Certainly Sensible (27 page)

Richard was the last to head to the dining room. Sharlene watched as her brother stood transfixed, his back to the guests in the room. She got up from her seat at the head of the table and went to the doorway. “Richard, really, I…oh, Caroline!”

Sure enough, Caroline was there, dressed casually in shorts and sandals. She and Richard were staring at each other.

Sharlene let out a huge sigh. “Caroline, dear, your father didn’t mention…”

“I didn’t mean to interrupt, but…”

Richard actually broke into a smile. “Caroline, finally a friendly face!”

Caroline nervously shifted her handbag onto her other shoulder just as Megan walked between them.

“Hi, Car, thanks for coming to get me,” Megan said. “This is the worst party ever.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

Caroline fought back the nausea as long as she could but finally got out of bed and made a run for the bathroom. She didn’t think she was actually sick, unless being sick with misery counted, but she decided to sit and wait out the queasiness. A couple of minutes later, she heard a quiet tap on the closed door.

“Caroline,” Allie whispered, “are you okay? I heard you get up…”

Allie opened the door a crack and peeked in. Caroline was sitting on the floor near the toilet, a wet wash cloth draped over her forehead.

“Are you sick?” Allie went to Caroline, felt her forehead, and helped her stand.

Caroline shook her head, hung the wet cloth on the towel rack and ambled back to her bedroom, Allie trailing behind. Caroline sank onto her bed and leaned against the pillows. “It’s just nerves.”

Allie scrutinized her. “Nerves? I don’t know, Car, you don’t look good.”

Caroline closed her eyes. “It feels like a bad case of dread.”

Allie thought for a moment while she eased herself down on the bed next to Caroline. “Then maybe you should skip Richard’s wedding today. I’m sure Emily and Sara would understand. Especially if you’re not feeling well.”

Caroline slowly shook her head. “No, I’ll be okay. I just need to rest.”

“But that’s a lot of pressure you don’t need.”

Caroline lifted herself onto one elbow and faced Allie. “I’ve thought about it, and I think if I actually see Richard marry Misty, then I can quit fantasizing about a life with him and move on.”

“Well,” Allie said, “if you’re sure, but I say you should stay home if you don’t think you can stomach that whole circus Sharlene has cooked up.”

****

Sharlene arrived late in the morning to check on the final preparations for the wedding at the Peterson estate. After last night’s dinner fiasco, she was determined that nothing would go wrong today. She was barking orders at everyone, including the wedding planner who was nearly in tears. The caterer, florist, and hired wait staff had been there since nine a.m., setting up for the six o’clock wedding, and staying out of Sharlene’s way as much as possible. The wedding planner may have thought she was directing the activities, but Sharlene set her straight on that, including where to position the arbor in order to deflect the late afternoon sun from the guests.

Sharlene didn’t like how the chairs in the tent where the ceremony was to be held were arranged, so the wedding planner had to rearrange to make a wider aisle between the bride’s and groom’s sides. A wet bar was originally set up under a shade tree and stocked with only the most expensive brands of alcohol, but Sharlene ordered it moved to the patio under the awning. There was a separate tent for the reception, with an area designated for the musicians to play, adjacent to the dance floor. But the floor was a laminate material and Sharlene insisted on polished hardwoods, so it had to be swapped out. And Sharlene didn’t think the area inside the tent where the guests would enjoy their meal looked festive enough, either, so the staff bustled around rearranging chairs, ribbons, flowers, china and crystal, silverware, linen napkins and serving dishes to Sharlene’s satisfaction, all to accommodate approximately two hundred and fifty guests.

After hours of hard work, Sharlene looked around the grounds and decided it looked like the wedding wonderland she’d envisioned. She called out to the wedding planner, “The gazebo still needs to be decorated! And where are the Petersons? They should be here, too!”

The wedding planner timidly approached Sharlene. “Mrs. Meadows-Benedict, Mrs. Peterson’s maid said she’s taking a bubble bath and gave instructions not to be disturbed, and Mr. Peterson is holed up in his study. Miss Peterson hasn’t come out of her bedroom all day.”

Sharlene shook her head. “Find them! They need to come out and at the least, sign off on all this.” The woman stood there motionless as Sharlene clapped her hands. “Go!”

