Page 49 of Babies at Coconuts

Chapter 35

After leaving the hospital, Ken hugged his wife and drove Izzy home. An exhausted-but-still-ready-to-celebrate Suzy rode to Coconuts with Alex. Hope drove behind them. In the hospital parking lot, Mama Gia and her boys mentioned jetlag and agreed to eat leftovers at Suzy’s house the following day. More than happy to be alone with her girlfriends, Suzy told them good-bye.

Within minutes they arrived at the still-sandy wedding locale. Suzy was thrilled Coconuts had agreed to keep the truckloads of sand, saying they wanted to install a volleyball court. She noticed the rental company had already picked up the palm trees, white chairs, and tables. The food had been moved and some wonderful soul had lined up the flowers and gifts along a wall inside Coconuts. Thank goodness. I don’t have an ounce of energy left.

Arms around her friends, Suzy dragged herself onto a stool and put her head on Alex’s shoulder.

Squeezing Suzy, Alex said, “Look at us. We fit right in with the Coconuts theme in our tropical wedding clothes.”

Hope strutted in her chair. “For once, I’m a fashionista.”

Suzy giggled but groaned as her phone rang. “Now what?” Glancing at the caller ID, she noticed the person on the other end was Cheri Van Buren. “Hi, stranger. We missed you today.”

“I’m absolutely sick about missing your son’s wedding. After my event, I considered chartering a flight but had an emergency at Fifth Avenue Catering. In fact I’ve been putting out fires all day.”

Suzy gasped. “Oh, no.”

“Not real fires. I had to deal with a drunk sous chef and a couple of client issues. It’s under control now.” She paused. “This is your big day. Tell me all about the wedding.”

Suzy cackled manically as tears of joy, relief, and exhaustion streamed down her cheeks. “The wedding is so yesterday.”

“What?” Cheri switched ears. “I thought it was today.”

“It was today, among other eventful happenings. Cheri, I’m too exhausted to talk. I’ll let Alex explain. Thanks for calling. I hope to see you soon.”

Suzy put her phone on speaker and handed it to Alex. “Will you bring Cheri up to speed?”

Snorting, Alex said, “Hello, Miss New York. We’ve missed you. Now, about the wedding . . . where should I begin?”

“I don’t understand. Why is this wedding so funny? Last I heard you were having issues with the food at the rehearsal dinner.”

Alex motioned to Gus for some wine. “Let me bottom line it for you. The wedding luau was gorgeous. Suzy outdid herself, as usual. Fernando’s Italian family flew in—his mom, Mama Gia, and his three crazy brothers, Vinny, Frankie, and Luigi. The scene in the Coconuts lot could have been a movie set for Jaws, without the man-eating shark. Everyone wore tropical attire, had little umbrella drinks, and oh, I almost forgot. Suzy’s estranged parents surprised her from Canada.”

Gus appeared with their drinks. Alex took a sip of wine. “Hold on for the best part—”

Cheri’s voice rose. “There’s more?”

“Way more.” Alex winked at Suzy, clearly enjoying being the wedding news reporter. “Did you ever meet Vanessa, Jon’s former sweetheart, who he knocked up in high school before he came out?” Alex waved her hand in the air, even though Cheri couldn’t see her. “It doesn’t matter. Jon and Fernando magnanimously insisted Vanessa be in their wedding, and the bitch stole the show by having a baby on their wedding day.”

Hope and Suzy simultaneously said, “Alex.”

“Okay, I’m joking about the bitch part. She’s a sweet, freckle-faced kid.” Alex set the phone on the table and blew on her knuckles. “How’s that for a recap?”

“I’m trying hard to keep up. Vanessa had her baby during the guys’ wedding?”

Chortling, Alex said, “She was at least considerate enough to let the boys have a rushed ceremony after her water broke.”

“I can’t believe I missed this. What did she have?”

Grinning, Alex said, “A bouncing baby girl. Her name is Violet Grace. Now you’re all caught up. In other news, how’s Gage, and when are you two coming back?”

Cheri whistled into the phone. “Let me absorb this.” She giggled. “And I thought living in New York City was exciting. As to your question, my flight leaves tomorrow. But Gage is another matter. He had a little incident, plus I don’t really need his services in Branson. I love driving.”

Alex’s face fell. “Incident? Is he okay?”

“Yes, it’s one of the rag magazines that follows me around. One of the paparazzi punched him after his pop singer girlfriend jumped Gage’s bones after he drove her around. Gage is fine but my family doesn’t need bad publicity. I told him to take a month or two off.”

“What a raw deal. I had hoped he’d join you.” Alex shifted in her chair. “Tell Gage hi when you talk to him. Listen, we’re all ready to collapse. Give us a call when you’re back in town.”

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