Chapter 35

Elizabeth walked into the house late in the afternoon. Uncle Geoffrey was sitting in the front room reading when she entered. "Lizzie! I see you were successful.. Would you humor me and try it on for me?"

"Of course. Someone will have to help me with the back. I can't tie it."

She stepped into the study with the garment bag and Geoffrey waited outside. A couple minutes later, Elizabeth cracked the door and turned her back to Geoffrey so he could tighten the laces. Geoffrey gently pulling the satin ribbon through the eyelets transported Elizabeth back to when she was 6 or 7 and little Lizzie could never manage to keep the ribbons on her dresses tied. Lizzie would run past and her father would catch her by the waist and pull her close. "Let's fix those ties," he would say and then spin her around and quickly tie a neat little bow. "There you go." He'd give her a hug and kiss the top of her head and send her off

Elizabeth was always surprised how little things like that surfaced so suddenly and unexpectedly. She quickly wiped away the tear that fell and forced herself to swallow the lump in her throat. "That should do it," Geoffrey said and spun her around. His eyes immediately caught hers. "Honey, what's wrong?" he said, pulling her into a hug.

"Oh, it's nothing. Just one of those sneaky memories that make me miss them." Elizabeth paused for a moment, "Do you think they would approve of Henry and I getting married?"

"Without a doubt, they would have loved Henry. He is a good man and he is both good to you and good for you. That's an unusual combination. You are blessed." He let her go. "Now let me look at you." She pulled back slightly and wiped her tears away and smiled. She stepped a few feet back so he could see the whole dress. Holding out her arms, she slowly turned completely around.

"Well, what do you think?" she asked.

Geoffrey was the one with tears in his eyes this time. "I think you are beautiful. Your dress is perfect." He blinked back the tears. "Do you know how much you look like your mother? It's almost like going back in time." Elizabeth smiled. She always thought she favored her mom, but she didn't necessarily think that other people saw it. "Come here," Geoffrey said, "I'll untie the laces so you can change back. What do you want to do for dinner?"

"I make a mean grilled cheese," Elizabeth said.

"That sounds perfect. I am very good at dumping tomato soup from the can. We're a good team."

He stepped out of the room and she joined him a few minutes later in the kitchen. It didn't take long to get the meal prepared and eaten. Soon they were just sitting back at the table, Geoffrey reading the paper and Elizabeth still working on the survey.

When the phone rang, Elizabeth walked over to pick it up. Assuming it was for Geoffrey, she had already untangled the cord to stretch it over to where he was sitting. "Hello, Adams residence." she said.

"It's my favorite person," Henry replied, the joy evident in his voice.

"Henry!" Elizabeth nearly that, Geoffrey took his cue to leave. He waved his paper and pointed in the direction of the study. Elizabeth nodded.

"I get a 30 minute phone call, so tell me everything you've been doing. I miss you."

"I miss you too. I've mostly been hanging around with Geoffrey. Will left Sunday morning. Geoffrey and I went to Mass and-"

"Really? You and Geoffrey went to Mass?" Henry couldn't hide his surprise.

"Yes. Is it that hard to believe?" she asked with mock annoyance.

"Well, kind of, yeah." Henry told her seriously.

"I missed you and Geoffrey was talking about God and it was Sunday morning, so we went. Don't read too much into it McCord. Oh, and he had a bunch of questions that I didn't know the answer to, so at some point you'll need to answer those."

Henry chuckled, " Definitely not reading anything into it. What else?"

"Your mom sent this amazing package to me of all the wedding vendors in Pittsburgh. I was looking through it with Frederick and he helped me pick out a few things, but before I called and agreed to anything, I wanted to get your opinion."

"Like on what?"

"Like food at the reception. Do you have a sit down meal or hors d'oeuvres? Flowers? Cake? Photographer? Do you want a dance? Band or DJ? Oh, and we need theme colors and invitations and at some point, I need to know how many groomsmen you want because I'm going to have to come up with some friends."

"Wow, babe! That's not overwhelming at all!"

"I know and you didn't even get the giant package full of brochures!"

"Well, most things I won't notice, but there was a girl that graduated a couple years ahead of me and takes amazing pictures. Her name is Shelly O'Laughlin. Well, that was her maiden name, she's probably married by now."

"What are the chances it's Shelly Reed?"

"R-E-E-D?"

"That's the one. How did you know?"

"She dated Jason Reed in high school. I was guessing they married."

"I will definitely call. If it's the same person, she was my top pick."

"What else was there? I don't even remember what you said."

"Flowers?"

"Don't care, but I'll call the church. We may not be able to have flowers in church because of Lent."

"Not at all?" Elizabeth asked.

"I'm sure bouquets and whatever the guy wears is fine. I'm thinking of flowers on the altar or on the ends of the pews. They will already have flowers out though because of Palm Sunday."

"Ah, got it. Is it alright if I call? I'd like to get most of this taken care of before classes start and I know you won't have time."

"Absolutely. Do you have the number?"

"Your mom put it in. She's very thorough."

Henry laughed, "That she is! Next?"

"Food at the reception?"

"Depends on if you want a dance or not?"

"Why does it matter?"

"Well, if you are having people stay from 1 in the afternoon to midnight, then you really need to feed them real food. If there's no dance, then just appetizers is fine."

"Okay, do you want a dance?" she asked.

"I have mixed feelings," Henry said with a hint of smirk.

"Why?"

"If we skip the dance, we can start our honeymoon a few hours earlier. But, a lot of people enjoy a dance, and we do like to dance."

Elizabeth giggled, "I don't think we should make plans for our wedding festivities based on how fast you can get in my pants, Mr. McCord!"

"Weddings would be a lot shorter if everyone did," he countered.

"Dance and real food it is. Besides the best man, how many groomsmen do you want?"

"I was going to ask Shane to be best man. I don't have anyone else specific How many bridesmaids do you want? I'm sure I can wrangle a few guys."

"Do you have any idea how much I love you? I asked Maria to be matron of honor, but I don't have anyone else that I really want to ask." Elizabeth backtracked a bit, " Is it tacky to just have one person?"

"It's your wedding. Do what you want and don't worry about what other people think. Oh, and I got the DJ. I'll call on Sunday when I get home. Does that cover it?"

"All except colors. Frederick suggested gray and white to go with the red in church so it doesn't clash. Is that too bland?"

"Baby I love you but could care less about what color people are wearing. The only clothing concern I have is how fast I can get your dress off of you that night. I will wear whatever you tell me to wear and I will show up."

"Henry, stop," Elizabeth blushed, but she wasn't sure if it was because Henry said it or because she had already had similar thoughts.

"Elizabeth, I love you. I can't wait until Sunday."

In the background, she heard a banging. "Times up McCord!"

"I love you Henry. See you Sunday," and then he was gone.