Wedding Haters (Event to Remember Series-Book 2) (2 page)

I look around my room and let out a huge
sigh. OK, I have a lot of stuff. I didn’t realize how much I had
till I attempted to clean out my closet. I really, really hate
throwing things away. Seriously, you never know when I might need
that Eminem T-shirt or those Rollerblades that were only used
twice. How could I give those away? I spent good money on all this
stuff; if I were to get rid of it, I might as well throw
hard-earned money into a fire.

Much to my dismay, I start to go through a
few piles of clothes. I decide to give away two pairs of pants and
three shirts. This is so huge for me that I consider waking up
Sienna to tell her the good news. Probably not the best move.

Instead, I fall asleep with my makeup on
again, and when I wake up, my eyelashes are stuck together from my
mascara. I have a full day of clients, so I quickly get ready. I’m
about to leave when my phone rings and I see my grandmother is
calling. I contemplate letting it go to voice mail, which is silly
because she will keep calling until I finally answer. Here goes
nothing—

“Hi, Grandmother,” I answer cheerfully. “How
are you?”

“Hello, dear. I wanted to let you know that
Helen said that you did a wonderful job with her permanent.”

“Oh good. I’m so glad.” I punch the air in
excitement and let out a sigh of relief. Even though I absolutely
hate when she calls it a “permanent.” I consider correcting her but
why bother because no matter what she will continue to call it a
permanent.

“The other reason I’m calling is because I
spoke with Ellenor, and she mentioned that you had not called her
or Stephanie regarding the bridesmaid gowns. When were you planning
on doing this?”

I must be hearing things because I’m not sure
what she is talking about. Does she think that my cousins are
supposed to be a part of my wedding?

“What do you mean? Why would I talk to them
about that?” I reply nervously.

“Madison, surely you aren’t waiting until the
last minute to pick out the gowns?” she insists.

“Grandmother, Cole and I are having very
small wedding party. Sienna and Abby each chose their own dress. I
told you this.” I remind her.

“Madison Grace Wales, are you telling me that
you’re not planning to ask your cousins to be a part of the biggest
day of your life?” she asks sharply. “I think that your friends are
lovely girls, but they’re not blood relatives. The girls would be
devastated if you didn’t include them.” She continues on with her
tirade and I start to tune her out. I even mention that Cole has
only asked his brother and his friend Jeff to be groomsmen. After
listening to her carry on for a good ten minutes, I finally tell
her that I will think about it and discuss it with Cole. That seems
to appease her for now, but I know this is not over. Not even
close.

When I hang up, I’m frustrated. There is no
way I want to have my cousins as bridesmaids. We played together
when we were little, but as we got older, they were never nice to
me. It was always the two of them ganging up on me any chance they
could. My mom would always tell me just to ignore them and that
they were jealous of me, blah, blah, blah. Honesty, I never
understood why because they always had each other. They actually
remind me of the stepsisters from Cinderella except not as viscous.
However, I don’t intend to let them anywhere near my wedding gown,
just in case.

We hardly have any contact now, other than
family dinners or holidays. We’re Facebook friends but that’s only
out of family obligation. Ellie never officially congratulated me
on my engagement, which doesn’t surprise me. She’s the meaner one
of the two for sure. Stephy said congrats, but she tends to do
whatever Ellie tells her to do. I decide to call Sienna to tell her
about the conversation because I know she will know how I need to
handle this

“Are you kidding me?” she shrieks. “You can’t
have Drisella and Anastasia in the wedding.” I laugh because there
have been countless times when they have taken on those names,
usually after they started trouble for me and got my grandmother
all riled up.

“I know, but you know how my grandmother can
be,” I say sadly.

“Madie, you can’t let her bully you. This is
your day,” she insists.

“Yes, I know,” I agree. “Anyway, on a more
positive note, I looked through some stuff last night, and I’m
giving away two pairs of pants and three shirts. Aren’t you proud
of me?” I say excitedly.

