Authors: Kristin Wallace
Marry Me (23 page)
****
An hour later, Julia stood at the back of the church organizing the second procession down the aisle. Betsy, taking a break from the action in the fellowship hall, had come over to witness the ceremony. Amy stood by to help superviseâ¦
Julia
.
Kelly Brown had to be the least agitated bride-to-be Julia had ever met. Calm made for a nice change of course, but the nothing-phases-me vibe struck Julia as weird. Unless it was chemically induced. Julia didn't have much experience in matrimonial matters, but it seemed unnatural to be so calm and collected when you were about to shackle yourself to someone for the rest of your life.
“You ready?” Julia asked, as she adjusted Kelly's veil one more time.
Kelly flashed an earthquake-could-strike-and-I-wouldn't-panic smile. “I've been ready all my life.”
“Just don't close your eyes when the minister prays.”
“Huh?”
Julia patted Kelly's cheek. “Eyes open at all times. Trust me.”
One more askance look. “O⦠kay.”
“Right then, let's go.”
Kelly took her father's arm, and they were off. Julia held her breath the entire ceremony, alert for any signs of swaying or falling. She had just started to relax when she realized Kelly had begun to fidget. Anyone else, and Julia wouldn't have noticed, but Miss Self-Possessed didn't fidget.
Suddenly, Kelly squealed and whipped off her veil. “My nose! Not now!”
Julia had no idea what “my nose” meant, but she started running anyway, with Amy and Betsy not far behind. By now, Kelly had her head tipped back, while the groom held her up.
“What's wrong?” Julia asked.
“Nose bleed,” Kelly answered, only her words came out sounding like “ose weed” since her fingers were pinching the aforementioned nose.
“What did she say?” Amy asked, hovering over Julia's right shoulder.
“I think she's got a nose bleed,” Julia said.
“Blood? Oh, dear⦔
Before Julia could move, Amy pulled a
Joe
and fainted dead away. For a moment Julia stared down at her fallen assistant. Seemed Amy's phobia about blood was real after all. Everyone screamed. Correction, one scream pierced through the confusion.
“Amy! Oh, darling! Amy, talk to me!”
Julia recognized the shrill tone, and in the next moment, Mrs. Vining emerged from the crowd and knelt on the floor next to her prostrate daughter. Meanwhile, the leaking bride continued pinching her nose.
Mrs. Vining looked around, her eyes wild with panic. “Someone call an ambulance!”
She could not be serious. “Ma'am, I think Amy fainted,” Julia said, in her most reasonable manner.
“Are you a doctor now, as well as an incompetent wedding planner?” Mrs. Vining asked, eyes blazing with fury.
Well, now Julia knew where Amy had learned that laser-of-death stare. Julia touched a hand to her forehead, feeling for a giant, gaping hole. “No, but I think she fainted because of Kelly's nose bleed.”
“Amy hates blood.”
“Hence the fainting,” Julia said, not even attempting to soften her sarcasm any longer.
“You can't leave her here like this,” Mrs. Vining cried.
Control urge to throttle assistant's mother.
“I wouldn't dream of it. Someone get a glass of water for my assistant!” Julia called out to the crowd in general. “And a towel before the bride drips all over her dress!”
Kelly squealed again. “My wess!”
Like magic, a cup and a towel appeared. Julia didn't have to look to know the magician was Betsy.
“Betsy, you get two gold stars today,” Julia said. “No, make that three.”
“This is unbelievable,” Betsy said, swiping the hair back from her forehead.
“No kidding.”
Betsy replaced Kelly's fingers with the towel, while Mrs. Brown held a second towel under her daughter's chin to make sure nothing got on her gown.
“Keep her head back,” Mrs. Brown said. “The bleeding usually stops in a few minutes.”
“Usually?” Julia asked. “You mean this has happened before?”
“I abways get ose weeds en I'm nerbous,” Kelly mumbled around the towel.
Julia looked at the bride's Mom in confusion. “My baby is unflappable, but when she does get nervous or stressed out, it shows up in her nose,” Mrs. Brown explained. “Or drips out of it.”
