Chapter 5

Bad to Worse to Magical to Lonely

Jordan returned from lunch feeling like she could honestly cancel her appointment with the tattoo artist. She didn't get her Bailey's ...or her nap...with Woody, but she did feel like she'd make it through the rest of day. That was until she saw Lily charging down the hallway like a woman on a mission...

"Jordan! Oh thank God I caught you. We have a problem."

We have a problem. Four words Jordan didn't want to hear...especially when they came from an obviously flustered Lily with that damnable pink folder in her arms.

"Good. I need to talk to you too." Come clean. That's what she told Woody she was going to do. Only her will was weakening, making the idea of letting down her friends easier said then done.

"I just got off the phone with the print shop and they said they can't guarantee the announcements by Friday if they don't have the pictures by four."

"Pictures?"

"The pictures," Lily curtly. "You promised Jordan. We went through this the other day..."

To Jordan the other day was a lifetime ago. For the life of her she couldn't remember what she agreed to and what she didn't. By that point she realized when it came to all this pomp and circumstance she was hopelessly lacking.

By that point...she was just nodding her head at everything.

"Refresh my memory, Lily..."

"Baby pictures," Lily reiterated slowly as if she was making sure Jordan wasn't hearing her in tongues. "The baby pictures of you and Woody for the wedding announcements..."

Dimly Jordan recalled something on a type written list Lily handed her about looking though an old photo album. Unfortunately, that list was buried somewhere under a month's worth of paperwork on her desk.

Jordan cleared her throat, "Wow. Lily. I'm...I'm sorry...? We need to talk about..."

"Oh well, "Lily cut in crossing out a line in her folder with an exaggerated wave of her pen. "I guess we go with Plan B; the handmade paper invitations. They're not as personal..."

"Can't we just send out a postcard that says: Be there or be square?" So much easier said than done.

Lily's expression looked like she was on the verge of tears. "...You're joking. Right?"

No. Jordan wished this to be part of some really bad nightmare, but since she wasn't standing naked in front of a packed Fenway Park, she knew the chances were pretty slim.

Jordan let out an over exuberant laugh to cover her discomfort. It was just announcements. "Of course. My goodness this is my wedding after all, not a bowling birthday party."

Temporarily appeased, Lily made a note. "Okay, it's settled then. I've have the printers start on them this afternoon. Oh by the way, Kim and I are going shopping after work...Let me get this straight..." Lily flipped through her notes reading from a page ear marked "MOH&BM". "Anything but yellow and you want Kim to wear...these shoes...?"

Jordan looked over the edge of the folder to an ad she ripped out of a glossy magazine while waiting with Woody at her doctor's office for their blood tests.

"Yes," she smiled smugly. "Strappy dyed-to-match stilettos, the higher the better."

"...Alright. Is that all?"

"Lily, we need to talk about..."

"The bridal shower I know. As the M.O.H, a.k.a Maid of Honor," she added with a note of pride in her voice, "I know it's my job. Besides the traditional Punxsutawney time capsule, I was thinking maybe a Time of the Day Party. You know where each guest is told to bring a gift that would typically be used during a specific time of day. Some one gets 9 to 11 AM, the next 12 to 2. I promise that I'll assign the appropriate times to the appropriate people. We wouldn't want Woody's Aunt Edna to get 10 to midnight," Lily added with a blushing giggle.

"Speaking of Aunt Edna..."

"I talked to her on the phone the other day. She needed recommendation for a beauty shop near the Wisconsin group's hotel. Nigel's roommate is a hairdresser. He's volunteered to make a house call to the hotel. Aunt Edna is going to feel like a movie star. She sounds like such a neat lady. She's very excited about her little Woodrow getting married. Which reminds me, I need to talk to Woody about his groom's party. How did you think he'd like a Crafts Party? My ceramics workshop does them all the time. We can give out an award for the worst piece and we can use the rest for flower vases on the tables for the reception..."

"It wouldn't hurt to ask..." In that instant Jordan realized the simple, damning truth. She couldn't stop Lily and Nigel anymore than she could stop an avalanche. She didn't want to disappoint them anymore than she wanted to hurt Woody. She was stuck in the middle. A place she never liked to be.

"Good. I'll call him later and tell him you think it's a good idea."

"...Yay." Jordan said with a false bravado that only she, herself, could notice. Maybe Woody would forgive her sometime before they opened Lily's Punxsutawney time capsule on their fiftieth wedding anniversary.

She didn't have any other choice but to call the whole thing off. The whole wedding thing wasn't going to happen. It wasn't in the cards. Not for this month...maybe not ever. She'd break the news to Woody tonight ...after the Bailey's and nap...with him. Morning would be soon enough to assess the collateral damage.

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Garret hung up the phone with a stifled laugh even though it wasn't funny. If anything it was...typical Jordan. Hell bent for leather she was charging ahead despite the questionable outcome. It was one of the reasons he loved her. He also knew she wouldn't back down once the game was in motion. It must have taken a lot for Jordan to admit she needed help and it goes to figure she'd turn to a pair of friends that were as different as night and day in their tastes. Yet, they both loved her as much as he did and would go to the end of the earth for her if asked. Apparently from what Woody said they were taking the wedding plans right to that extent. No wonder the young man was concerned that it was turning unto a recipe for disaster. Looking at his watch Garret realized he had a few good hours before he met with Woody over drinks. Hopefully he'd have a few answers for him by then.

