Why Not Tonight
Page 34

Natalie had discovered the unique rhythm of the town when she’d first decided to make the area her home. Locals learned not to expect to go out to dinner on the weekends and to avoid the center of town unless you wanted to get stuck behind a horse-drawn carriage.
The previous evening Pallas had texted and asked if Natalie could attend a planning meeting for the Batman & Robin movie-themed wedding. Natalie had agreed. As she parked outside of Weddings Out of the Box, she wondered what on earth she could add to the discussion. Still, her friend had asked, so here she was.
She found Pallas in the main conference room. There was a long table for client meetings and a large video screen and computer set up to work as a projector. Shelves and a buffet table had been set up along one wall displaying several small cakes, unopened shipping boxes of various sizes and stacks of linens.
“Hi,” Natalie said, carrying in the two vases she’d filled with paper flowers. “Do you really go through all this with every wedding? It’s so much work. I had no idea.”
Pallas gave her a wan smile. “Some weddings are managed remotely, so we do video conferences instead of in-person ones, but Ellen and Barry live close enough that they want to be here.” She pointed to the video screen. “Both sets of parents are tapping in via Skype. It’s going to be a crowd.”
Despite carefully applied makeup, Pallas seemed pale. Natalie frowned in concern. “Are you feeling all right?”
Pallas hesitated, then started to speak, but before she could say more than “I do want to—” they heard someone calling out to them.
Silver breezed into the conference room, pulling a cooler on wheels behind her. “Have you searched our comic book hero on Pinterest? I can’t believe how many great ideas there are. People are so creative. I have too many possibilities for signature cocktails. Seriously, we need two, not twenty, but I’m having trouble choosing.”
She hoisted the massive cooler onto the end of the table. “I figured the easiest way to decide is to sample.”
Natalie glanced at the clock. It was ten minutes to one in the afternoon. “I guess it’s five o’clock somewhere.”
Silver grinned. “Just take a sip of each cocktail, otherwise you’ll be plastered.”
“Not for me,” Pallas said, placing a hand on her stomach. “I’m not feeling great. I’ll pass on the liquor.”
Silver shot her a concerned look. “I have some ginger ale with me. Want some?”
“That would be great.”
Silver’s gaze narrowed. “Pallas,” she began.
Pallas shook her head. “Ellen and Barry will be here any second. Let’s focus on that.”
Natalie felt as if she were missing something, but before she could ask, the happy couple arrived.
They were both in their midthirties, on the tall side and a little chubby. They were also obviously wildly in love and totally excited about their wedding.
“My mother is texting me four hundred times a day,” Ellen said as she hugged Pallas. “I think she was afraid I was never going to get married.”
Barry kissed his bride’s cheek. “That’s because you were waiting for me.”
“I was.”
They gazed at each other as if they were the only people in the room. Natalie felt a little jolt of envy—oh, to be that much in love.
Pallas made introductions. Everyone took a seat at the table and Pallas got the connected parents up on the screen.
Natalie was impressed with how quickly her friend worked the technology. The split screen allowed everyone to see who was talking. When Pallas uploaded a picture from her computer, the screen divided into three parts, keeping everyone in the loop.
“We’re here to make some decisions,” Pallas said, opening her tablet and glancing at a very long list. “The sample cakes are here and Silver wants to talk signature drinks. Some of the favor samples have arrived. Natalie has flowers for you to look at. We’re also going to brainstorm the rest of the details for the wedding and make sure our timeline still works.”
Ellen sighed. “The flowers. Can I see them?”
Natalie passed over the mason jars filled with the comic book flowers. Both Ellen and Barry carefully touched the paper petals. Ellen beamed.
“They’re stunning. You’ll be able to make flowers for three vases for each table? Is that too much?”
“I have a schedule and I’m already ahead. So I’m glad you like what I’ve done.”
“We don’t like it,” Barry told her. “We love it. You’re a gifted artist.”
Silver leaned close and whispered, “Could they be cuter? I don’t think so.”
Natalie smiled.
Pallas moved on to the rest of her list. “Just to clarify, the theme of this wedding is a specific movie. Not the comic books, not the rest of the franchise. So we’re going to be true to those villains and the main characters.” She glanced at her tablet. “The minister marrying you will be dressed as Alfred, is that right?”
Barry chuckled. “Yes, and he’s superexcited about it.”
Pallas confirmed that the wedding bands had been ordered and were on time. The rings were platinum with inset round diamonds and black onyx in the shape of a bat. Ellen would wear a white eye mask and her shoes would have tiny bats on the heels. Barry had chosen a black tux with a yellow vest and tie. The bridesmaid dresses were black with yellow sashes around their waists.
“I let them pick their own dresses,” Ellen said. “That way they can for sure wear them again. All I asked was that they could tie the sash on for the ceremony.”
“That’s a great idea,” Natalie said. “I’ll bet the sashes become something fun at the reception. Everyone will want to dance with them on.”
“You’re right.” Ellen smiled at her. “I hadn’t thought about that, but it’s going to be true. We’re having the groomsmen wear villain T-shirts under their dress shirts.”
Okay, sure. Natalie had to admit that going all out for a movie-themed wedding wouldn’t be what she would choose, but if Ellen and Barry wanted that, then they should have it.
“We need to brainstorm some ideas for the reception,” Pallas said. “So far all the attention has been on the ceremony.”
“I just saw the movie a couple of weeks ago,” Natalie said. “I’ll bet we could easily get a large print of the Gotham City skyline for one wall.” She looked at Pallas. “Wynn could make that, couldn’t she?”
Pallas typed on the computer and pulled up a picture of the city. “This is just one option. There are dozens of others. Ellen, do you want me to send you some to consider?”
“Barry and I will find the one we like best and send it to you,” Ellen said, pulling a pad of paper out of her handbag. “I really like that idea.”
“I’m going to have a lot of scraps of paper left over from the flowers.” Natalie fingered the petal of a flower. “I wonder if I could create table numbers from them. It wouldn’t be that difficult and it would keep with the theme. I could also edge the pages of the guest book with the same paper.”
“Perfect,” Barry said. “Now, we’re doing the groom’s cake in the shape of the car, right?”
“Yes, and today you’ll pick the flavors of the two cakes.” Pallas put up pictures of possible cake decorations. There were the obvious black and yellow and one cake was decorated with ivy, but the one Natalie liked best was more subtle—three round layers frosted in cream with the classic bat shape in a darker ivory.