“Bom!” Kelly howled in outraged embarrassment.
Mrs. Brown shrugged. “It's not like it's a big secret now, dear. Hush and keep your head back.”
“I think I need to get a medical degree to do this job,” Julia muttered.
“An EMT license at the very least,” Betsy said, as she fanned their fallen comrade.
The two women looked at each other, laughter gleaming in their eyes.
Still chuckling, Julia glanced back down at Kelly. Then she froze as a new thought entered her mind.
A crazy, are-you-kidding-me, can't-be-possible thought.
Because somehow, in the midst of all the disasters and the craziness, Julia had actually started having fun.
Seth tried not to flinch as the next person in the greeting line grasped his hand and squeezed like he was trying to juice an orange. George Benson came from the firm-handshake-shows-them-you're-a-man school of thought.
“Good sermon today, Reverend,” George murmured.
Mr. Benson lumbered past, and Seth flexed his fingers in an attempt to get circulation back. He reached for the hand of the woman behind George and shivered. Did Mrs. Collinski stick her hand in a bucket of ice before she came to church?
Rupert Brown's beefy palm never failed to offer up clammy sweat. And Seth had seen little Leslie Peterson swipe a hand across her runny nose before she took
his
hand.
Ah, the hazards of the reception line. He wouldn't give up the moment, though. Often these short exchanges were the only time he spoke to many in his congregation.
A finger jabbed into his shoulder. He turned to find Meredith Vining behind him, with her arms folded.
“Ouch,” he said.
Meredith's expression didn't lighten one bit. “Were you planning on telling me about the Session meeting?”
His smile dipped. “How did you find out?”
“Seriously? With the way gossip flies around here?” Meredith asked, with a delicate snort. “My mother found out from Mrs. Kramer, who found out from Mrs. Williams, who was told by Mrs. Donaldson, whose husband told her there was a meeting to discuss me.”
“Let's not add more kindling to the gossip fire,” Seth said as he glanced around the foyer. “I'm almost done here. Why don't you wait for me in my office?”
“Fine.” At least Meredith seemed willing to hold off killing him.
A few minutes later Seth walked into his office and found Meredith and Brian waiting for him.
“Thought I'd keep you two company,” Brian said, holding out a hand. “No need to start a different kind of rumor for the biddies.”
Seth acknowledged his friend's wisdom with a quick bow. “Right.”
Meredith didn't want to talk about gossipmongers anymore. “So? Were you going to tell me what's been happening? Or was I supposed to find out after I'd lost my job?”
“Do you two want to sit?” Seth gestured to the two leather-backed chairs.
“No thanks,” Meredith said. “I'd like to stand so I can see the knife coming at my back.”
“That's pretty harsh, Mer,” Brian said. “I'm sure Seth is doing what he can.”
Seth was grateful for his friend's cooler head. Especially when Meredith let out a gust of air and sank into a chair. “I know, sorry,” she said. “I'm just upset.”
Brian lowered himself into the one next to her. “Seth knows that.”
A warning glance from Meredith's beloved told Seth he'd better understand. Since he liked seeing two of his oldest friends display such obvious devotion after a long struggle back to one another, Seth didn't take offense.
“I do know,” Seth said, leaning against the corner of his desk. “It's okay, and I'm sorry you had to find out about this through the grapevine. The meeting only became official last night. I kept hoping I could head off a confrontation.”
“You still should have said something,” Meredith said.
“Perhaps, but I didn't want to upset you if there was no cause.”
A single dark brow flew up in astonishment. “No cause? A group of people in my church wants to get rid of me. That's cause enough, even without an official meeting. How do you think it makes me feel knowing half the people out there want me banished?”
“It's not half.”
“How many is it?”
“I'm not sure. I do know there are just as many who love what you've brought to the service.”
“Are they counted among the Session?” Meredith asked doubtfully. “Most of them have been around forever. They're pretty old-school.”
“I think they're split on the issue. Which is why we're having the meeting.”
