Pre-Wedding
Alaska had been…cold. The temperature had been forty below zero. But they were in Hawai'i now. The wedding was tomorrow. Charlotte was busy with last minute preparations.
"Lizzie! Help!"
"What is it now?" Elizabeth asked.
"The rhyme thing! Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue, and a silver sixpence in her shoe!"
"The wedding dress is new, right? Don't you have that sapphire engagement necklace thing he gave you? And that old antique hairpin. And I guess you'll have to borrow something. The sixpence thing doesn't make any sense, but I do happen to have one." (The author used a sapphire necklace in the story, because in the author's opinion, garters are just weird!)
"Seriously? You have a silver sixpence?
"You're supposed to borrow something from a married friend…but you're the first to get married."
"Hm. What about Lillian?"
"I barely know her, but I guess it would work."
"Thanks! Sorry, I'm just so frazzle by all this wedding hoopla. Don't worry, you can drive me crazy when- if um- sorry, sorry, I just forgot."
"It's okay. I'm going to drive you crazy if I get married."
"So annoying. The news people and paparazzi are going to be there, because my dad got knighted by the Queen of England, but then moved here, and now his daughter is marrying a US political figure, blah blah blah."
"I know, right?"
"He says he's going to run for president when he's old enough, which means I'll have to be First Lady and oh my gosh."
"How do you know he's going to win? Oh yeah, he has tons of connections, huh. But he has, like ZERO brains."
Charlotte's phone rang three different ringtones simultaneously.
"Thank goodness I didn't put it on vibrate, or else my phone probably'd explode."
Elizabeth glanced at the screen.
"The caterers, flower arrangers, and your fiancé."
"Tell Collins he can go get married without me."
"How's that even possible?"
"I don't know. But this is driving me crazy. I'm going to sleep."
Elizabeth answered the phone.
"Sorry, the person you are trying to contact is currently unavailable. Please hang up and redial later or leave a message after the beep. Beep. Or donate a hundred dollars to the nearest animal shelter." Elizabeth said in a robotic voice. The caterers and flower arrangers hung up.
"Heya cuz whatever times removed. Forgot. Where's Charlotte?"
"She's somewhere."
"Just tell her it'll all be over tomorrow night, and that I love her. Tell her to call me back later. I hope when you get married, your marriage is as perfect as mine."
"Okay." Elizabeth rolled her eyes.
"Well see ya tomorrow. Bye."
"Bye."