Chapter 2-2
991 Words
The kitchen clock chimed. Pad glanced at it and realized he had to hurry up. In a couple of hours he would be at the local bookstore, his second job. It helped pay for some bills, including his student loans. Luckily the manager was flexible about his schedule considering he still worked as a flight attendant about thirty plus hours a week. The leeway about the hours helped him with the wedding planning.
He picked up the stack of envelopes and double-checked off the names and addresses from the list RJ and he had created. He almost finished reviewing when his cell phone vibrated. Pad looked at the number then answered the phone. “Hey, Jen. What’s up?”
“Are we still on for this weekend?”
“Yeah. Why? Have other plans?”
“Nope. Just needed to make sure. Didn’t want to hire a baby-sitter unless I knew for sure we were really going to do it this time.”
“Your husband can’t watch the kids?”
“No. He’s out of town.”
“What about Jack?”
“Seriously? Your sarcasm can be a little grating at times. Jack’s the worst sitter. I’ll come home and Jack and the kids would have eaten all the ice cream just minutes before I arrive.”
“Well, if you have Liam sit with Jack, Liam’s more responsible.”
“I hate to ask Liam and Jack.”
“Then just ask Liam.”
“I don’t feel comfortable asking him to do that.”
Pad cut her off. “He loves the twins so he won’t mind. If you want, I’ll ask him. Besides they’re on again.”
“No, I think they’re done. You should talk to Jack about it. I think the long up-and-down whatever it is—or was—is over for good. So I’ll do it. Are you sure that I should though?”
“Yes. So going back to your question. Yeah, I need you! I don’t have a choice. We’re already pressed for time. We should have done this weeks ago but didn’t.”
“Are you sure you don’t want RJ to be there when you pick the cake and dessert?”
“He’s working this coming weekend. Plus, he hates dessert and cake so he doesn’t care what we pick. All I want is cake with buttercream icing.”
“Well that narrows it down, doesn’t it?”
“Does he have any idea what guests should be served as dessert?”
“His idea of dessert is chocolate cake and vanilla ice cream. I liked the dessert you had at yours.”
“The trio? I had the vanilla bean crème brûlée, lemon curd tart, and chocolate pate. Don’t you think that may be too much? I mean you’re serving wedding cake too.”
“I know.” Pad sighed. He scratched his head and closed his eyes for a second. “And we’re on a small budget.”
Jen sighed in sympathy over the phone. “Not this again. You should have taken your aunt’s offer to loan you money.”
Pad shook his head. “My aunt is retired and lives on a fixed income. She doesn’t need to be loaning us money. I’m just happy that she’s still around.”
There was an awkward pause before Jen spoke again.
“You can still have a nice wedding without a lot of money. Is RJ’s dad chipping in any?”
“No. He never mentioned it, and I doubt RJ will ask.” Pad doodled on the paper again, writing his name, Pad Davis, in cursive a few times as he talked.
“He is supposed to be worth a lot, right?”
“He was until the market crashed a few years ago. Plus I think the divorces have cleaned him out a little.” Pad opened the fridge absent-mindedly looking for something to drink.
“How much are you paying the church?”
“The church charges a facility fee. It’s like two hundred fifty just for the church. The pastors aren’t charging.”
“No, but you have to give Pastor Ken and Pastor Lisa a tip. It’s customary. Hers, probably less since she’s the associate minister, but you should get her a nice gift since she’s doing your premarital counseling.”
“It’s the reception that’s going to be costly, including the limo ride, the stay at the resort overnight.”
Jen laughed. “Well, this is your wedding. You want to have a good experience, and unforgettable memories about it.”
Pad ran his fingers through his hair as he spoke. “I know. It’s just a lot that I didn’t think I would have to think about, you know?”
“And still no idea about where the honeymoon will be?”
“RJ still doesn’t want to tell me where we’re going, but he does have my passport.”
“Well, that rules out San Francisco.”
Pad bit his lip. Since RJ planned the honeymoon, he wouldn’t be surprised if they had a layover in San Fran considering their last two trips out there.
He scoured the living room from the kitchen as Jen spoke. He didn’t see RJ’s laptop.
Hope he didn’t put that stuff on the Cloud like I asked.
Pad’s mind drifted as Jen interrupted their conversation to chastise one of her kids. It had been awhile since he logged on and checked RJ’s browsing history. He used to check RJ’s internet search habits once a day. Over time his double-checking spread to once a week, then once a month. He probably hadn’t checked on it for a few weeks, even though Pad had been online to check out wedding stuff. Before they broke up, Pad would’ve have never thought about checking RJ’s activities on the computer.
But, Pad had to admit that their relationship changed when they created new ground rules after they moved back in together; one of them was no chat rooms. That meant no InstaChat, no Snapchat, no WebCam link-ups. In some ways the chats bothered Pad more even though RJ took on a fictitious online identity when he went on them.
But that was in the past. Pad could check RJ’s computer to keep RJ honest any time.
Pad looked at the wall clock and realized he lost five minutes of time since the call from Jen. He had to shower and go to work. If he left soon, with the traffic, he should make it on time. “Hey, Jen I have to go and work my shift at the bookstore.”
“All right.” Before she signed off, Pad heard both of kids now, running and screaming in the background. “The twins say hello!”
One of them yelled. “Hi, Uncle Pad!”
“Ha ha! I think they’ll be adorable as ring bearers!”
She laughed. “Yeah. If they can calm down a minute, that’d be great.” She sighed next. “I mean they’re a little older at eight to be doing this, but it’s your wedding, hun.”
“Later,” said Pad.
“Bye.”
Before he headed to shower, Pad remembered about RJ’s flight. He opened the fridge again, double-checked what it contained and texted him. I ate all the leftovers. Get something for yourself before you come home.
- Writer
