On the Monday after the shower, Crystal was all smiles again. “I talked to Phillip.” She took a nibble of a leftover teacup cookie and her eyes widened. “Mmm. These are great. I didn’t get any at the shower. I was too preoccupied.”
“Thanks. Derrick did most of the baking.”
“I heard all about that from Phillip.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah. I hear Derrick is quite a whiz in the kitchen.” She took another bite, a look of complete satisfaction on her face.
“So what happened with Phillip? You talked to him, and . . .”
“And”—Crystal grinned and set the cookie down on a napkin—“it went well.”
“Are you saying we don’t have to return the presents after all?”
“Return the presents?” Grandma Nellie’s voice came from behind me. “And why would she have to return the presents?”
Oh, yikes. Man, our grandmother was sneaky, listening in on our conversation. She started firing questions, but finally stopped when she saw my sister putting her finger to her lips.
“Grandma Nellie, don’t. You’ll scare Mama.”
“You’re scaring me.” Our grandmother’s gaze narrowed. “The wedding is still on, right?”
“Right. The wedding is still on.” Crystal nodded, then gave me a comforting smile. “Thanks to Mari.”
“Mari needs a man.” My grandmother rolled her eyes.
“Wait . . . what?” How had we shifted from Crystal’s wedding to my love life?
“I said, ‘Mari needs a man.’ ” Grandma Nellie waggled her index finger in my sister’s face. “And you, Crystal? You marry that boy. And keep the presents too.” Then she headed into the living room, mumbling all the way. I couldn’t make out much of it, but got the part about pre-wedding jitters.
“Crystal, you don’t think she’ll say anything to Mama, do you?”
“No.” My sister shook her head. “She knows it would hurt me, so I’m sure she won’t.” A pause followed, and then her eyes brimmed with tears. “Mari, thank you so much.”
“For what?”
“For talking me down from the ledge the other day. And for giving me the courage to have a heart-to-heart with Phillip.”
“Tell me about it.”
“I told him just what you said, that I’ve been scared of losing him if I dared to disagree with his mother, especially about any of her ideas for the wedding. He promised me it’s not going to happen, no matter what. He even said we could get married at the justice of the peace if I wanted.” She giggled and then took another nibble of her cookie.
“The justice of the peace?” Grandma Nellie’s voice boomed from the living room. “Over my chubby dead body!”
I shuddered. “Please tell me that’s not an option. Mama would have a meltdown.”
“No, of course not. But I got his point. He wants me to be happy. And you know what? I am.”
“So what did you decide?”
“I’m going to go through with the plans as they are. I’ve settled the issue in my heart. I’m not going to do it to please Phillip—or his parents—anymore. I’m going to do it because it’s going to be the easiest for everyone involved at this point. The work is mostly done.” She dropped the cookie and grabbed my hands. “And you, Mari, don’t need any more on your plate. You and Derrick have already worked so hard to make everything amazing for us. Why would I do that to you? Or to Mom and Dad?”
“So everything moves forward as planned.”
“Yes.” She smiled. “And just for the record, my wedding bouquet will be loaded with very clichéd white roses.”
“Amen!” I laughed. “Perfect.”
“Exactly. Everything will be.” Crystal sighed. “I feel good about the whole thing now. In fact, I don’t know when I’ve ever felt better. Talking to Phillip made me feel like I’d lost twenty pounds.” She took another bite of the cookie and spoke with a full mouth. “After all the sweets I’ve consumed, I need to lose twenty pounds.” She chased down the cookie with a swig of milk from my glass. “I should start exercising.”
“My favorite exercise is a combination of a lunge and a crunch.” I took a little nibble of a cookie. “It’s called lunch.”
She laughed so hard I thought she might choke. “You’re perfect just the way you are, Mari.”
“Puh-leeze.” I laughed. “You’re the one who’s perfect, even if you do steal my food like you did when we were little.”
