On Love's Own Terms (17 page)

“We fixed the sleeves of Luke’s shirt,” Darlene interrupted, pushing through the swinging doors. “I pinned them and Dave sewed them.”

“Good for you,” Bonnie said. “Now you can rearrange the living room furniture so that there’s an aisle from the bottom of the stairs to the front of the fireplace.”

“But if we rearrange the furniture, we’ll have to run the sweeper again,” Darlene objected. When she saw the adamant expression on Bonnie’s face, she turned on her heel and marched out of the kitchen in an indignant huff.

“Maybe I’m being too hard on her,” Bonnie worried aloud as she spread clean towels over her roll pans and left the dough to rise. “After all, it is her wedding day.”

“You warned her that a ceremony at home meant a lot of last-minute preparations and everybody pitching in.” Luke rolled up his shirt sleeves, ran water in the sink and began washing the breakfast dishes. “I just hope that Dave hasn’t forgotten how to run the vacuum cleaner.”

Bonnie laughed, then reached into the cupboard and removed both a maple cutting board and a china meat platter. Ducking into the pantry, she grabbed the square teakwood case that she’d carried on the plane from New York. Luke whistled appreciatively when he saw the carving knives, custom made with blades of high carbon steel and handles of carved ivory.

“These are my good-luck charms,” she explained, returning to their earlier topic of conversation. “I ordered them the same day that I signed the lease agreement for my shop.” She shook her head, amazed now by her audacity then. “By the time I’d paid for city licenses, three months’ rent and fees for plumbers and electricians, I could barely afford to stock the shelves.”

“You must have done something right,” Luke commented as he scraped and scrubbed the countertop where she’d shaped her rolls. “To hear Darlene tell it, you were practically an overnight success.”

“I did all the work, but Lady Luck deserves a lot of the credit.” Bonnie took the briskets from the refrigerator where she’d put them to cool after cooking. “Despite the fact that every day was a sellout, I knew so little about costs and even less about pricing that I was operating at a loss.” She picked up a carving knife and poised it over a slab of beef. “One of my regular customers was a reporter for
New York
magazine. She told me I should raise my prices, which I did. And then she wrote an article, actually more of a filler, commending my ‘silver spoons’—”

“Isn’t that the name of your catering service?” he asked.

She nodded and began slicing the brisket cross-grain. “I adopted it in her honor, and it caught on almost immediately. After the article ran, my phone started ringing and never stopped.” Bonnie grinned. “The first month that I turned a profit, I hired a bookkeeper—a frugal soul who squeezes a nickel so tight, the buffalo bellows as loud as my suppliers when she negotiates with them.”

“The living room is ready!” Darlene shouted to be heard over the roar of the carpet sweeper that Dave was running. “I arranged the furniture so everyone can watch us coming down the stairs and still see us exchanging our vows in front of the fireplace. I even fixed up a corner where Uncle Ike can stand while he plays his fiddle.”

“I certainly hope your Uncle Ike remembers that this is a wedding and not a square dance,” Bonnie teased  Luke, brandishing her knife for emphasis. “The last time I heard him play, every other song sounded just like ‘Turkey in the Straw.’”

“If he forgets where he is, we’ll just do-si-do down the stairs and allamande left at the aisle.” Darlene grabbed a piece of beef and danced a silly jig, her face flushed with excitement.

“We’ll put out the flowers last thing so they’ll be fresh when the guests arrive.” Bonnie slapped Darlene’s hand when she reached for another slice of the tender meat. “You go on upstairs and take your shower. As soon as we’re through in here, I’ll come up and help you get dressed.”

Dave and Darlene met each other coming and going through the swinging doors. After a quick kiss and a few affectionate words, they parted company until the ceremony. Watching them, Bonnie was struck by their innocence, their confidence, and she silently wished them smoother sailing than she and Luke had experienced.

“Can I use the Corvette to go get a couple of sacks of ice?” Dave’s freckled face wore the same high color that Darlene’s had. He caught the keys his brother tossed, then hurried out of the house to run his errand.

When they were alone again, Luke took the carving knife and expertly sliced the second slab of beef. Bonnie arranged the meat on the platter, garnishing it with parsley sprigs and cherry tomatoes. While she worked, she summoned her courage. Where did a woman begin baring her soul to the man she loved?

