Well hear is the Rhoda flies to Paris with the addition of Bess's wedding. Hope you enjoy! Please Read AND review! Thanks!
A few weeks later, Suzannah awakened to hear her aunt on the phone in the living room.
"Joseph, this is Rhoda. I am calling in regards to the conversation we had last night, Tuesday, October 24th. I have to say Joe, that I really didn't understand a word of what you said to me last night. I can't thing of a single reason for why we still aren't together. Give me one concrete complaint." There was a pause, then Suzannah heard her aunt say,
"Waking you up is NOT sufficient. I mean it Joe! I am not getting off this phone until you give me a solid reason we aren't together!
And please don't say the marriage was too comfortable! I didn't understand it then... What does that even mean? Dull? Because there are two people in this marriage,Joe. I am half of this marriage. The half who didn't know she was dull. Listen, I think got what I called for. who knows why I called. I'm sorry for waking you. Thankyou. Go back to sleep,Joe. Goodbye" Rhoda hung up and stormed over to the kitchenette and started mixing up batter for pancakes. Suzannah cautiously approached her aunt.
"Aunt Rho? You ok?" Rhoda didn't respond so Suzannah repeated,
"Aunt Rho!"
"What? Oh, sure, baby. I'm alright. I'm sorry if I woke you." Suzannah shook her head and was about to respond when there was a knock on the door.
"Yes. Yes,Brenda come in!", said Rhoda, in a stressed voice as she dumped the mixture into the blender.
"Hi, Rho.",Brenda called out over the roar of the Brenda.
"Brenda! I'm so glad you're here! I'm so upset! I'm very upset. I need to talk!"
"Yeah, me too!" Rhoda turned around and looked up in shock at her sister's appearence. Brenda looked like Little Bo Peep, except in blue instead of pink.
yYou go first."
"I was in a wedding."
"But it's only 7:30", Suzannah pointed out.
"It was a sunrise ceremony in Central Park. Two lives joining as one as Dawn appears over the horizon or something like that."
"Brenda I'm NOT in the mood to hear a romantic story right now.", Rhoda snapped.
"Who said anything about romantic? It was Horrible! We were scared to death the whole time that we were gonna get jumped!" Rhoda and Suzannah chuckled. While Brenda was talking to Rhoda, she got a glass out and poured the mixture from the blender into it and drank it. Suzannah noticed and tried to stop her but it was too late.
Rhoda didn't notice and said to her sister,
"Brenda,stay for breakfast. I was just mixing up the stuff for pancakes."
"In the Blender?", Brenda asked, alarmed.
"Yeah. Why?"
"I just drank pancake. Rhoda! What could that do to me?", Brenda asked in panic.
"I think nothing. But don't get too near any radiators anytime soon." At that moment the intercom buzzed and Carlton anounced the arrival of Sally. A few minutes later, there was a dessparate knock on the door. Suzannah opened it.
"Hiya Kiddo." Turning to Rhoda, she added, "Your doorman won't take no for an answer. He tried to chase me all the way to the elevator. Luckily, I was running and he was crawling."
"Sal, don't let Carlton worry you. He's harmless really.", Rhoda said.
"Hiya Brenda. How are ya?", Sally asked, turning to Brenda who was sitting on the sofa."
"I drank pancake.", Brenda said, still in shock.
"Funny. I was gonna guess curds and whay.", Sally quipped. Brendadidn't find it amusing. She had to go get ready for work, anyway, so she left. Gary showed up right after that and began flirting with Sally. Sally was thoroughly annoyed but didn't take any of his attitude. Suzannah rolled her eyes and said,
"Honestly Gary. Cut the act for once! It's not becoming or appealing!"
"What would you know? I'm twice your age!"
"I don't have to be a grown-up to know cheesy pick-up tactics when I see them!" Gary opened his mouth to retort but Rhoda stepped in.
"Hey Gary, have some breakfast drink." Gary went over and poured some and drank it down. Suzannah tried not to laugh out loud.
