Chapter Six
Calling it Off
"Woody, do you have to leave for work right now?" Jordan asked, somewhat surprised that Woody bounded out of bed before she got up. While neither one of them could ever be described as eager, early risers, the fact that they both were waking up to a nice, warm, body in the morning made getting up for work – on time, at least – even harder.
"Yeah, I do…I have a breakfast meeting with an…an….informant," he called out from the kitchen. "The coffee's done when you want some…"
"Thanks." Jordan finally rolled out of bed and stretched lazily. Last night…or early this morning, somewhere between the time she realized that she had reached for him in her sleep and before his damn alarm clock went off, Woody had encouraged her to redefine "sexual pretzel" for him. She smiled softly at the memory…then frowned when she wondered just how many of these "wake up" calls she had left. She needed to tell him the wedding was off…she couldn't do it…not that she couldn't marry him, but that she didn't have enough of the womanly stuff needed inside her to pull off a simple wedding ceremony.
"Do you think we can meet for lunch? I need to talk to you about the wedding," she asked, stretching her back to get the kinks out of the pretzel.
"Ummmm….depends on what the informant tells me this morning," Woody said, draining his cup of the last drop of liquid caffeine and putting it neatly in the sink.
Jordan looked at him, concern wafting over her face. "Is this a new case?"
"Sort of…it's kind of been pending, but in the last few days, it's picked up speed."
Walking over to him so she could look him in the eyes, she tugged at his tie. He brought his face down to her level. "Is this something I should be concerned about, Farm Boy?"
She was relieved to see his eyes crinkle at the corners as a dimpled grin crossed his face. "Not a bit. There's no need for you to be concerned whatsoever, Jo."
"Good. I want my bridegroom all in one piece for the wedding…and the honeymoon," she replied, giving him a searing kiss good-bye….the kind of kiss that made Woody's toes curl up in his shoes and have thoughts about both of them calling in sick.
But he couldn't do that today. He watched her saunter off to the shower, fully aware of what she had just done to him. Clearing his throat, he called back to her. "Have a good day, Jo…"
"You, too…"
And he was … going to have a great day and hopefully get the wedding taken care of. Despite Jordan's seemingly playful mood this morning, he caught the way her brow furrowed when she told him they needed to talk about the wedding. And the detective in him couldn't help but examine the credit card receipt he had found stuffed in the top of her pocketbook last night when he came in. She had bought her wedding dress … at least she was beginning to take charge of some of the nuptials.
And now he was on his way to finish the rest of the details. The "informant" he was going to talk to was actually Garret. After he had met the ME at the bar last night and spilled his and Jordan's tales of wedding woe, Garret had snapped into action.
"Where would you like to be married?" he asked Woody. "While I can see Lily getting married at the Harmony Wellness Center, I can't see you or Jordan doing the same…"
"I don't want to…I want something simple and special…Jordan's argument is that the Center is the only place we could get enough seating…and while I want our friends and family there, the only person I really want to make sure is at the ceremony is Jordan."
Garret at thought for a moment after Woody had relayed to him all the places Jordan and Lily had called to see about reserving, until finally Garret had hit upon an idea. "You and Jordan run a lot down by the ocean…along the boardwalk, right?"
Woody nodded.
"How about a beach side wedding? A canopy could easily be rented….some folding chairs….and this time of year we're just about guaranteed good weather…"
Woody's mouth dropped open. He had never thought about that. "The beach…sounds….wonderful. And special. But don't we need some kind of permit? And won't that take about six weeks?"
Garret had given him an eat-shit grin. "You don't know who you're talking to…I have connections and favors owed me all over the place." And sure enough, a couple of phone calls later, Garret was promised a rush on the permit and that it would be in his office first thing tomorrow morning.
"What else do you need?" he asked Woody.
"Music…I haven't even heard Jordan mention that…but we need music…and somewhere to have the reception…a DJ…flowers….food … and Max. I know Jordan wants her dad to walk her down the aisle, even if she hasn't said so…"
Garret had thought for a moment…."I can do this, but I'm going to need some help. Write down exactly what you're thinking about…and the price range…and let me call in reinforcements."
"Reinforcements? Please say you're not going to ask Nigel and Lily…." Woody asked, as he jotted the information down on a cocktail napkin.
The ME chuckled. "Good God, no. I'm thinking about Renee' Walcott. While we may be having issues personally, the woman is even better connected than I am, and heaven knows she wants this wedding to happen…plus the woman has excellent taste. Is that okay with you?"