“Some of my insecurity now stems from the fact that I was so young and uninformed when I miscarried, so confused when we divorced.” She bit her lower lip and met his steady brown gaze, imploring his understanding. “I was a girl with a woman’s problems. And having been weaned on fairy tales where everyone lives happily ever after, I was also terribly ignorant of realistic solutions.”

Finished arranging the platter, she sealed it with clear plastic wrap and set it in the refrigerator with the salads and fresh vegetables that she’d already prepared. Luke washed the knife and the cutting board, then wiped the counter clean. Except for the rolls, which would be baked immediately before serving, the reception was ready ahead of schedule.

“What I’m trying to say is that my business was the child I’d failed to deliver.” Bonnie accepted the cup of coffee that Luke had poured for her and sat down at the table. “No new mother ever took more pride in her baby’s first tooth or first step than I took in the growth of my catering service. As ridiculous as it sounds, I even slept on a cot in the back of the shop for a while so I’d be available in case of an emergency.”

“You never were one to do things half way.” Luke stood behind her chair, slowly massaging her stiffly held shoulders.

“Well, Mr. Win-Or-Die-Trying,” she teased, “aren’t you a fine one to talk?”

“With our attitudes, it’s no wonder we wound up divorced.” His voice was husky with emotion. “We were more like Kamikaze pilots than husband and wife.”

“It’s a miracle we lived to talk about it.” Bonnie sighed, recalling the marital battles which could have ended in compromise or with an apology if they each hadn’t been so bent on being right.

“Remember the year that your peach cobbler won second place in the 4-H cooking contest?” His strong, sure hands slid to her nape.

Bonnie nodded, relaxing as he deftly dissolved the tension in her muscles. “I was so mad, I wanted to spit.”

“And I was so fed up with peach cobbler by the time the next contest rolled around, I was tempted to bribe the judges.” His long, gifted fingers found and relieved a knot at the base of her neck.

“I won the blue ribbon,” she reminded him proudly.

“But I got the best prize of all.” He bent over, his warm breath fanning her face. “And it was sweeter than anything those judges had ever sampled.”

“Help!” Dave stood on the back porch holding a bag of ice in each arm.

Luke opened the door, grabbed a dripping plastic sack and stored it in the kitchen freezer compartment. While Dave carried the second bag to the basement, Bonnie mopped up the puddles on the floor with paper towels.

“I saw Tom at the store,” Dave mentioned when he came upstairs. “He said that he and Sueanne would be here early to greet and seat the guests while we’re all getting ready for the ceremony.

“Did you tell him that we bought extra film yesterday for his camera?” Luke asked.

“I sure did.” Dave grabbed a piece of cold toast off the plate sitting in the center of the table. “I’ll go shower and shave now so the bathroom will be free whenever you are.’’

After the doors banged shut behind his little brother, Luke encircled Bonnie’s waist with his hands and she rested hers on his broad shoulders. In the most roundabout way possible, they’d finally arrived at the issue that remained unsettled between them. Easing into the truth, she delivered her good news first.

“I’m coming home, Luke,” she whispered. “This fall, after I’ve phased out my catering service in Manhattan.”

“Are you sure you can give up your business?” He lifted her chin with his index finger. “Now that I know how much—”

“I’m not going out of business,” she clarified. “I’m simply relocating.” She held his face between her palms, stroking the high planes of his cheekbones with her thumbs. “Until the other day, I hadn’t realized that Atlanta was undergoing such a corporate boom.”

“It’s got a case of the sprawls, all right,” he agreed. “Almost every major firm as well as a host of foreign companies has opened a branch here.”

“Well, corporations mean office parties, trade conventions, press breakfasts and such,” she explained. “Those are my favorite kind of catering assignments. Not only do the clients appreciate the quality, but they generally pay their bills when presented with them.”

“You can set up shop in my building, if you like.” Bending forward, he caressed her lips with his. “We might even work out an arrangement on the rent.”

“Actually, I was thinking of buying my own building.”

Her voice quivered with the delicious havoc his mouth was creating. “One story, perhaps, but with adequate space for a full-service gourmet kitchen and—”

He silenced her with a quick kiss. “You can worry about that later, after we’re married. Right now our main concern is setting a date, scheduling blood tests and arranging for a license.”

