Thirteen
We finally got to the house and Mom got out almost before the car stopped moving and headed to the barn.
“We’re not just having some food in the house?” I asked Dad, but he just winked at me in the rearview and got out of the car to hold the door open for me and Cara to get out.
Our friends were standing around their cars waiting for us and they let out cheers.
“You’re all dorks,” I said, but I couldn’t help but smile.
We all headed into the house to find that Mom had commandeered Dad and Ansel to help her do whatever it was that she was doing.
“Mom?” I asked, but she was too busy giving orders. I shrugged at Cara and we went to sit in the living room.
“This dress is so comfortable, I never want to take it off,” Cara said with a sigh.
“You both look amazing, seriously. I’m more than a little jealous,” Cedar said. She had a hardcore passion for fashion and also worked as a makeup artist. We probably should have asked her to come and help us, but I hadn’t known that she was coming today.
“I feel like I’m probably melting. And I know my makeup is smeared,” I said. Cara’s eyes were smudged as well from crying. Cedar’s eyes lit up.
“Can I touch you up? Or give you a new look? Please?” She never let an opportunity go by without doing our makeup. Even if we were just going out for ice cream. I never minded being her canvas.
Cara and I both sighed at the same time.
“I’ll go first,” she said, and then Cedar ran to the car for her kit that she always had with her in the trunk. When Cedar came back, she sat Cara down in a chair and did her magic, wiping off everything I’d done and starting fresh. I didn’t mind. I sat with everyone else and talked about the wedding and that we were moving in together and how fast things changed and how adult getting married was.
“We might do it, what do you think?” Kell said, looking at Lane.
“You asking?” Lane said, putting her arm around Kell.
“I don’t know. Maybe.”
“Whoa, one wedding at a time,” Jason said. “I can only take so many emotions.”
“Let’s just get through this one,” I said. Cedar finished with Cara and I had to give her props for her skills. She’d done more of an evening look, accentuating Cara’s eyes and giving her more of a dramatic lip.
Mom ran in and asked for more people to come help, so while Cedar finished my face, most everyone was roped into helping in the barn.
“This is going to be ridiculous,” I said to Cara, who stayed with me.
“Probably. But when else can we have such an awesome party?” She had a good point. You should be allowed to have parties for all kinds of things. Parties for getting a new job, or moving, or buying a car. With presents and food and dancing. How awesome would that be?
“I’m just hoping we can relax a little. This has been the longest day ever. I’m going to sleep so good tonight.”
“As long as I don’t starfish and steal the whole bed,” Cara said in a teasing tone.
“No way, I’m going to push you onto the floor. I need my damn sleep.” She laughed and Cedar sprayed my face with finishing spray.
“There, you’re golden,” she said, and I checked my face. She’d done a similar look as Cara’s, so we were almost matching, but she’d tailored the colors to complement our skin tones.
“Thanks, babe,” I said, giving Cedar a hug. “Want to go see what kind of mayhem is happening in the barn?” I said to both of them.
“Let’s go,” Cara said. “Maybe there will be a bounce house? Every reception should have a bounce house.”
“And a chocolate fountain,” I added.
“I wouldn’t mind giant beanbags for laying down. Instead of uncomfortable chairs that are wobbly and hurt my back,” Cedar added.
“Beanbags are a must,” I said, agreeing.
We left the house and headed over to the barn. The doors had been thrown wide and my mouth dropped open.
“Wow,” I said.
“Pretty much.”
“I feel like I’m in a postcard,” Cedar said.
Mom had outdone herself. Strings of beautiful lights had been draped over the rafters and hung down the walls, as if it was raining drops of starlight. There were a few tables with fancy cloths on them and tons of food, and she’d even brought in speakers to play soft music. A space had also been cleared to make a dance floor.
“Is that a cake?” Cara said, pointing to the end of the food table.
“They didn’t,” I said, even though the evidence was right there. They got us a wedding cake with our initials on top. L and C.
