Chapter 3: I'm getting married tomorrow!

                There was a light knock at the bedroom door as Evie sat buried in the yellow and blue queen sized comforter with the bedside lamp on and her laptop open in her lap.

                “Come in,” she called softly.

                Callie’s dark head poked in, “Are you awake?”

                “If I wasn’t I would be very annoyed with you right about now,” Evie teased.  She patted the bed next to her.

                Callie softly closed the white washed door behind her and settled on the edge of the bed with one foot tucked underneath her.

                “Couldn’t sleep?”

                “No.  I’m way too excited about tomorrow.”

                Evie closed the computer and laid it on the bed beside her.  “Are you ready for being a married woman?”

                “Oh yes!  I’ve waited my whole life for this moment and Nathan is so, well, perfect!  I absolutely can’t wait!”

                Evie smiled for her sister’s happiness.  It felt so natural being back in her old bedroom at her parents’ house with Callie sneaking in long after everyone else was asleep.

                “It feels so weird having everything packed up.  Now my room is just as empty as yours.”

                Evie nodded in agreement.  She could still picture the walls around her that used to be plastered with posters of boy bands from floor to ceiling.  From the Backstreet Boys to 98 Degrees… she had owned them all.  This room used to be stuffed with furniture she had painted herself and covered in glow in the dark stickers.  There had been a teal inflatable chair next to the window with a blanket her grandmother had crocheted tossed across it and wooden shelves above both the closet and hall doors that stored her treasures like her collection of music boxes.  Around high school the room’s style had evolved more toward the Victorian classic and ventured away from the psychedelic colors of her middle school years.  The posters featuring the faces of boys she would probably never meet were torn down and replaced by photographs of beautiful places she would like to see someday.  When she had moved into her first apartment after college and taken all her old furniture, her mother had redecorated the room in the pale yellows and blues she saw around her now.  It was classy and sophisticated, just like her mother.  Callie’s room was about to make the same transformation.

                “It’s strange to think that this is probably the last time we’ll sit in here just like old times.”

                “Yeah.  You’re going to be an old married woman with a husband… and kids….”

                “Goodness, Evie!” Callie laughed.  “Getting a little ahead of things, aren’t you?”

                “Well, you guys have talked about it, right?”

                “Of course we have.  We’re going to wait until after we’ve been married a year, see where we’re at, and then start trying.”

                “That’s a very good plan.”  Callie always had a plan.  And, her life had always followed that plan perfectly.  The same could not be said for Evie’s life.  It seemed whenever she thought she had things figured out something happened to throw her life into complete chaos.  Josh’s sudden exit was a prime example.  She admired her sister and the way everything worked so well for her, even if she did have to fight back brief moments of jealousy.

                “So many memories are in this house.  I can’t believe they’re coming to an end.”

                “They’re not ending,” Evie said.  “They’re just changing.  You’re going to make many more memories and you can always come back and bring your new life.”

                Callie moved to the head of the bed next to Evie and wiggled under the blankets.  “How weird is it going to be to sleep in Mom and Dad’s house with a guy?”

                Evie laughed.  “Weird, I’m sure!”

                The girls giggled quietly together before slipping into a comfortable silence.

                “Remember the cockroaches?” Callie asked suddenly.

                Evie couldn’t help laughing out loud.  “That’s really random!  I had completely forgotten about that!  What on earth made you think of it?”

                “I dunno,” Callie shrugged.  “Oh my gosh, you were so mean,” she said with a shudder.  She pulled the blanket to her chin and made a mean face toward her sister.

                “You were such a little weanie about bugs.  Someone needed to help you out of it.”

                Evie had found a bag of fake cockroaches at Halloween one year and decided to hide them in random places around the house in an effort to desensitize her sister to all things creepy and crawly.  It was probably needlessly cruel, but what else are big sisters for?  She had slipped them between the sheets of Callie’s bed, buried them inside drawers, folded them up inside clean clothes, glued them to the inside of the bathroom shower curtain…

                “You were the only one who enjoyed that prank.  I spent months worrying when another one of those disgusting little things was going to pop out at me again.”  She shivered at the memory.  “They felt just like the real thing!  Squishy and gross.”

                “And how do you know what real cockroaches feel like?”

                Callie grimaced and glared back at her sister.  “I can imagine…”

                “You know, it never got old hearing you scream bloody murder at totally random moments.  The silence being pierced by your girly little shrieks.”

                “I don’t make girly shrieks!”

                “Oh, but you do!  And you do this funny little dance where you tuck one foot up like a flamingo and wave your hands in tiny little circles like this.”  Evie demonstrated the move for her sister’s embarrassment.

