All In The Game (Dearly Beloved) (6 page)

Logistics went out the window when her son’s plane came in two hours late. Adam and Sarah were upset because of the delay, which in turn upset the kids. Five-year-old Cindy was whiny because she lost her doll in the airport before they got on the plane. Her older brother, Ted, being a normal eight year old, was rolling with the situation by making fun of his sister, calling her a crybaby and poking her.

Bottom line, Amanda was ready to put them all back on the next flight to Chicago. As soon as she arrived back home and got everybody settled she went into her bathroom and closed the door. By now her nerves were frazzled. It was time for some primal scream therapy but that wasn’t an option because of all the people in the house. Instead she sat on the counter, tucked her arms around her waist and rocked. Things had to improve.

At this point she was ready to call Keith and cancel the wedding. Not all together, she just wanted to run away with him to...to anywhere and get married. No, she couldn’t do that. There was too much in play to call a halt. All she had to do was take a deep breath, clear her head and repeat—everything will work out.

Rev. Moore had warned them that weddings were hectic but that things always worked out in the end. She slid down off the counter top and splashed her face with cold water.

She was about to leave the bathroom when she heard a light rap on the door that sounded like it was coming below the knob. A tiny voice called, “Grammy are you going to come out and play with dolly and me?”

Apparently Cindy was fresh from a quick nap and rarin’ to go. She opened the door, picked up her granddaughter and gave her a big kiss on the cheek. The child smelled fresh and clean as children often do when they’ve just awakened. She was carrying the doll that Amanda had found tucked away on the closet shelf. Cindy had seemed pleased when she gave it to her; however, she had forgotten that she had promised the child she would play with her if she took a nap.

Now it was time to put up or shut up so she took the youngster by the hand and led her into the living room. She remembered how short of an attention span small children had so she knew Cindy would grow bored in a half hour or so. When she got out to the living room, Amanda threw some pillows on the floor and sat with her granddaughter. There is nothing like a little play therapy.

Later in the day plans started coming together. Her dress was delivered earlier than promised and the flowers, though they weren’t what she had ordered originally, looked fine with it.

Sarah told her not to worry about dinner as she and Colleen Snyder had everything under control. All the bridal party had to do was come back to the house after rehearsal. With everything that was going on Amanda had totally forgotten about a post-rehearsal dinner. It was a good thing her daughter-in-law was on the ball.

****

By the time they got to the church Amanda was feeling more relaxed, especially having Keith by her side. He had that effect on her. They’d had their meetings with Rev. Moore and by the end he had assured them that everything would go smoothly as long as they communicated with each other.

The rehearsal went well. Sid and Rita actually seemed to be getting along. Adam complained there wasn’t much practice needed to walk her down the aisle. That aside, she had a good feeling that all the stress and hoopla of the earlier part of the week as well as today was just where it belonged—in the past.

That evening the kids behaved very well. Young master Ted appointed himself as greeter and server to the wedding party. Colleen’s daughters wanted to play with Cindy but she dogged Keith’s heels telling him stories about her new doll. When Sarah tried to distract the child, he smiled and warned her not to come between him and his new girlfriend.

Amanda went to bed wearing a smile on her face and looking forward to her wedding day.

Chapter 8

At last, the big day arrived. Amanda doubted there was enough make-up concealer in the state to cover the dark circles under her eyes because she’d tossed and turned all night. Despite the smile on her face when she initially laid down, sleep simply would not come. At one point, she’d almost dragged Keith to her bedroom when he kissed her goodnight and said he would be waiting at the altar for her at three o’clock.

She peeked at the clock and groaned. She had promised herself that she would take the day in stride, so there was no need to be nervous. So much for self-promises. What was she going to do for the next eight hours to alleviate the jitters?

Had it been like this during her first wedding? No, they had simply picked a day, got a license and went to the courthouse. Of course, she was much younger then, plus it had been so long ago and after everything fell apart she didn’t give weddings another thought. Even with all the counseling and open communication would this marriage fall apart?

Her train of thought was derailed by a familiar voice calling, “Are you decent?”