“Was I ever little?” She rubbed her tummy and grinned. “And trust me, I’m far from perfect. Though Phillip did say the same thing.”
“He’s right.”
“Oh, he also said something else.” Crystal quirked an eyebrow. “He said Derrick told him all about your cookie-baking date.”
“Oh?” I tried to act nonchalant. “What did he say?”
“That his mom adores you. And that it was the best four hours he’d ever spent in a kitchen.”
“Ha.” I giggled. “Well, maybe he’s had some bad experiences in a kitchen.”
“No, there’s more to it than that. He really likes you, Mari. Phillip heard all about it.”
I felt the corners of my lips curl up in a smile. No one could blame me, after all. “I really like him, too, Crystal. He’s a great guy. Such a big heart.”
“Big enough to include a petite little thing like you.” She gave me a wink. “Even if you are at the end of the bridesmaid line.”
“He’ll have to travel farther to get to me.”
“Pretty sure he’s willing to make the journey, at least from what I gather.” She shook her head, and I noticed a bit of an eye roll. “Is it wrong to say that I’m having way too much fun trying to picture the look on Sienna’s face when she finds out you two are a couple?”
I shrugged and reached for my milk glass. “Sienna’s not around enough to realize it’s anything more than an attraction.”
“You’re right. She’s not around much. That’s the problem.” Crystal shrugged. “But you know what? I love her anyway. And if I’m being totally honest with myself, I have to admit that she’s always been like this, so I get what’s coming to me for choosing her in the first place. Do you remember what she did to me in sixth grade?”
“Joey O’Shea.” We spoke the name in unison.
“Yeah.” Crystal smiled. “Best favor anyone ever did me. Joey was a piece of work.”
“Whatever happened to him?”
“He sent me a friend request on Facebook. Let’s just say he’s not what anyone would necessarily call a catch.”
“Wow. So I guess we should be thanking Sienna for stealing him away from you all those years ago, right?”
“Guess so. Anyway, I’m happy to be marrying my real Prince Charming. And as for you”—she gave me a knowing look—“I would like to think that, maybe, just maybe, the Lord brought the best man directly into your path. Well, the best man for you, anyway. You can thank me for that later.”
“Thank Phillip, you mean.”
“Whatever.” She finished off her cookie and stood up, then hollered into the living room. “Grandma Nellie, you might as well come back in here. I know you’re still eavesdropping.”
“I don’t eavesdrop.” Our grandmother popped her head into the room. “But I like that part about the best man falling in love with Mari.”
“See?” My sister laughed. “You were eavesdropping.”
Grandma Nellie crossed her arms at her chest and stared at me. “Who could blame me? I worry about this girl.”
“Worry? Why are you worried about me?”
“You’ve waited for a boyfriend so long, I’m tempted to staple a lost dog flyer to your blouse.”
“Grandma Nellie!”
“It’s true. But now, praise the Lord, I can stop fretting.” On and on she went about my reignited love life. Not that I really had a love life . . . yet.
I put my hand up to stop her. “It’s not love. I barely know the guy. It’s just been a couple of months, you know?”
“Your grandfather and I eloped after six weeks. We were married for thirty years and had four babies.” She narrowed her gaze. “Sometimes, the Lord, he works quick.”
“True.” My sister nodded. “Sometimes, the Lord, he works quick.” She gave me another wink.
My cell phone rang, thank goodness. I was ready to be done with this conversation. Still, when I saw Derrick’s number, I couldn’t help but grin.
“Prince Charming calling?” Our grandmother reached for the broom and pretended to dance with it.
I bit back the smile and nodded. “It’s Derrick.”
“Mm-hmm. You see?” Grandma Nellie danced back into the living room, still clutching the broom. I reached to press the button, greeted Derrick with a cheerful, “Hello,” and then felt my heart skip-skip-skip as he asked me to a picnic.
I agreed, of course. And as I ended the call, I also agreed that my grandmother had been right about one thing. Sometimes, the Lord . . . he works quick.