                “How was that, again?”  Callie laughed.  She tucked her own elbows to her chest and waved her hands around in tiny circles like Evie was doing.  The girls burst into laughter at the memory.

                “Dad got so mad at me for tormenting you that he grounded me for two weeks, but it was totally worth it,” Evie laughed as she rocked her head back against the bed’s wooden headboard and sighed.

                “He grounded you because Mom found one instead of me.”

                It was supposed to be Callie reaching for the box of cereal, but instead it had been Mrs. Remington, dressed in a classy skirt and blouse, hair neatly tucked into a Gibson tuck, and black pumps, who had pulled the cereal out of the cabinet.  The plastic cockroach had fallen off the box just as planned and their mother had done a quick 360 jump on one foot, hands in the air, dropping the box of cereal to the floor, and screaming the entire time like the house had suddenly burst into flames.  Evie had been sitting at the table in the breakfast nook, waiting for her sister, and had gotten a front row seat to the entire escapade.

                “I’ve never seen her move so fast in my life!” Evie stammered as she accidentally choked for a second.  “But, it still wasn’t nearly as funny as you finding the one in the shower!”

                Callie burst into laughter as she remembered the event.  It had been a typical morning.  Evie was still asleep, which was probably the grand design the whole time, so Callie had been the first into the shower.  She had been lost in the enjoyment of the sizzling hot water as it poured over her hair and body.  She had both arms over her head as she lathered up the shampoo, “and when I turned my head, there it was stuck to the inside of the shower curtain!  I ripped open that curtain and flew out of the bathroom!”

                “I’ll never forget the way you screamed!  It was unbelievably funny watching you doing your infamous little dance in the hall right outside my door, stark naked, dripping soap and water ALL OVER the floor, and screaming bloody murder!  It was a very confusing and humorous moment in my life.  Best wake-up call ever!”

                They laughed until their sides were splitting and they both had tears rolling down their cheeks.  After the laughter had subsided to small giggles and eventually faded into silence again, Evie rolled her head over and smiled at her little sister.  “You’re getting married tomorrow,” she whispered.

                Callie’s eyes glistened suddenly with tears and she beamed back, “I’m getting married tomorrow.”

                When Evie woke to the sound of Callie in the shower at 5am she began seriously questioning her sister’s choice of an early morning wedding.  Forget the rainbows in the church… this is nuts and she rolled over with a loud groan.

                “Good morning!  Good morning!  Good morning!  It’s time to rise and shine!  Good morning!  Good morning…” Evie slammed the snooze button and seriously regretted buying the shamelessly happy alarm clock.  She pulled the extra pillow over her face and waited until she heard Callie finish in the bathroom before trying to drag herself out of bed.

                By the time she had showered, finished makeup, arranged her dark hair in curls on top of her head, and wandered downstairs, Callie was seated backwards in one of the kitchen chairs with her legs splayed apart on either side and a woman, who looked about Evie’s age, busily finishing up curling Callie’s hair.  There was very little light outside and yet Callie had found a hairdresser willing to get up at the butt crack of dawn to make her wedding dream a reality.

                Again, I ask, who does this other than Callie?

                “Good morning, Callie,” Evie uttered groggily as she began perusing the kitchen for where the bags of tea were hidden.

                “Good morning!  Evie, this is Chelle.  Chelle, this is my sister, Evie.  Have you guys met before?”

                Evie smiled at Chelle’s round face and nodded a “Hello” since the girl’s paunchy hands were beginning to arrange the delicate curls on Callie’s head.

                “I don’t believe we have met.  Did you grow up around here?” Evie asked.

                Chelle shook her head as she struggled to separate a single bobby pin from the pile one-handed.  “I grew up in Charolette, but my grandmother lived here.  We used to visit her every summer and I always loved the town.  I used to dream about what life would be like here, so after I got my beautician’s license I decided to move here and try the small town life for a while.”

                “And what do you think of it all?”

                “I’ll never go back to the big city.”

                The sound of Evie and Callie’s mother hitting the hard wood of the foyer with her heels echoed through the house.  She clicked her way through the kitchen door, fully dressed in her mother-of-the-bride formalwear, and smiled warmly at everyone.

                “Good morning, Chelle,” she said gently patting Chelle on the back before coming around to Callie.  She placed her hands on either side of her younger daughter’s face and leaned in until their foreheads were nearly touching.  “This is your moment to shine.  You’re going to be the most beautiful bride there ever was.  I hope Nathan knows what an incredibly lucky man he is,” and she gently kissed Callie’s cheek.

                “I know he does.”  Callie blinked back tears.

