Wedding Haters (Event to Remember Series-Book 2) (3 page)

A few hours later, after I finally talked to
Cole, I decide that it’s the right thing to do to move on from the
past. Tomorrow, I plan to call each of them separately and
officially ask them to be a bridesmaid. I really hope I’m not
making a big mistake.

~*~

The next morning I call my mom before work.
My first client isn’t until 11 a.m., so I have a few hours free. I
explain about Grandmother’s phone call and my decision to ask the
girls to be in our wedding.

“I can’t tell you how happy this makes me,”
she says joyfully. “Aunt Kate has asked me a few times, but I have
tried to stay neutral. This will make things a lot less awkward for
everyone.” I can hear the relief in her voice. This is typical; my
mom has always tried to stay neutral, even at my expense.

“I know, Mom. I just wish you understood why
this is so hard for me,” I explain. “They were horrible to me, and
to this day we’re not close at all. This is a huge step for me. I
just hope I’m not going to regret it.”

“Madison, I know they weren’t always nice,
but you know how mean teenagers can be and you’re all adults now,”
she says. “And don’t forget they’ve always been jealous of you;
that’s probably why they acted that way toward you.” I roll my
eyes. If I had a dollar for every time my mom has told me this, I
would be a billionaire. I tune out the rest of this conversation
because no matter how she tries to spin this there is never a good
reason to bully another person. Also, neither of them has ever had
a decent relationship that I know of, and I’m sure that’s bothering
them. Now, here I am getting married in a beautiful venue to my own
prince charming surrounded by everyone I love.

“When I spoke with Ellie last night, she
seemed really excited about the wedding, which I find strange but
whatever,” I say.

“Kate has told me that they are really happy
for you and were hoping to be involved,” she adds.

I don’t have the heart to tell my mom that
Aunt Kate has no clue what she is talking about. My aunt tends to
be really ditsy; don’t get me wrong, I love her and I know she’s
had a hard life. Her husband left her and my cousins when they were
young, and she pretty much had to make a life for them on her own.
I know this is what my mom means when she says they were always
jealous of me. My dad was always around, and I did have a great
childhood. I suppose this is also why my grandmother always favored
them over me. After a few more minutes of hearing how proud of me
she is, I get off the phone. I can only take this conversation in
small doses because it always ends the same way.

I decide to call Stephy first because she’s
easier to deal with and she actually congratulated me. She doesn’t
answer, so I leave her a message. I take a few deep breaths before
I call Ellie.

“Ellenor Smith,” she answers.

“Hi, Ellie, it’s Madison.”

“Madie, two times in twenty-four hours. I’m
so lucky,” she says with a snicker. I take another deep breath and
mentally force myself not to hang up the phone.

“Yes, it’s your lucky day,” I say
sarcastically. “I wanted to call you back to let you know that I
spoke with Cole. We would be honored if you and Stephy would be a
part of our wedding day.” I bite my lip; I’m not sure if she will
see right through me or not.

“Really?” she says, sounding surprised. “Oh
wow, I can’t tell you how happy I am that you said that. I know you
may not believe this, but we were really hoping you would ask us.
We are family, and we should all come together for such a happy
occasion.” Wow. I feel like I’m taking to Grandmother. I wonder if
she wrote a script for Ellie to recite.

“I know, and that means a lot,” I say
uncomfortably. “I will email you some details. I also left Stephy a
message, so if you talk to her before I do just let her know.”
After I hang up, I actually feel good about my decision. Maybe our
relationship is evolving and we will grow closer over time. Or
maybe I just ruined my entire wedding. All of a sudden, I feel
nauseous.

After a busy day at work and the stress of my
family stuff, I’m looking forward to dinner with Sienna and our
friend Craig. We are meeting at one of our favorite Mexican
restaurants. I also have to find a way to break the exciting news
to Sienna.

“Madie!” Craig yells my name and gives me a
big hug. “I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever.”

“I know. How are you?” I ask as we sit down
at our table.

“Sienna has me slaving away. You know she’s a
drill sergeant at work. I hardly even get to stop for lunch or even
a sip of water,” he says, giving a laugh. “Oh, and forget about
bathroom breaks,” he adds. Craig works for Sienna at her company
Sheer Happiness Events. They have worked together for years.