Woody nodded and handed Garret the napkin. "It sounds wonderful. I don't know how we'll ever thank you."
"Just name your first born after me. That's Garret with one 't'. And go rent your tux."
That thought brought Woody back to another detail. He needed a best man and an usher. "Dr. Macy…would you …?"
"Stand up with you?"
Woody nodded. "That is if Jordan doesn't ask you to give her away if Max can't be found…"
"I'd be happy to….but I have a feeling this entire thing is going to work out fine." Garret stood to leave.
"One more thing, though," Woody said. "Not a word to Jordan. I want to surprise her."
Garret winked and picked up the tab for the drinks. He had never thought of himself a particularly romantic man, but he loved Jordan and was glad that she was finally happy with her life. Getting these two married was top priority…or he was going to have one very unhappy and frustrated ME on his hands…
And an unhappy and frustrated Jordan was not a pretty sight.
Jordan got dressed and headed into her office, all the time giving herself a pep talk "You've got to tell them…you've got to tell them TODAY," she kept repeating. "They don't need to keep knocking themselves out for a wedding that's not going to happen…"
She had built her courage up…even managing to hum to herself as she rode the elevator to her office. She walked down the hall with energy and confidence….until she saw Nigel and Lily standing in the hall…with that damn pink folder between them. "There you are!" Lily exclaimed. "Of all the days to be late…the printers called about the invitations….and …"
"And I've got this sketch worked up for you for the dress," said Nigel, shoving a drawing of a halter-top wedding dress with a navel cut-out, low-waist skirt creation that would have looked more at home at a Cher concert than at a wedding. "So, what do you think…I can finish it in a couple of days, if you like it….and then I figure for your hair, my roommate could pull it up at an angle and…"
"The invitations are more important, Nigel," Lily said, butting in. "If people aren't invited, there isn't going to be a wedding…"
"That's just it," Jordan cut in…loudly…to get their attention and to get them to just shut up for a minute and listen to her.
And it worked. They both went quiet and looked at her in surprise.
"That's just it," she repeated, a bit softer. "There isn't going to be a wedding…"
"No wedding?" asked Lily, who looked like she might just cry.
"No. Not now. Maybe not ever."
"Woodrow getting cold feet?" Nigel asked.
"No…no…it's not Woody. It's me. And I'm not getting cold feet," Jordan replied, catching Nigel's worried frown. "It's just that this wedding is turning into something I don't even recognize…and I know Woody doesn't like. He spent years convincing me that I was his ideal woman…and now I owe him the ideal wedding. I can't let him down…I just can't. So until I can make things perfect…"
"You're calling it off," Lily finished, a defeated look in her eyes.
"Yeah. I'm sorry guys. I don't mean to hurt anyone's feelings, but the most important person in all of these plans is Woody. And so far, I'm batting zero with him in this wedding thing. I need more time…I just…just want it to be perfect for him."
Nigel nodded. "We understand, love. We do. I'm sorry, too. I guess we were just so excited for you and Woody…that it was finally happening between you, that we got so caught up in the wedding, we forgot about you two."
"I do appreciate everything you've done… I really do. I had no idea folks cared so much…"
"We love you, Jordan. And Woody, too. We just want you two to be together. You both have waited so long…" Lily continued.
"I know. And I guess it won't hurt to wait a little longer," Jordan finished, willing the tears down in her eyes.
Wait a little longer….a little longer…a little longer…the words ran through her head as she waited for Woody to come home for dinner. He had worked through lunch…something about the informant…but promised he'd be home and they'd go somewhere special for dinner…his treat.
She sighed and found herself pulling her wedding dress out of the closet to look at it one more time. She unzipped the bag and gazed at the white linen and Irish lace creation…so beautiful…and yet it was with a sinking heart, she realized she just may not ever get a chance to wear it. So much for being Woody's ideal woman. She wished now she would have taken his advice and set the date a year in advance instead of just a month.
Hell, who was she kidding…she probably wouldn't be able to plan wedding in 365 days … even if it was leap year. She was hopeless. She was so far from being Woody's ideal woman, it wasn't funny. If she was ideal, she'd be able to take care of this with a snap of her fingers…
Instead, she had only managed to find her dress. A dress she may never put on. Ruefully, she sipped up the bag and hung the dress back in her closet. The only person left to tell that the wedding was off was now keying in her apartment door.