Rita came through the door dangling two cups on one finger and a carafe of coffee in the other hand. Before Amanda could answer, her friend said, “I really don’t care if you’re decent or not, we all have the same physical equipment, just in different proportions.”

Amanda scooted up in bed. “Shut up and pour the coffee.”

“My, my, are we having an attack of the wedding day grumps?” Rita asked as she poured a cup and handed it to her.

“I was sure I would sleep like a baby but I gave up trying when I heard the clock chime four. With these circles under my eyes I’ll look like the bride of Dracula by this afternoon.”

“No worries there. I have a surprise for you. We’re going to go to a spa and have a morning of beauty. Massage, facial, hair...the works. So get up and get moving. Your day awaits, madam.”

“I can’t do something like that I’ve got a house full of company.”

“Your wonderful son and daughter-in-law are at this very moment rounding up the kids, then heading over to spend some time with my Jeff and Colleen and their gang. Last night they talked about having a day at the beach and wanted to get an early start to do some shelling.”

Amanda sat back against the pillows and held her cup with both hands. “It has been a while since Adam and Jeff have seen each other. Seems like only yesterday they were in grade school.”

Rita sat on the foot of the bed and crossed her legs Indian style. “The grade school years weren’t so bad but those high school years were a challenge for all of us. There were days I wanted to lock Jeff in a closet and throw away the key.”

Amanda chuckled. “They weren’t that bad.”

“No, they were worse. Now quit lollygagging and throw on some clothes. It’s time we go and make ourselves glamorous.”

It was a wonderful morning. By the time she was rubbed, scrubbed and massaged Amanda felt she was ready to face the world. There was nothing like being pampered, especially when a few hours before she’d been hyper aware of every nerve ending in her body. Add a couple of mimosas to the mix and she was prepared to go with the flow no matter where it went.

The three hours spent at the spa made her feel relaxed and ready to go home and get dressed. Every bride should be given a spa package the day of her wedding to dispel the nervousness associated with all the preparation that went into getting the event organized.

In retrospect she had to wonder how Rita’s mother had remained sane when she was arranging her daughter’s wedding so many years ago. It must have been a nightmare since Rita had six bridesmaids and a maid of honor. Add to that the sit-down dinner for three hundred. It was bad enough coordinating an affair for fifty people and having a small church ceremony.

“It doesn’t look like your family is back,” Rita said as she pulled into the driveway. “When you get inside you may want to take a nap while they’re still out.”

Amanda put her hand over her mouth and yawned. “If I get anymore relaxed I won’t wake up until tomorrow. Since it’ll be quiet, I might read for a while. What time do you plan on coming by to pick me up to go to the church?”

“Jeff will pick me up at one thirty. Reverend Moore said he wanted us there at least an hour before the ceremony. Let me know if you need any help with your dress and I’ll call my son and come over here to get dressed. Jeff can visit with Adam while we get ready.”

“I think I can handle it on my own,” she said as she got out of the car.

****

Amanda recalled that statement as she struggled to get the zipper up the back of her dress. She thought for sure Sarah would be here to help. There was no use calling Rita because her son was with Adam’s family. She gave up before she broke the zipper, slipped on a bathrobe and saved the dress for last. She would just have to be careful with her make-up. She didn’t want to get any on it.

She looked down to kick off the matching shoes and discovered a run traveling right down the front of her blue stockings.
Don’t panic because then you will start to sweat and that won’t do. You bought an extra pair just in case something like this happened. No problem. A little deep breathing and it will all work out.

She heard Adam’s voice call through the house. “Hey, Mom do you have anything for sunburn?”

Amanda came out to the living room carrying a jar of aloe lotion—and found two seriously sunburned people.

Obviously upset, Sarah took the jar. “I tried to tell them to stay out of the sun but they wouldn’t listen. I told them that Jeff and his family are used to the Florida sun. Colleen had her girls slathered with sun block but my guys didn’t think it was necessary because there was a cool breeze.”