“That’s great, but,” she hesitates, “I was in
your room last night. Are you sure that’s all you want to give
away?” she says sarcastically. “There are things in there you
haven’t worn in years, not to mention that horrible Eminem shirt.”
I knew it! She always hated that shirt. I’m sure it was giving her
a major anxiety attack not to get rid of it.

“Hello? Have you not heard anything I’ve
said? I have more pressing issues to take care of. We have to
figure out how to handle my grandmother before I worry about
anything else.” I say, trying to change the subject. “I promise I
will get around to it. In the meantime, because you’re my wedding
planner, maybe you can call my grandmother and talk some sense into
her?” I beg.

“Ohhh.” She stops. “I don’t think that’s in
my job description.”

“I know, but maybe you can talk to her from a
professional angle. You always know the right things to say,” I
plead.

When I hang up, I’m hopeful that I have
convinced Sienna to get me out of this mess. Fingers crossed.

I finally get to work and try to put the
conversation from the morning out of my mind.

I love my job. I mean
really
love my
job. Honestly, how many people can say that and mean it? Sometimes
I feel like a therapist, but for the most part, it’s pure
entertainment. Today’s clientele does not disappoint.

My first client is Chloe; I see her every
seven weeks to the day. Every visit she has a new true love and she
“knows” that they are the one, as in her soul mate put on this
earth to find her. Those are her words, not mine. After talking for
the majority of her appointment, she asks about the wedding plans.
I tell her all about the amazing Four Seasons and about my
conversation with my grandmother.

“That totally reminds me of when my sister
got married. My mom took control of everything. Things have never
been the same with them,” she explains. “Don’t let her tell you how
to plan your day because something like this could forever change
your relationship.”

“Everyone seems to think that’s an easy
task,” I explain. “When it comes to my grandmother, I turn into a
child again.” I’ve spent a lot of time going out of my way to
please my grandmother, probably even more than my own parents.

“So, you’re seriously considering having two
girls in your wedding that you don’t even get along with?” she
asks. “Girl, that’s crazy.”

“It’s not that we don’t get along, exactly .
. .” I hesitate as I trim the back of her hair. “We just haven’t
really had any contact with each other in fifteen years.”

“That’s kind of the same thing,” she says.
“And how do you even know that they would want to be in the
wedding?”

“That’s a good point. I haven’t thought of
that, and knowing them, they probably don’t. This may be all my
grandmother’s doing.” I start to feel better, and I know exactly
what I need to do to move on from this nonsense.

After work, I sit down to think about what I
need to say to my cousins. I know that I need to call Ellie even
though I
really, really
don’t want to. This is completely
ridiculous that I’m this nervous. I never get nervous talking to
anyone; I’m usually very bold.

I dial Ellie’s number, and as it continues to
ring, I’m praying that she doesn’t answer. As soon as her voice
mail comes on my heartbeat slows down. I leave her a quick message
and hang up.

A few hours later, I’m happily baking in my
kitchen. Lately I have been baking a lot, testing new cookie
designs and creating new flavors in preparation for Bev’s Sweet
Treats. I have a secret cookie ingredient, but I have never told
anyone. Sienna claims she knows what it is, but I think she’s
bluffing. She’s threatened to reveal it on a few occasions when she
has gotten mad at me, but I still don’t buy it. I’ve just created
some adorable monogrammed cookies when I hear my phone ringing. I’m
hoping it’s Cole and not Ellie, but no such luck. I take a few
breaths and answer.

“Hello,” I say timidly.

“Madie, it’s about time you called me. I was
wondering when I would hear from you,” she says cheerfully.

I check my phone screen just to make sure I
didn’t imagine seeing her name. This doesn’t sound like Ellie at
all.

“Ellie, is that you?” I ask.

“Of course, mad Madie,” she says with a
chuckle. I groan; that’s a nickname they gave me when I was
younger. I used to get so upset when they were mean and that was
the nickname they gave me. I still hate it.

“You know I hate when you call me that.
Anyway, what’s up?” I try to create some small talk before the
dreaded bridesmaid discussion.

“Steph and I were waiting to hear the
details. How’s everything coming?” she asks with an overwhelming
genuine concern,
too much
concern. I’m trying to process her
question because I don’t know if she’s asking about the wedding
plans in general or about bridesmaid gowns.

