15
No one could believe it, but Iris’s faith that she would have sunshine for her October wedding day turned out to be well-placed. Marguerite rose that morning with the sun and had the pleasure of watching the first rays of sunlight bathe her garden and the surrounding fields.
The cottage had been designated bridal preparation HQ and she was all ready with pins and her sewing kit, a curling iron and extra makeup, everything she could think of that a bride or bridesmaid might need at the last minute. But it was early, so she took her time following her usual routine that always calmed her. She’d retreated inside for her yoga the last few days, but this morning was surprisingly warm. She stepped out onto the porch sniffing the crispness of fall in the air, like a juicy apple.
She did her usual sun salutations and a few extra relaxation poses but the relaxation simply wasn’t happening. It wasn’t that she was nervous about Iris’s wedding. She was as joyful as a sister could be for a woman who has found her perfect mate, and is celebrating their union before all their friends and family. No, her edginess was about having to see Alexei today.
They hadn’t spoken since she’d caught him in a lip-lock with Melissa. Not that she’d have listened to his lame explanations if he’d bothered to try and make any, but after following her out of the food truck, he hadn’t tried to contact her again. Really, what was there to say?
He’d arrive soon, to set up for the catering. She had to see him at the wedding and she didn’t know how to handle her feelings. She’d never been sophisticated about male-female relationships. She loved simply and maybe too easily and so she set herself up to get her heart broken. Not that it was entirely Alexei’s fault, of course. She had only needed to take one look at his gorgeous, too-perfect-to-be-real face and body and realize that any woman who fell for him was going to be in trouble.
Once more, she reflected on the lesson she’d learned in Australia and she had to concede she’d fallen into the same trap again. She couldn’t expect a man who looked like Alex to stick to one woman. Why would he? He could have any woman he wanted. Well, most of them anyway. Not her, though. Not ever again. She was going to update her dating profile and specify No Good-looking Men!
She needed to pull herself out of this bad mood and focus, not on herself, and her bruised and slightly cracked — oh, who was she kidding her broken heart, but on Iris, who was celebrating a very special day and did not need a self-involved sniveling sister to spoil it. Having given herself that rousing pep talk, she cooked a nourishing omelet for breakfast and sat there staring at it.
Memories, like movie scenes, ran through her head. Alexei making her breakfast, looking at her in that intimate way. The way they’d laughed and the incredible strength of connection she had felt with him. The truth was, she had never felt anything like that with Tim back in Australia. He’d been more of a fantasy than a man. The sort of guy who reminded her of a movie star. And, maybe she had cast herself as his leading lady for as long as that movie had run. Those credits had rolled long ago and she’d moved on. When she compared her feelings then with her feelings now, she wondered if she had really made the same mistake twice. She had a feeling that the answer was no.
She’d gone to Alexei with her eyes open and in truth she hadn’t even tried to hold herself back from falling for him. It wasn’t even his over-the-top good looks that had appealed to her. It was something more. The intense way they both felt about food. The arguments that they could have over organic versus local for instance. They were both passionate in their opinions but also respected each other’s judgment and that they wouldn’t always agree. They never ran out of things to talk about. And when he looked at her, she had believed he genuinely cared.
She forced herself to dig into her breakfast, knowing she’d be busy and unable to eat properly for several hours. The omelet was better because he’d shown her a few tips, such as starting with the eggs at room temperature, and cooking the eggs, only eggs, no added water or milk, in butter. He’d shown her how to jiggle the pan and swirl the spatula to create the perfect consistency.
Great. Now she could cook something and her new skill only made her sad.
She missed him, not only as the man who’d made her feel things she’d never felt before but as her friend. Her colleague.
She heard the rumbling of his truck grinding along the gravel lane beside her cottage. She tried to remain in her seat at her kitchen table, but it was hopeless. She rose and crept to the window and watched as Alexei’s food truck rumbled past. She glimpsed the side of his head through the truck window and then, almost as though he couldn’t help it anymore that she could, he turned his head and glanced towards her cottage.
