Chapter Three: Sam
Today is my sister’s wedding and she is freaking out. And it’s not a mild freak out, it’s a full-blown, ‘oh my god, the world is ending’ freak out. It should be said that everything is turning into a fucking disaster – which is obviously not helping. Like the level of this disaster is astounding. I’d assumed if things had gone smoothly, Sarah would have been having a few contained meltdowns, but we didn’t get best case scenario – we got the everything that can go wrong has gone wrong scenario. So now I’m in fixer mode. I don’t want my little sister thinking about anything except walking down that aisle and marrying that jerkwad Neil. I clearly have some strong feelings regarding the son of a bitch, but today is not the day to air my grievances. Today is the day Sarah gets married.
I find Sarah with our mother. My mom is having Sarah take deep breaths, trying to console her. I bring over a glass of water for my Mom to hand to Sarah. She downs ferociously, not yet realizing I’m in the room. I want to assure my sister that I am taking care of everything. Hopefully, my words will be enough to calm her down until I’m able to right this mess. My Mom and Sarah look up when I approach,
“Sam! Oh my god, it’s so good to see you!” Sarah throws her arms around me, clearly relieved, and I’m worried she’s going to start crying. But she surprises me and keeps her composure. “Oh, Sam. Everything is so fucked.” I can’t lie because the current state of the wedding is ‘somewhat fucked,’ but that doesn’t mean it’s going to stay that way.
“Sarah, I promise I will take care of it. Where do you need me to start?” This gets me a weak smile, but then a sniffle with a pout follows.
“You could start with finding the groom. Apparently, he’s not where he needs to be and Mom’s been trying to reach him, but Neil’s not picking up and I don’t know what to do because he’s supposed to be here soon and if he’s not then we’re not getting married.” Of course that bastard would go AWOL on his own wedding day. I want to bad mouth him so much right now, but that would just get Sarah more worked up. I tell her I’ll locate him and start making the rounds through the venue. We’re having the ceremony and reception in the same building which makes it easier for me to watch over everything. I find someone to hunt down Neil for me because I don’t want to deal with that piece of shit right now.
I start running around, fully sliding into my role as surveyor of all this wedding related. I find that things are not as crazy as Sarah thinks they are, but it is a bit of a mess. The band isn’t here yet and while the food doesn’t need to be out, the tables haven’t even begun to be set. Plus, the place cards aren’t anywhere to be found. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. I’m going to have to yell at a lot of idiots and I really didn’t want to yell today. I start with the band, calling the conductor. They say they’re on their way, but just to make sure they get their butts in gear, I tell them for every minute they are late, I’m going pay them less. The exact amount – they’ll find out when they get here.
I hang up before waiting for a response and then I talk to the priest to make sure he’s all squared away. Apparently, he isn’t because the Bible is missing. This feels like a predicter of the future, but I don’t think about because why should I? I go and find a bible for him and move on through the venue, getting everyone what they need. I’ve never been more angered by the idiocy of my fellow people than today. It’s almost like they’re all incompetent just for the day because when all of this was getting planned, people were way more on top of their shit. I’m mean the confidence was pouring off of them in buckets, but today – I have no idea what could be the cause of everyone’s collective stupidity and I currently do not have the time to figure it out nor do I want to.
I end with the caterers, making sure to get some of the staff on top of setting the tables. It is beyond me why they haven’t started. It’s a fairly large reception and it would make sense to get started as soon as possible. After I get some staff working on the tables, I go back to the kitchen and start asking the chefs some questions about how they’re going to be serving the food. When will it be served? Do they know who is getting what because I don’t see any place cards on tables? Is the food ready? Can I see it? I can tell I’m annoying them, but it doesn’t bother me. When things aren’t getting done, there always has to be that guy who pushes the buttons to jumpstart the process. Maybe I’m being a bit of an asshole and I’m for sure being a major control freak, but I’m also annoyed and I want to get this over with. At least they’re all answering my questions. I’m about to leave when I see the baker walk in. I should probably inspect the cake before I go back to Sarah. It doesn’t seem like Ruby has the cake with her, though. I’m about to ask her about it when I get a text. I look down at my phone and thank god, Neil has been found. I call my mother and let her know the news when I see the doors swing open and the cake is brought in. I can’t see who’s pushing the cart, but they seem to be handling it with care, so I finish my conversation with my mother, no longer feeling there’s a reason to rush.
“I don’t know where they found him and I didn’t ask. All I know is that they are on their way and should be here soon. Also, I got everything squared away. We are back on track. This wedding is happening” I’m hiding my immense annoyance as well as I can. I don’t need my family worrying about my mental state.
“Oh, thank you, Sam. Your sister is not handling the stress well and this will really make her feel better.” I hear Sarah in the background asking questions and telling my mom that she’s doing fine with the stress. It’s funny hearing them argue, so I just listen, letting myself feel something a little more positive. While they have their own conversation, the woman who was pushing the cake finally comes into view. She walks out from behind the cake, her eyes never leaving the tiered structure. It takes me a second to fully process her face because I’m left a little shocked. She’s shorter than me, probably coming up to my shoulder. I’m a tall guy, so that means she’s like average height, I guess. But that’s not important. I don’t know why I’m obsessing over her height when it’s her entire being I’m mesmerized by. Her hair is placed on top of her head in a tight bun, a few tendrils loose. I’d love to free her hair and run my fingers through it. It looks like it would be silky smooth and I bet it would be sexy to have it wrapped around my hand, so I can hold her head in place, my lips grazing her skin. And that looks soft, as well. I want to run my tongue all over her body, tasting every inch of her… I might get some flour in my mouth though because she seems to have it on her face.
I realize I’m still on the phone with my mom and I need to get off because I don’t want to be having these vivid sexual fantasies while she’s talking my ear off. It’s too Oedipal for my liking.
“I have to go Mom. I need to talk to the wedding cake people.”
“Okay,” the way she says it makes me think she knows something is up, but in classic Wynonna Wood fashion, she lets it slide. “Get back to us soon. We don’t want to get off track again. I don’t think your sister could handle it.” I’m guessing she wants me to calm down with my overseer duties, but that’s not something I’m going to deal with now. Partially because it’s been a point of tension in our family for a little bit – my need for… control – but also because I need to find out who this woman is.
“Yeah, Mom. I’ll be back soon.” My voice has a tinge of petulant teenager and that’s embarrassing, but I’ll get over it. I hang up, but keep my feet unmoving. I don’t want to approach this blonde woman just yet. I want to watch her a little longer. Voyeuristic, no? I’m one for watching, it’s just how I am. Ruby seems to have gone away again and this girl is taking care of the final preparations. She is very focused on her work, not yet aware that my eyes are solely on her. The cake has come out magnificently. Sarah will be pleased.
The baker’s delicate hands add flowers made of frosting. It’s amazing how effortless it seems. I’m not the most creative type and watching people who have such control fascinates me. But this fascination is compounded by the fact the she’s fucking hot. I mean, she isn’t wearing anything that would be considered sexy, but the razor-sharp concentration she has and the contours of her face draw me in. I want to touch her and have those eyes focused on me. Focused on the pleasure I could give her. I don’t even know her and I’m roleplaying sexual fantasies. I get out of my head and return to reality. I should probably find Ruby and give her all the instructions – she’s the one we’ve been consulting with the entire time – but I’m more intrigued by this woman, so she’s the one I’m going to talk to. Maybe something… else will come out of this interaction.