Page 70 of Just For Her

Chapter 19

NeverbeforehadToveforgotten a family gathering so quickly. As much as she wished she could remember the immediate fallout of Thomas’s well-timed distraction – if only to tease him about it later – there were more pressing matters on her mind.

Like, love. Like marriage.

Tove had never been in this situation before, when her heart screamed one thing and her brain begged another. From the moment Kayla professed an urge to elope, Tove was hooked on the idea. It spoke to the wild teenager inside of her who had long awaited to come bursting forth from this fifty-year-old woman’s cocoon. Wasn’t it the perfect act of rebellion against her suffocating family? To marry someone she had a whirlwind romance with? Such a simple thing that so many middle-aged men in her family had accomplished in their lives, while most barely batted their eyelashes and maybe made one snide comment before letting it go?

As soon as it was forgivable to leave, Tove and Kayla checked out of their Hood River hotel and drove to Portland, where Kayla called her family and old friends while Tove seriously thought about her immediate future.

Eloping was easy. She had seen so many people do it by now that she didn’t even have to Google the right companies. Portland teemed with scenic wedding spots and bridal industry professionals who would hook them up at the last minute for the right price.And the price isn’t what gives me cold feet.Tove’s rainy day fund could easily cover the elopement fees and a short, weekend-length honeymoon right there in Portland.

No, the cold feet were for other obvious reasons.

We don’t even live together. Shouldn’t we start there?That was pragmatic Tove thought on a hot June day in Portland, where she stood on the second-floor balcony of her hotel and watched a purple and yellow streetcar scuttle by below. She soon sat on a brightly colored Adirondack chair before standing back up. Her nerves were frayed, but her soul couldn’t think of anything better than having someone to call her own for the rest of her life.

Assuming it lasts the rest of my life, you know…

No, she couldn’t become beholden to the intrusive thoughts that wished to tear her down. She was in love. Why shouldn’t she flaunt it to the world?I know the right lawyer to call.Tove hadsomesense to go along with her assets. Marrying a woman after only knowing her for four months andnothaving a prenup? That certainly wouldn’t do.

Luckily, Kayla had no problem with it. The conversation was over in five minutes, and Tove called the lawyer back in Bend, who emailed her the forms and told him which associate office in Portland to take them to.Just because we sign a prenup doesn’t mean we’re actually getting married.She told herself that as she and Kayla took the streetcar downtown, a lawyer in a high-rise office walked them through everything and offered any amendments as they saw fit. Kayla was much more patient than Tove, who had a hundred questions for the sleepy lawyer who was more used to telecommuting those days.

“We should get married in Washington Park,” she said while they ate in a breezy café afterward. “Ooh, or Mt. Tabor! No, wait. Maybe somewhere closer to where my brother lives so it’s easier for them to come. Maybe Tryon Creek. My friend got married there several years ago. They have these walkways you can take pictures without being on the trails.”

Tove wrote some of this down, careful not to knock over her iced mocha on their tiny table. “I don’t know much about any of these places. It’s been so long since I explored Portland. I barely recognize it now.”

“I wonder how the rose test garden looks right now…”

Kayla was lost in her romantic thoughts, which only made Tove want to do this more. When would she ever meet someone like this again?

There was the matter of Kayla’s family, of course. Tove had yet to meet Grady and his wife and kids down in Sherwood, let alone see where her fiancée had come from, but when things were happening so quickly, there wasn’t much time for the busy family to trek up to Portland proper to meet Tove – and Kayla was knee-deep in last-minute wedding planning now that it became truer by the hour.

“Is there any way to bring this price down?” Tove asked the elopement planner when they met with her the next day. “I know Kayla said something about Multnomah Falls, but if staying in Portland brings it down…”

The shrewd woman in a jersey dress was more than happy to work with Tove while Kayla flipped through catalogs of flowers and cakes from local bakeries. While she wrote down who she wanted to invite for their ten-guest limit, Tove whispered about the funds with the planner, who suggested they stick close to the city center if they were worried about cost.

“It’s just this is coming without much pomp,” Tove explained with an embarrassed laugh. “I want it nice enough to be memorable, but I haven’t saved up anything with this in mind. You know how it is. I’m an accountant. I can’t bring myself to break the bank.”

The planner understood, which was why she presented Tove with three outdoor locations that were known for costing less than others: Cathedral Park in North Portland, the Willamette River Waterfront near downtown, and the Tryon Creek State Park in Southwest Portland. Tove remembered Kayla mentioning something about Tryon Creek and that it was closer to Sherwood, so for now, she picked that location.

“Splendid! I’ll forward the information to the park services. With any luck, we’ll be able to reserve one of the overlooks for the ceremony in the next couple of days. I’ll keep you posted. I understand that you need to be back in Bend by this weekend?”

“Yes, unfortunately, my fiancée has to work. She only has time off for the past week.”

“I do love it when I have a fire lit under my butt to get things done for happy couples. Now, there is the matter of the photographer and how many people you’re inviting…”

Tove didn’t submit any guests for consideration.The last thing I want is for someone to know about this before it happens.Ideally, she wanted to keep it secret, both for the thrill and to downplay any drama that might come their way. Naturally, Kayla would move in with her sometime over the following week. So many of her clothes and shoes were already at Tove’s house by now, but it would be official. That was enough for her family to know right now.

As for Kayla, there were only six people put forward: her friends Chrissy and Huey, as well as her brother and his wife and two sons. Kayla said she had a feeling the boys were too young to come, but it would have been rude to not invite them.

Whatever you want, darling.Tove wished she could have invited her mom, but that was not in the cards.

“I need a dress,” Kayla mused over dinner in a Thai restaurant that night. “It’s so last minute that I’m probably better off calling ahead to see who has something in my size… oh, what were you planning on wearing?”

Tove hadn’t thought about it. Something that Kayla found hilariously deplorable.

“Tooove, this is your first wedding! You’ve never thought about what you would wear?”

“I can find a nice suit somewhere around here, I’m sure. It doesn’t have to be fancy. I’m fine with you hogging the camera.”

---