“Hello?”
“Bevan, are you with Jameson?”
“Yeah, what’s up?”
“I can’t find my black heels for the rehearsal and I think I left them at home by the front door.” I tell him.
“Ugh, okay. I’ll hand you over to J then.”
“Babe, I can’t find my black heels. Are they by the front door?” I ask.
“I don’t know. We’re halfway to the church already.”
“SHIT!”
Lily comes in to see what all of the commotion is about so I tell her I can’t find my heels I wanted to wear at the rehearsal and all I have are my flip flops. After she’s done laughing at my panic attack she reminds me that we may not wear the same size shoe but we are close enough that she’s sure she has something in her closet that will do for the night. I close my eyes and take a deep breath and smile. Thank God I have her.
I’M PACING BACK AND FORTH at the church waiting on one more bridesmaid. Mallory is driving in from New York, so I’m sure since it’s late on a Friday she’s stuck in some traffic. If she had a cell phone I could call her, but the girl refuses to get one, and I have no idea why. I’ll have to remind her it’s for instances like this, the one and only time I’m getting frustrating looks from our Catholic priest.
Marcie is chain smoking outside, giving me nasty glares. She hasn’t stepped foot in to the church yet. She has made no attempt to hide her dislike for the Catholic religion. If you ask her she’ll deny it’s not just the Catholic religion she dislikes. She’ll say all organized religions. I don’t give a shit. I was raised in this church and always wanted to get married in this church. She and Rick raised Jameson Catholic, so why she has a sudden dislike for it now, I do not know.
Fifteen minutes late but Mallory is here, running in the church full of apologies. I don’t care that she’s late, I’m just glad she’s here. Father Fuller doesn’t waste any time by telling the men to take their places, and he has us ladies lining up in the order I asked for. I laugh a little inside at how nervous my dad appears; little does he know I am too. I’m like my dad in a lot of ways. Tomorrow is going to be a double whammy for both us. We both hate being the center of attention. Walking down the aisle, all eyes will be on us. Oy Vey!
One trip down the aisle, twenty minutes of instruction and Father Fuller tells us we are done and he will see us tomorrow at two o’clock. We invite him to dinner at Russo’s because I was told that’s what you’re supposed to do but he kindly declines. I think Marcie scared him. I don’t blame him one bit.
Everyone is hungry and ready to head over to Russo’s for dinner, and I am definitely looking forward to anything to drink with alcohol in it. Thankfully Russo’s is only a fifteen-minute drive from the church. I’ll have to make sure someone points that out to Marcie, putting down her stupid “Taco Bell in my small-ass-apartment” idea.
Since Kayla was the one who suggested Russo’s for our rehearsal dinner, I made sure to request her as our waitress. For one reason, I trust her to not spit in our food, two she’s our friend and three because of reasons one and two she deserves a good tip.
The dinner is going smoothly. Kayla lets us know the food will be out in two short minutes. I am loving the privacy we have in the separate dining room. There are so many different conversations going on I think Jameson and myself will have whiplash by the end of the night from looking left and right to each end of the table.
Kayla and another waitress come in with large trays of hot food. It looks and smells great. Jameson and I had decided on a variety of dishes, hoping to please everyone. We chose sausage and peppers, pasta, chicken, pizza and salad. We can’t go wrong.
The room is mellowing out as everyone is filling up their plates and their bellies. I’m hearing lots of “Oh, this is good!” and “Yum!” I’m happy we chose to come here. Rick and my dad are big fans of sausage and peppers so I check with them to make sure they have some. They have big smiles on their faces and said it was really good. I’m happy again. Marcie is sitting directly across from Jameson and asks him to pass her the tray, as she’d like to try it. Bevan is telling everyone to butter a roll and put the sausage and peppers in it, as its “fucking awesome.”
In the middle of his conversation we hear coughing and what sounds like spitting. Marcie is spitting out her food on her plate, then vocally expressing her distaste for the sausage and peppers. Just as she is doing that Kayla is coming in to refill drinks. Instantly, I kick Jameson under the table to point out his mother’s inappropriate behavior. Everyone is silent and in shock of Marcie’s childlike behavior. I am completely embarrassed! I excuse myself from the table and go to the bathroom to take a few deep breaths. Shaking my head, I still cannot believe Marcie did that, yet part of me is not surprised either.