Page 29 of With Every Breath

“Remind me again why I’m doing this?” I stared at my reflection in the three-way mirror. The seamstress was pinning layers of chiffon, and all I wanted to do was get out of the thing.

“Because you’re the only child in your family and it’s not fair to your mom to not get to see you in a wedding dress.” Madi rolled her eyes and I just sighed.

“Ouch.” I jumped slightly when a pin pricked my side.

“Sorry,” the seamstress mumbled around a pin she pressed between her lips.

“But all this?” I waved at the mountains of white fabric draped around me.

“You look like a princess. Just enjoy the moment. You won’t do this again.” She smiled as she tapped away on her phone. “Great. We can do the food next.” She jumped up from where she was sitting and made a slow circle around me. “This is perfect. Dex is going to love it.” She clapped happily.

“You know I’m going to get you back when you do this, right?” I gave her the eye.

“Eh—” she shrugged “—I’m not even dating anyone, so I think I’m in the clear for a while.”

As she began tapping away again, I slipped out of the dress. I was assured it would be ready for pick up in two days. “Ok. We can go now.” I draped my arm around her shoulders. I attempted to see who she was chatting with, but she quickly stuffed her phone in her pocket.

“Great!” She did a little shimmy, and we headed out to her car.

It was a quick ride to the venue. It was right downtown, near the same area Dex had taken me for his cousin’s wedding way back on our second date. We didn’t use the same space, because we didn’t need something that big, but chose a smaller jazz club around the corner. The plan was to have this thing on a night when they were normally closed. This way we could rent the space cheaper because they wouldn’t be losing business by us taking it over for a night.

“I love this place,” Madi all but squealed as we walked in. It was early in the evening, and they weren’t open yet.

“We do, too. That’s why we chose it.” I led the way to the small office where the owner probably was.

“Evening. ladies,” Erik, the owner, welcomed us. He’d stepped around the corner just as we were heading to the back.

“I hope this is ok. I know we’d originally agreed on a different time.” I grimaced.

“It’s fine.” He smiled. “Have a seat.” He pointed to a small table set for four in the back corner. The room was decorated in deep purples, golds, and dark red accents. It looked royal, and this is why I was struggling with flowers. It’s summertime, and this place reminds me of winter.

Madi and I sat as Erik disappeared into the back where the kitchen was located. When he reappeared, he was carrying a tray with a bunch of small plates. “We have several dishes for you to sample, and you can choose whichever you want for your buffet.”

Dex and I had opted for a buffet versus a plated dinner just so we could offer more choices and not have to have guests order their dinner ahead of time. Erik set the tray down and presented us with salmon, steak, shrimp, linguini, spaghetti and meatballs, grilled chicken, baked chicken, and pot roast. For sides we could choose garlic potatoes, asparagus, green beans, roasted red potatoes, rice pilaf, or mushroom risotto. “I think I might gain ten pounds just from looking at this. How are you ever going to choose?” Madi licked her lips. I laughed at her expression. You’d think she hadn’t eaten in a week.

“We’re picking two meats and three sides. It’s not only about what I want, but what I think everyone else will want.” I lifted my fork and went right for the chicken.

“Good point.” Madi nodded as she scooped up a bite of potatoes.

The food was cooked perfectly, and as we sampled each option, it became clear that this chef knew what he was doing, and we had to make some tough decisions.

“What’s Dex’s favorite meal?” Madi covered her mouth as she was still chewing a bite of salmon.

“Steak.” I giggled.

“Then you have to pick that as one.” Madi nodded toward the plate, where a small portion of the steak still remained.

“I agree, and I think I’m going to with the salmon for the other one. This way guests can have either fish or red meat. We’ll do the garlic potatoes, the asparagus, and the risotto for our sides.” I wiped my mouth. I was going to have no appetite for dinner at this rate.

“That sounds perfect.” Erik pulled a piece paper out of his pocket and started making notes. “I’ll add this to your file, and I’ll grab some boxes for you.” He pointed at the half-finished plates. “You can take all of this with you.” He turned to head back to the kitchen.

“Great! That’s one more thing finished.” Madi clapped happily. “Are we tasting cake by any chance?” She grinned.

“That I have already done.” I laughed. “Dex and I picked the cake first. “You’ll have to wait for the party to see that.”

Madi pouted. “So flowers…” She glanced around. “I can’t see much pastel working in here. Maybe we go with a lot of roses and some gold accents?” She tapped her chin.

“I’m fine with whatever at this point. Just tell me where to sign.” I pretended to sign an imaginary piece of paper. It was then that Erik came out with boxes and a bag to put them all in.

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