
Silver groaned. “Yes, but that makes no sense. It’s not like he asked. It’s not like he ever bothered to find out what happened. I’m not the bad guy here. He’s not, either. It’s just...”
