“Sorry we’re late,” Ben says. “We were chatting with Josie about action shots.”
“Action shots?” Charlotte asks as she carefully unwraps her silverware. She places her napkin on her lap even though we haven’t even ordered drinks yet.
“Yes!” Holly says, situating herself in the chair across from Charlotte. “So I was scrolling through social media and I found tons of wedding photos that are very unique. Fun ones, none of thateveryone line up on either side of the bride and groomsort of lameness. I want everything, sorry Benny,wewant everything to be wild and unforced and exciting. Don’t we?”
“Yes, we do,” he smiles and his eyes flicker over to Charlotte. When they do, his smile falters a little. I glance over at her to see why, but Charlotte’s eyes just shift away and she looks down.
Interesting.
“Well, that sounds great,” I say, grabbing the menu as the waiter sets a carafe of water on the table and four glasses. “You know what else sounds great? Mimosas.”
“You read my mind,” Holly says.
“I’m fine with water,” Charlotte says, though she seems a little depressed by her own answer.
“You know,” I say, leaning towards her. “I know drinking on the job isn’t usually permitted, but I happen to know the boss on a personal level, and I don’t think they’re going to mind.”
“I know nothing,” Holly says with a giggle.
Charlotte doesn’t so much as crack a smile. She’s not being bitchy; it’s more like she’s upset. She is unreadable today, and I can’t figure out what is wrong.
“I’m fine, really,” she insists. “Water is just fine.”
“Well, I need a Bloody Mary,” Ben says.
“Uh oh,” I muse. “A Bloody Mary is the go-to drink for a hangover. Wild night?”
“You could say that,” he smirks. He looks at Charlotte for another moment before they both look away. What in the world is going on?
“I am saying nothing,” Holly says with a laugh that pretty much tells the whole table exactly what they were doing last night.
After we all order and the pitcher of mimosas and Ben’s Bloody Mary arrives, we dive back into all things wedding. Charlotte seems happy and relieved about that.
“So we have the photography down, obviously,” she says as she goes through a checklist on a shared spreadsheet. “Catering will be barbecue. I’ve looked up several barbecue companies that are willing to travel, and I found?—”
“Oh, that’s already taken care of,” I say, cutting her off. It’s almost like a typewriter that hit a snag, frazzling the whole process.
“You what?” she asks, and I lean back with a nod, taking a sip of my bubbly orange juice.
“Yep. My friend Brett and his wife Madeline own Seoul Sizzle,” I say.
“Funny,” Charlotte says. “I didn’t see that one when I was searching…”
“Wait, isn’t that Korean barbecue?” Holly says.
“It is,” I say.
“Oh, I forgot about Brett,” Ben says, sitting up straight. “You’re going to love it!” he tells Holly, and she kisses him with a giggle.
Charlotte sucks in a sharp breath, refusing to look at anyone. “Korean Barbecue. Not what I had in mind, but if the bride is happy…” she trails off, changing things around on her checklist. “Alright,” she says with another sigh. “We have the color palette. Holly, did you choose the dresses for the bridesmaids?”
“So I actually thought I’d let them all just pick the one they want,” Holly answers as our food is set down in front of us.
Charlotte immediately takes a big bite of her sandwich, and I have to grin. I don’t know how she’s so thin; she always has a healthy appetite.
“That’s easy,” Charlotte says as she dabs her mouth with a napkin. “Are we doing long or short? Longer dresses are more popular for winter weddings, especially if we are going to be shooting photos in snow.”
“I don’t care. A mix of both, probably,” Holly says, popping a chip in her mouth.
