You Say It First
Page 18

He shifted so he was lying on his side, facing her. “Okay, so the panels stay. Let’s talk about that fancy finance degree. You know that if you want to make more money, you need to cut costs or charge more.”
“I’m not sure how I would cut costs. To provide the weddings people want, I have to offer certain services. There’s no way to trim there. My overhead is fixed. As for charging more, I have thought about it. I’m just afraid of losing the business.”
“Then offer what they can’t get anywhere else, but make them pay for it.”
“You mean different kinds of weddings?”
“Sure.” He sat up. “Take the panels. They’re beautiful, but they only work in a limited way. What if you had simple frames the same size made out of a lightweight material? With today’s printing capacity, you could easily fill them with whatever your client can imagine. Weddings on the moon or in a volcano. The panels would provide the backdrop and set the tone. You’d provide everything else and the client would pay for it. People will cough up extra to have something exclusive. Trust me. I’m an expert on that.”
She thought about his idea. “You’re saying instead of a menu, I would offer a unique wedding to anyone who asked?”
“Exactly.”
“I’d be reinventing the wheel every time.”
“Not completely. The basics of a wedding are the same. Ceremony-reception. You’re simply changing the delivery system.”
He had a point. Food was food. The same with the drinks. The server costumes could be more challenging, but maybe if she got some kind of simple uniform that could be covered with a theme-specific apron or tunic or something.
“I’ll have to think about it,” she said. “I understand what you’re saying. If people will pay for unique weddings, I could grow the business and they would pay for the expansion. Plus it would be kind of fun to have a different challenge every now and then. Not that I don’t love a Roman wedding.”
“Who doesn’t?” He stretched out on the grass.
“I have a couple coming in tomorrow. Maybe I’ll offer them a moon wedding.”
“I could see it. I’ll bet you could rent space suit Halloween costumes for the staff.”
She stared at him. “Why didn’t I think of that?”
“Space suits aren’t everyone’s go-to idea.”
“Not that. Renting Halloween costumes. They’re not being used except one night a year. If I could find a couple of really great places that have a big selection, I could contract with them. That would give my brides a catalog of ideas to consider.”
She would have to do some investigating, but there had to be several large costume firms in Los Angeles. She could set up appointments and go talk to the owners.
Before she could thank Nick for the brainstorming session, a young couple walked into the courtyard. He was of medium height with dark blond hair, while she was petite and Asian. Pallas scrambled to her feet as she wondered if she’d forgotten an appointment. The only one she could remember was for later in the week.
“Hello,” she said with a smile. “Can I help you?”
The woman, in her midtwenties with sleek black hair and luminous skin, nodded. “I’m Nova and this is my fiancé, Joel. We were supposed to see you on Thursday, but we came by hoping you could see us early.”
Pallas had a moment of chagrin. She wasn’t prepared for an impromptu meeting, nor was she dressed the least bit professionally. But if her potential clients didn’t care, then she would go with it, too.
“Of course. I’m Pallas. Nice to meet you.”
They shook hands. Nick stood and she introduced him, as well. Nova glanced around at the courtyard.
“This is really lovely. Is this where you have the receptions?”
“Usually. We don’t get much rain out here.” Pallas pointed to the west. “The sun sets over there so we’re in shade here by six, even in the summer, and I have fans I put out if need be. There’s a large ballroom that can accommodate either the ceremony or the reception, depending on how you want things to flow. Tell me about your wedding.”
The couple looked at each other. As Joel reached for Nova’s hand, Pallas felt the back of her neck prickle. She was getting a strange vibe from the young couple. Not a we’re-getting-married-but-we’re-not-excited-about-it, but definitely something. She’d learned that when her gut started talking, she should listen. If nothing else, she increased the nonrefundable part of the deposit.
“Joel and I develop video games,” Nova said, her voice soft. “Our most successful game is Concord Awaken.”
“I love that game,” Nick said. “CA. We always joke about the initials being the same as the state of California.” He looked at Pallas. “CA is based on a—” His expression turned sheepish. “Never mind. You don’t want to know and they’re already experts.”
Nova smiled. “I like your enthusiasm. That’s going to be helpful.” She looked at Pallas. “We want a wedding based on our game world. The colors, the decorations, all of it. I know it’s a lot to ask, but it’s what we need to do. We can pay for the custom elements. We’re very successful.”
Nothing about this felt right. Nova sounded more desperate than happy. What on earth was going on?
“Your wedding is going to be wonderful and unique,” Pallas told them, even as she took a tiny step back. “However, I’m not sure this is the right venue for a gamer wedding. We do more traditional work here. Princess weddings and Roman weddings. Nothing high-tech.”
Nova nodded, even as her eyes filled with tears. “We’ve heard that a lot. We know what we’re asking is unusual. We’d do it ourselves, only we don’t have the experience or much time. It’s just...” She brushed away tears on her cheek. “It’s my dad. He has cancer and he’s dying. He wants to see me happily married and we want that, too. It’s just him and me.”
Joel moved close and put his arm around her. He kissed the top of her head. “It’s okay, babe. We’ll find someone, I promise.”
Pallas flinched as if she’d been kicked in the gut. She felt Nova’s pain as if it were her own. She wanted to help, but how? A video game wedding? She didn’t know anything about the world or what they would expect, let alone how to make it happen.
“It wouldn’t be that difficult,” Nick said quickly. “Come on. I’ll show you.”
Before Pallas knew what was happening, Nick had led them into the main ballroom.
“It would all be about smoke and mirrors,” he said, gesturing to the walls. “Panels or giant posters of the landscape of CA. The colors would be easy—they’re totally defined. Maybe some black light to make things interesting. The game has a killer soundtrack. We’d base the music on that. Food could be fun. I might be able to do something with papier-mâché for decorations and ambience.”
Nova’s expression turned hopeful. She looked at Pallas. “Could you do it?”
“I don’t know. I’d have to think about it. I only have one open weekend in the middle of June. That barely gives us six weeks.” They were asking for the moon. Actually they were asking for a whole other planet and she honestly didn’t know if she could give it to them. Still... It did sound fun.