The Wedding Setup, page 30
“Ryann!” someone called.
She didn’t immediately react. The name was common enough, but the next time someone called her name, she turned.
Maddie stood there some ten feet away, clutching an enormous bouquet of red roses. Her hair had grown longer in the last few weeks—no longer a neat pompadour, but messy and clearly in need of a trim. She looked a little wan, too, perhaps a little thinner, and her tan was even more faded than it had been in February.
They stood there, simply staring at each other in the midst of a few hundred people bustling around them. Ryann’s heart was pounding so hard and fast, she felt a little light-headed.
“What—what are you doing here?” she asked, moving one step forward.
Maddie laughed. “I’m here for you, of course. Someone named Ted texted me, and so I bought the ticket—”
“You did?”
Maddie nodded, finally stepping forward, too. Like Ryann, she stopped, as if uncertain whether to come closer. “I didn’t know if you were going to come. I’ve been waiting here for hours just hoping, I guess. I just…I had to try, you know?”
She ran then, launching herself at Maddie just as she dropped the bouquet and held out her arms. Maddie caught her, twirling her around and laughing. She had never doubted that she would catch her. Maddie’s sweet vanilla scent flooded her nose, and then they were kissing. They kissed as if it were the only thing keeping them alive, as if the very act were keeping them breathing, their hearts beating. In many ways, it was. She felt herself come back to life, her spirits lifting with her racing heart rate.
They finally pulled away, if only to breathe, Maddie setting her gently back on the ground. Then both of them were laughing at the other’s expression.
“God, I missed you,” Maddie said, running her fingers along her jawline.
“Me, too. I love you, Maddie. I never wanted—”
Maddie kissed her again, gripping the sides of her face with strong fingers. She drew back, her eyes wild and dark.
“I love you, too, Ryann. And I know you didn’t want to hurt me. I didn’t want to hurt you, either. I promise I’ll never do that to you again.”
“I promise, too. If you’ll have me—”
Maddie laughed before kissing her forehead, cheeks, nose, and then lips again. “You have me, Ryann—anyway, anytime, anywhere.”
They stood there, foreheads together, breathing each other in, eyes closed, the world swirling around them without notice.
“Fucking finally,” Stuart said, startling them both. He and Jai stood a few feet away, their faces tear-streaked and joyous.
“No shit,” Jai said, choking back a sob. “It’s about damn time.”
“We did this on purpose, you know,” Stuart added, motioning between them.
Jai bobbed his head up and down, grinning. “Yep. We set you up.”
“And it worked.”
“Though it took you long enough,” Jai said. “We wanted a double wedding.”
Maddie and Ryann laughed before wiping their wet cheeks, neither of them in the least bit angered by this claim.
“Then I guess I owe you one, Jai,” Maddie said.
“Me, too, Stuart,” Ryann said. “I owe you my whole life.”
Jai and Stuart left them alone for a few minutes after that, but Ryann hardly noticed their departure. She was too lost in Maddie’s lips.
Epilogue
Ryann twitched in her seat again, her stomach bubbling with nerves.
“My God, would you calm down? We’ll get there when we get there,” Stuart said.
She stared at the side of his face, evenly, long enough for him to glance over at her in the passenger’s seat. “What? Why are you staring at me?”
“‘We’ll get there when we get there’?” she repeated. “We’re already ten minutes late!”
“Oh, pish,” he said, flapping a hand briefly at her like at a fly. “It doesn’t matter.”
“Of course it matters! We paid for two hours. We’re losing time and money while you drive,” she leaned forward to peer at the dashboard, “exactly the speed limit.”
“You sound like Jai,” he said. Jai was the scheduler of the two of them, and she had learned he hated being late even more than she did. “But they can wait. Safety is always the priority.”
She snorted. “Okay, Grandma. Listen, if you’re not up for driving on the highway, just pull over and let me. Look at all the cars passing us!”
He didn’t look her way, but the car picked up speed a little, the old engine chugging a bit louder.
“Thanks,” she muttered. She leaned back into her seat a little, trying to force herself to relax.
“It’s okay, Ryann. I promise. You should chill out a little. Nicole is Maddie’s friend. She won’t mind staying a little longer, and we’re almost there now—ten, fifteen minutes tops.”
Maddie had hired Nicole to take the photos today, but the fact that she was a friend made their lateness more awkward, in her opinion. She hated being late mostly because she hated making anyone wait for her, especially a friend, even if she was Maddie’s friend, not hers.
She finally saw their exit for Loveland and made herself let out a long, deep breath. Stuart glanced her way again, grinning, and grabbed her hand when they had to wait at the light off the exit.
“Are you ready for this?”
She shook her head without hesitating, and he laughed.
“Well, you should be,” he said. “Maddie’s crazy about you. She’d wait a thousand years for you if you asked.”