“Hell ya, I know how she is. She’s been on me
to clean my room for weeks. She must think I have nothing better to
do; that girl cleans in her sleep.” We both start laughing. Poor
Sienna doesn’t say a word; she’s such a good sport.

“OK, guys! You’ve made your point,” Sienna
says.

“I actually have some news,” I say quickly. I
figure I may as well get it over with and break the news to them
about the evil stepsisters joining the party.

“You’re not pregnant, are you?” Craig
demands. “Because if you are, you will look
awful
in your
dress.” I can tell he’s completely serious. “Not to mention you
will have some serious explaining to do to your grandmother. Please
let me be there when you tell her.”

“Craig!” Sienna shouts.

“What?” I shriek. “Of course I’m not
pregnant. Why would you ask that?”

“You said you had some news,” he says
innocently. “I just figured.”

“No, I’m not pregnant, but . . .” I hesitate,
“I’m not sure you will be much happier with what I do have to tell
you.” Both Sienna and Craig are staring at me.

“We have two new members of the bridal
party,” I say excitedly. At least, I try to sound excited. I feel
like someone should start playing some horror movie music because
the look of horror has come over Sienna’s face.

“Oh no, tell me you didn’t!” yells Sienna. “I
can’t believe you gave into the pressure from Grandmother.”

“Who are these people?” Craig asks with a
curious look in his eyes.

“These
people
are my cousins, Ellie
and Stephy,” I tell him. “We haven’t been close in a very long
time, or ever really,” I add. “I got a call from Grandmother the
other day to tell me that they had been asking about the wedding.
Between my grandmother, my mom, and them, I finally gave in to the
pressure and asked them to be bridesmaids.” I glance at Sienna, and
she still has the same horrified look on her face.

“I know what you’re thinking,” I tell
her.

“Do you?” she asks. “Madie, you are one of
the strongest and boldest people that I know. Why is it that you
let
them
tell you what to do?” I groan because I know she’s
one hundred percent right. I usually have no problem standing up
for myself. At the same time, maybe this is a step toward a new
relationship with my family.

“You’re right,” I say finally. “But, I’m
willing to give them a chance. Ellie seemed really happy when I
asked her, and my mom was really happy too. I’m hoping that maybe
this will change our family dynamic.”

“So, tell me what’s so bad about Ellie and
Stephy?” Craig asks. “Their names are adorable by the way,” he says
with a laugh.

“Ha! Yeah well, don’t let the names fool you.
When we were growing up, they were little terrors and that didn’t
improve with age. They were so mean to me, and I still haven’t
completely gotten over it.”

“So what!” says Craig. “Kids were always mean
to me for as long as I can remember. It happens to everyone.”

“I know,” I say thoughtfully. “But there’s
one moment that stands out in my mind.” I pause. Both of them are
staring at me, listening intently. All of a sudden, I’m nervous to
tell my story, but I start to tell it anyway. “When I was thirteen,
we were at a family friend’s birthday party. I had saved all my
allowance for several months to buy these awesome Guess jeans. I
was so excited to wear them for the first time that night. I still
remember every detail about this party. There was a huge Italian
buffet and probably about fifty guests or more there. I had just
gotten my plate of food and sat down at the table next to Ellie. I
stood up to reach across the table to grab a napkin, and then I sat
back down. Little did I know that Ellie had put a plate of
spaghetti sauce on my seat, and I sat down in it. Ellie and Stephy
were practically rolling on the floor laughing, and they had told
the other kids beforehand, so everyone was watching to see it all
play out. When I realized what had happened, I just sat there and
started crying.” I get so caught up in my story that I almost
forget that I’m talking to Craig and Sienna. At that moment, I feel
like I’m back in that dining room, and the tears are welling up in
my eyes.

“Anyway, I know it sounds silly and I’m not
thirteen anymore.” I dab the corners of my eyes with my napkin. “I
guess I just have never fully gotten over it.”

“OK, so that would be pretty traumatic for a
thirteen-year-old,” Craig replies. “Did they get in trouble?”

