Page 16 of The Magic of Sea Glass
“He’s just trying to make me feel guilty.”
“I think he’s right…” Andy said.
The uneasiness in the way she trailed off made Lauren nervous. She sat on the edge of the sofa with the phone pressed to her ear.
“I took the Maxwell wedding.”
Lauren’s mouth hung open. “Why did you do that?” They’d talked about this. The Maxwells were billionaires. Sugar and Lace didn’t have the resources yet for an event of that size and caliber. They’d need thousands of dollars for the equipment alone that would be necessary to pull off something like that. Not to mention the helicopter patrol to keep the paparazzi away. They were doing well, but they didn’t have enough money to front the massive cost while also taking on all their regular weddings.
“It’s like we used to say when we were starting out: dream bigger, get bigger.”
“Yeah, but you have to be able to handle it financially.”
“I can if we do the next season of the show. We can negotiate for more in our contracts.”
Lauren shook her head, at a loss for words.
“I need the show to fund the company, Lauren, and Dave’s not doing it without you. He said he’ll cancel it.”
“How is any of this up to me? I’m not in the wedding business. I’ve taken another job, and there are people counting on me here. Not to mention—at the very least—I need a break from the show.”
Andy sighed. “I know. I’m sorry I’ve burdened you with it. I’ll figure out something to convince him that he can do it with just one of us.”
“I have faith that you can,” Lauren said.
“Do you miss planning weddings at all?”
“Well, funny you mention that…” Lauren squeezed her eyes shut as they began to pulse in pain and filled her friend in on the whole ordeal. “I have something like nine days, Andy.Nine.”
“That’s crazy,” Andy said with a disbelieving laugh. “Does the couple haveanythingreserved yet?”
“I have no idea.”
“Can you handle this?” Andy’s voice softened with the question.
Lauren took in a long, slow breath and let it out. “I don’t know, honestly.”
Her friend’s support was evident in the stillness that hung between them on the line. “Call me later today and fill me in, okay?”
“All right.”
As if she didn’t have enough to deal with, she now had to think about planning a weddingandworry aboutleaving her old partner to manage the business on her own.Sometimes, the only way forward is to take a blind step into the day, she remembered Mason saying whenever she had a tough project. She’d take that first step. And then one more. Again and again until she didn’t feel like she was going to fall apart anymore.
* * *
Summer, 1957
Fairhope, Alabama
“You can’t be serious, Phillip.” His mother folded her arms in the middle of the artisanal ceramic-tiled floor of their kitchen and looked helplessly at his father.
“I am.” Phillip’s heart thumped in his chest as he waited like a willing thief for his sentence. He knew this response would be coming, which was why he waited until the last possible minute to mention it, holding out hope that somehow he’d magically think of a reason for his parents to come through for him. “She’s only here for the summer, but I want her to stay.” He reached into his pocket and gripped the sea glass bracelet, the pieces as smooth as Penelope’s skin. “I’d like to ask for her hand in marriage.”
Phillip’s mother leaned in, her eyes like lasers, her perfect red lips set in a straight line of fear. “You haven’t gotten her into a… precarious position, have you?”
The bracelet fell to the bottom of his pocket and Phillip put his hands on his hips. “I can’t believe you’d ask me that. She’s a good girl.”
“She’s not…” His mother trailed off, but he already knew what she refrained from saying. Penelope wasn’t a debutante. She didn’t grow up the type of lady his parents had intended for him to marry.