She knew this intellectually, but she was still crawling with nerves, her heart hammering, her fingers trembling. Something about today made all of this more real. Maddie had proposed a little over a week ago, on Groundhog Day, of all times. Last summer, when she moved to Colorado full time, she’d admitted to Maddie that she didn’t grow up celebrating any holidays. Both of her parents traveled a lot for work, so they usually had an excuse, but, in retrospect, they either didn’t care or bother to keep anyone but themselves in mind. Maddie had taken her history as a personal challenge, and ever since, they’d celebrated every holiday, major and minor, lavishly and without irony. Groundhog Day had been a surprise, however, as she hadn’t even realized it was a thing outside of, perhaps, Punxsutawney. However, Maddie’s family celebrated by baking a groundhog-shaped cake and watching the Bill Murray film, and she had been there with them to celebrate. The credits were rolling when Maddie got down on one knee.
Today was Valentine’s Day, and she and Maddie were doing their engagement photos at Erin’s brewery—exactly a year from the day they planned to get married. Her new office was in Denver, which was an awful commute, but workable in the short term. Ted was splitting his time between Denver and New York, but she was fairly certain he would be joining her here full time, soon. All in all, at least on the work front, she felt pretty set. She planned to open a branch of her new business in Fort Collins or Boulder and transition herself there in the next couple of years, but Denver was functioning for now.
Or at least it was until her car broke down this morning. Maddie couldn’t cancel her classes, so Stuart volunteered to pick her up.
“Hey,” he said, squeezing her hand again. “You really don’t have to be nervous. Try to have fun, okay? You look gorgeous, by the way. Only you could make that shirt look designer. I’m sure the camera will love you, as always. I honestly think you’re the most attractive person in our wedding album. You make the rest of us look like extras in a rom-com—cute, but a little uglier than the star.”
“Thanks,” she said, smiling down at her shirt. It was a red flannel, a match to what Maddie would be wearing. She hadn’t lasted long before the flannel bug caught her, too. Two months living here in Colorado, and she’d given away most of her old clothes.
“I’m so glad I set the two of you up,” he said. He said this only to get a rise out of her, and she swatted his arm. “Hey! It’s true, you know.”
“Sure, sure.” She rolled her eyes. “And you’ll never let it down.”
“I’m going to be telling your grandkids about setting up you two.”
“Asshole.”
They both laughed, the last of her nervousness lifting. The light changed, and he had to drive again, but as she watched the side of his face, she was struck once again by how much she loved him. Her own family hadn’t replied when she’d sent them the news about her engagement, but that hurt less than she’d feared. This man was the only family she needed. She and Maddie had already decided they would have only their two best friends—Stuart and Jai—as their wedding party next year. They were enough.
“So what did you get Maddie for Valentine’s Day?” he asked.
She flinched. It hadn’t even occurred to her to buy something. Stuart, evidently confused by her silence, looked her way and frowned.
“You didn’t get her anything?”
“I, no, I didn’t know I should—”
He laughed. “Oh, come on. Even you would know you should give something to your sweetie on Valentine’s. I mean, my God, they call it Valentine’s Day. You should have at least gotten her a valentine.”
“What did you get Jai?”
“Well, that’s more complicated. Since it’s also our anniversary, I had to go a bit bigger than I might normally. My friend Rita does these really beautiful paper cutouts. First-anniversary presents are traditionally paper, so I commissioned a piece from her. I went back and forth with the subject but decided on cats, since he’s such a cat nut. The cats are at Pemberley—you know, Mr. Darcy’s place?—having tea. He’s going to love it.”
She was struck by his confidence. She’d bought Maddie two major presents so far—one for her birthday and one for Christmas—and both times she’d triple-guessed herself to the point that the entire experience of giving the gifts to her had been ruined. Maddie had claimed to like both, but she hadn’t and still didn’t believe her. Apparently gift-giving wasn’t one of Ryann’s strong suits.
“What can I buy last-minute?” she asked.
He laughed. “You mean, like now? Here, in the car, five minutes from seeing her?”
“I have my phone. I could have something overnighted and show her a picture now.”
He tapped the steering wheel. “Uh, you could book a romantic getaway. You know her schedule pretty well, so being spontaneous shouldn’t be a problem. Or you could—”
“No, no—I don’t need more choices. That’s a good one. Where and how long?”
“She really loves Glenwood Springs and Estes Park. Either would be easy, since the two of you could just leave after work sometime. Drive there on a Friday after her studio hours and come back on a Sunday. That way, no one needs to take any time off.”
“Done,” she said, two minutes later, just as they pulled into a parking spot.
He laughed. “You’re ridiculous. You know that?”
Her stomach dropped, and she stared out the window, fighting tears. They sat there in silence for a long time before he touched the back of her hand, appearing a little guilty.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to make you feel inadequate.”
She laughed, weakly, brushing at her eyes. “No—you’re right. I am ridiculous. I don’t even know how to buy a present for the woman I love.”
He squeezed her hand. “Hey. Stop that. She knows you love her even without a present. I mean, Jesus, you basically gave your former life away to be with her. She damn well better appreciate that, if nothing else. You have a few years to get better at gift-giving with that sacrifice in your pocket.”
She laughed and squeezed his arm. “Thanks. I needed that.”
