A Little Less Talk and a Lot More Action

Chapter One

Just how is it that one of the happiest days of my life can also be one of the saddest?  It just doesn’t seem right.  A big fat tear slides down my cheek making me really glad that I had the foresight to fortify my eyelashes with several coats of waterproof mascara.  I just knew I’d be crying buckets at my best friend’s wedding. 

“Jamie Lee looks beautiful, doesn’t she?” observes gruff old Irma Baker who is standing next to me on the church steps.  Irma’s wearing a lavender linen suit smelling slightly of mothballs and a matching pillbox hat perched slightly askew on top her silver curls. 

“Yes…” a sigh escapes me and my lips tremble, “she sure does.”  Jamie Lee is radiant in a soft white, simply cut wedding gown.  She’s a no frills kind of girl but right now she looks elegant.

“Whoohoo and that there Griffin Sheldon sure is a mighty fine specimen of a man.  Jamie Lee’s one lucky girl.  I’m sure gonna miss watchin’ him build my deck.  I think I might have to add on.”

“Miss Irma, you’ve already added onto your deck twice.”

Irma gives me a sly grin.  “I know.  Purty soon my danged deck is gonna be bigger than my house!” she admits and tosses a handful of rice at the newlyweds.  “But just lookie at him all tall and studly in his tuxedo.  I betcha he’s a-gonna rock Jamie Lee’s world.  He sure could rock mine, doncha know.”  Miss Irma crooks one eyebrow.  “You need someone to rock your world, Macy.  I’m thinkin’ bodacious Luke Carter could be your ticket.  That man’s got a butt you could bounce quarters off of.”

“Miss Irma!” I hiss and hope no one heard her.   Luckily all the attention is on the newlyweds.  “Hush!”

“I’m just sayin’.”  She shrugs her narrow shoulders and then twists the gold clasp open on her lavender patent-leather pocketbook digging out her Virginia Slims.  “Dang, I need a cigarette just thinkin’ about it.  You’ll have to excuse me,” she apologizes and at least has the grace to walk away from the church before lighting one up. 

While shaking my head, I have to grin as I watching her puff curls of smoke skyward but my focus goes back to Jamie Lee and Griff who are being showered with rice and hugs.  I’m happy for them, really happy, but it also hits me hard that my best friend since my sandbox days is married and while I’m certain we’ll always be as close as sisters, realistically I know that her marriage changes everything.  I toss a handful of rice a little too hard, hitting Jamie Lee in the back of the head.  Some of it sticks to her golden hair, artfully arranged by me.  We tried about a dozen different up-dos in our salon but in the end the simple knot at the nape of her neck was perfect.

As if reading my mind, Jamie Lee turns and gives me a reassuring smile that says that she knows and understands. That’s the way it’s always been between us.  My throat tightens and my eyes well up as I toss another handful of rice, a bit more gently this time.  Tears spill over and slide down my cheeks dripping onto my bouquet of wildflowers.  I dearly need a tissue but of course I don’t have one.

“Hey, are you okay?” asks a deep voice that will forever make my heart skip a beat.  Without turning around I know that Luke Carter, Jamie Lee’s brother and the unrequited love of my life is standing on the step behind me.  “Here,” he comes down to the step beside me and reaches in his breast pocket.  “Looks like you could use this.”  He offers me a snow-white handkerchief that I gratefully accept.

“Thanks.”  I look up at him and try for a smile but all I can manage is a wobble of my lips.  Even in my three-inch dyed-to-match-my-dress heels that are already killing my feet, Luke towers over me in six foot four inches of masculine beauty.  Before today I had never seen him in a tux and I have to say that it is a sight to behold.  Transferring my bouquet to one hand I daintily dab at the corner of my eyes when I dearly need to blow my nose but I’m afraid of a dreaded honking noise that sometimes plagues me when I blow.  When Luke reaches his hand toward me I’m confused but then realize he’s offering to hold the bouquet.  With another lip wobble that comes closer to a smile I hand the flowers to him and continue my dabbing, this time at my nose.

“Hope Griff knows what he’s getting himself into.”  Luke nods his dark head towards his sister and best friend.

“Oh, if there’s anyone who can handle her, it’s Griff.”

“Yeah, he’ll keep her in line.”

My head snaps up and I momentarily cease in my dabbing.  I get a little feisty when it comes to comments like that but since it’s Luke I bite my tongue but I do sort of narrow my eyes.