                After their mother-daughter moment, Mrs. Remington turned to Evie who was waiting for her water to finish heating in the microwave for her tea.  “Good morning, Evie,” she said as she reached around her older daughter and embraced her.  “You look quite lovely.  You did an excellent job with your hair.  Perfect!”

                “Thank you.”

                “Both of my girls are so beautiful,” Mrs. Remington beamed.

                Round Chelle piped up, “Yes they are.  You are a very blessed woman,” while she continued twirling pieces of Callie’s curls and pinning them to the back of her head.

                “Evie, your dress is already at the church with Callie’s.  We need to be at the church by 7:30.  Callie, you can ride with Evie when you get finished because you’ll be leaving for the honeymoon in Nathan’s car.  Chelle, about how much longer will you you need to finish?”

                Chelle and Callie briefly disappeared into a cloud of hair spray.  “I can probably be done in about thirty minutes.”

                “Thank you, Chelle.  Okay, girls, your father and I are leaving.  We will see you at the church in a little while.”

                She hugged both her daughters again and clicked out of the room as quickly as she had entered.

                Evie dropped a bag of tea into the piping hot water in her coffee cup and moved to the kitchen table where she could sit while it steeped.

                “Evie, would you hand me that bag, please?”

                Evie slid the pink plaid bag to the end of the table where Callie was still seated backwards in the chair.  There was already a silver counter-top mirror within Callie’s grasp so she positioned it in front of her and began applying her makeup.

                Evie watched her sister delicately apply the little details that enhanced her already stunningly perfect face.  She sipped on her tea while Chelle sprayed away at Callie’s curls and waved her hand to clear the air when the room got a little difficult to breathe.

“I’m sorry about that.  I’m almost finished,” Chelle apologized.

“It’s fine,” Evie replied.

                How had this day gotten here so fast?  Wasn’t Callie still supposed to be in middle school like she had been when Evie had moved out to attend college?  She had watched her sister grow up from a distance… she had heard about the high school drama over the phone… she had followed Callie’s budding relationship with Nathan through pictures on social media… there had been late night catch-up sessions when she had been home for the weekend or holidays… but largely she hadn’t been here.  She had been busy living her life in the big city and had forgotten about the little town of Belgrove as well as her life there.  She would never forget the night her mother had called with the news of Callie’s engagement.  She and Callie were talking so fast, and at the same time, that is had been difficult for Evie to decipher how it had actually happened, especially over the phone.

                How was it possible that so much time had passed by?  She stared at Callie carefully applying her mascara and for the first time, she was seeing her little sister as a woman.  A soon-to-be MARRIED woman she reminded herself.  Callie and Nathan weren’t going far.  They were staying here in the quiet, picturesque little town that was Belgrove, but things were never going to be the same.  Her stomach swelled with proud butterflies for her sister.  A new job, a new house, a new husband… things were definitely looking up for her sister.

                “All finished!” Chelle chirped proudly.  “Would you like to see the back?”

                “Yes, please!”  Callie dropped the mascara to the table and adjusted the mirror in front of her while Chelle pulled out a hand mirror and held it up behind her.

                “Oh, I love it!  Evie, look!”  She flipped around in the chair so her sister could see the back of her head.  Her hair was pulled half-way up into budding curls that looked like brown roses.  The remainder cascaded across the top of her shoulders.  Little rhinestone crystals glistened randomly among the bouquet of curls at the back of Callie’s head.  It was absolutely perfect.  “Wow!  That is gorgeous!”

                “Chelle, you did an amazing job,” Callie said as she stood up and hugged the paunchy hair dresser.  “Thank you so much.  And, thank you for being willing to get up so early!”

                Chelle shrugged the compliment and thank you’s off with a smile.  “It was my pleasure,” she said as she began packing up her things.

                “Is there anything you need to take with you?” Evie asked.

                Callie flipped the chair around and slid it back under the table.  She tucked the pink plaid makeup bag under her arm and grabbed the silver mirror.  “I have a bag by the door that’s ready to go.”

                The two girls thanked Chelle again and headed to Evie’s car in the driveway.  The air still had a good nip to it when they stepped outside and Evie pulled the door closed behind her.  She sucked in a deep breath of the cool, mountain air and smiled at the happy memories that flooded her mind.  They slipped into the front seats of her car.

                “This is really happening!  It’s really here!  It’s finally coming true!  I’m getting married today!” Callie squealed.  She was practically vibrating with excitement.

                “You’re getting married in three hours!” Evie added and Callie let out an excited yelp.

                “I think I’m going to pass out.  Oh my gosh, I can’t believe this is finally happening!  My stomach has butterflies, Evie!”

                “Breathe, Callie.  Take a deep breath… let it out slowly.”