She tilted her head toward her husband who hung his in a sheepish fashion. Holding her son by the arm, to keep him from squirming away, Sarah scooped out at glob of soothing ointment and spread it over Ted’s back.

“Cindy doesn’t appear to be too bad,” Amanda said, “though her nose is a bit red.”

“That’s because she listened to me, kept her shirt on and wore her hat most of the time. The two male super heroes here wouldn’t listen. Now they can suffer. I’m sure you’ll love wearing a shirt and tie, Adam.”

Ted wiggled to get away from his mother’s grasp. “I’m not wearing a tie.”

“You don’t have to,” she said sternly, not letting go. “But your father is going to walk your grandmother down the aisle to give her away and he will wear a tie.”

Cindy grabbed her father’s leg and started to cry. “Don’t give Grammy away, Daddy. Pease don’t. I promise I’ll be good and eat all my vegetables.”

Amanda hid a smile and patted her granddaughter on the back. “He’s not giving me away sweetheart. Your mom just means that he’s going to walk me down the aisle until we get to Grandpa Keith.”

Cindy sniffed and seemed satisfied with that explanation for a second. “Will I still be Grandpa Keith’s girlfriend?”

Amanda knew there was no way she was going to be able to go into a lengthy explanation that the child would understand so she simply said, “Of course.”

Sarah forced a smile. “I’m going to take my gang to our rooms and start getting ready. Cindy may not be burned but she played in enough sand to build a castle the size of this house. I rinsed her off before we left the beach but I’m sure there is more.”

They all trotted off to their side of the house. Amanda shook her head. There was something to be said for the type of house she had. Her bedroom and bath were claimed on one side of the spacious home while the guest rooms and bath took the opposite side of the house. She was thankful that Keith agreed to live here and use his condo as a rental property after they were married. They would need the extra room when family visited.

****

Rita arrived fifteen minutes later than she had promised and offered no excuse. However, Amanda almost fainted when she glanced at the woman’s shoes. Rita had chosen to wear a pair of the latest style platform shoes complete with ankle straps, because yesterday she happened to find them and they perfectly matched the shade of her deep lavender dress. She had said it was message from heaven that she couldn’t ignore. Amanda was thankful that Sid was so much taller than Rita; otherwise they would’ve really looked like an odd couple.

She had to hand it to her friend; the woman didn’t hobble or wobble in the shoes. As for herself she had opted for a plain pair of low-heeled satin ones dyed to match her dress...just like they did in days gone by. Rita tried to talk her into a bright-red sequined pair of stiletto hills by saying she heard that was a new trend. In a good-natured tone Amanda told her exactly what she could do with her new trend—sideways and where the moon don’t shine.

She opened the spare package of panty hose and double-checked for snags or runs before she put them on. So far so good—next the dress. Even Rita was having a bit of a time getting the zipper up because it caught in the soft fabric.

Amanda took in an extra deep breath. “Don’t yank it, you’ll rip the fabric.”

“You don’t have to turn blue to match your dress. It’s not that it’s too tight, it’s just...never mind. There was a tiny bit of thread caught. Got it all taken care of with my fingernail.”

Rita rested her hands on Amanda’s shoulders and beamed at their reflection in the mirror. “You look absolutely beautiful.”

“So now you think I’m making the right decision.”

Eyes glistening, Rita nodded and grinned. “Absolutely. Who else would put up with your prissy behavior? Let’s go get Jeff. It’s time to head for church to hear Rev. Moore start the ceremony with those familiar words, ‘Dearly beloved, we are gathered together...’”

****

When they got to the church,, Amanda breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of Keith’s car parked in the lot. Not that she thought he wouldn’t show up for the wedding but she knew he and Sid were coming together and he’d told her Sid was notorious for being late to everything.

Now that she thought about it that was also one of Rita’s less then endearing habits. Amanda glanced at the clock in the room where they waited, to be sure the hands were moving. Keith was here so she had no reason to be anxious. She just wanted to get started with the ceremony. They had the rest of their lives together. Rita’s pacing wasn’t helping. What was on the woman’s mind?