“I have a terrible feeling this is all going to go south very quickly.”
“Which is why none of us volunteered,” Garrett said as several of the kids knocked on the door, yelling excitedly that the chili was done.
5
Amy
Ibreathed in the fresh country air when I hopped out of my grandfather’s pickup truck. It smelled like Harrogate and home.
Several goats ran up to greet me. Baxter, shoeless because of all the natural ground cover, trotted off to greet the other horses.
“We have three new baby goats on the way,” Ernest, my grandfather, said happily. “Sure hope you can get over here for that.”
“I’ll try.”
“I know you’re busy,” he said, giving me a huge hug. “I just like seeing ya.”
“I know,” I said against his chest.
I loved my grandfather, and I knew he adored me. After my mom had peaced out and gone to South America to find herself, my granddad had raised me. I had spent my childhood gardening and riding horses. Now I grew all the flowers I used for the wedding bouquets, decorations, and table centerpieces at his farm in state-of-the-art greenhouses.
“And how are my babies doing?” I cooed as Ernest followed me into the closest greenhouse. I breathed in the humid air and inspected the orchids that hung from special trellises.
“Do we need to hire a few more people?” I asked my grandfather. “We have a lot of brides who want waterfalls. Orchids especially seem to be hot this year, and I know they’re a bit maintenance intensive.”
“Remy and the Rural Trust Foundation mentioned that they had a few people in the job-training program interested in this field,” he said. “The mayor has said she wants more jobs for people with a high school diploma available.”
“Are you talking about the wedding?” an older woman called from the door.
“Hi, Ida!”
“I heard you’re planning the wedding of the century for Harrogate’s very own royalty! Now,” she said before I could get a word in, “first of all, you look fantastic! Don’t you just have the best granddaughter?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Ernest said. “I do.”
Ida grabbed me and dragged me outside. “All that humidity is going to make my uterus collapse,” she said.
Ernest turned red at the word and mumbled something about feeding the goats.
Ida, fists on hips, shook her head.
“Honestly, I don’t know how that man survives. You can’t just leave him here to wander around by himself,” she scolded me. “But let me tell you. I have a whole book of ideas for the wedding planning.” Ida pulled a scrapbook out of her enormous bag.
“We’re actually going to let the bride choose the wedding design,” I said faintly.
“I know. I know,” Ida said, “but get a load of this. Me and the Harrogate Girls Club put it together. Did you know that popular movies are hot wedding themes right now? Picture an Austin Powers 1970s themed wedding!” She flipped to another page in the scrapbook, which featured the head table on a dusty-orange shag carpet.
“You should have seen me in the seventies!” Ida crowed. “I was something. Isn’t that right?” she shouted to Ernest, who mumbled and moved farther away from us.
“We will definitely take your ideas into consideration,” I said, taking the scrapbook from her.
“Here’s another goodie for you,” she said, handing me a spiral-bound packet. “I know you’re getting up there in years, and Ernest may want to meet your children before he completely loses his marbles. Since you’re not around much, I have a list of all the eligible bachelors and their birthdays, hobbies, and where you can find them at any given time of the day.”
I flipped the packet open to a random page. Staring back at me was a picture of a surprised and angry half-naked man. I slammed the book shut.
“That was a good picture, wasn’t it? I got banned from Circus Gym for that one. Worth it! He’s a bit too wet behind the ears for me, but I’m helping out the young women of this town and doing my civic duty.”
Ah, small towns…