“Everything is coming along well. Sienna is
on top of things as usual. How are things with you?” I’m pleased
with my response as I try to move on to talking about her life.
Although, I’m still curious as to why she cares so much about my
wedding and my life, I can’t remember one time in my adult life
that she has been so eager to talk.

“Grandmother says you are having it at the
Four Seasons. That sure is a nice place; of course I wouldn’t
expect anything less for you, Madie,” she says with a chuckle.

“Thanks,” I reply. There it is, that
underlying, condescending tone that Ellie is so good at. Now I’m
positive I’m talking to Ellie. “Speaking of Grandmother, she
mentioned something about my bridesmaids’ gowns, and I’m not sure
what she was talking about. I’m really sorry if she was harassing
you about it.”

“It’s fine; we just figured you were so busy
that you forgot to give us the details. So, when do we get to see
pictures and where should we get our fittings?” she asks.

Crap! Did she just ask about fittings? This
is really happening; they think they are a part of my wedding even
though I never asked them.

“Ellie, honestly, I didn’t mention the gowns
to you because I assumed you guys wouldn’t want to be in the
wedding. I know this is not exactly your thing,” I explain.
“Especially because we haven’t talked in months.”

“Are you serious? Why wouldn’t we want to be
in the wedding? We are
family
; you are like a sister to us,”
she says softly. Sister? Did she really say sister, since when?
She’s up to something; it’s probably just another way to earn
points with Grandmother or to tell people they will be a part of a
Four Seasons wedding. Either way, I have to put a stop to this and
fast!

“Cole and I have decided to have a very small
wedding party. I didn’t pick out any gowns. Sienna and my friend
Abby each chose their own gowns. So . . .”

“That’s even better; Stephy and I will start
looking ASAP. I hope you at least have a color scheme,” she says.
Oh no! What do I say? These girls have never shown any interest in
my life before, and now they are dying to be in my wedding? I need
to just be honest. I need to ask why they are suddenly so eager to
have something to do with me.

“Wait, Ellie,” I interrupt. “I have to be
honest that I’m really surprised about all of this.”

“What do you mean by that?” she says
sharply.

“I just mean that I’m surprised you want to
be a part of my wedding. We haven’t had much contact over the
years, and I know how busy your schedules are.” I taper off in hope
that she takes the way out I’m offering her. My hopes are dashed as
she continues talking.

“Madie, I know we haven’t been as close as we
were when we were kids, but you are more important than any busy
schedules. Of course Stephy and I will be a part of your day.”

There are no words to express my shock at
that moment. First of all, the fact that she said we were close
blows my mind. This girl has gone completely mad.

“I hope you understand that I have to talk to
Cole,” I reply. Yes, that’s it! I will blame the man; that’s always
a safe way out. ”We hadn’t really planned for a larger wedding
party, and it’s only fair that I discuss it with him,” I add
carefully.

“I suppose, but is this not
your
wedding, and haven’t we been like sisters to you?” she asks firmly.
“I should think he wouldn’t have a problem with this. Unless, he is
one of those controlling men that has to have the final say. Madie,
have you turned into one of those submissive girlfriends?”

“Of course not. Cole is not like that at all,
but it’s still the right thing to let him know if I make any
changes.”

“Whatever, just let me know the details soon.
I need to have time to find the perfect dress.” When I hang up the
phone, I’m still in shock. A part of me wonders if I just imagined
this entire conversation. I have no idea how I’m going to get out
of this mess. I still hope that Sienna will step up to the plate
and save me. I know the right thing would be to just suck it up and
ask them. On the other hand, this idea has the potential to ruin my
perfect day.

Cole is traveling for a few days, so I send
him a text.

Call me soon. Need to talk.

When I speak to Sienna, she reminds me of the
torment and frustration that these girls can cause. I know she’s
right, but if I exclude them this could have lasting negative
effects within my family. My aunt and my mom are still pretty
close, and I know that I will never live it down. I can’t even
count the number of times my mom has begged me to move on from my
issues with them. Perhaps it’s time I grew up and got over it.