She didn’t think he could see her standing back and out of the way, but she felt as though their gazes connected and she felt such a searing pain in her chest that she had to put her hand there for a moment. And then he rumbled on, the bright colors painted on the side of his truck turning into a blue and yellow blur.
After she’d cleaned up her breakfast things, she indulged herself a little. Since she had lots of time, she drew herself a bath, pouring in a bubbling oil scented with patchouli and rose. She’d suffered a manicure and pedicure yesterday in honor of today, but her hands were hopeless. Pretty, pink tips didn’t match the hard calluses that no amount of cream or paraffin treatments could remove.
She sat there in the bath looking at them, glistening up at her from the wet and remembered the way Alexei had kissed those rough calluses and made her feel as though that part of her was beautiful. She put her hands down so hard the water splashed up. She had to stop this. She had to stop this infantile moping over a relationship that had ended almost before it began.
The worst part was that he hadn’t even looked guilty when he’d come running after her. He’d gazed at her as though she were the one with the problem. He’d told her to trust him. And she wanted to. But how could she? When every time she turned around there was another beautiful woman hanging off his arm or drooling at his feet. Or kissing him in the hastily shuttered food truck!
She tried not to think of Alexei as she finished her bath and shaved all the bits of her that needed shaving and rubbed her body with a beautiful almond-scented cream. Iris had not insisted that they all go to a hairdresser and get big fancy hairdos for which she was very grateful. She put hot rollers in and set her own hair in long, loose curls. There had not been time to order bridesmaid dresses, so the four of them, Iris and Rose and Marguerite and Paisley had gone shopping.
It had been Rose’s idea for each of them to choose a different dress in one of the fall colors. Rose picked a stunning green number, Paisley’s dress was rich antique gold and for her they found a deep purple that brought out the color in her eyes. “It’s too tight,” she’d complained as they were trying on dresses at Nordstrom.
Rose, who knew more about fashion than the rest of them put together, had scoffed. “It’s time you showed off your curves. This is fabulous on you.” She’d glanced at Iris who nodded and gave a thumbs up. It was hard to argue with Rose when she used that tone. Later, when she protested about Rose’s bossiness to Iris, the bride said, “I know. But she was right. You look fantastic in that dress.”
As she slipped into the purple which she were over sexy underwear that no one but she knew she owned, she had to admit, Rose was right.
Maybe it was because there was so little time to plan this wedding, or maybe the stars had aligned. But, they’d found all the dresses and accessories in one afternoon. Iris tried on one dress that fit perfectly and she loved it. And each of the other bridesmaids found a dress almost as quickly.
She’d barely finished applying her makeup when she heard a commotion coming from outside. Girlish giggles and high-pitched conversations running over each other that could only be the women of her family. She smiled as she headed towards the door and opened it. A quartet of excited women tumbled in looking like as many fall leaves swirling.
Iris was the only one in jeans. She had left her dress here so there was no chance that Geoff would catch so much as a glimpse of his bride’s gown before the wedding.
She’d spent last night in her childhood bed in her childhood home, and was terrified that Geoff might catch a glimpse of her or her gown before the wedding and some very superstitious bad thing might happen because of it. But, from the excited light in her eyes, Marguerite could see that her fears were behind her. She said, “Didn’t I tell you? Didn’t I tell you this was going to be a beautiful day?”
Marguerite smiled at her happiness. “You did. And you were right. I think when the sun smiles on your wedding day, that’s a very good sign.”
Five minutes later Daphne entered, carrying the box holding Iris’s shoes and another box with her daughter’s bouquet.
Since they were all pretty much ready, the three bridesmaids and the bride settled into Marguerite’s couches. Iris was all made up, and she’d run into town this morning to have her hair styled in a soft updo.
Daphne set the things down on a handy table and then came forward. And then she stopped and simply stared at the four women.
