Buzzkill (Pecan Bayou Series) (18 page)

“You know, after
what happened to Morton I was surprised to get something in the mail from them
yesterday. Maybe Morton mailed it before his … before his … you know,” I said.
“Anyway, it’s sitting on my desk, but with everything going on I didn’t get a
chance to open it. It was marked ‘personal and confidential,’ so I’m guessing
it has to do with money.”

“Well then,
excellent. When will you be running by to get it?”

“Mr. Andre,
Betsy is a little busy today,” Elena said.

“Betsy, do you
want me to get it for you?” Martha volunteered.

“Umm …” I
thought about the mess I left the house in getting ready to come here.

Mr. Andre spoke
before I could give her an answer. “Never mind. I’m being a pushy Prissy. I’ll
just figure my final bill without Chateau Fischer. It is just a refund, after
all.”

Aunt Maggie
affixed the last bow to the pew and turned to Mr. Andre. “I hope you got some
smelling salts in that basket, because I have a feeling Betsy’s going to faint
when she sees how much she owes.”

“Not to worry,”
he said. “Oh, and Maggie, I’ve got a bill for you for my services. I kept
Betsy’s wedding within the budget we originally agreed upon. I don’t believe in
surprises. Not in this business, sweetheart.”

For our next
stop, Aunt Maggie, Elena and I met Miss Ruby at the door of the Hair House.
Zach and Danny came in behind us and immediately sat under the dryers and began
their best NASA countdown.

“Ten … nine …
eight …” Zach said.

“Zach, you be
careful with Miss Ruby’s dryers.”

“Oh, it won’t
hurt ’em none,” said Ruby. “I’m so excited and honored to be doing your hair on
your big day. You three just come on in, and I’ll put us on a pot of coffee.”

“It’s kind of
you to let us come in a half hour early, Miss Ruby,” I said.

“That’s quite
all right,” she gushed. “Now I have some wonderful ideas for your wedding
hairstyle.”

“Well I’m
wearing a veil, so really, just make it curl nice and that ought to do it.”

“You mean you
don’t want an updo?”

I was afraid to
tell Ruby that I had never been an updo kind of girl. As I started to confirm
her worst fear, Aunt Maggie cut in.

“Yes, we want an
updo.”

“Aunt Maggie,” I
tried to stop her.

“No, at least
let her try,” said my aunt. “You aren’t going to the supermarket, Betsy. You’re
getting married, so you need to look like it.”

Ruby laughed.
“Will the real mother of the bride please stand up? You go, Maggie.”

“Thank you,” she
said, “but I’m counting my blessings just to be the aunt today.”

“How are things
with Charlotte?” Ruby asked me.

“Strange. You
know she left again, right?”

“I had heard
rumors.” Of course she had.

“I guess she
felt like what she had come to reclaim was already gone,” I said. “I needed a
mother, but that was back when I was a little girl. It kind of hurts, but I’m
doing okay, I guess.”

Ruby squeezed my
hand. “You’re doing just fine, Betsy.” It would have been good if she had left
it there, but she continued on. “I don’t care what the rest of the town says
about this cockamamie calamine thing. You sure didn’t mean to kill Lenny or
swell up Prissy. Even if the rest of these judgmental yahoos don’t come to your
wedding, I’ll be there.”

“Good to know,”
Maggie said dryly.

Had it really
come down to that? Was the whole town siding against me? It was probably a good
thing I was looking at a move to Dallas. My career as a helpful hints writer
seemed to be over. I had worked so hard at it for so many years, and now with
one rose-scented baby food jar full of calamine lotion, I was finished.

“Who’s doing
your flowers now that Lenny’s dead?” Ruby asked. At least this time she didn’t
say something else suggesting that I had killed him.

“Martha,” I
answered as a strand of my hair was pinned on the top of my head.

“Can she manage
it? Being in her mourning period and all?”

“Yes. We just
left her. She’s actually doing very well,” I said. “She’s repainted her place
and cleaned it up.”

“All by
herself?”

“No, she had
Morton Fischer helping her.”

“Really?” Ruby
said. “Now that’s a shocker. I didn’t even think she liked Morton. He’s been
moonin’ after her for years. Even before she married Lenny. I’m surprised she
even let him help. If I was her I’d be glad to be free of one man and wouldn’t
have been anxious to join up with another.”

