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“This is so thoughtful,” I said as she handed me mine. “Thank you.”
We all headed back to our respective houses to clean up for the rehearsal. Mav and I didn’t really talk to each other. I think we were both trying to understand what had happened last night. Or maybe, he didn’t think anything of it. I could be making a big deal out of nothing. That would be typical of me.
I felt a bit awkward at the rehearsal as Mav and I walked back up the aisle together, but I also felt warm inside.
Once the rehearsal was finished, Caleb asked, “Now, let’s go have some barbecue, shall we?” Loud voices of agreement shouted back to him.
We piled into the cars. The drive from the church to Caleb’s parents' home didn’t take long. My parents had been hanging out with Caleb’s parents all week long, and all four of them had been working today to make sure that everything was prepared for the barbecue tonight.
When we arrived at the house, I was surprised to find that it was a large home just outside the city limits of Eagle Falls. There was a large fire pit outside, with a grill to one side of the lawn. They had a large outdoor table with a mosquito net around it, and I wondered if mosquitos were that much of an issue in Idaho. It had been so long since I had lived here that I had forgotten. They could be a big problem in Texas, though.
I knew that.
As everyone started to mingle, I found Maverick had pulled himself off to the side to help with the cooking. I walked over to him. Part of me was unsure what to say to him and part of me wanted to know if he was always so industrious. I decided I just needed to forget about last night. It was just a dance for heaven’s sake. Don’t make a big deal out of it.
“Hey, Mav, got a moment?”
“Always, Maria,” he said as he turned towards me. “What’s up?”
“About last night, I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable dragging you onto the dance floor,” I said.
He held his hand up to stop me from saying anything more.
“You don’t need to apologize,” he said. “I had a fantastic time. In fact, it might be me who needs to say sorry. You did so much to help plan for the wedding, and I’ve been reluctant to participate in the more exciting parts of the week. Thank you for helping me dive in. Though, I have a feeling that there was more that you wanted to ask me about?”
“Are you always so diligent and steady, or is it just because we’ve had a lot to plan for to make this wedding a success?” I asked.
He laughed a little.
“I think it’s a bit of both,” he replied honestly. “When you work in the tourism industry, you can’t afford to be caught off-guard or waiting around.”
With that, he turned back to the grill and started helping light it up. It appeared there was nothing special about last night for him, so I guess I just misunderstood what I had thought was happening. The remark about the tourism industry, though, stuck with me, but I didn’t have time to follow up before Stacey came over to get me. All the bridesmaids were going to play with some soaked sponges while they waited, and Stacey wanted to know if I wanted to join them.
We had been advised to bring our swimsuits, and I now understood why. We all went inside, changed, and started throwing wet sponges at each other in a mock water balloon fight as we waited for dinner. The groomsmen, Caleb, and even industrious Maverick got in on it, too!
Chapter eight
Maverick
The rest of the weekdays were a bit of a blur between spending all of Friday getting ready for the ceremony on Saturday – setting up décor, making sure that Stacey and Caleb had all of their clothing and jewelry ready for the day, including the rings they would exchange – and the actual ceremony on Saturday.
And then there was Maria. I know what I felt that night we danced, but Maria seemed just the same, like it wasn’t any big thing to her. I knew I needed to watch my step and stay in line. We had only met a few days ago and were here to support our friends and family in this marriage. Besides, I live in Idaho, and she lives in Texas. What kind of relationship would that be? Not one that would work I’m sure.
I had to admit that the ceremony was wonderfully beautiful. The pastor that Maria, Stacey, and Caleb had found conducted the ceremony flawlessly. The photographer had been ready for everything – including a light drizzle as everyone was coming in.
I half-expected Stacey and Caleb to get some beautiful shots in the rain because he’d simply grabbed a poncho, wrapped it around his camera, and continued to take photos. The guy had been prepared. And, well, Stacey looked beautiful coming down the aisle. Moved Caleb to tears, and that’s all that mattered at that moment.
Now, after coming through the arch of balloons at the doorway, we stood in the large reception room that had been so carefully decorated yesterday afternoon. The plan had come together very well if I had anything to say about it. The baby pink table runners looked elegant against the white tablecloths. Each table had a vase packed with pink peonies. Simplistic and beautiful. The head table had a white tablecloth with greenery and baby’s breath as a table runner and several large arrangements of pink and crimson roses interspersed down the table.
Once everyone had been seated, I gently tapped my knife against my glass to get everyone’s attention.
“We all know how uncomfortable it can be to sit through uncomfortably long, sappy speeches,” I started, “so I’ll keep mine short and simple for the food. I’ve known Caleb since I was in elementary school, and when he introduced me to Stacey, I couldn’t explain it, but I knew that this was the woman he would marry. Even told him myself after Stacey went home that day. He didn’t exactly believe me because they’d only been dating for aa few months at the time, but here we are. The more I got to know Stacey, the more I could see how perfectly matched she was to Caleb. So, as we are here celebrating their love story, I offer a toast of love, best wishes, and a happy marriage to you both. May the marriage be as happy and playful as your dating years have been and just as full of love.”
I raised my glass to toast them which ended my speech with a soft round of applause. As I sat down, Maria stood up. Having known that she was to follow me, I hoped that she had prepared something of similar length. We were waiting for the speeches to finish, for the bar to open, and for the food to be served.
That was only part of why I had prepared such a short speech. The other reason was that I had suffered through too many long-winded best-man speeches at other weddings. It wasn’t fun for the guests, and the reception was supposed to be the part of the night where everyone had fun.
“Wonderful speech, Maverick. Thank you.” Maria smiled in my direction before turning to face her sister and her new brother-in-law.
