“No—” she said, but Valene continued talking at a fast clip.
“I was doing a bunch of errands and I lost track of time. Then I had to run through a few orange lights to get here when I did, if you know what I mean.”
Lucy had no idea what she meant, but she smiled at the other woman’s exuberance. Valene was a bubbly, energetic sort. She probably moved nonstop in her sleep and burned calories before waking up to start over.
She lifted her hand in the air and motioned a server over to their table, ordering the daily rib special and a large sweet tea. Lucy said she’d have the same, having no idea what sweet tea or a rib special was.
“My mom said you needed help with the wedding preparations.”
“Yes.”
The server returned quickly with two big glasses filled with golden-brown liquid.
“What can I do?” Valene took a deep sip from her straw, her eyes rolling back in her head in pleasure. “I love sweet tea.”
Lucy took a sip and decided sweet tea was amazing. “This wedding is rather impromptu and I’m not certain where to find all the things we’ll need on Earth. I’m looking for an Earther partner to help find decorations for the ceremony area, dresses for me and the bride…basically, everything.”
Valene grinned. “I can help with everything. A bridal place in town has very nice things, and we can go to the mall in Doraydo for anything we don’t find there.”
“Great,” Lucy said, adding, “Plus, on the day of the ceremony, the bride, me, my mother and all of my sisters will need to have hair, makeup and nails made fancy.”
“A trip to the Nebula Nail Salon, got it.” Valene wrote something down in a small pink notebook she whipped out of her purse. “They have a special hair, makeup and nails package for weddings. What else?”
“On Alpha-Prime we would commission a bouquet for the bride to carry, but—”
“Bridal bouquet, no problem. Do you want corsages and boutonnieres for the wedding party? What about flowers for the chapel or wherever the ceremony will take place?”
“Do we have enough time for all that?” Lucy asked.
Valene looked up, her brows knit. “Time for what?”
“That many flowers.”
She looked confused for a moment and then her eyes cleared. “Oh. Sure. Yes. Plenty of time. We have lots of flower places here on Earth. Don’t worry about that.”
“Okay. What flowers would you suggest?”
“Whatever the bride wants.”
“I don’t know.” Lucy had seen a flower called a carnation once in a book. If she got to pick, she’d pick white and pink carnations. She’d have to ask Francine what she liked.
“What color is the wedding theme?”
“Color?”
“You know, like the color of the bridesmaids dresses.”
“What’s a bridesmaid’s dress?”
Valene took another sip of tea, nodding as if she’d just realized something important. “Oh. Right. I forgot. This isn’t an Earther wedding.”
Lucy contemplated that for a few minutes, wondering what Axel and his parents would expect. This was essentially being done for them while the wedding ceremony on Alpha-Prime would be styled using Alpha-Prime standards that would suit the bride’s parents. “Maybe we should have an all-out Earther wedding.”
Valene shrugged. “Maybe so. I’ve never been to an Alpha-Prime wedding, but I know it’s different and all.”
“Instead of bridesmaids and groomsmen standing with the wedding couple, we have the family on either side of the couple on the first row. The bride walks down the aisle to the groom all alone, wearing a special enchanter veil and then they are joined in matrimony.”
“What’s a special enchanter veil?”
