Page 3 of The Ties that Bind
“Sort of?” Abigail asked.
“Sort of as in we aren’t really leaving for like a month, so he’ll probably see most of them again.”
“Oh.”
The next hour was a blur of gumbo prep, constant giggling and sexual details that would have made any one of our beloveds turn red. And this was no boring, minimal-ingredient gumbo we were creating. This was a recipe from my grandma, a woman of Creole and French roots - and it showed in her cooking. This was a proper New Orleans Creole seafood gumbo, and although it took about an hour to prep and another two to cook, every bite would be worth it.
When the gumbo was almost finished, Abigail downed the last sip of her current glass of wine and went down the hall to use the restroom.
I saw my chance to do something I had carefully thought through and planned out for a while. I grabbed Zoe’s hand and tugged her into the living room, still holding a stirring spoon. “Zoe. We’ve known each other for…gosh, I don’t know, forever? You’re an amazing, wonderful friend. I couldn’t even count the number of times you’ve had me over to your house. I’ve thought about it a lot, and I would love it if you would be my maid-of-honor at my wedding.” Choosing just one of my two wonderful friends to be my maid-of-honor hadn’t been easy, but I had known Zoe longest. We had spent hours and hours with each other. There was no other way to put it: we were sisters.
Cheerful, carefree Zoe’s eyes welled up with tears, and that was how I knew how much Zoe cared about me. “Maggie, I would be absolutely honored to be your maid-of-honor. You’re my best friends too, and nothing would make me prouder or happier.”
We hugged until we both had to let go just to breathe. Down the hall, we heard the toilet flush. Zoe wiped her eyes, smiled widely, and said, “Now, let’s go eat your grandma’s gumbo.”
Chapter Two
Zoe
When I opened my eyes the next morning, the first thing that I noticed was, thankfully, I did not have a hangover. We drank a lot of wine last night… A LOT of wine.
I groaned a little when I remembered the mess we had made of the kitchen. Usually, I had a habit of cleaning as I cooked. While something boiled, why not wipe down a section of the counter? Five minutes for a pot to simmer was ten dishes I could wash. But last night we had been having too much fun to think about cleanup.
Before I rolled out of bed, I leaned over to kiss the bare shoulder next to me. Aiden let out a little muffled groan from his position, his face half buried in his pillow. I might not have had a hangover, but my boyfriend most definitely did.
Keeping that in mind, I didn’t pull back the heavy velvet curtains or turn on the bedroom lights as I normally did in the morning. Tiptoeing took me around the room to find clothes appropriate for the day’s mission: procuring a wedding dress for Maggie and dresses for me, Abigail and Maggie’s mom, Delphine.
I might not have been a perfect student when it came to law school. I might not have been able to come up with the perfect vision for wedding decorations. But this… Shopping was my expertise, and I intended to find the perfect dresses for everyone today.
I collected some of my products from the master bathroom to take to the hall bathroom so I wouldn’t disturb Aiden, snuck in a quick peck on his cheek and crept out of the room.I wonder if Maggie and Abigail are up yet.Abigail had slept in one of the guest rooms and Maggie had opted to sleep on the couch - even though there were more than enough guest rooms for her too. I didn’t blame her. That couch was comfy and awesome and Aiden and I had spent more time cuddling on it than anywhere else.
With my bag of hair care and makeup products, I walked down the stairs into the living room. When I saw Maggie, my smile slid off my face, and I ran to my friend, who was sitting with her phone in her hands and unhushed tears in her eyes. “Oh my gosh, Maggie, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing bad,” she said immediately, looking briefly horrified as she realized that with Marty still fighting cancer, I must have jumped to conclusions. “It’s my grandma. She’s been saving money for years, a little at a time, to help me with college or for some rainy day. I got a scholarship to Tulane and we never needed the money…so she just called me and told me to use it on a dress.”
“But Maggie, that’s incredible! She loves you like we all do and she wants this to be the best day of your life.” I sat beside Maggie.
“I know, but-”
“No buts,” I said firmly. “You’re a nurse now. You can take care of your mom and grandma. There won’t be a rainy day, and your grandma wants you to take that money and buy a beautiful, perfect dress. And that’s exactly what you’re going to do today.”
“Okay.” Maggie smiled, her eyes warm. “You’re right. Let’s go drag Abigail out of bed and get ready to go.”
We devised a system for getting ready. One of us would go into the large hall bathroom to shower, dress and avail herself of the plentiful makeup options, and the other two would work in the kitchen on cleanup duty. We could have used the other bathroom as well, but cleaning up alone was no fun. Anyway, we weren’t in a hurry. Maggie’s mom had to drive all the way down from Lafayette to meet us at the wedding salon I had chosen, so we had plenty of time.
The cleanup was done by the time Abigail, the second one of us to shower, finished up, so Maggie went to get ready while Abigail and I cooked breakfast. When I say cooked breakfast, I mean that we washed some strawberries and tossed some pancake batter in a pan, dirtying as few dishes as possible.
“Ready?” Maggie asked as she dried and put away the pan and bowl we had used.
“I think so.” I sent a glance around the house, approvingly nodding at the level of cleanliness. “Let’s go!”
We all piled into Maggie’s car, Abigail riding shotgun while I decided to take the back seat. Surprisingly, it was a beautiful day. Spring in New Orleans never lasted long before the pleasant weather gave way to the sizzling summer heat, but today, a nice breeze kept the temperature down. I hoped that this weather would keep up for just a little longer, or maybe come back in time for Maggie’s wedding.
After all, fate had brought Maggie and Marty back together, hadn’t it? What’s to say fate wouldn’t give them a wedding gift of perfect weather?
“Is this the place?” Maggie asked. There was a large sign on the side of the building that said For Her Bridal Salon, so I wasn't sure why Maggie needed to ask - then I realized that she looked nervous.
“Yes! For Her is the best bridal salon in New Orleans. They’ll treat you like a princess here, and you’re going to let them, okay? It’s their job, and you’re their customer. Basic business ethics,” I said matter-of-factly.
