“How’d it go with the wide receiver’s future wife?”
Nori rolled her eyes, wishing she could make them spin like cherries on a slot machine.
“Well, there were three of us in the room at the same time. I swear it reminded me of one of my old runway auditions before fashion week.”
“Three?” Bettina scrunched her face. “She interviewed her wedding producers together? Like a game show or something?”
“Audition, game show,” Nori said “It was a mess. A circus. The woman has no clue what she wants. Maybe Mazatlan, maybe some chapel at Liberty University.”
“Liberty? Isn’t that super relig--”
“Yes. She’s very devout. At least she has her mind made up about that. So here’s what happened: After I left, I got a text. I wasn’t even to the end of the driveway. It’s a long, winding one, but anyway, her assistant texted me to say she wanted a follow-up interview tomorrow.”
“That’s great, babe.” Bettina walked in for a kiss but Nori already had a bottle of ginger beer to her lips.
She swallowed, kissed Bettina on the forehead and said: “Two things. This is potentially my first 7 figure wedding…”
“No way,” Bettina said “that app developer kid was worth millions, and his fiancee was a pro snowboarder, they had well over--”
“No Bee. Not the clients. The wedding itself. Her budget is a million and a half. For the happy day and of course the afterglow brunch the next day.”
Nori shook at the thought of it.
“But here’s the second thing: The other two producers...well, one’s more of a planner, don’t know how she snuck in, then, of course, Marzia Blackwell from Elite Events, because..well you know… but both of them volunteered information about their own weddings.”
“She didn’t ask you?”
“Her assistant cut the meeting short because she was due at Grace and Wild. Her and the future hubby All-Pro are filming a car commercial. But she’s gonna ask tomorrow, Bee.”
“And...?”
“And when I tell her I’m a dyke who got married in front of her seven closest friends on Belle Isle, I’m done. It’s over. She’s gonna spike me like a football and Elite is gonna get the gig. I just wanted to warn you.”
“No,” Bettina said. “You work too hard at this shit to just pack it in like that.”
“I’m gonna go to the meeting, the callback, whatever it is, but she’s gonna ask, Bee, and I’m telling ya--”
Bettina grabbed her tablet off the counter and started flipping screens. She was silent, but her neck trembled like it always did when she giggled.
“You’re telling me you’re gonna give her the right answer. I’m finding your husband right now.”
“What? No, I love you darlin’, I’m not gonna straightwash you out of--”
“Out of what? A big payday for you?” She held the tablet up so Nori could see it. A picture of their friend Jake, already in a wonderfully tailored tux.
“I just ‘shop you next to old Jakey here, drop in an Anguilla background, or Trinidad, or…”
“Bettina…” Nori’s voice cracked and whined. “It’s not fair to you, to us...to…”
“Fair schmair. You know you’re gonna kiss her pretty little blonde ass and lie about being a football fan, right? When she tells you she wants baby’s breath imported from Nepal you’re gonna lie and tell her that’s a fantastic idea right? You’re gonna lie about a bunch of shit during this process.”
Bettina flipped the tablet until she had Beyonce’s wedding dress mocked up over a picture of Nori at the beach. A few more taps and scrolls, cuts and pastes, and Jake, in the tux, had his arm around Nori.
“Pow. There ya go Nor, you had the straightest, most romantic hetero island nuptials ever. I’ll transfer this over to my work suite and clean it up, make it pro and you’re gonna book this wedding.”
Nori embraced Bettina. “You’re the greatest, Bettina. Really. This woman is going to be a colossal pain in the ass, but... You’re sure you’re okay with this?”
Bettina chuckled. “I love this idea, Nori. It was my idea. I’m more than okay.”
***
They ordered dinner from Stache International delivered, ate on the patio of their little Cape Cod.
“Damn, Bettina,” Nori blurted with a mouth full of food, “what if sometime during the planning process she really finds out I’m a lesbian?”
“Oh, she’s gonna find out,” Bettina said. “Fairly shortly”
“Whaaat? “ Nori squealed.
Bettina swallowed a piece of curried cauliflower and smiled. “I’m gonna tell her myself.”
Nori, the unflappable wedding producer, let her jaw drop.
She slid her chair back, metal feet scraping against the patio paving stones.
She threw her wadded-up napkin on to the table.
“You’re gonna tell her yourself, huh?”
Bettina said “Maybe I should get someone else to leak it to her. I guess that would be best.”
Nori stared at her soulmate, directly into her sparkling green eyes and felt like she was back in New York, walking a runway with flashbulbs going off like fireworks.
Her chest warmed, her blood pressure lowered, she folded her long legs into a lotus position.
“And I’ll already be in possession of the 20 percent deposit. Nonrefundable.”
***
Photo by Blake Cheek on Unsplash
$300K non-refundable deposit down and the truth comes out. I wanna know what happens next!