"I'm gonna go get ready for school. I'm supposed to meet Angie in twenty minutes." Suzannah headed back to the bedroom. Sally stayed to talk with Rhoda. Later that evening in Brenda's appartent, Rhoda told them what they had discussed.
"Sally told me I should think of something to do that I've always wanted to but have been scared to. I'm going to write three things on peices of Paper and you guys do it too. then we will each pick one thing and Just do it. Suzi, I want to impress that for you it needs to be with-in reason. No running off to get married, or scaling the school walls!" Suzannah pretended to be offended and shocked but she couldn't help laughing.
"I promise, Aunt Rho." They each wrote down three things then drew. Brenda picked, 'Call Woody Allen' Suzannah chose 'Perform at an open mic night at the Gaslight Cafe in Greenwhich Village.' Then it was Rhoda's turn.
"Well here goes…. I'm going to Paris for the weekend." A few days later, Rhoda had her passport. She was pretty nervouse so she tried to talk Brenda into going with her. In the end it was Joe who talked her into it when he came by to try and talk Rhoda out of it.
"I can stay with Angie for the weekend.", Suzannah said. Brenda already had a passport because she had mistakenly thought that she needed one for a trip to Hawaii. The day before they were due to go, Brenda changed her mind.
"I really can't afford it, Rho. But you should still go!"
"I don't know, Bren. Alone?" Sally came in about that time to see how everything was going for the trip.
"Sal, you've flown all over. How safe is Paris for a Woman alone?", Rhoda asked.
"Honey, the Vatican isn't safe for a woman alone. But you still should go. You'll be fine. And you'll have a great time." Rhoda was finally talked into going and that night, Suzannah and Brenda were helping Rhoda finish packing. While they were helping her decide on dresses for going out at night, the phone rang.
"I'll get it!", said Suzannah. She ran to the living room and picked up the phone.
"Hello?… Bess! How are you?!" It had been a few weeks since she'd talked with her friend. Bess had tested out of her senior year and was now in College.
"Well, can you come up this weekend and meet me in Vegas?", Bess replied. Suzannah liked that idea, no matter what the reason was. Suzannah had visited her friend in San Fransisco last summer. Rhoda had been sent there by one of her clients to get some ideas for their window and Suzannah had been able to go along and stay that week with Bess's family. Other than that, the two friends hadn't been able to see each othe in about a year.
"I Would love to,Bess. I don't know if I can though. My Aunt's flying to Paris for the weekend. I don't know if she'd want me flying somewhere too while she's gone.
"Please just ask her! I want you at my wedding!"
"Wedding?! Are you Kidding? Is it the guy you were telling me about?"
"Yeah! It's Mark. We're leaving tomorrow and heading to Vegas to the wedding chapel! See if you can get there! I really want my best friend with me!"
"What about your family?", Suzannah asked, uncertainly to which Bess replied,
"I'm going to call when we get there. Phyllis would freek out. You know she doesn't like Mark. She doesn't even have a good reason. He's her boss's nephew. She doesn't like his long hair either. And she doesn't think he's smart enough or good enough for me. Please, Sue! I need someone to support me. Plus I could use your help with my hair."
"Well, I can tell he makes you happy and that is what I care about. I'll talk to to my aunts and see what I can do. I'll call you back in a few."
"Ok, Sue. I'll be by the phone. I'm at Mark's so here's the number." Bess rattled off the number and Suzannah wrote it down. Then they said goodby.
"So what was that all about,Kiddo?", Rhoda asked.
"Well, you see….um…", Suzannah suddenly wasn't sure how to begin."
"Spit it out,Suzi!", Rhoda urged.
"Yeah. It can't be THAT bad.", Brenda added.
"Well, Bess is eloping tomorrow. She's asked me to fly to Las Vegas and meet her there to be a witness."
"Oh, gee. I don't know,Sweetheart. That's awfully far away,and I'm not going to be in the country."
"Wait a sec, Rho. I can go with her. It's not nearly as expensive to go to Vegas as it would be to go to Paris. It's her best friend's wedding.",Brenda said. Rhoda thought for a minute.
