Page 42 of Passing Ships

“It’s my fault. I forgot to set my alarm last night, and I overslept. My apologies,” I say as the waitress sets a glass of water and a menu in front of me. “Thank you. Can I go ahead and place a drink order?” I ask.

“Of course.”

“I’ll take one of the mango mimosas, please.”

“Anything for you ladies?” she asks Avie and Eden.

“I’ll have the same,” Avie replies.

“And I’ll just have a coffee for now,” Eden says.

“I’ll go get those in and be right back for your food order.”

She leaves, and I pick up the menu.

“So, what did we miss?” I ask as I peruse the selections.

“Nothing yet. We didn’t want to discuss anything without the bride,” Sabel answers.

The waitress returns promptly with our beverages, and we order breakfast.

Everyone else has eaten, so Naomie calls our attention to the business at hand as she pulls from her bag a hunter-green leather planner with the words Avie’s Wedding Day embossed on the cover.

“Ladies, we have a few details to nail down,” she says as she opens the book. “We need to finalize with Sunshine & Sugar Bakery, the florist, and give a final head count to the caterer. I can call them this evening after I check on a few RSVPs.”

“Amiya, Eden, and I are going to stop by the bakery to pick out the groom’s cake for Sebastian on our way back to the island. I can finalize the wedding cake order while we’re there.”

“Groom’s cake?” Naomie questions.

“It’s for the rehearsal dinner,” Avie tells her. “I’m thinking of a boat or a big fish or something like that.”

“Oh, a big sailfish that’s red when you cut into it would be perfect,” Sabel says.

“Yeah, I like that. I’ll see if she can do a sailfish,” Avie agrees.

“Okay, that checks off the bakery. Let’s talk about flowers. Milly and I are stopping by the florist to place the final order on our way home,” Naomie says as she pulls a sheet of paper from her planner. “They sent me these archway options.”

She slides the pamphlet across the table.

Avie picks it up and glances over the photos. There are a variety of metal and wooden lattice arches to choose from.

“Actually, Mom, Donnie Dale is making a driftwood arch for us,” Avie says.

Naomie’s brow furrows. “Donnie Dale?”

“He’s Sebby’s oldest friend, and he makes beautiful driftwood pieces. Tables, chairs, rockers, you name it,” Sabel informs her.

“I see. Can I get his information from you so I can contact him and let him know where to send his invoice?” Naomie asks.

“He’s not charging us, Mom. It’s his wedding gift to us. After the ceremony, he and Sebby are going to move it to Leia’s fairy garden.”

Naomie’s face softens. “How nice. Well, I’ll just let the florist know that we’ll need flowers for the arch, but not the arch itself. For Leia, I had them special-order champagne-scented rose petals,” she says proudly.

Eden leans over and whispers in my ear, “What’s wrong with rose-scented rose petals?”

I cut my eyes to her.

“Not bougie enough for Momma C,” I whisper back.

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