Chapter 9
The Arrangements
Dominic squeezed Summer's hand and she felt guilty for the thousandth time since his proposal. She had been thinking about Seth again. She couldn't help it; she just couldn't get it out of her head that he was here three years after he had left her. Couldn't get over how every time they met, she wanted to hug him tight and tell him that he could never leave again instead of slap him like she really should have wanted.
She hated that she couldn't even lie to herself about that.
"Are you nervous sweetie?" Dominic asked softly. Summer shook her head firmly. They were stood in LAX airport waiting for the plane carrying her mother, Eva to land. So far it had been delayed an hour, but they had been informed that it would land within the next ten minutes.
"No, I'm not nervous. Are you?"
"Well I've never met you're Mom before in my life and the first time I meet her, I'll be telling her I'm marrying her daughter."
Summer tried not to gulp too loudly. She hadn't told him that she was still married yet. He didn't even know who she had been married to. Was married to. She'd managed to keep that part of her life secret so far. She had already told her mother about her marriage, and she had made her mother swear that she wouldn't mention Seth, in any shape or form. In fact, she had told everyone she knew that she and Seth had divorced the year he left. She couldn't see that one getting out anytime soon.
Three hours later and Summer was in a restaurant that was far too expensive in her opinion and squashed between a mother and a fiancée that were getting along far too well in her opinion.
"Oh my God, that is just so adorable, isn't it sweetie," Summer's Mom drawled as Dominic finished the story of his proposal. "And then you just fainted? Oh, Summer, it's just like a rom com!" This was finished with raucous laughter. Summer pretended to join in.
"Well, it was certainly something to tell the grandkids," Dominic laughed. Eva joined in and placed her hand on top of his.
"So, when did you start dating?" Eva asked.
"Um, two years ago. November wasn't it?"
"Hmm," Summer answered dully.
"Yeah. It took me two months to get up the courage to ask you out and then another two months for you to accept."
Summer nodded again. She had met Dominic only three days after Seth had left, but looked at him only as a friend of a friend. She'd started looking at him as a real friend after a month, when she had heard nothing from Seth and he was there for her. She refused to completely give up on Seth though. She'd hurt him, she needed to find him and say sorry. She'd searched for two month's without any results. Another month and she had given up on him. He wasn't coming back.
"…Of course the first date was an absolute disaster," Dominic was saying when Summer tuned back into the conversation. "I'd booked a table at a very exclusive restaurant, but Summer was half an hour late and the reservation had fallen through! So I had to think on my feet and pull a few strings to get Pierre De Lon, this really expensive chef who used to work in Cardin up in LA to cook us a meal on the beach."
"How romantic. Doesn't sound like a disaster at all! But how did you get Pierre at such short notice?"
"He was staying at a hotel nearby, happened to be a very good friend of a friend!"
Summer tuned out again. She had been late because she was at Marissa's having a moral panic attack. She had shown up at the Atwood residence in tears, asking Marissa if she was an absolute cow for going on a date so soon after Seth had left, if she should just lock herself away and become celibate again, if she should declare herself a widow and a 'no-go zone'.
Marissa had told her to stop being so stupid.
So she had, she had gone on that date with Dominic, she had smiled through it, talked through it… and hated every second of it.
It wasn't the date itself, or even really the company. It was totally her. She just couldn't enjoy the date knowing that she was in love with Seth still, knowing she was still married. And the beach where they had their meal brought back so many painful memories – it was where Seth had proposed. The whole way through she just kept thinking, you're not Seth. Why am I here when I should be with Seth. I want Seth.
"Okay so when is it? The wedding? Have you got a date planned yet?" Eva's voice worked its way into Summer's consciousness once more and yet again, Summer felt a great pang of guilt.
"May next year," Summer said. Dominic smiled at her gratefully. So far he had had to carry the conversation alone.
"May? Wow, well aren't you compulsive," Eva asked in her elegant tones.
"Not really," Summer murmured.
"We figured why wait?" Dominic asked, spreading his palms out.
Summer silently prayed that the divorce would go through in time.
Over the next week, Eva was on a personal mission, and that mission was to shove Summer into every wedding dress imaginable.
"Oh darling!" she exclaimed loudly as Summer marched out in what felt like the sixtieth wedding dress so far. "That is just too magnificent!"
"I look like a human meringue," Summer deadpanned. Marissa, who had been silently falling asleep in the corner, giggled.
"Oh tosh! It's superb. But anyway, why not try this one on?" Eva held out a dress that would have made one of the Disney Princesses proud. It was white silk, with a full skirt that seemed to engulf the shop and a corseted top with puff ball sleeves. Marissa and Summer squaled as one.
"No! It's awful – get it away!" Summer whined.
