“Never say never,” Sienna sings.
“Easy for you to say. You’re marrying the boy you’ve been dating since high school,” I say.
“Yeah, you don’t get to opine about dating in this day and age when you’ve only dated one person,” Sadie adds.
“Mom and Dad only dated each other,” Sienna says.
“It was different in the ancient times,” Sadie quips.
Sienna turns the car with the bend in the road and I notice the gate there has been opened.
“Did you hear that, Kate? Our daughters think we’re old and decrepit,” Dad says.
“Practically ready to be mummified,” Mom jokes.
We drive for another mile before we finally see a paved driveway, parking lot, and a large building that resembles a ski lodge. Behind it, the Rockies rise in the clear blue sky. Sienna and Sadie let out an excited squeal.
Sienna parks the car, and we get out, breathing in the cold, clean sharpness of the icy mountain air. Sadie hooks her arm through mine as we walk up to the building.
Inside, it’s warm and smells like Christmas. There’s a big tree by the reception desk, mistletoe hanging over the door, Christmas music plays softly from a speaker. There’s a woman behind the counter wearing a thick white sweater and black slacks, her hair twisted up into a bun.
She looks up when we walk in and smiles. “You must be the Monroes.”
“That’s us,” Sienna says.
“Great! I’m Hannah and I’ll be your guide,” she walks around her desk. “Who’s the bride?”
We all point at Sienna.
“We’re trying to get rid of her,” I say.
“She’s so annoying,” Sadie agrees.
Sienna rolls her eyes and sticks her tongue out at us. Hannah laughs and leads us further into the building.
“Welcome to Cedar Creek Lodge,” Hannah says. “It was built in 1937 as a lodge for the rich and famous to get away from the real world and was shut down in 2005. We re-opened five years ago as an event space.”
Hannah leads us through the lobby, which overlooks a terrace with a large hot tub.
“Are there any plans to open the lodge again?” Dad asks.
“Absolutely!” Hannah says, grinning. “Cedar Creek is a big property, and our new owner has a lot of plans for it. He hopes to have the lodge operational in the next two years, but there are a lot of technicalities he’s working through.”
She’s practically got stars in her eyes when she speaks of this owner.
“You’ll have access to the whole lodge during your big day. Your guests can hang out here or in the venue. We do have another two events scheduled for the same day, but they will be in the smaller rooms,” Hannah continues.
Sienna looks surprised. “Oh, I think there’s some confusion. I booked one of the smaller rooms.”
Hannah looks down at the tablet in her hands and frowns. “I see a booking for Monroe & Carter for the grand ballroom on December 23rd.”
“I think there’s a mistake,” Sienna insists. “The grand ballroom is completely out of our price range.”
Hannah winces. “Let me get my manager.” She pulls out her phone and steps away from us.
“I’m sure it’s fine,” Mom says, rubbing soothing circles on Sienna’s back. My sister gives her a strained smile.
“It’s probably because they have so many bookings,” Sadie says. “Didn’t you get your booking at the last minute?”
