CHAPTER 13
“Ready?” Molly asked as they stood between their two vehicles parked in Ginny’s parents’ driveway.
“No.” Ginny pouted and considered getting back inside her car and driving away to delay the inevitable.
She couldn’t shake the feeling of impending doom over the upcoming event. She’d even hidden out to delay the whole thing.
Parked along the curb down the block, she’d waited until she saw Molly pull into her parents’ driveway before she pulled up to the house herself. All because she didn’t want to arrive first and be there alone with her parents. That’s how much Ginny dreaded her mother’s reaction to the news she was moving away.
“Come on.” Molly tugged on Ginny’s arm. “Procrastinating won’t help anything.”
“It might.” Ginny dragged her feet to slow their progress toward the house and the certain guilt trip waiting for her within.
Molly rolled her eyes and forged ahead. “Your mother can’t be upset with you when you come bearing both the good news of your engagement and food.”
“Wanna bet?” Ginny wasn’t so sure about that, but luckily she’d stopped by the gourmet shop and stocked up on their favorite foods anyway.
“You brought lunch. I have dessert and bridal magazines. We’re good. We’ll kill your parents with kindness. Your mother won’t know what hit her.”
Ginny let out a guttural noise of doubt. “Don’t be so sure.”
Her mother would know when Ginny delivered the news she was moving seven hours away. No question about that. But Molly was correct about one thing. Dragging this out wouldn’t change anything in the end so she might as well get it over with.
Like ripping off a bandage. One quick painful yank . . .
The front door of the house swung open, ending any chance for Ginny to turn and run.
“Molly. It’s nice to see you again.” Ginny’s mother kissed Molly’s cheek.
“Nice to see you too, Mrs. Starr. Thanks for having me over. I picked up dessert. Cannoli from the Italian bakery.” Molly held up the white bakery box tied with string.
Her eyes lit up. “Mmm. I can’t wait. Thank you.”
“My pleasure. I’ll go put them in the kitchen.” Molly smiled and sidled past Ginny’s mother and into the house.
Then it was Ginny’s turn. “Hi, Mom.”
“Hello, Virginia.”
Had her mother sounded happier to see Molly than her own daughter? Ginny stomped down that suspicion, but still vowed that next time she came over she’d be stopping to pick up cannoli herself.
“Where’s Dad?” she asked when she saw past her mother and her father wasn’t in his usual chair in the living room.
“He’s out back trimming the hedges.”
“Oh.” With the hope she could soothe the ruffled feathers about to be caused by the upcoming announcement, Ginny held up the plastic bag in her own hand. “I picked up the chicken salad you like. And the pasta salad Dad likes.”
“Oh, g—” When her mother’s eyes went wide and her mouth hung open on the unfinished word, Ginny’s mind reeled to figure out what was happening.
It took her a second to put the pieces together and realize what her mother was reacting to . . . and her own mistake. Her engagement ring was on the hand she’d thrust right in front of her mother’s nose by holding up the bag of food.
“Um. Surprise. I’m engaged.” She tried for a singsong, happy tone of voice, but wasn’t sure she pulled it off.
Molly had reappeared behind Ginny’s mom. Unseen by the older woman, Molly cringed before walking around to join the conversation. “Isn’t it great, Mrs. Starr? And I love the ring. So classic. It’ll never go out of style.”
As her friend babbled, Ginny, still standing just inside the front door, decided she’d better get to the sofa and sit down for this.
She pushed past her mother. “Let’s sit down.”
“Yeah, there’s so much to talk about and plan. It’s so exciting.” Even Molly’s perpetual optimism seemed to fall flat in the face of Ginny’s mother’s stone-faced silence.
Ginny plopped the bag of food on the shelf in the fridge and returned to the living room to find her mother still narrow-eyed in spite of Molly’s cheerful efforts.
“Where are you two going to live?” Ginny’s mother asked.
Wow. Right to the heart of the matter. No tiptoeing around it.