“My parents are something else,” I said, and that was when Mom rushed over, her cheeks flushed with excitement, and her hair flying everywhere.
“I think we’re finally ready for you. Welcome to your reception that is not a reception.” She waved her arm dramatically to indicate the barn.
“Mom, this is too much. You didn’t have to do this. At all.”
She put her arm around me and gave me a sloppy kiss on the side of my forehead.
“I know I didn’t have to, but I wanted to. For both of you.” Cara was tucked under her other arm and got the same kiss treatment.
“This is amazing. And you definitely didn’t have to do this, but thank you,” Cara said.
“Anything for my girls. Okay, let’s get this started!” We all headed for the food table first and Mom had all of our favorite things: mini pizzas, spinach and artichoke dip, sushi, Reuben sliders, pickles, a huge cheese tray, and all our favorite juices and sodas.
“Look,” Cara said, poking my arm as we grabbed some plates. I glanced to the other end, near the cake.
“Apple pie,” I said, smiling at her.
“Apple pie promise.”
Even though we’d eaten a little not long before, we were hungry again and loaded up our plates and took them to one of the tables.
“I can’t see everyone,” I said. I loved everyone here and I didn’t want to exclude anyone.
“Can we move the tables into a square?” I asked Mom.
“Oh, sure,” she said, and everyone rushed to push the four rectangular tables so they formed a square and we all sat on the outside. It was a little bit like being in a school classroom again with all our desks this way so we could have better class discussions, but it worked. I sat with Cara on my left and my parents on my right, and everyone else filled in. It was a little strange not having any family here, but neither Cara nor I was super close with our extended family, and a lot of them lived several states away and wouldn’t have been able to come anyway. Plus, there was the whole “we’re getting married out of the blue, wanna come?” way we’d done it. I was glad to just have these people here. Everyone I considered family, whether we were blood-related or not.
“Oh, the champagne,” Mom said, getting up and rushing over to a bucket on the food table that was filled with ice and bottles of wine, beer, and apparently champagne.
“We have to have a toast,” she said, filling everyone’s glasses as Dad helped her.
“You don’t have to do the whole toast thing,” I said, trying to wave her off, but Cara put her hand on my leg under the table.
“Let her do it, Lo,” she said in my ear and I decided that I should probably just shut up now and let this whole thing happen and enjoy it. No, we hadn’t asked for this, but my parents and our friends had come together to support us and that was a lot more than some people had. Why couldn’t I just let myself have this?
“Relax,” Cara said, giving my leg a little squeeze that almost made me jump out of my chair.
I could do that. I was going to do that.
“To Loren and Cara, my daughter and now my other daughter. May you have health, wealth, happiness, and joy in your life together. We love you. Cheers!”
“Cheers!” We all said and drank.
“Do we have to make speeches?” I asked.
“No, no, we don’t have to do all that. I just wanted to say a little something. Your father and I also have a little something for the two of you.” Dad pulled a card out of his coat pocket and handed it to me. I grit my teeth and hoped there wasn’t money in there. My parents didn’t have money to give to me, and I didn’t need it now. I was getting my payday next week.
I opened the card and a bunch of gift cards fell out into my lap. Cara gathered them up and I read the card. Everyone had signed it and written little notes for us. My eyes blurred with tears. Why was I crying so much today?
I passed the card to Cara and stacked up the gift cards. They were from everyone.
“Thank you all,” I said, instead of scolding them for spending money on us. See? I could do this.
Cara sniffed and wiped at her eyes with her napkin.
“Seriously, thank you. This means the world that you support us.” I blew my nose and Ansel called for another toast. At this rate I was going to be under the table soon. Champagne always hit me hard for some reason.