I hadn’t really
thought about whether or not Martha wanted to have Morton around. I just
assumed he was a friend.

“Oh well, to
each his own,” Ruby said, blanketing me in a haze of hairspray. I wondered how
long I could go without breathing.

I stood looking
at myself in the full-length mirror that had been propped up against a Sunday
School classroom wall. The long white dress shimmered from my shoulders to the
floor. I had chosen a dress with a square neckline, cap sleeves and a gentle
layer of lace framing the top. With a small, embroidered flower at the waist,
my dress had yards and yards of white flowered netting on the bottom of the
full skirt. My wedding veil fit on the back of my head with sparkling silver
wire flowers attaching it to my new updo. I felt like a princess and twirled
around, looking at myself in the mirror. This being my second wedding, I had
thought about just wearing a well-cut white suit – but this felt like my real
wedding, and for my real wedding I wanted a real wedding dress.

“Oh baby.” Aunt
Maggie’s voice cracked as she walked into the room, and her hand shook as she
brought it to her cheek. “You are so beautiful, baby girl. Do you know how
stunning you look in that dress?”

“It’s amazing
isn’t it?” Lavonne said, straightening the shoulders.

“I was beginning
to think that this day would never come,” I said. “It felt like a dream when I
was planning it in these last few months, and even before that. I never thought
I would meet a man and fall in love. Actually, I wasn’t even sure if I wanted
to marry anybody again.”

“Well then I
guess you need to count your blessings,” Aunt Maggie said. “Leo is a wonderful
man, and I’m just so glad that you two found each other.” She brought out a
gray velvet box. “I know that on your wedding you’re supposed to be wearing
something old and something new, something borrowed and something blue, so I
brought you a gift to go with your dress today.” She opened the lid of the
jewelry box. Inside was a strand of white pearls. “These were your Grandmother
Kelsey’s. These are for you to borrow. Would you do me the honor of wearing
them?”

The necklace
featured pearls in graduated sizes with diamond bands separating them. In the
center was a single teardrop pearl. It was stunning.

“Oh Aunt Maggie,
these are beautiful,” I said. “Why haven’t I ever seen you wearing them?”

“Well, there’s
not a lot of occasions in town to be wearing diamonds and pearls,” she said. I
guess I was saving them for something special, or maybe someone special.”

“Oh, hell. I’d
wear those to the laundromat. You got to make your own occasion sometimes,”
Lavonne said, fluffing out the bottom of my dress. “Well, Betsy. My work here
is done. I’ll go on down.” She leaned over and kissed my cheek. “God bless you
both,” she said as she went out the door.

I carefully took
the pearl necklace out of the box and put it around my neck. It was the perfect
addition to the neckline of the wedding dress. Aunt Maggie came behind me and
connected the clasp. My fingers traced along the pearls that now hung at my
neck.

Ruby Green had
made me up with such care, and I was about to ruin all of her hard work, but it
couldn’t be helped. Maggie’s eyes were filling with tears as well.

“My, my,” Mr.
Andre said from the door. He looked at the tears making their way down my
cheeks and his lips went into a thin line. “Betsy, you need to cut that out.
Save your tears for later, honey. There’ll be plenty of time for crying once
you’re married.” He stopped and realized his own joke. “Oh, did I say that?”

His shoulders
rose as he suppressed a giggle. Pulling out a startlingly white clipboard he
tapped on it.

“The
photographer is downstairs setting up for the pictures. He wanted to let you
know that he wants to take a few pictures before the wedding and a few after.
The groom is supposedly on his way, something about finishing up a job. God
knows what that may be. Makes me frightfully nervous not having both of you
locked down right now.”

There was so
much going on I had forgotten about Leo. “I’m sure he’ll be here soon,” I said,
“and tell the photographer I’ll be down in a few minutes.”

There was a
quiet knocking on the door from behind Mr. Andre. Elena poked her head in. “I
think I’m about ready. Did you want to check out the dress?”

This was an Elena
I had never seen before. Her hair, which was normally pulled back in a
ponytail, had been artfully pulled up by Ruby, and little ringlets surrounded
her face. She had makeup on her normally plain face that highlighted her
delicate features. Instead of her usual Pecan Bayou uniform, she wore a snugly
fitted, deep red velvet tea-length dress.