“In Virginia?” Dammit. It was a definitive answer, so why had Ginny made it sound like a question?
Ginny’s mother’s lips formed a thin angry line. “So I’ll just never see you again.”
So many responses to that ridiculous accusation flew into Ginny’s head she couldn’t choose just one.
Luckily, Molly was faster. Her mouth was open before Ginny could form a coherent thought.
“Actually, Mrs. Starr, Ginny was telling me how she plans to come back to Connecticut whenever Thom deploys. And since she won’t have her apartment up here anymore, she’ll have to stay here with you, so you’ll probably see her more. You know how often Thom’s gone.” Molly had lowered her voice for that last part, as if she and Ginny’s mother shared a common distaste for how much her new husband would abandon her.
Since it seemed to be working, Ginny didn’t fight it. She jumped on Molly’s train of thought. “Would you mind if I stayed in my old room sometimes while Thom’s away?”
“Of course not. I put my off-season clothes in your closet but I can move them into storage bins and you can keep some of your things here, if you want. That way they’ll be here when you come and you don’t have to travel with luggage.”
“Good idea. It’ll be so much easier to just jump on the train or plane with a small carry-on bag. She’ll probably be up here more than she’s down there with the amount of travel Thom does,” Molly said.
“Mm, hm.” Ginny’s mother nodded.
Pushing aside the fact that her mother and her best friend were basically hoping her husband would be away more than he was home—God, how Ginny hoped that wasn’t going to be true—she decided not to argue. The dark cloud her news had caused seemed to have lifted and Ginny wasn’t about to bring it back again.
There was one thing she had to bring up though. Thom was waiting for her to text with a date so he could put in for leave before they flew off to wherever he hinted he was going.
“So I have a list of a few possible wedding dates I wanted to run by you just to make sure you don’t have other plans.”
“Sure. Let me get the calendar off the bulletin board. It’s one of those eighteen-month calendars so we can see next year too.” Her mother looked proud of her advance preparedness.
Too bad Ginny was going to have to burst her bubble that there was no way she was waiting until next year to have this wedding.
“Actually, we were hoping to have it this summer.”
Her mother’s eyes popped wide. “This summer?”
“Yes.” Afraid of another meltdown, Ginny grasped for a way to get her mother on board with this plan. “That way Thom can add me to his health insurance. You know how much I’m paying now. Through the military, since he’s active duty, once we’re married my coverage will be free.”
“Oh, that will save you a lot. But this summer? How will you find anywhere that’s decent and not booked up already?”
“Maybe someplace will have a last minute cancellation,” Molly suggested.
“True. I bet there are people who have to cancel events. Then maybe the catering hall would be willing to negotiate the price lower to fill the date.”
“Exactly.” Molly nodded in agreement with Ginny’s mother as the two continued to hold the conversation without Ginny’s involvement.
“Let me grab my reading glasses and the phone book. We can start calling and see if there’s any availability. Ginny, what are those dates?” Her mother headed for the drawer where the big yellow phone book had lived for as long as she’d been alive.
Why did they even still print those things when everyone just looked up numbers online?
As her mother plopped the giant book onto the table next to a pen and pad of paper she’d pulled from the same catch all drawer, Ginny figured she had her answer. It was printed for people like her mother.
Ginny surrendered her short list of weekends to her mother and Molly, and watched as the suggestions started to fly.
The two steamrolled right over the concern Ginny raised about cost. They were married to their theory that the wedding being so soon would lower the price, while Ginny had her doubts. If anything, the places might try to charge more, thinking she was desperate and willing to pay it.
Catering halls. Restaurants. Hotels. Country Clubs. The list grew in spite of Ginny’s protest until finally her mother stood and retrieved the phone.
Ginny jumped in before the calls began. “Mom. People really aren’t having big elaborate weddings anymore these days.”
Her mother raised one brow. “The people we know are.”
