Page 19 of Our Big White Lie
Sarah nodded, and she started telling us about the dance floor that could be placed anywhere in the room. I was only half-listening, though, because I was busy trying to calm my heartrate down.
It’s just Tori, Ava. Get a grip.
Sarah took us out to the courtyard, and the cool air helped to ground me. So did the beautiful scenery. Even with the bushes trimmed back and the flowerbeds mostly bare, the courtyard was gorgeous. There was a flagstone path that wound between the various plants, and some amazing places to use as backdrops for photos—a brick wall covered in vines, a couple of marble fountains, a tall hedge that could probably be festooned with flowers.
This was definitely not what I’d had in mind when we’d agreed to check out this hotel. As I watched Tori taking in our beautiful surroundings, I could absolutely see us getting married here. I could see us taking our photos out in this courtyard.
Takingfakephotos, Ava.
Going through themotionsof getting married.
Right. Right, this wasn’t a real wedding.
But maybe it was good that I kept forgetting that. I was less likely to slip up and let someone find out what was really going on. If I was this far in character, then no one would suspect a thing.
Perfect.
“Well, I’m definitely not sold on the community center.” Tori wrinkled her nose as we all ate a late lunch at Mom’s kitchen table. “I think community centers are just fine and all, but notthatone.”
“I know, right?” I tore a piece of lettuce off my sandwich. “Was it just me, or did that place smell super weird?”
“Super weird,” Tori agreed.
“Smelled like wet mothballs,” Mom muttered.
“Is that what that was? Because eww.” Tori made another face, then took a bite of her own sandwich.
“Smelled like it to me,” Mom said. “And I swear they must use the same disinfectant that the chemo center uses.” She shuddered. “Blech.”
“Okay, so definitely not the community center,” I said.
We all nodded. It had icked me out anyway, but if it made my mom think about chemo, it was an emphaticno.
“What about the hotel?” Tori said.
“I really like that place,” I said. “It was so much nicer than I expected!”
“Me too!” Her smile was huge. “I couldn’t believe how gorgeous it was! Like, how are they hiding something that amazing in a hotel like that?”
“No kidding.”
“I think it used to be an independent hotel,” Mom said. “It was only bought out by the chain maybe ten, twenty years ago?” She shrugged. “They must’ve realized what a draw their event facilities were, so they kept them as is.”
“Smart,” I said.
Tori nodded. “So… book the hotel?”
“Let’s do it.” I paused. “Which means I guess we’d better nail down a date.”
“Oh. Right. They probably need that.”
We all put our heads together and finally landed on May second. The weather would be turning by then, but it wouldn’t be super hot yet, and it kept us on the right side of the hotel’s peak rates.
And it’s not too far in the future,I thought, glancing at Mom.Hopefully it’s soon enough.
I didn’t let those thoughts linger. Absolutely not.
After we’d finished lunch, I called Sarah and gave her a credit card number. In minutes, it was done—we had a date and a venue. Two big items crossed off the to-do list.