****

Caroline parked her car in the Peterson’s circular drive. She and Megan got out, walked to the front door, and rang the bell. Megan had her bridesmaid’s dress in a plastic bag on a hanger, and another tote bag with accessories in the other hand. A maid answered the door.

“Hi, this is Megan Benedict,” Caroline said, indicating her sister, “and she’s one of the bridesmaids.”

“Yes, ma’am, please come in. I’ll show you the room where the bridesmaids will be dressing.” The maid led them into the house and up the winding staircase to a large bedroom suite with its own bathroom. “Please make yourselves comfortable. Would you like anything to drink, Miss?” she asked Megan, ignoring Caroline.

“Diet Coke?” The maid nodded and left the room. “Wow! This room’s as big as our whole house!” Megan exclaimed, doing a full circle to take it all in.

Caroline looked around. “You’re right, it’s a nice room, but I don’t think it’s quite that
big.” It had two full-size beds piled high with tastefully chosen green decorative pillows and coordinating pink duvets. The off-white dresser and nightstands each held a large onyx vase of freshly-cut pink roses, to coordinate with Misty’s chosen wedding colors of pink and black. What Caroline assumed was a genuine Monet hanging over a desk in one corner, and in the other corner stood a full-length swivel mirror framed in white. The bathroom next to the closet had a shower as well as a large soaking bathtub, floor-to-ceiling mirrors and a chandelier! The walk-in closet door was open, all racks empty, inviting the bridesmaids to hang their belongings.

“Am I early?” Megan asked. “Sharlene said to be here at two for the hair and makeup people.”

Caroline checked the time on her phone. “Right on time. I guess all the other girls are late. Probably too much celebrating last night.” Caroline got a pang in her stomach, remembering her glimpse of the wedding party at the rehearsal dinner and how excited Misty’s friends seemed to be.

Megan rolled her eyes. “Maybe, but Richard and Misty…”

“Stop, Megan. I don’t want to know.” Caroline went to the closet to hang Megan’s dress, opening the bag with her sister’s shoes and undergarments, and removing the earrings and matching necklace she was to wear, taking more time than necessary so she wouldn’t have to listen to Megan’s rendition of the previous evening one more time.

“Hi, Megan.” Krystal walked into the room and threw her things on one of the beds.

Caroline stuck her head out of the closet to see who had arrived. From what little Caroline knew of Krystal, aka Misty’s co-conspirator in the proposal entrapment, she didn’t like. Krystal was married but didn’t seem to have any more direction in life than Misty.

The housemaid returned with Megan’s soda, opened it for her, and poured it into a crystal goblet.

“Oh, good,” Krystal said to the maid, “as long as you’re here, I’ll have a Perrier, and I’m sure the other girls will want the same when they get here.”

“Certainly, Mrs. McAlister.” The maid hurried out again.

Krystal turned her attention to Caroline. “We met last summer. You’re Richard’s secretary, huh?”

Caroline bit her lip. “Executive Assistant.”

Krystal shrugged her indifference. “So I guess you know him pretty well?”

Caroline thought about that. She almost blurted out that she knew Richard better than Krystal and any of these second cousins in the bridal party. She even thought she knew Richard better than Misty. But what she said was, “Yes, I’ve worked with him a couple of years now.”

“Hmmm.” Krystal rummaged through her satchel. “Well, maybe you can explain why Richard seemed so, I don’t know, out of sorts last night.”

“Um, maybe he had some business thing on his mind,” was all Caroline could come up with.

Megan took a gulp of her soda. “It was really weird last night.”

Krystal looked askance at Megan. “Weird how?”

Megan shrugged. “I don’t know, just weird, because Richard and Misty don’t seem all that much in love and it wasn’t much of a party.” Caroline picked up her purse off the bed and looked for her car keys. “Can’t you stay awhile, Car?” Megan pleaded.

Caroline didn’t know how much more of this wedding chit-chat she could take, but for Megan’s sake she hesitated. “Well, I…”

“You can’t go, Caroline,” Megan whined. “There’s no way I can get into that dress and stuff by myself.”

The look Megan gave Caroline said
Please don’t leave me alone with her.
Caroline glanced over at Krystal, who was ignoring both of them and texting. “Well, I guess for a little while, Megs, but then I need to go home and get dressed myself.”