"Well, as long as Brenda's going with you, I guess it's all right for you to go."
"Oh, Thankyou, Aunt Rho! Thankyou, Aunt Bren!", Suzannah exclaimed, hugging her aunts. Then she went to the phone.
"By the way, What does Phyllis think about this?", Rhoda asked. Suzannah hesitated before replying.
"I don't know."
"I'm guessing, she doesn't know about this at all?", Rhoda said knowingly. Suzannah nodded slowly.
"Well, I shouldn't allow you to be a part of Bess's deception, but considering how Phyllis feels about me, I'm assuming that her impression of this young man isn't anymore accurate. I think it's great that you want to support your best friend." Suzannah grinned at Rhoda and then called her friend back to tell her the good news. Then Rhoda told her to call Sally to get help with getting the last minute tickets. Sally was more than glad to help. The next day, Rhoda, Brenda and Suzannah were sitting with their suitcases waiting for Rhoda's plane. Suzannah's and Brenda's wasn't for another hour. It was a good thing that this was a teacher's conference day. Since Rhoda was going to be away, Suzannah's teachers had been good enough to meet with her the day before, after school. Sally came over to them and said,
"I wanted to see you off. I can't stay too long because I have a flight to Florida in half an hour." Rhoda hugged Sally and said,
"Thanks for everything, Sal!" Sally hugged Rhoda back and then turned to Suzannah and Brenda.
"You two have fun in Las Vegas, but not too much fun.", she said with a wink.
"Thanks for the help, Sally!", Suzannah said, giving Sally a hug.
"Don't mention it. I was glad to help. Gotta go now. Bye!", Sally replied as she headed towards her gate. Rhoda's plane was called and she turned to hug her neice.
"Have fun this weekend, Darling."
"You,too.", Suzannah said. Then Rhoda turned to Brenda and hugged her so hard she couldn't breath.
"Rhoda, You're only going for a weekend. You don't have to hug so hard."
"I'm not hugging! I'm holding on! Bren, I'm scared. Maybe I shouldn't do this."
"Rhoda, You're going to Paris. You'll have a great time! And Suzannah and I will be fine. Now go! They're boarding!"
"Will you two wait on line with me? I'm nervous to wait alone."
"Sure.", Brenda replied. Suzannah picked up her suitcase and followed. Soon, Joe came up with flowers.
"I wanted to see you off! I still think you're crazy but If this is what will make you happy, I won't stop you."
"Suzannah, Brenda, Have a great trip to Tahoe. I'll see you when I get back." It took a moment but Brenda caught on when Suzannah nudged her and they headed to their gate, after Suzannah gave Rhoda one more hug. a few hours later, they were in Vegas. They took a taxi to the wedding chapel that Bess had said she was getting married at. They were quickly approached by a long haired hippie-type.
"Hey. You must be Suzannah and her aunt Brenda. I'm Mark."
"Hi, Mark. I'm Brenda. Nice to meet you.
"I'm Suzannah. Bess calls me Sue. Where is Bess?"
"Oh, she's in the powder room. I'm supposed to send you in when you get here. I guess that would be now. Follow me." Mark led them to the powder room. Brenda turned to Suzannah and said,
"Hey Suz, I'm just going to wait out here and then find a place to sit."
"Ok. I'll see you later, Aunt Bren." Suzannah headed into the powder room.
"Bess?!"
"Sue! You made it!", Bess called then came over and gave her friend a big hug.
"Of course I did! I wouldn't miss this if I could help it!"
"Can you help me with my hair? And then help me decide between these dresses?" Suzannah agreed and the two got to work. About an hour later, it was time for the ceremony. Bess was now wearing her hair in a french twist and had on a beautiful Burgandy dress and gold shoes. she had on gold cascade earrings and a gold tassle necklace with a gold charm bracelet. Suzannah handed her a present.
"I stopped in the gift shop on my way up here. I found this and wanted to give it to you.
