Our friends’ other halves come in, and we spend the rest of the night making lists and figuring out what needs to be done. I’m grateful for the friends we have, otherwise the workload would seem impossible.
When the house has quieted down, signaling her family’s departure, we take our meeting to the kitchen. Lucia has left a full pan of brownies sitting on the counter for us. A note beside it reads, “Enjoy.”
Tonya mutters something about her dress not fitting before she shoves a square of chocolate in her mouth. At least she seems calmer now.
Five
Tonya
I’m hidingout in my room...again. Although my family is amazing, their presence is draining. The offers of help are also getting annoying. If I needed it, I would ask. Well, probably not. But still, they don’t have to keep asking what I need done.
The list, and dividing of jobs, Darcy put together over the weekend helped immensely. We’ve gotten almost all the flower arrangements done, and are putting on the final touches. I’m going to need Darcy to show me her magical ways so I can keep my life in order. It would definitely help me better manage my time once Reaf and I are living together.
The thought has me terrified and excited at the same time. Is that even possible? I’ve never lived with anyone besides my parents and I don’t even knowhowto run a household. And cooking is out of the question because I’m horrible at it.
My biggest worry is how is Layla going to handle it? I know she’s only a year old, but this is the only home she’s known. Will she act out when she doesn’t get to see my parents every day? It’s going to be an adjustment, that’s for sure. I only hope we all get through it without getting frustrated.
“Tonya,” Cami yells in my ear.
“What?” I snap back. Lifting my hand, I rub my earlobe. Son of a biscuit she’s loud.
“Girl, I’ve been trying to get your attention for the past few minutes. Don’t snap at me.” She’s wagging her finger in my face. She’s going to make an awesome mom one day. I’ll never tell her that, of course. She’d run for the hills and never look back.
“Sorry,” I mutter. Grabbing the closest pillow on my bed, I place it in my lap worrying one of the corners. The sun is shining brightly through my sheer curtains, and I hate that I feel like I have to sequester myself to feel a bit of peace.
“What’s the matter?” Darcy calls from the doorway, a plate of cookies balanced on her hand. The smell hits me, and I groan, knowing I can’t have any even if I want them. I swear Mom is trying to keep me from fitting into that damn dress.
“Just thinking about what it’s going to be like to have my own apartment, and how the hell I’m going to keep us all alive when I can’t even cook.”
Cami shrugs as if it’s no big deal. “You can always order take out.” She grabs a cookie from the plate and takes a big bite. “And I’m sure Reaf will cook for y’all,” she mumbles around a mouthful of the dessert I want so badly.
“He said he would. But I feel like it’s a responsibility we should both share.” I place my fingertip on my lips. “I should take a cooking class, or at least watch some videos so I can make something simple until I find time to learn.”
“That’s a good idea,” Darcy says as she places the cookies on my bed. Within reach. It’s like they are trying to test my willpower. Cami knows how much I love my mom’s baking, even if Darcy doesn’t. That’s another thing I’m going to miss. “And, I’m sure it’s something he’ll appreciate. Y’all could take one of those couples cooking classes. I know they have some in Dallas. It could be a fun date night.”
Hmmm. I never thought of doing something like that. It would definitely be different than what we usually do, which is stay home and watch movies while Layla plays, or snuggles, with us. “I’ll look into that. It would give us something to do before while we wait to have a honeymoon this summer.”
“It sucks you can’t go on a honeymoon right away like most people.” Cami plops on the bed, and grabs another cookie.
The sweet, gooey, chocolatey temptation has pushed me past my limits and I take a cookie for myself. If I eat in small bites it doesn’t count right? “I know. But this is the only time we could ensure everyone would make it to the wedding.” I cringe when I see the pang of sadness hit Darcy. I know she’s worried Derrick won’t make it, but he’ll be here. Travis accidentally let it slip to Reaf. He’s going to surprise her, and I can’t help but love how dedicated he is to her.
“At least you won’t have to worry about classes when you go.” A small smile forms as she changes the subject.
“That is true,” I reply. “We aren’t taking any summer classes. We’re going to use those few months to enjoy being newlyweds.”
Another cookie is calling my name, but instead of grabbing one, I push the plate to the other side of my bed. I won’t eat them if they are over there, out of easy reach. At least that’s what I tell myself.
“So, what’s on the agenda for today?” I ask Darcy. She is the keep of the lists after all. Thank goodness she volunteered to handle that part, and I’m not the one keeping up with it.
She pulls her phone out of her back pocket and opens up an app. Scrolling past all the things we’ve already checked off, her finger stops on the main task we need to do today. “It looks like we need to go to the church and see where we’re going to place the decorations and finalize a couple of details with the pastor.”
“Hiding out in here isn’t getting anything done. Let’s head to the church.” I stand up, grabbing my purse. “How much of my family is here right now?”
Darcy grabs the plate of cookies to return them to the kitchen on our way out. “Just your great-grandmother, one of your aunts, and your mom. Why?”
“Just trying to figure out how many people I need to deflect on our way out the door.”
As soon as we walk out of the room, I take a quick look inside Layla’s room. She’s still peacefully napping. Waking her up from her nap is the last thing I want to do.