Page 38 of Delayed Intention
“Seriously though Abbs—I miss you so much. You are still coming out for Purim, right?”
“Of course! You know I’m not missing my favorite Jewish holiday. We still need to talk about our costumes. Any ideas?”
We spent the next twenty minutes trading costume ideas for the Purim carnival here in Lincoln. We are nowhere near figuring out what we will wear when I realize the time.
“Abbie, I gotta go. I need to have lunch with Nona.”
“Alright. We’ll pick up this debate next time we talk.”
“Okay. Love you, Abbie.”
“Love you too Lily. Talk soon. And stop leaving that man on read. Do unto others as…you know.”
“Fair enough.”
Ending the call, my face hurt from smiling so hard over some of her more ridiculous costume ideas for us, which included Sid and Nancy, Charlie and the Great Pumpkin, and Bella and Edward. I’m so glad she’ll be coming out, but I wish it were sooner. March seems so far away. Setting up lunch on a tray for Nona, I head out to eat with her, still chuckling to myself. My phone is on the tray when it lights up with a message from Josh.
Apologies
Josh, Estes Park, January 2025
Dropping my duffle by the front door, I let Ginger out to do her business in the yard. It’s time to head out to the Laramie clinic and get busy with work again. I hope it takes my mind off how bad I fucked up with Lily. My phone starts ringing, and I jump to grab it off the counter. Maybe she has decided to answer one of my messages? Give me another chance?
I don’t recognize the number and answer it anyway.
“Hello?”
“Hi. Is this Joshua Cohen?”
“You’ve got him, how can I help?” Whoever it is, it's not Lily, and I work to keep the disappointment out of my voice.
“Hi. This is Stephanie from Oakley Lodge.”
“Oh, sure. How are you? Is everything okay?”
“Well, the thing is, I’m afraid I have some bad news.”
“Okay.”Now what?
“I’m not sure if you’ve heard, but we’ve had a fire here at the property and our social hall in particular has suffered significant damage between the sprinklers and the smoke.”
“I, uh, hadn’t heard. I hope everyone’s okay?”Shit.
“Yeah, we’re lucky that the fire was contained and did not affect most of the resort, but the social hall is going to be out of commission for some time. I’m sorry to inform you we will not have the capacity for a wedding on the scale of the Mendes event for the foreseeable future.”Double shit.
“I’m sorry to hear it.” While I do mean it, what I didn’t need, on top of everything else, was a wrinkle in the wedding prep right now.
We continue our pleasantries as I try to recall our alternate locations. Once I’m off the phone, I text Eddie and Felicia to find out how they want to proceed. Waiting to hear from them, I pulled up the list of facilities that Lily originally called—most are probably booked but hopefully someone will have a cancellation.
Ginger hops in the SUV while I set my phone to call the places on my way to Laramie, entering the numbers in numerical order on my speed dial. After several calls, I get my first break. The Grady has an open ballroom that weekend. I’m not sure how Eddie or Felicia will feel about getting married at a location that is not only considered haunted but has inspired two best-selling horror books. Finally, on my tenth call out, the John Muir Ranch has their barn available. I put the required deposit down and waited to hear back from the bride and groom. After all of this was done, I sent Lily a message to let her know what had happened. I hope that, given the circumstances, she will message me back for a change.
About five minutes later, my ringtone sounds through my speakers, and my dashboard announces that Lily is calling me.
“Hello?”
“Hi. I received your message.” The ice in her voice is palpable over the phone. A pause. Followed by a longer pause. Finally, she clears her throat. “It sounds like you handled it. Thank you.” She sounds so clipped and formal. I feel something uncomfortable in the center of my chest and rub the heel of my hand there, keeping my other hand on the wheel.
“Um yeah. I’m not sure I know either Eddie or Felicia well enough to know if they prefer a barn or a possible haunting?” I’m trying for a bit of humor, but it falls flat.