"Sue, It's so pretty! You didn't have to. But thanks!", Bess said as she hugged her friend, tightly. The present was a charm with two linked hearts. Suzannah helped Bess put the charm on the bracelet and then they headed down to the chapel to meet Mark. The ceremony was beautiful. Suzannah thought she'd never seen her friend so happy before. Even after meeting him for that short time, seeing them together it was easy to tell that Mark was perfect for Bess and they loved each other very much. After the ceremony, Brenda and Suzannah both hugged Bess and Mark.
"You better take good care of her. If you don't you'll have to answer to me.", said Suzannah to Mark, half joking.
"I promise. I will.", Mark replied sincerely, pulling his wife close.
"Thanks for coming, Sue. It ment alot to me. And thanks for coming with her,Brenda.
"No thanks needed. You'd have done the same for me.",Suzannah replied.
"Hopefully I will, someday when you meet the right guy."
"Congratulations to both of you. I'm really happy for you.",Brenda said.
"Well, I guess we better get to our motel. I'm so happy for you Bess. Call me when you can and let me know how it's going."
"I will. Love you,Sue.", Bess said, hugging her friend once more.
"I love you,too. Nice to meet you,Mark."
"Likewise.", Mark replied. Then the couple headed off in one direction while Suzannah and Brenda headed off in the other. The next day they had an afternoon flight out. They spent the first part of the day seeing the sights. At 3 o'clock, they headed to the airport to go back home. Sunday afternoon, they went to the airport in New York to meet Rhoda's plane. They watched the passengers get off one couple at a time until they saw Rhoda walking towards them talking to an old lady.
"Rhoda!", Brenda called.
"Brenda! Suzi! Bonjour!", Rhoda said, hugging them both.
"How was Paris?"
"It was wonderful. A little Lonley, but wonderful. I walked and then walked some more. I had coffee in a little sidewalk cafe. How was Vegas?"
"It was groovy! And Mark was really nice. I could tell he really loves Bess. The next day we explored Vegas before we had to come home. It was so much fun."
"I'm glad you had a good time, Kiddo. And What's new with you?", Rhoda asked, turning to her sister.
"Oh, hey. You know how you were so excited to say you were going to Paris for the weekend? Well said it again and I can top it.
"Ok. This weekend I flew to Paris."
"Woody Allen called!", Brenda shot back!"
"No! Tell me about it!"
"Well You know when I called him his answering service answered and I gave my name. Well today, he called me back. We talked for ten whole minutes!"
"What did he say?", Rhoda asked.
"Well, he thought it was really stupid that you flew to Paris for only a weekend!" Brenda replied causing Rhoda and Suzannah to laugh.
"Oh, and Aunt Rhoda. I'm going to perform next Thursday at the Gaslight for open mic night.
"Oh,Sweetheart, I'm so proud of you! I can't wait to hear you."
"Thanks. I'm nervous, but that's why I have to do it,right?"
"Right!", said Rhoda and Brenda together. Then the three of them went to the baggage claim.
"I have presents for you both. They're in my suitcase.", Rhoda said When they got back home, Rhoda got into her luggage and brought out a pretty floral scarf for Brenda and a purple Beret for Suzannah.
"Thanks, Aunt Rho! I can't wait to wear this to school on tomorrow."
"And I'll wear the scarf to work.",Brenda added. None of them felt like cooking, so they all headed out to eat at a nearby diner. They talked and ate before heading back home to get ready for bed. They were all exausted from the full weekend of activity. They all agreed that it had been worth it though. It had been a crazy but fun weekend.
Well, There's chapter 35. The next chapter will cover The Ultimatum then I'll have one that deals with Mary losing her Job and Suzannah getting one. By the way, Bess testing out of senior year actually could happen. My cousin did that. Plus I could see Phyllis being on board with her Little Bess doing that because she'd be so proud that her little darling was smart enough to do that. and that would explain why Bess is suddenly in college instead of high school. Thanks for continuing to read! Please Reveiw! They are much appreciated!