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Jordan keyed the door of her apartment and tumbled inside. The restlessness of the last few weeks was catching up with her. There was one thing to be said about surrender. While her heart broke at the idea of letting down the people she loved, there was an almost palpable feeling of relief that left her physically exhausted. At least in sleep she wouldn't have to think about it.

Her day had progressed from bad to worse to magical to lonely all in a few short hours. Woody called her and told her he wasn't going to be able to met her after work which left her either telling him the wedding was off over the phone or waiting until morning. The least she could do was stop Lily and Kim from buying a pair of over priced dresses they'd never get a chance to wear. When she couldn't reach either of them by phone Jordan hit the streets. Like a bloodhound on the trail Jordan canvassed all the dress shops Kim had dragged her to weeks prior. The clerks all recognized her but nobody had seen her friends.

Jordan finally gave up her search at the shop she bought the dress she wore at Kim's wedding. Like all the others, the store was getting ready to close for the evening. It was empty except for her and a keenly compassionate sales clerk. The sympathetic woman listened like a priest to a sinner nodding at all the appropriate times as Jordan told her sad story. Smelling one last commission, the sales clerk convinced Jordan that she couldn't by pass the one true right of a bride to be.

Looking at wedding dresses.

Jordan balked telling her that even if she was going through with the wedding Nigel was re-sketching the ideal gown. His ideal gown, the saleswoman reminded her with a cocked brow. Just a peek, the woman assured Jordan. Sweetly telling her that if she had a better picture in her mind what she wanted, she could more easily communicate to Nigel what she meant by saying less is more.

Tired, hungry, and no place else to go, Jordan couldn't find any reason not to take the woman up on her offer. Especially, when she came out of the back room with a glass of chardonnay left over from the day's scheduled fittings.

While Jordan sipped the wine, the clerk asked about her life...eking out details about her career and interests. Finally, she asked about Woody and how they met; when she knew he was the one...and how he proposed. Jordan skimmed over the details but felt her feet once again leave the floor thinking about marrying the man. She closed her eyes and envisioned a beautiful simple ceremony. By the time she had opened her eyes the saleswoman had hung a dress above the dais.

Simple in its lines, the gown could only pass as a wedding dress because of its snowy color and strapless bodice. Other than that it looked like something a Newport deb would wear for a luncheon at the beach. Abet a formal one, but nonetheless it wasn't a three tiered wedding cake nor was it Nigel's Viva Las Vegas proposal. Jordan began to wrinkle her nose until she took a closer look. The Irish linen had a fine border of embroidery around the way top of the bodice and a wider one around the hem that would barely skim the floor. There was a vellum colored silk sash that cinched the natural waist. The clerk assured Jordan would make her slender curves more feminine.

Feeling slightly tingly from the wine, Jordan couldn't see the harm in just trying it on. It wasn't like she was in the market. It was just for fun. It was just to squelch that girly urge.

Once on, it was love at first sight. That feeling was only compounded when the attendant draped a sheer white crepe pashmina over her shoulders. Jordan had heard the stories about brides who said that the second they tried on THE Dress they knew. They said they could have tried on a thousand more but That One always ended up being the one she'd end up walking down the aisle in.

Too bad she wasn't going to hit an aisle in or out of the Harmony Center any time too soon. Reluctantly, Jordan changed back in her street clothes feeling like Cinderella at midnight. She told the clerk thanks and stepped out on to the street only to march back in and slap her credit card on the counter. Even if Woody was able to forgive her, and they ended up married by a justice of the peace during her lunch hour, she was going to look good doing it.

Now home in her empty apartment the magic of the moment was gone. Carefully Jordan hung the garment bag in the back of her closet telling herself she could return it later. With one last loving stroke of the bag, she shut the closet door and checked her phone messages. She needed to call Drew and tell him that she didn't need his help any longer. It was late in DC and her machine was empty. She'd add it to the list of calls she needed to make tomorrow.

Forgoing the Bailey's, Jordan decided to go straight for the nap. When Woody came home they could talk.

Woody's home. It had a nice ring to it. She twisted her hands in the loose material of her sleep shirt hoping they both still felt that way after they talked.

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Woody quietly let himself in the door and put his bag down on the kitchen counter. He could tell she was asleep before he even reached the bedroom. It was funny how quickly they went from the awkward adjustments of sharing the same living space to the warm security of being partners in life. The night he spent in his cold bachelor's bed only prove the point more. After this evening, he was more certain that ever he wanted to make her his wife. Right on schedule; just like Jordan planned.

He smiled when he found her in a twisted sheathe of duckies and bubbles. In a million years he would have never guessed she'd sleep in flannel. He looked forward to discovering the rest of her secrets over the next hundred years or so.

A book lay open across her chest and her Ipod was haphazardly clipped to her ears. It touched him that she tried to stay awake even though he told her he'd be late. One by one he carefully placed everything on the nightstand and turned off the light. Quietly, as so not to wake her, he pulled his own clothes off and climbed in bed next to her. In her sleep, Jordan reached out to him and Woody closed his eyes knowing come morning everything would finally be on track.