Page 105 of Husband of the Year
“Marvin, listen to me. I want nothing more than to be married toyou. If we could go down to city hall right now, I’d pack the kids up and do it. The size of a wedding doesn’t equate to the quality or success of a marriage. I think a wedding of that magnitude might be too much for our family right now.”
A heaviness overtakes my head, like I’m stuck in a fog, and I find solace by resting against his palms.
“I want to marry you, Marvin. Now. Maybe we don’t have to wait a year or two for an elaborate wedding. We could do it sooner.” His eyes light up with that magic sparkle. “Just us. Close friends and family. Would you be okay with that?”
The Ocean Inn. One hundred and fifty guests arriving from all over the country. My college friend Jenny flying from New Zealand. She took a vacation there after she became infatuated with theLord of the Ringsmovies, fell in love with the country, a cute Kiwi, and never looked back.
But of course, he’s right. The focus should be on the marriage itself, not an extravagant wedding.
I sit up, turn to face him, and offer a small nod. With a gentle tug, Olan pulls me closer, his lips pressing against mine.
Pulling back, he says, “Let’s do it. Next weekend. Simple. Quick. Easy. And then we’ll be married.” He leans in, resting his forehead on mine. “That’s all I want. To be married to you.”
How am I supposed to argue with that?
Pressing my lips against my fiancé’s, I am reminded that sometimes the unexpected can lead to the most beautiful moments. And then, like a lightning bolt, it hits me.
Oh my God.
This time next week, we’ll be married.
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
Sheldon: Emergency meeting after school at Branch Booch.
Marvin: There’s no emergency.
Jill: Have we alerted the National Guard?
Marvin: Don’t encourage him.
Vincent: I’ll be there.
Marvin: Really, we can just hop on a call.
Sheldon: Absolutely not. This is a code red. I will see you at three.
Jill: Lucky us.
Sheldon: I read that.
Jill:
Olan agrees to handle the major wedding cancellations while Greggie naps. Unlike me, he has no issue making phone calls, talking to strangers, and letting them know we’ll be abandoning all the hard workthey’ve already banked. It’s like ordering a cheese pizza for him. My job is to handle Sheldon. And my mother. Oy. One thing at a time.
Isabella picks Illona up after school for “emergency dress shopping” while I meet with the crew at Branch Booch. I’m not sure if Olan’s idea has eliminated the whirlwind of planning or simply truncated it to a few days. Regardless, I remind myself we’ll be married soon.
“All right, Operation Wedding is now Operation Getting Hitched.” Sheldon slams down his purple notebook on the table and Jill and Vincent watch their drinks tremble at the impact.
“Nice to see you, too,” Jill says.
“Sorry, there’s no time for pleasantries. We have three days to pull this off.” Sheldon sits in a large wooden chair with a high back that dwarfs him.
“Sheldon, there’s nothing to pull off,” I say. “I texted you the plan. We’re going to city hall and then dinner. That’s it.”
“City hall?” Sheldon opens his notebook, scratches something out and then takes a dramatic sigh as he braces himself on the heavy oak table. “They’re not open on Saturday. And the last appointment to get married is Friday at four. Three days! Oy.” His palm smacks his freckled forehead.
Jill shrugs and says, “So we’ll go after school.”