“Good. Don’t you dare forget that woman loves you no matter what. Now let’s get inside before Jai kills both of us.”
The brewery was packed, partly because Erin had roped off a little area for the photos, thereby lessening the usual space for customers, but it was like this in here nearly every night of the week, every day of the year. She and Maddie had visited almost every brewery within an hour’s drive, and even without the bias of knowing the owner, she could claim this was the absolute best beer she’d had, and clearly the regulars agreed.
The Valentine’s decorations in here were a little more over the top than she remembered from last year, with heart-shaped red, pink, and white streamers draped from corner to corner and the walls festooned with giant red wooden conversation hearts and paper cutouts of cupids. A large canvas banner hung over the bar announcing that they had last year’s award-winning Cupid’s Kiss on tap for a limited time. Everyone would learn sometime tomorrow if this year’s entry, Sweetheart Stout, would net Erin’s brewery a second Fire and Ice Festival win.
“There they are!” Erin shouted, spotting them and waving wildly.
“About damn time,” Jai called their way, a hand cupped around his mouth.
The crowd was nice enough to let them through, several people smiling and greeting them as they made their way to the far corner. Ryann finally saw Maddie, seated at one of the little tables there—exactly the same table where they’d first met. She was relieved she didn’t look at all put out by her lateness. Why she’d ever worried was another question entirely, but she couldn’t think about that now when Maddie was moving toward her, warm and inviting with her strong arms ready to pull her in. The kiss was sweet and went on a little too long, several of their friends and some strangers in the bar hooting and whistling at them.
“You made it,” Maddie said when they drew back. She still held her in her arms, her warm hands sending little trilling shivers up her back.
“I know. I’m sorry. Stuart drives like a—”
“A grandma—I know. Anyway, it’s no problem. Nicole and I were just catching up.” She pointed at a woman with a camera bag standing next to Darcy. She waved briefly. “She’s not in any hurry.”
She sagged with relief. “Oh, thank God. I thought for sure we’d run out of time.”
“Again, not a problem. That’s why it’s nice to work with friends.”
She moved forward to join their friends, but Maddie pulled her into a tight embrace again. Their friends were all gathered several feet away, all of them wrapped up in their own conversations.
“Hey, wait a minute,” Maddie said. “I haven’t had my fill of you yet, and this might be our only moment alone tonight.”
She sighed and nestled in closer to her chest, breathing in that sweet scent of vanilla Maddie used on her clothes. The scent was hers now, and nothing and no one else’s. Now when she caught a whiff of vanilla out in the world, it recalled only Maddie and warmth and love.
“And also,” Maddie said, grinning down at her, “I want my present.”
She swatted Maddie’s arm. “Hey! What about mine?”
Maddie leaned closer, her lips brushing her ear. “It’s at home. I’ll show you tonight.”
She shivered, flushing with heat. Maddie, catching this response, grinned more broadly, more wickedly, but she couldn’t find it in herself to reply offhandedly. Maddie still managed to unsettle her like this nearly every day.
She licked her lips. “Okay. I can wait. But only if we leave right after this.”
“Deal,” Maddie said, beaming. “Now give me mine.” She opened and closed her hands like a greedy child.
She pretended to delay, watching Maddie’s face fall, before laughing and swatting her arm.
“You thought I forgot, didn’t you?”
Maddie hesitated before nodding. “I guess I did. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have doubted you.”
“Well, Stuart was nice enough to remind me, so you’re half right. Anyway, we’re staying at the Hotel Colorado the first weekend in March, and we’re taking the train through the mountains to Glenwood Springs from Denver.”
“Wow!” Maddie said. “That’s amazing! What a good idea.”
Maddie kissed her then, and she finally knew what it meant to give the right gift, as Maddie’s enthusiasm on her birthday and Christmas had been nothing like this. She would always book trips as presents if it meant this kind of response.
“Okay,” Maddie said. “Thanks again. I can’t wait to go.”
“Me, too.”
“I guess we need to finally take some engagement photos,” Maddie said. “Shall we?”
Maddie was holding her hand with one of hers, the other indicating Nicole and her cameras, but she was caught for a moment at what all this meant. Moving forward, moving into the circle of their friends and starting this whole wedding process meant moving forward with her life with Maddie. Engagement photos were just the beginning. Soon they’d be booking their wedding venues and services, and, as they’d already planned, looking for a bigger place to live. Moving forward meant that all of this was finally real. Her future was finally here.
“Let’s get started,” she said.
About the Author
Charlotte was born in a tiny mountain town and spent most of her childhood and young adulthood in a small city in Northern Colorado. While she is usually what one might generously call “indoorsy,” early exposure to the Rocky Mountains led to a lifelong love of nature, hiking, and camping.
After a lengthy education in Denver, New Orleans, Washington, DC, and New York, she earned a doctorate in literature and women and gender studies. She currently lives with her wife, son, and their cat in a small city in Wisconsin.
Charlotte is a two-time Golden Crown Literary Society “Goldie” Winner for Gnarled Hollow and Legacy, and a finalist for a Lambda Literary Award for Gnarled Hollow.