“Elena. I’m
afraid I can’t let you go down like that.”

Elena ran into
the room and looked at herself in the mirror. “Is something wrong? Do I have it
on wrong?” She checked to make sure the zipper was in the back.

“No,” I said
“The problem is you look too good. No one will be looking at me once they see
you!”

Elena blushed.
“Oh come on, Betsy, nobody is going to be looking at me today.”

I was about to
tell her a certain district attorney would be transfixed when Mr. Andre spoke
up first. “Well, you certainly look a whole lot better than you do in that
dreadful cop outfit.”

“You know,
Andre, I think we’ve had just about enough of you,” Aunt Maggie said, crossing
her arms and staring defiantly up at the wedding planner.

“Well excuse me
for trying to give a compliment.”

“The backhanded
kind,” Maggie said. “We’ll be down in a few minutes.”

“But wait … I
still need to tell you …” His hand fluttered in front of him as Maggie closed
the door in his face.

“That man gets
on my nerves,” Elena said.

“Thanks,” I told
Maggie. “I’ve spent way too much time with him these last few months. It’s kind
of nice to have a little ‘girls only’ moment.”

Elena jumped.
“Oh, I almost forgot. I was put in charge of finding something blue for you.”
She opened her purse and pulled out a navy blue garter with a tiny Pecan Bayou
PD button sewn into the middle of the flower. “Let the force be with you,” she
said as she handed it to me.

There was a loud
knock at the door that would make any drug dealer run. “What is going on up
here?” my dad demanded from the other side of the door. “Are you ladies going
to let me come inside, or am I going to have to knock the door down? Mr.
Andre’s downstairs telling anybody who will listen to him how crazy the bride’s
family has become up here.”

“Come on in,
Judd. You’re a blood relation.” Aunt Maggie opened the door.

“Oh my. What
happened to my little girl?”

“Oh, she’s here,
under about five pounds of taffeta, but she’s here.”

“Are you ready
to head down for some pictures?”

“Begging your
pardon, Officer Kelsey,” said Elena, “but should the bride be seeing the groom
before the wedding, even for a picture?”

“Not to worry,
Elena. The groom hasn’t arrived yet, so we’re in the clear. We will not be
cursing the marriage,” he said, “and all of that is horse manure.”

“Why Judd, how
very cultured of you to say manure,” Maggie said.

“It’s the tux, I
feel like a Rockefeller today.”

I walked over
and straightened his lapel. “And you look like one too,” I said and kissed him
on the cheek.

“You’d better
stop or you’ll make me cry in front of another officer,” said my dad.

“Too late, your
backup is already fighting tears,” Elena sniffed.

Pastor Green
knocked lightly on the open door. “Is everybody ready? You all look like it,”
he said. “Um, Betsy, I hate to trouble you about this now, but you did bring
your marriage license? I need it for the paperwork.”

I took in a
quick breath. “Marriage license.” I turned to Aunt Maggie. “I forgot it back at
the house. It’s sitting on my desk.”

“Don’t worry,
I’ll call Leo. Maybe he isn’t too close to the church yet. He can pick it up,”
Maggie said as she grabbed her phone out of her bag and tapped in Leo’s number.

Thirty minutes later
we were still waiting for Leo.

“Where’s Mr.
Leo?” I heard Danny say loudly in the sanctuary. Someone nearby shushed him.

Danny was simply
asking what everybody else wanted to, so I couldn’t blame him. Danny was
accompanied today by his “date,” Melody, a friend from his workshop. Aunt
Maggie looked back from her first-row seat at the incomplete wedding party
assembled in the gathering area outside of the sanctuary. Elena sat next to me
holding my hand while my dad and the best man, Mark, took turns pacing. Zach
and Tyler, our dual ring bearers, sat in the corner looking bored.

“He should be
here by now. Let me try to call him again,” Mark said.

Leo’s mother
came out from the sanctuary. “Is something wrong? Where’s Leo?”

“Leo went to get
the marriage license at Betsy’s house,” Elena said. Pastor Green walked up the
aisle, wringing his hands and sharing a weak smile with the waiting guests. As
he entered the small lobby he whispered, “If you wouldn’t tell anyone I could
marry you without the license and take your word on it.”