                Callie mimicked her sister’s example as the car rolled through the neighborhood.  Callie sucked in deep breath after deep breath but still kept fanning herself with her hands as she blew the air out through puckered lips.

                “It’s not working, Evie.  I’m too happy, and now my head is spinning.”

                “Maybe you’re not doing it right.”

                “How can I possibly mess up breathing?  It’s kind of self-explanatory, don’t you think?”

                “Well, just wait to pass until after the ceremony.  You would hate to mess up your hair.”

                “True.  Oh, I feel like a princess!”

                “You look like a princess.”

                Callie pulled down the mirror on the backside of the car’s visor and re-checked her appearance even though it had been mere minutes since she had checked the mirror at the house.

                “Have you seen the dress since I got it fitted last?”

                “No, but Mom sent me a picture.”

                “Wait until you see it!”  Callie was lost in her daydreams as she rattled on and on about having the bodice taken in and the beading around the bottom of the skirt re-stitched to accommodate her tiny 5’1” frame.  She laughed about what they had gone through to get the shoes died correctly to match the flowers in her bouquet.  A little ‘pop’ of color was what she called it.  Evie could picture the entire story perfectly as if she had been there for it herself.

                The church sign proudly read “Congratulations Nathan and Callie Nole” when Evie turned the car into the parking lot of Belgrove Baptist.  The little stone church stood quietly on the hill, waiting for the bride and groom to arrive.  The sun was finally fully up and shone brilliantly down on the building.

                “Nathan’s not going to accidentally see you before the ceremony, is he?”

                “I don’t think he’s coming over until right before pictures.”

                “Which isn’t that long from now.  Want me to call Mom just to be sure?”

                Callie glanced around the parking lot, “His car’s not here.  I think we’re good.”

                The sanctuary was buzzing with activity when the girls stepped through the door.  Mr. and Mrs. Nole were busy hanging flower arrangements and directing where the white runner was going to be when Callie softly padded down the carpeted aisle.

                Evie took a moment to soak in the room’s warm interior while her sister was saying hello to everyone and virtually bouncing off the walls.  The rustic-smelling room danced with the rainbows coming from the morning sun just the same as yesterday.

                “Hey, sugar.”

                She smiled at her dad’s voice as she turned to hug him.  He kissed her cheek, his prickly mustache scratching her skin.  “I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to say good morning before we left.  Your mother is a slave driver!  She’s had me hopping all week long!”

                “It’s fine.  It’s still morning.”

                “You’re right, it is.  Doesn’t feel like it, though.  Feels like it should be 3pm already.  You know, your mother kept talking to me all night about things she might not remember, and then she finally got up at 4.  Good thing this is a morning wedding.  I’m going to need a nap.”

                “You’re just grumpy because the baby of the family is getting married.”

                “Who said anything about being grumpy?  I’m a proud father-of-the-bride, and don’t be telling people otherwise.”  He stretched himself taller and gave her a grin.  He ran his hands down the lapel of the rented tuxedo before heading down the aisle to Callie.

                “Sugar, you look so beautiful,” he said before wrapping Callie in a huge hug.

                The back door swung open.  Evie glanced up, shocked to see Nathan stepping through the door.  He can’t see Callie!  She would be crushed!  She ran down the aisle toward the groom, waving her hands madly and yelling, “Get out!  You’re not supposed to see the bride before the wedding!”

                Nathan seemed quite amused at the commotion he had caused and chuckled at the tiny little woman bounding through the church toward him like a wild banshee.

                There were squeals and laughter from the people in the sanctuary as Bill shielded his daughter from Nathan’s eyes.  Callie hunched over with her dad hovering over her and ducked out the door beside the piano at the front of the church.  Regina Nole crowded behind Callie and Bill as they hurried to the side door behind the piano.  There was quite a lot of commotion until the door finally shut and Regina Nole called out that the bride was safely hidden away.

                “Nathan Nole!  I told you to call me before you came in,” Regina scolded.

                Nathan glanced down at Evie.  She was still standing with both arms out as a blockade to keep him from seeing Callie.  “May I come in, now?”  Evie stepped aside.

                Kyle was chuckling quietly to himself in the vestibule.  She hadn’t noticed him coming in behind his brother since she was only concerned with keeping her sister hidden for the next few hours.

                “What are you giggling about over there?” she chided.

                “You.  Leaping down the aisle like a gazelle.  I didn’t know little people could move that fast,” he teased.

                He noticed me?  He was paying attention to me?  The pit of her stomach warmed at the notion.

                “Well, then you know nothing about me,” she teased back with one eyebrow lifted mockingly.  She spun on her heels and whipped her way to the front of the church.  It was time to change into her dress and be transformed into her sister’s maid of honor!