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8
ELLIOT
Sammie and I stood at the window of the Bunkhouse and watched the rain fall. We were dressed in black pants and white shirts ready to serve the wedding night meal. Leo had everything organized in the kitchen, leaving us to make last-minute changes to the tables and open and decant bottles of wine Atticus had brought up from his own cellar. The bottles were more expensive than what Sammie and I made in a day here at the restaurant.
“I haven’t seen it rain like this since I’ve been here,” Sammie said.
A biblical rain like we’d often had in Seattle pounded the ground with such vengeance it felt as if the entire state of Washington might float away.
“It’s raining sideways,” Sammie said. “The wind will ruin her hair. They can’t get married under the patio.”
“They’ll have to bring it indoors, I guess. Maybe inside Atticus’s house?”
“Should we go over and see if there’s anything we can do?” Sammie asked.
We’d be soaked the moment we left the restaurant. “I’ll text Caspian and see if he needs our help.”
I sent my boss a quick note asking if we could help. There was no response for a few minutes, but just as we were about to head over to offer our assistance, a text dinged from my phone.
Yes, thank you. We do need help. We’re moving the ceremony to the dining room of the Bunkhouse. Can you and Sammie move tables aside? We’ll need rows of chairs set up for the guests. Chairs here are totally wet from the rain.
I wrote back right away.
We’re on it.
I relayed everything to Sammie, and the two of us started to work. It took less time than I would have imagined. Before long we had three rows of four on either side, with a pathway for the bride between them.
“She needs flowers or something to walk through,” Sammie said, picking at a cuticle.
“We have flowers left from the cake,” I said. “Let’s see what we can do with what we have.”
Sammie and I hustled into the kitchen, where I’d put the unused peonies into the refrigerator. All in all, there were six blooms intact and six that had seen better days.
“We can pluck them bald-headed.” Sammie demonstrated by tugging gently at the petals until they fell into a pile on the counter. I followed her lead, and a few minutes later we had all we were going to get.
Back in the dining room, we tossed the pink petals into the aisle. After we were finished, I stood back to survey. “They don’t look that bad. Not as good as roses, but they’ll have to do.”
Just then the front door of the restaurant swung open and Thad and Caspian entered, carrying an altar strewn with flowers.
“It’s a little wet but not bad,” Caspian said to me. “Some of the flowers fell off—I’ll get them from the bed of my truck.”
“Let me go,” I said. “I don’t have to look good for a wedding.”
“I’m already wet,” he said. “And there’s a lot of them.”
“I’ll help.” At the doorway, he handed me a spare umbrella, which I gladly took.
With my one hand holding the shelter over my head, the other scooped up escaped flowers from the bed of the truck. Even with the umbrella, the front of my pants were soaked by the time we arrived back inside the dining room. Caspian’s dress pants were also wet, and damp hair stuck to his cheeks. I fought an urge to swipe the strands away from his face.
Sammie had already started repairing the altar, adjusting flowers and green foliage that had been jostled in the truck. I grabbed a towel from the kitchen to wipe away as much rainwater as I could from the frame.
They’d set the altar in front of the stone fireplace. This time of year there was not a fire, although with the weather taking such a turn, it was cool enough to warrant one. However, with fresh flowers everywhere, turning on the gas flame would surely wilt them. No one wanted shriveled flowers at a wedding. They might bring bad luck to the marriage.
By half past the hour, we had the dining room somewhat transformed into an area worthy of a wedding ceremony. Now we just had to pray the bride and groom made it here dry and safe.
I went to the window and peered up at the sky. From what I could see, there were no helicopters flying overhead. Perhaps the rain had deterred them?
Caspian came to stand beside me. We spoke of the lack of overhead traffic for a moment before I turned to get a better lookat him. He was an utter mess. In addition to being wet, his tie hung askew.