I let out a sigh. “Yes, they did, but it
never lasted. Somehow, they always seemed to come out on top. My
mom has always said they were jealous of me because their dad left
when they were young. My grandmother always favored them, but it
got especially worse after we grew up. They chose the
respectable
professions, and I decided to go to cosmetology
school,” I explain.

“We also sort of nicknamed them,” Sienna
chimes in. She looks at me with a smile and winks.

“Yes!” I smile. “When I was younger, I used
to feel like I was Cinderella and they were the evil stepsisters,
so we kind of gave them the nicknames.”

“Drisella and Anastasia?” Craig exclaims. “I
LOVE it, and I
can’t
wait to meet these girls. I have a
feeling this wedding is going to be very eventful.” He gives a
mischievous grin. This is right up Craig’s alley; he lives for
drama. I really hope that he is wrong or at least that he means
eventful in a good way. Now I’m really wondering if I’ve made a
huge mistake.

Chapter 2

A few days later I’m in the middle of baking
madness. My kitchen is now filled wall-to-wall with cookies. The
floor is covered in flour, and the counters and table are covered
in cookie sheets, cutters, and fondant. I have spent all of my
extra time trying to create new masterpieces for my bakery feature.
I feel as if I have no creativity left. Why is it when I’m making
cookies for fun I can do anything I want, but now that I need to be
super creative I can’t come up with anything? I really think that I
have hit a cookie block. Yes, I know there is no such thing as a
cookie block, but it sounds good to me. I have called everyone I
know to ask for advice and ideas.

At one point, I sit down in the middle of the
floured floor almost in tears, praying for new ideas. While in the
midst of my prayer, I have a creative breakthrough. My wedding
venue is the Four Seasons, so that’s it, the perfect idea. My theme
needs to be the four seasons—fall, winter, spring, and summer. I’m
going to feature each season with a variety of designs. I pull out
my sketchbook and start jotting down some ideas. I start with fall:
I definitely need Halloween, fall leaves, and Thanksgiving. My
excitement starts to build even more as ideas come to me. For
winter, I have a million ideas for Christmas, snowflakes, and a lot
of Tiffany blue. Next is spring with Easter, flowers, and more
flowers. And finally, for summer I will do suns, flip-flops, and
surfboards. I look up from all my ideas and feel rejuvenated.
Somehow, I need to narrow it down because too many cookies will be
overwhelming and busy. I get to work and somehow lose track of
time. It’s not until I hear a knock at the door that I look up from
my work. When I open the door, I’m happily surprised to see Abby
and baby Ace.

“This is an awesome surprise. What are you
two doing here?” I say, giving them a huge hug.

“We were out running errands and wanted to
stop by.” She gives me a look. “You must be baking. I’m sorry to
interrupt you.”

“No way!” I say, running to wash my hands.
“I’m way overdue for a break, and I need to get my baby fix.” Abby
sits down in the living room, and I join her, reaching for baby
Ace.

“How are the wedding plans coming?” she asks,
handing me the baby. I’m so preoccupied with baby talk that I don’t
even respond right away.

“Things are good. You know Sienna has
everything under control, of course,” I say with a grin. “Although
I think she may be frustrated with me. Not just because I’m
indecisive but because of my two new bridesmaids.” I realize that
I’m not sure if Abby knows anything about my recent plans. “Has she
told you yet?”

“Told me what?” Abby says nervously.

“I have asked my cousins to be in the
wedding,” I say slowly. “I received a call from my grandmother, and
she told me they had been asking about my wedding. So . . . after
some thought, I asked them.” Abby is quiet for a few seconds, which
is not surprising. She’s very supportive and fair, and you can
always count on her to give everyone a chance. She also tends to be
the voice of reason, and as I said, she was born to be a
mother.

“Did your grandmother pressure you to ask
them?” she asks curiously. “The reason I’m asking is because you
have hardly ever mentioned them since I’ve known you, and when you
have, it’s never been positive.”

“I know, and that’s totally true,” I reply.
“But, it just finally hit me that maybe the time has come to get
over it and move on. We are adults now.” Wow, I sound like my
mother. Ugh, I can’t believe this day has come.