Caroline was definitely uncomfortable. Krystal certainly hadn’t made her feel welcome, and she couldn’t help Megan get into her bridesmaid dress until her hair and makeup were done. So she sat down quietly on the edge of the bed where Megan was sipping her diet soda. Megan offered her sister a sip and Caroline gladly took one.

“Finally!” Krystal said, waving her phone in the air. “Only a half hour late.”

Jessica, Natalie, and Sierra stormed into the room carrying their bridesmaids’ dresses and bags of accessories. They nodded to Megan, ignored Caroline, and wordlessly began claiming spots for their belongings in the closet and on the beds.

Megan watched all this quiet busyness and whispered to Caroline, “Shouldn’t everyone be excited or something?” Caroline put her fingers to her lips and shook her head, so Megan asked them,
“How was the bachelorette party last night?”

“It never happened,” Krystal said, not looking at her.

Jessica threw her handbag on a chair. “Boy, that made me mad! Hanging around Jazz Corner for over two hours waiting for Misty to show up, and she never did.”

“We called her cell about a million times and sent dozens of texts,” Sierra added.

Caroline was stunned. Misty never showed up for her own bachelorette party? And didn’t even bother letting the others know? Something was definitely up, and the tension in the room was palpable.

“Do you think she and Richard had some kind of fight? Misty didn’t even stay for dinner,” Natalie said in a poorly-concealed whisper.

“Richard’s got cold feet, that’s my guess,” Krystal said. “Because I
know
Misty’s determined to get married today, since her father…” she broke off, glancing over at Megan and Caroline.

“…since her father what?” Caroline asked.

“My lips are sealed.” Krystal did the fake zipping motion and pretended to throw away the invisible key.

Yup, something’s really fishy about this wedding,
Caroline thought.

“Well, has anybody talked to Misty today?” Jessica asked.

There was a chorus of
not me
from everyone, followed by another awkward silence. The door opened, and the maid came in again with the bottles of Perrier in an ice bucket, along with more crystal goblets. She began pouring the water.

“Um, do you know if Miss Peterson is around?” Krystal asked the maid.

“No, ma’am, she hasn’t been out of her room, but she did order a breakfast tray midmorning.”

“Well, at least she’s still alive,” Sierra muttered.

“When are the hair and makeup people supposed to be here?” Natalie stared at her reflection in the full-length mirror. “My hair’s a disaster, and it’s going to take hours on me alone.”

“I believe they’ve just arrived, ma’am. I’ll show them up.”

Caroline couldn’t have been more relieved. As soon as Megan was dressed, she was outta here. This whole thing was really odd. The bridesmaids mad at the bride? The groom with cold feet? The bride herself refusing to come out of her room? Yet the grounds were all set for an elaborate wedding. Caroline had no explanation for any of it.

An hour later Krystal tossed her cell phone down on an end table. “Okay, I’ve had it. She won’t answer my texts.” In her bathrobe, with curlers in her hair, she strolled down the hall and banged loudly on Misty’s bedroom door. Caroline, Megan, and the other three bridesmaids listened and watched with eyes wide.

“Misty, it’s me! Open up—we need to talk!”

“I’m busy, Krystal!” Misty shouted through the door. “I’ll see you later.” The volume on the music in Misty’s room suddenly got louder, so Krystal tossed her hands up in disgust and went back down the hall to finish dressing.

“Megs, I think I’ll be going,” Caroline said. She picked up her handbag and hurried out the door and out of the house.

****

“Two hours until the wedding!” Sharlene surveyed the grounds with approval. Everything was beautifully decorated and the weather was clear and warm. The bar was stocked, and a bartender stood nearby, ready for early arrivals. Valets were stationed out front of the house in the circle drive, ready to park cars in the nearby church parking lot that had been rented for the occasion.

Sharlene smiled at her accomplishments and started walking toward the house. She’d been wearing capris and a designer t-shirt all morning, and now she was drenched in sweat, certainly not an attractive look. It was time to take a bubble bath and get into the pale pink couture silk suit she’d spent days shopping for. She was on her way in through the back patio when she saw Daniel from a distance.

She waved her arms in the air, signaling his attention. “Daniel, darling, I’m just about to go inside and get changed.”

Daniel waved to her and headed toward the bar. “Daniel,” she called out again, but he either didn’t hear or was ignoring her. She shook her head, hoping her husband wouldn’t embarrass her on this of all days.