Lunch had been….awkward to say the least. Leslie had chatted endlessly the entire two hours they had been there, going on and on about how she and Oliver had met and how they seemed a perfect match from the very beginning. Oliver had rolled his eyes at that statement. The truth of the matter was far from perfect.
After Oliver had returned from the war to Paris to be with his mother, she immediately introduced him to Leslie and her father. Oliver had had an inkling from that moment on that his mother was up to something more, and sure enough, soon his mother and Leslie's father began find excuses to constantly leave Leslie and Oliver alone together.
At first, he was a bit annoyed, but oddly enough it seemed to be working. He was finding himself becoming attracted to Leslie more and more; and soon they began dating steadily. After about four months or so, Oliver's mother had him convinced that he was in love with her, and had casually slipped him his grandmother's diamond engagement ring. A couple of nights later, caught up in a rush of emotion, he proposed to her, and soon the plans for the wedding began. It all seemed to happen in a matter of seconds.
Now, looking back on the situation, Oliver wasn't so sure things had played out quite fairly. His mother and Leslie's father had practically pushed the two together and left them alone so often, he couldn't help but grow fonder of her. After all, she was Oliver's only other female companion besides his mother. What if another woman had been present in his life? Would he have fallen for Leslie so fast? The fact that she was beautiful and practically threw herself at him didn't help matters either.
So now here he was, walking down the Champs Elysées with his soon-to-be-wife and newly found friend, asking himself all kinds of questions he knew he shouldn't be asking so close to their wedding date. Oliver sighed with discontentment.
"No really, Lisa, it's a marvelous idea," he heard his fiancée say when he tuned back into the conversation.
"What's a marvelous idea," Oliver questioned. Leslie shot him a dirty look.
"You weren't paying attention again," she whined, causing Oliver to wince slightly. He hated it when she used that tone of voice, but admitting to that would only get more whining and perhaps a slap in the face. Instead, he gave her a sheepish smile and she went on.
"I just asked Lisa to be my maid of honor!" At this, Oliver gasped with shock and began to choke slightly.
"You what," he spat out between coughs. Leslie gave him an odd look but continued.
"I asked Lisa to be my maid of honor," she repeated as it was the most natural thing in the world. Oliver stared back and forth between Leslie and Lisa, noticing Lisa was wearing the same look of panic and confusion he must have had.
"But Leslie, you've only known Lisa a few short hours…" he began to argue, but Leslie waved her hand dismissively.
"Piffle," she replied simply. "Since all my other friends are busy and cannot attend, I need a maid of honor," she reasoned. Oliver sighed with frustration. Her only other friends were two old stuffy rich women from London. What could they possibly be busy doing?!
"Besides," Leslie concluded, "if it hadn't been for Lisa, you wouldn't have been around to attend the ceremony. We owe her a great deal and I intend to pay her back in any way I can."
"There's really no need," Lisa replied in her thick, Hungarian accent. "I vould have done the same for anybody."
"Now don't try to get yourself out of this with modesty, Lisa. You're my maid of honor and that's final!" She wore a determined look on her face that obviously left no room for argument, so Lisa simply smiled wanly and agreed. Leslie in turn beamed and quickly wrapped her in a tight embrace.
"Perfect! Now, there are a few things I need you to take care of before the ceremony next week. I need you to come with me to get fitted for my dress; then we need to pick you out a dress as well. Oliver's tuxedo, the food, the ceremony, and the reception have already been arranged, but we also need to pick out the flowers, the china, the cake…." Leslie began to ramble again, so as usual Oliver tuned her out.
Instead, he focused on Lisa's reactions, which he had to admit were quite comical. She wore this look of panic on her face, as if she was coming to terms with exactly what she got herself into. He couldn't help but let out a chuckle when that look on her face intensified when Leslie looped her arm with her own and began to pull her down the street, all the while continuing with the list without hardly ever taking a breath.
But as comical as that situation may have been at the moment, Oliver began to wonder what he had gotten himself into as well. True, Lisa being the maid of honor meant that he would be able to spend more time with her (exactly what he had hoped for), but was that really a good idea at a time like that; a time when he was having such serious doubts about his and Leslie's relationship; a time when he was finding Lisa more adorable by the second. What was he to do if that feeling grew into something more? He couldn't take back his promise to Leslie now, it would hurt her too much! Not to mention the fact that it would hurt his mother and Leslie's father in the process as well. They had put so much energy in getting them together and planning the wedding, he couldn't just ruin it all now. Oliver sighed yet again as he ran a quickened his pace to catch up with the ladies.
This is not going to end well.