It was time for the bad news. Her heart pounded convulsively against her ribs and she swallowed the lump forming in her throat. “Luke, how does the idea of an October wedding strike you?”

“October?” he repeated, disbelief flaring in his eyes. “Frankly, it strikes me as one hell of a long and unnecessary wait.”

“It’s only five months or so,” she reasoned, “and we’ll both be busy, you with that shopping center project that you’ve bid on and me with—”

“What is it, Bonnie?” he demanded. “Why can’t we be married and busy at the same time?” His expression darkened ominously. “Or is this just a polite way of saying ‘So long, chump’ and skipping town on me again?”

She stiffened, hurt by his obvious mistrust, and freed herself from his embrace. “How can you even believe me capable of such a thing after what we’ve shared the past few days and nights?”

A faintly mocking smile touched his mouth. “Well, you aren’t exactly famous hereabouts for your farewell speeches.”

“Why is it that
I’m
supposed to forgive and forget, but
you’re
not?” she demanded. “Why do all the concessions have to come from me?” She whirled away from him, distraught. “Do you honestly think it was an easy decision for an eighteen-year-old girl to make, leaving her home and family...” Her voice broke then, but her posture was proud as she started toward the swinging doors.

He grabbed her arm and spun her around. “Bonnie, wait—”

“No, Luke.” She pulled free of his grip and looked straight into his eyes before she left the kitchen. “I won’t fight with you about this—its too important to me. If you love me, you
wait.”

Upstairs, Darlene was in a terrible dither. Wearing only her slip and pantyhose, she wandered into Bonnie’s bedroom with her arms outstretched like a scarecrow’s. “When I put my arms down I sweat,” she moaned miserably. “And I can’t get dressed until I fix my hair. But I put so much conditioner on after I shampooed that I can’t fix my hair.”

“Sit,” Bonnie commanded firmly after stepping out of the shower. She wrapped her own dripping hair in a thick towel, slipped into her robe and went to work transforming her cute kid sister into an utterly sensational bride.

“It’s a miracle,” Darlene marveled, staring at her starry-eyed reflection in the full-length mirror later. The very picture of old-fashioned loveliness, she wore a white crepe dress lavishly frosted with lace. Her shiny brown hair was pulled into a charming chignon at the nape of her neck, while a few loose wisps floated around her oval face. “I can’t believe it’s really me. For the first time in my life, I feel beautiful.”

“You
are
beautiful,” Bonnie insisted.

“So are you,” Darlene replied sincerely.

It was true, Bonnie admitted without vanity. Despite the scene with Luke, or perhaps because of it, her complexion glowed radiantly and her eyes sparkled with an extra brilliance. Her crepe dress, a soft, tiger-lily shade, clung to her shoulders while the kerchief hem flirted fashionably around her knees.

They posed for pictures, some silly and some serious.

“Thank you for the nightgown,” Darlene sniffled.

“You’re welcome.” Bonnie’s voice was equally shaky.

“And thank you for being the best friend any woman could have,” Darlene added tremulously.

They hugged each other very tightly then and dabbed at the tears only sisters can share.

Her expression puzzled, Sueanne hurried into the bedroom as fast as impending motherhood would allow.

“What, pray tell, am I supposed to do with all that food?”

“Leave it in the refrigerator,” Bonnie instructed.

“But the refrigerator is full,” Sueanne countered.

“Of course it is.” Bonnie turned her head, distracted by the noise. With the door open, she could hear that Uncle Ike had rosined up his fiddle bow for what she prayed would prove a wedding song of sorts. She also heard the voices. Male and female, laughing and talking louder than a convention of human buzz saws.

“You know how it is around here,” Sueanne explained with a shrug. “Everybody is just one big happy family. Luke and Dave are down there now glad-handing left and right.”

Darlene dashed to the window and peeked outside.

“Why, I’ll bet there’s thirty people lined up on the sidewalk!” she squealed. “And they’ve all brought covered dishes!” She swirled, skirt and hair flying, and clapped her hands. “Do you suppose they’ve come to give us a charivari?”

Bonnie crossed to the window and drew back the drape. Friends and neighbors she’d known all her life but hadn’t seen in years stood patiently in the sun. They’d come to pay their respects, she realized, and say a proper good-bye to the girls who’d grown up playing in the meadow.