She really couldn’t fight her mother on that point so she tried changing tactics. “I’m very concerned these places will be too expensive. It has to be cheap enough that Thom and I can pay for it on our own. Out of our savings. I really don’t want to go into debt for a wedding.”
Ginny had managed to get through college without taking a huge loan like some of her friends had. She wasn’t about to take on one now for a big wedding her mother wanted more than she did.
She would just be happy to be with Thom. None of the other stuff mattered.
Her mother waved away the concern. “Your father and I will pay for it.”
That offer should have been a relief, but it wasn’t. In fact, it was the exact opposite, because Ginny had dated Thom long enough to know the deal. That chances were good he’d get called away and she’d be sitting there with an expensive wedding that her parents had paid for and no groom.
She’d never hear the end of it. “Thank you. That’s very generous, but I can’t let you do that.”
“Don’t be silly.” Her mother waved away the concern with one hand while turning on the phone with the other.
“Mom. Seriously. Listen to me. Anyplace we choose is going to have to have a really good cancelation policy because even if he takes leave, he can still get called back in. Or worse, he could not make it back in time from wherever he is.” Ginny wasn’t sure a wedding venue existed that would hand you the money back without some sort of penalty if you canceled last minute.
Her mother drew in a breath. “Virginia, it doesn’t hurt to call and ask.”
“But—” Before Ginny could finish her mother was dialing. “Mom, please make sure you ask about cancellations.”
“Shh.” Her mother waved at her for silence, before saying, “Hi. I’m wondering about your availability . . .”
She glanced helplessly at Molly. Her friend shrugged, which didn’t help Ginny’s worry about this wedding spiraling out of her control.
Ginny’s cell phone rang as she was trying to listen to what her mother was saying on the phone.
One glance at the display told her she couldn’t let it go to voicemail. It was Thom.
She wanted to talk to him, but she needed to keep an eye on her mother.
It was not lost on her that not even an hour after telling her mother about the wedding she was already stressed beyond belief.
Drawing in a deep breath, she answered the call. “Hello.”
“Hey, baby. We’re on a short break so I thought I’d call. Since you didn’t text me with a date I’m going to assume you haven’t told your parents yet. Correct?”
“No. Not correct. I told everybody I was supposed to tell.” Which was why she was starting to get a headache.
“Really. Wow. I’m impressed. And? How did it go?” he asked.
“Good. Really good. They’re very happy for us and excited about planning the wedding.”
“And they were okay with you moving to Virginia?” he asked.
“Yup. Totally fine with me moving.” Ginny ignored Molly’s raised brow and turned slightly on the sofa to attain some semblance of privacy.
“Good. I’m glad. You know what I’m really glad about?” he asked.
“No. What?”
“That all those dates you emailed me last night for possible wedding weekends are so soon.” There was a smile in his tone.
“Really? I was worried they were too soon. Are you sure you’ll be back in time?”
“Sure? No.” He laughed. “Nothing is certain in the military. But I talked to Grant. He thinks we should be good.”
“I picked the weekends on either side of the full moons for the next couple of months. Like you asked.” Why he’d asked that, she still wasn’t sure.
She’d have to grill him on that one day, but not today. There was too much else going on and he probably wouldn’t tell her over the phone anyway.
“I noticed. That’s good. God, it’ll be so good to finally officially marry you and get you down here. I’m so happy your mother is okay with the move.”
“Yup. She’s perfectly fine with it.” The lie was slipping out easier each time Ginny told it.
“All right. I gotta get back in. You on schedule to pick that date today?”
“Yup. No problem. I’ll have a definite date to you by tomorrow. I promise.”
“Um, any chance you can make it tonight?” Thom asked.
This was a clue. Even with everything that was going on around her, Ginny didn’t miss Thom’s unspoken words. That he needed the date tonight because he’d be gone by tomorrow.
Feeling ill at the thought she said, “Okay. I’ll have a date for you before I leave here today.”
“Perfect. Just like you.”
Ginny’s heart clenched at how sweet he could be. “Aw. Thank you.”