Meredith's eyes filled. “This is all my fault. If I hadn't been such a know-it-all hothead, running off with the first guy to strum a guitar they wouldn'tâ”
Brian reached for her hand. “You made mistakes. We've all done stupid things in our past. You've made your peace with God now.”
“Brian's right,” Seth said. “None of us are perfect. You've turned everything around. If I didn't have complete faith in you, I never would have hired you. I know where your heart is.”
Meredith turned watery eyes his way. “You went out on a limb for me, and now you're in trouble. I never wanted you to catch heat for my sake.”
“I can take it.”
“But you shouldn't have to. You could lose your job.” She took a deep breath, planted her hands on her knees, and stood up. “I'll quit.”
Despite the tense situation, Seth couldn't help but chuckle at her willingness to martyr herself on his behalf. “Take it easy. You don't need to throw yourself on the pyre just yet. I don't intend for either of us to lose our jobs.”
“How do you plan on pulling off this feat?” Meredith asked, fists braced on her hips.
“As a wise woman suggested, I'm going to knock some heads together,” Seth said. “Remind them about the dangers of throwing stones.”
“I like that idea,” Brian said.
“Go on the offensive?” Meredith asked, eying him with curiosity. “That's not like you. Who suggested it?”
Why had he mentioned that? “No one in particular.”
Meredith sniffed. “I know Amy would never give that advice. My dear sister would probably tell you to do the firing yourself.”
“It was Julia, all right?”
“You told
her
?” Meredith asked, eyes wide in astonishment.
“Now don't get offended,” Seth said. “I didn't plan on telling her. I went for a walk after I found out about the push to oust you, and I ended up at Marry Me.”
Brian waggled his eyebrows. “By accident, huh?”
“Yes as a matter of fact.”
Meredith wasn't the least offended. In fact, she flashed a huge grin. “And ended up telling her by accident, too?”
“Yes. I think I just needed an outside perspective. Someone who wasn't so close to the situation.”
Meredith and Brian looked at each other and chuckled like they had a big secret. Brian rose to his feet. “Of course you did.”
“Makes sense to me,” Meredith said.
Seth glared at them both. “The two of you can stop with those grins. I know what you're thinking. So what if I confided in Julia. We
are
friends, you know.”
“We didn't say anything,” Brian said.
“I think it's nice you have someone to confide in,” Meredith said. Then she sobered. “I also think it's nice that you want to defend me. You don't have to. I won't die if I can't have this job. If it's going to cause a rift in the church I'll go.”
“No. I'm going to take care of this. We need you here. Some people need to be reminded about the power of grace. I plan to make them remember.”
Meredith shook her head and let out another sputtering laugh. “Okay, Sir Knight. Thank you,” she said, throwing her arms around his neck.
“We'll both be fine,” Seth said, hoping it was true.
Drawing back, Meredith patted his cheek. “Go get âem tiger.”
They all shook hands, and Brian turned to leave, but Meredith hesitated.
“Something else on your mind?” Seth asked.
Meredith looked at the floor, and then back at him. “Have you told Amy about my situation?”
“No,” he said, wondering what one thing had to do with the other.
An intense stare followed as she shook her head. “I see.”
That boy-are-you-blind look set off warning bells. “You see what?”
“Have you asked yourself why you sought out Julia?” Meredith asked, still regarding him as if seeking an answer to a different question.
A spark of temper lit within him. “I didn't seek her outâ”
“I know, I know,” Meredith said, cutting off his argument. “It was an
accident
. Fine by me if that's the way you want to play it. But Seth, have you asked yourself why you confided in Julia and
not
the woman you're dating?”
Julia left for work on Monday feeling indestructible. After dealing with Falling Down Groom and Nosebleedgate she figured she could handle any chaos. Unfortunately, all good vibes vanished the moment she walked into Marry Me to find Laurel and Mrs. Manning sitting at the desk with Amy.
Amy popped up from her chair like a little blonde jackrabbit, her smile brighter than bright. “Hi, Julia⦠how did your meeting with the caterers go?”
Caterers?
Amy winked, and Julia, not being a fool, decided to play along until she could solve the puzzle. “Fine?”