We went back to our food, which was now a little cold, but no one cared. Everyone stuffed their faces and talked and laughed and drank and I hadn’t had such a good time in ages. I had a tendency to pull away from my friends sometimes, completely unintentionally, but I needed to connect with them more. Now that Cara and I were living together, we could become a sort of home base and have parties and movie nights. When I lived with Lisa, having anyone over was a crapshoot. No more passive aggressive staring as she went to the bathroom, or peering out at us from her bedroom near the living room. I never wanted to see or hear about Lisa again.
After the food, Dad got the speakers going and Ansel was in charge of the music.
“Thanks for the exit song, by the way,” I said as we got up from the tables and tossed our paper and plastic utensils away.
“Yeah, I figured that would be a good one. I didn’t have much time to choose. I was DJ-ing on the fly.” He grinned and headed to another small table that used to sit in the yard with a few chairs that we used in the summer when the weather was nice.
“It was a great song,” I said, and Cara agreed. He gave us both hugs and went to do his thing.
Cara and I shuffled our way to the dance floor, kicking off our shoes. We’d both worn ballet flats for the wedding, figuring we’d rather be comfortable and not fall down when walking down the aisle. It had been a good plan and my feet weren’t killing me now. They probably would be by the end of the night. I was going to dance my ass off.
“May I have your attention,” Ansel said, his voice blasting through the speakers.
“Okay, who gave him a microphone,” Cara said, laughing.
“I heard that,” he said, and then cleared his throat. “Since I am in charge of the music for this shindig, I have chosen a song for the couple’s first dance.” I looked at Cara.
“Are we doing that?” I asked her, and she nodded.
“Of course.”
I’d danced with girls a few times, but never with one shorter than me. Cara giggled as we tried to figure out what to do with our arms. We ended up with one of our hands linked, and one hand on the other’s back. It worked.
Ansel started the song and I smiled at Cara. Mary Lambert, “She Keeps Me Warm”. How appropriate.
I started singing and Cara joined in as we swayed back and forth to the beat. Cara loved this song ever since I sent it to her a few years ago. Ansel had to know that.
Cara and I danced around until the song ended and then another started and we waved everyone to join us. Even my parents came out to groove. I tried not to cringe as my dad pulled out some of his sweet moves. I got sweaty almost immediately because the barn was stuffy and hot, but it didn’t matter. I twirled Cara around and around until she stumbled from dizziness and then pulled her close. Our skin was damp and so were our dresses, but I didn’t care. She pressed against me as we swayed and shimmied and made total fools of ourselves.
After a while, we were breathing hard and needed a break, so that’s when my parents brought out the cake and Cara and I had to cut it and shove it in each other’s faces. I almost wish we’d had a photographer for that one, but a few of our friends snapped shots on their phones.
The cake was chocolate with strawberry frosting inside for the top layer, and spice cake with cream cheese frosting on the bottom. Both of our favorites. It was almost like they knew us really well.
We both also went for pie, because my mother’s was the best. She had the most perfect crust technique, so the top didn’t collapse over all the apples, or puff up and leave a huge space inside.
After cake and pie there was more dancing and more drinking and carousing and so much laughter that my stomach hurt and I started losing my voice.
Cara and I crashed into two chairs next to each other and I put my head on her shoulder.
“I’m dead,” I said. “Completely dead. This has been the longest day of my life.”
“But one of the best?” she said, turning her head to look at me.
“Yeah, one of the best. Definitely.” I lifted my head and the memory of our kiss during the wedding rushed back. I’d been pushing it aside for the entire day, but now my brain and my body were weak and couldn’t hold it back anymore.
She blinked and I realized that she had glitter on one of her cheeks. I had no idea where it came from, so I reached up to brush it off, but wound up stroking her skin instead.
“You’re so beautiful,” I said.
“So are you.” Her breath hitched in her throat and her eyes were wide.
A cough interrupted us and we both looked up to find Ansel grinning at us.
“So, we’re going to wind this thing down, but would you like to do one last dance?” I was about to drop from exhaustion, but I wanted to end this night the right way. I stood up and held out my hand for Cara.
“Let’s shut this shit down, Care.”