“I love you,” he said in the chipper voice of a happy man who’d had one big burden lifted from his shoulders.
She fought down her guilt over lying to him. “I love you too. Text you later.”
“Looking forward to it. Bye.”
“Bye.” She hung up and saw Molly eyeing her.
“You totally lied to him.”
Ginny blew out a breath. “I know.”
“Why? You’re going to share the rest of your lives together. Don’t you think he needs to share this too?” Molly tipped her head in the direction of the table where the phone calls continued.
Ginny shook her head. “No. I can’t.”
“Why not?”
Because that’s not what military wives did. Because there was a good chance she wouldn’t get to talk to Thom again before he left for some deadly mission in some hellhole on the other side of the world. Because the last thing she wanted was him worrying about her or this wedding when he needed to be one-hundred percent focused on getting his job done and getting back to her alive.
Besides, Ginny wasn’t supposed to spread it around, even to her best friend, when she knew Thom was heading out on a mission. These things were secret. And having only dated civilian men, Molly wouldn’t understand all Ginny was feeling anyway. So she made up yet another lie.
“Because I don’t want to scare him away before we even get married, that’s why.” Ginny looked up and noticed her mother had moved to the kitchen with the phone. “Shit. What’s she doing in there?”
Molly glanced toward the kitchen. “No idea.”
“Come on. I gotta get in there before she books the Plaza or something.”
“Oh, I’d love to get married at the Plaza.” Molly got a dreamy look in her eyes.
Jeez, did no one listen to her concerns? Apparently not.
“When she hangs up from this call, we’re going to eat lunch. Then we’re going to distract my mother with those bridal magazines you brought.”
Molly screwed up her mouth. “I don’t know why we’re going to bother looking at dresses. I saw those dates you wrote down. The chance of you finding one, ordering it and getting it altered and back to you in time for the dates you chose is slim to none.”
“You’re right.” Ginny chewed on her lip. The timing was tight to try and get a traditional bridal gown.
It was so ridiculous that wedding dresses not only cost a fortune but required months to order and then months more to tailor. Why was that?
Ginny had purchased plenty of dresses over her lifetime. Taken them home right from the store and worn them that night. Why couldn’t she do that for her wedding dress?
Wait. She totally could.
“I know I’m right,” Molly continued. “So what are you going to do?”
Happy with her new idea, Ginny said proudly, “I’m going to buy a dress off the rack. Ooo, I wonder if I can find something white and fancy enough at Marshall’s or TJ Maxx.” The off-price chain stores always had designer things for like eighty percent off what they charged at the department stores.
“Your wedding dress?” As Molly’s eyes widened and she visibly swayed backwards, Ginny started to fear for her friend’s mental health.
“Yes, my wedding dress. Don’t worry. That doesn’t mean we can’t still look at the bridal dresses in your magazines. Come on. It’ll be fun.” Grabbing Molly’s arm, Ginny tugged her toward the kitchen in search of her mother before Molly passed out from the horror of it all.
With the plan for a dress set in her mind, the rest seemed to fall into place too.
Why try to negotiate good terms with someplace to have the wedding when she could have it right here? Her parents had a beautiful yard. Since retiring her father was obsessed with the landscaping and it showed.
It would be much easier than trying to find a catering hall with both availability and a liberal cancellation policy.
They could rent tables and chairs, or better yet borrow them, and order food in from someplace. Maybe even the place where she’d just picked up lunch.
It would mean some work on her part, coordinating it, organizing all the details, but there was nothing Ginny loved more than a challenge. Throwing this wedding together, in a month and at a reasonable price, was going to be just that. A challenge. She couldn’t wait.
And shocking her best friend and her mother only added to the fun.
Feeling strong now that her decision was made, Ginny stalked toward where her mother had set up camp with the phone and her list.
She was taking back control of this wedding and doing it her way, starting with choosing the date right this minute and texting it to Thom before it was too late.
Operation Backyard Wedding was under way.