"Oh My God, I will have nightmares," Marissa said, backing her best friend up.
"Nonsense, its adorable!"
"No Mom, its not. It is the vilest thing I have ever seen in my life. I just want something simple, something classic."
Eva rolled her eyes, "Please, you wore something simple last time and look how that turned out." Summer and Marissa gaped at her with their mouth's hanging open.
"Wh – what?" Summer asked, still in shock. Her Mom knew Seth was a no-go zone – why did she have to bring him up now?"
"Oh, I thought you were over that Stanley boy now," Eva said dismissively.
"Seth," Summer mumbled quietly.
"Whatever his name is. Besides, he didn't think of you when he waltzed on out of your life did he?" Summer held back on the response that she had done the same thing when she was eleven.
"He's back," she opted on instead. Eva's eyes widened theatrically.
"What?" she asked, and Summer noted with some amusement the venom in her voice. Eva had never been a huge fan of Seth, but while her dad had managed to get along with Seth and actually like his oddball humour, Eva had never been around long enough to give him the time of day.
Seth fidgeted with his tie and coughed loudly. Summer slapped him on the back of the head.
"Ow! Summer, what was that for?" he asked in his typical little boy upset voice.
"Stop fidgeting. And don't cough without your hand over your mouth," Summer replied sternly. She would never admit it to Seth but she was just as nervous as he was. She had never really got a long with her Mom and she didn't see her all that often.
"Sorry," Seth muttered. Summer threw him a dazzling smile and put her hand over his.
"Look, just relax okay – Oh, here she is," Summer said. Seth jumped up and smiled winningly at Eva Roberts. She looked so much like her daughter, with the expressive dark eyes, rosebud mouth and olive skin. The only difference was that Eva was obviously a big fan of peroxide.
"Mrs Roberts," he greeted, holding his hand out.
"Oh please, its Eva," she replied accepting Seth's hand and shaking it.
"Hi Mom," Summer said, walking round and hugging her.
"Oh, my darling Summer," Eva greeted. How have you been?"
"Good. Well, great actually," Summer said the last part while glancing over at Seth.
"Oh of Course, the engagement. You must tell me everything! Where was it? What where you wearing? Ooh, I need the details!"
Seth gave a very dramatic and enthused account of 'the proposal'. At the end Eva looked at him like he had told her he wanted to marry in a garbage truck.
"How… very…" Eva trailed off, obviously at a loss for what to say. "Um… So… When," she coughed uncomfortably, "When is it?"
Seth was disheartened. Eva was obviously thinking that Seth wasn't good enough for her daughter. Summer caught Seth's gloom and smiled at him encouragingly. She wasn't going to react to this the way she acted with her dad. She grabbed Seth's hand.
"We, um we were thinking July," Seth said quickly.
"July? Oh, why July?" Eva asked, showing her disapproval.
"I like July," Summer replied defensively.
"Yes but all the wasps, oh its simply terrible! Why not May? May's a marvellous time to get married,"
"Um, I guess we could change it…" Seth started.
"I want July," Summer stated firmly. "It's a perfect time to get married. We could have the reception outside."
"So tell me, the best man used to be in jail, yes?"
The meal went downhill from there, with Eva picking Seth apart and hammering great big blows at his confidence. It was a disaster from start to finish.
Line
AN: Oh Wow I updated fast. Yay me! I just got the bug with this fic, i want to finish it and see how it ends so bad, even though I already know. Typical me. Plus all of my exams are over (last one today Woot!) so hopefully I'll be able to keep up the steam with this and regularly update. Come on people - I'm aiming for a hundred reviews! Help me people! Lot of 'people' here! and ! Okay, gunna stop now. Oh my God, love the Foo Fighters new song! Ah, just downloaded it on ma mob. Heh heh - sad, me? Nooooooo...
Moving on, time for this weeks question...
Question: Best ever SethSummer moment? mine personally has got to be the whole coffee cart thing. I kept rewinding that over and over. Also (this is technically a Summer thing but its the same episode and shes talking about him) when she says - "I just don't know why he likes me, I mean, we have less than nothing in common... I'm afraid he's going to get sick of me, because most guys do..." or something to that effect - so sweet. Oh yeh, and when they dance to Ryan Adams version of Wonderwall and Seth says he's sweeping her off her feet and she says he kind of is - - - - - - -SOOOOOOOO SWEEEEEEEEEEET! Anyway - love all SethSummer moments but those are my fave - but the coffee cart is still probs the best. Second season? ummmm... well, up to where we are up to in England, when Seth hands her the pink flower to say sorry - and then ZACH! (bleugh) has to ruin it... hate Zach at mo. Anyway, REVIEW! please...
Leanna :)
