Wedding Planners

Somewhere On The New England Coast - The Home Of Thomas Allston and Evelyn Crowder

Eve sleeps through every night with a clear conscience. This is one thing that keeps her alluring and at peace with the world. How does she do this? She tackles problems head-on and makes them non-problems, or at least problems she tried to solve. 

After she explained that she called Lisa and turned down wedding planning with her due to her friendship with Laura (Ben's Ex), I went and threw a large chunk of sand-covered metal into smoothed gears by saying yes to being Ben's Best Man and the throwing Eve into the mix.

I didn't know about the phone call and wasn't thinking about others.

I know that Ben and I go way back before Lisa, Laura or Eve ever came to the party.

Since Lincoln was president, Mason and I  have eaten pizza in Cleveland Circle and drank drafts at The Muddy Charles Pub.

Here is how Eve steers the boat: She sleeps well, avoids wrinkles, and stays beautiful. I wonder if it is a Southern thing.

Phone call number one was to Laura, Ben's Ex-Girlfriend. Eve hit things straight on, telling Laura that Ben had asked Allston to be his best man. Laura piped up and said, "I can't imagine Ben would ask anyone else." 

"Those two have been real friends forever."

 By the end of the conversation, Eve told Laura how much she missed Eve and, of course, the Blueberry Muffins. Eve told her she could come into the shop any time, and if she felt like calling first, Eve would tell her if Ben was there.

The next call was to Lisa Tanaka which would be the harder of the two phone calls.

She again was straight up.  "Lisa, Ben asked Allston to be his best man." "Allston said yes and threw me into the mix without talking to me first." "That man needs help if the Wedding is in New York." "I could kill him for not speaking with me first about it."

Lisa laughed and said, "Don't worry." "I found a wedding planner through an F.B.I. friend in the New York Field Office." "Please help Allston to get it right."

She said, "When I told my notoriously single boss the wedding date, he asked if he could bring a guest?"

"I don't know, but I think he's doing it with your friend."

"It was so obvious the night Allston came home. Those two were all over each other." "I wonder if Wally had The Poster when he was young"?

"This could be a dream come true."

Somewhere On The New England Coast - The Seawall - 0430

As word spread that I was engaged to be married, the phone calls, text messages, and comments on my social media pages increased. I also clarified that the wedding would be small and out of my hands.

Last night, Eve and I spoke about what kind of event she wanted. Her reasons for wanting a small wedding were earnest and sincere, and I understood her feelings. "If her mother could not be there, then she only wanted the handful of people who helped raise her. She wanted small, classy, and in Tennessee.

A girl dreams of her wedding day at length, and since I already had a large wedding in the past, it was easy to say yes to Tennessee, a handful of friends, and barbeque.

Eve added, "We will hammer out the guest list later in the week." "Can we say 20 guests for each of us?"

"Does Tango count as a full guest or half?"

"Tango is a mutual guest, so he's a Freebie, Eve said."

"Are you going to invite the guy you shot out of the tree?"

She said, "New rule: Guests cannot have handcuffs, law enforcement escorts, or ankle bracelets." 

"But that eliminates half the people I was going to invite."

We were silly about this for another ten minutes before I accused Eve of being a Bridezilla.

Tango loves his beach runs but is limited to one donut hole daily. You can see him getting leaner. The faces at the coffee shop have changed, but Tango based on looks alone remains popular. I know how he feels.

It's still dark out, and I'm facing East, where the light appears.

My phone rings. I look at the screen and smile.

It's been a while since I heard from her, but I know she's doing well.

"Hi, Uncle Allston, this is Sophie." "Is this a bad time?"

"Do you have time for lunch in Cambridge today?" "I need career advice."

"I can see you at The Muddy Charles at 1."

Sophie laughed. "How do you know about The Muddy?"

"Take your age, Sophie, and multiply it by ten." "That's about how many pitchers of the cheap draft I have had there with my best friend, Ben Mason."

"Is that the guy who helped you with my Dad's computer?" "I saw him on Cramer the other night."

"He's funny and good-looking". 

"And Taken."  "I'm going to his wedding soon."

"I'll see you at 1."

"How's Aunt Eve?"

"She asked me about you the other day.; We are engaged now."

"Uncle Ron told me."

"That's great news."

"I hope I get an invite," she said, and we hung up.

I calculated Sophie as a guest. She's a former client, not wearing an ankle bracelet, and will require no law enforcement escort.

Norfolk, Virginia

Since her second divorce, she has had a hard time sleeping. Her worst habit during these alone in the dark times was going through the Social accounts of her friends who happened to be friends with her first ex-husband.

She figured out on this night that he had moved on and was successful. He owns his own company, and it looks like his girlfriend owns a successful, hip bakery in a University town.

She ran the bakery name in a search engine and saw a photo of a beautiful woman with a few interviews.

She seems smart, and the bakery was used in a Hallmark movie once.

She told herself not to focus on the past out loud but kept digging.

She read news articles from his small town about terrorists attacking him in his home. She saw a photograph of a trailer home with bullet holes in it.

Do they live together in that trailer?

"He lives in a trailer?" she thought out loud.

"You can't entertain friends properly in a trailer home."

"I can't believe he lives like trash." 

And then she saw through the comments of a few friends that he and she were getting married.

As she lay there, she started to cry, thinking about him.

He would be Chief of Detectives by now; they might have had two kids, and for certain, they would have been in a bigger house.

She looked some more and then fell asleep with a slight half smile.