She reached for her phone in her purse. With the wedding so close, her phone was constantly going off. There were just so many details to handle. She found a message from one of her good friends. Janice was supposed to sing a solo at the ceremony.
Just left the doctor’s. Got pneumonia.
The breath caught in Angela’s lungs. She knew her friend hadn’t been feeling well, but she’d had no idea she was this sick.
Angela:Oh, no. I’m so sorry. What can I do?
Janice:Thx. Going home to bed. Sorry, I won’t be at the wedding.
Angela:Just take care of yourself. Call if you need anything.
She felt awful for Janice. People shouldn’t be able to get sick during the summer. It was a time for fun in the sun. Illness was meant for the brutal winter months, when the evenings came early and the temperatures dipped below freezing.
At least Janice had gone to the doctor. Now she would be on the mend—at least, Angela hoped so. But it now left her without a singer for the wedding.
“Oh no. Janice is sick.” When Carter didn’t say anything, Angela asked, “Did you hear me?”
“Um… What?”
He’d been distracted a lot recently. It seemed like the closer they got to the wedding, the more he focused on his work. Still, he taken today off to help her with the last-minute details.
She slipped her phone back in her purse. “It was Janice. She’s very sick and won’t be able to make it to the wedding.”
“Isn’t she supposed to sing?”
Angela nodded. “I’ll have to find someone else.”
She got an idea and dialed the minister who was to marry them. Maybe he could find someone from the church choir to fill in. The phone rang and rang before it switched to an answering machine, where she left a brief message.
“I hope he gets back to me quickly. We don’t have much time until the wedding.”
“It’s not that big of a deal. We can get married without a singer.”
He made it sound so simple, but Angela knew that wasn’t the case. “We already had the programs printed up.”
His brows rose. “We’re having programs for the wedding?”
“I told you this already.” Her voice was short and clipped. As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she regretted them. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped.”
She’d been apologizing a lot lately. She just had to relax. Everything for the wedding was on track, except for the singer. But she would fix that. Somehow.
“Is the program necessary?” He briefly glanced at her as though letting her know that he was paying attention now.
She nodded. It had been her mother’s idea. “It will streamline the ceremony. With so many strangers attending, it’ll help them figure out the names of the wedding party.”
He nodded as though it made sense to him, but she could tell by the lines between his brows that he still didn’t understand why they were having programs. “Why not white out the part about Janice?”
She didn’t like the idea. It would make the programs look sloppy. “It doesn’t actually say her name. So we’re lucky there. It says something generic about having a wedding singer. Still, if I can’t find a replacement, we might have to white it out on the programs.”
The car slowed to a stop in front of the Perky Pink Wedding Planner Company. This was such an exciting moment for her—picking up her wedding gown. A big smile pulled at her lips.
She turned to Carter. “Do you want to come inside? Don’t worry, you won’t see the dress. They have a waiting area.”
He shook his head. “I’ll wait here.” He grabbed his phone and started to check his messages. “I have some important emails I need to respond to.” His fingers moved rapidly over the screen
“Okay. I’ll just be ten or fifteen minutes. I love you.” She leaned over to give him a kiss, but her kiss landed on his clean-shaven cheek. His inattention stung. She told herself to let it go. After the wedding, things would get better.
After she got out and was about to close the door, he said, “Love you too.”