I tried writting somewhat of a funny chapter to lighten the mood in the story.
Hope you guys like it.
Love for Royalty
Chapter XIII Planning a wedding Part I
Early the next day, Sakura received a second phone call. This time it was Rika. She seemed to be in somewhat of a hury. She told Sakura to meet the gang at Maki's Bridal Shop and gave the directions before hanging up.
Sakura got dressed in a blue silk charmeuse cami and hipster bootcut jean, and left the house. Luckily Tomoeda was small enough, so that people could arrive anywhere just by walking. When she arrived at the Bridal shop she found her friends running to and fro with wedding dresses in their arms. Tomoyo was taking measures of Chiharu's waist.
"Sakura!!" Naoko greeted her friend and went to hug her.
"What is going on here? Who's the bride?" Sakura whispered to Naoko. Her friend just laughed mischevioulsy and pointed at Chiharu. "What?!" Sakura yelped loud enough for everyone to hear her. Sakura instantly blushed and put her hands over her mouth. "Sorry" she then apologized and took Naoko aside. "And…who's the groom?" she whispered again to her friend.
Naoko gave Sakura another of her mischevious looks. "Just guess. It isn't that hard. After all they've both studied together for a long time" she gave emphasis on the word long. Sakura instantly guessed and let out another gasp.
"No! It can't be! Can it?" Sakura asked Naoko surprised by the news. Naoko nodded her head. "Yamasaki? How? When did it… I don't get it. They were always fighting" at this Naoko couln't help but start laughing hard. Rika, Chiharu, and Tomoyo looked at her as if she were going crazy.
"What happened?" Chiharu asked getting mad.
"Ignore it Chiharu. This is your day we're planning. Just enjoy. And we promise you that your dress will look stunning! Okay?" Rika comforted her friend and sat in a couch and started browsing a catalog.
After Tomoyo was done with the measurements, Chiharu went and hugged Sakura. Then all four friends sat in the shop lounge to talk.
Maki's Bridal Shop was one of Tomoyo's first businesses in Japan. It became quite famous right after it opened. Tomoyo had a knack for fashion and a creative imagination. Her wedding gowns and bridesmaid dresses were made with the very best satin, cotton, and silk. And the styles were all very beautiful. The trims were done perfectly with colored laces or some had bedded embroidery. No matter what, Tomoyo made every bride's fantasy come true.
The shop was a small business. To the right of the entrance was the cashier and in front was rack after rack of bridal gowns already tailored in different sizes, for those brides who don't have enough time to plan a wedding. In the back was the fitting rooms and measurement stool. Further back was Tomoyo's office, where she made the dress and came up with new fresh ideas. To the left of her office was the lounge. Here she brought customers to talk about price and what kind of dress the bride wanted.
The lounge was a small space, with a counter to make coffee and store magazines, two white laces sofas, two armchairs, and a dark wood cofee table.
"So, Chiharu. When did it all happen? How did you two get together?" Sakura asked her friend.
Chiharu blushed at the memory of how her relationship with Yamasaki started. "Well. One day I fell sick with the flu, so Takashi brought me home from work. Since I was too weak to move at all, he helped me undress and change clothes. But it was so funny! The whole time he had his eyes covered with his tie to not look at me naked!" all the girls laughed at this comment, especially Chiharu.
The whole afternoon went on like this. Telling jokes and stories about their lives. Sakura noticed she was so out of the blue, she didn't know so much. But then again, so didn't Tomoyo. The day was going on great until Chiharu made the inevitable comment.
"Sakura, now we're both gonna be brides! Tomoyo is going to have so much work to do!" Chiharu laughed but the rest of the table was silent. They had noticed Sakura's hand without the engagement ring and didn't know what to say. When Chiharu finally understood why everyone was so quiet, she blushed and apologized profusely. She felt so stupid for her comment.
"It's okay girls. I'm fine. It just had to be" Sakura tries to master a smile but the memories and the feeling of dread came back to her. To avoid worrying her friends any more, Sakura got up and left the place. She didn't know how much longer she could pull herself together.
Back in the Li mansion in Hong Kong, Shen had left to the States to clean up his apartment and move in the estate. Syaoran was packing up his stuff in his room when Jennifer came in. She looked hurt and depressed.
"Sya…" she started to say but Syaoran interrupted her.
"Not now. Don't you think you've done more than enough damage?" Syaoran comments and Jennifer starts to cry and falls to the ground. Syoaran rolls his eyes in a desperate way and kneels in front of Jennifer. "Why are you crying? You should have known what kind of guy Shen really is! He's a bastard! And way worse than I ever was. At least I had the decency of being honest with every woman I was with. Shen tricked you and Sakura"
Hearing this Jennifer just started crying harder. Syaoran couldn't stop feeling sorry for the girl but at the same time he couldn't help but laugh at her. She looked like such a girl. He knew she was hurt, but he thought she was being a bit overdramatic.
Listenining to Syaoran laugh, Jennifer shot an angry glare at the guy. "What is so damn funny?"
Syaoran kept on lauging as he continued to pack his things. "You. You're taking things a bit too seriously. Like I said, my brother is a bastard. He deserves to be eated by wolves or something like that. The last thing he deserves are your tears Jen. So stop with the waterworks. You're going to make a freacking lake in here!"
Surprisingly Jennifer laughed at his comment instead of getting annoyed. She dried her eyes and smiled. "You're right. It's about time I opened my eyes. But, what about you Syaoran? I still don't understand why you gave up the CEO position and gave it to Shen. You have worked so hard to get it. Why are you quitting to that dream?"
"Because I have another dream now Jen. And I'm going to fight for it. I'm not leaving for the States just yet. There's still one place where I want to go"
In Japan, the cherry blossoms had all lost their flowers. Trees were now bare and their leaves filled the ground bellow. Sakura was walking in the streets of Tomoeda when Tomoyo caught up with her, completely out of breath.
"What happened Tomoyo?" Sakura asked her friend, who was hanging onto her coat and trying to breathe.
After she felt better and felt that she could talk again, Tomoyo grabbed Sakura's hand and took her to a shrine. There she made Sakura ask for a fortune.
The way you ask for your fortune in a Japanese style shrine is by grabbing a stick from a long wooden box and then giving this stick to a shrine keeper in a stand where he in return gives you a piece of paper with your fortune written on it.
Sakura's fortune read:
Now is the time to try something new.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Sakura asked with a sigh. She wasn't in the mood to read fortune cards. "And moreover, why did you bring me here Tomoyo?"
"Sakura, you've been kind of down lately. I just wanted to help you. Besides, that fortune of yours says the truth. It's time you let go of the past and all that happened with Shen and move forward doing something that could get your mind off things. Something to distract yourself. A project perhaps. I know! Maybe you can help Rika with Chiharu's wedding"
"Tomoyo, that is hardly what I need right now. Besides, Shen and I just broke up yesterday. Let me vent"
"How? By eating a bucket of ice cream watching romantic flicks? I can't let you go down that drain Sakura. I know it seems soon, and it must hurt you to see Chiharu in a dress you were supposed to wear. But sooner or later you have to let go and move on. And that fortune you're holding agrees with me"
"Since when do you belive in fortune?"
"Since now"
And that is how Sakura saw herself the very next day picking flowers with Rika. Apparently the bride to be wanted white roses to decorate the chapel. And roses were a bit over both hers and Yamazaki's budget. But she insisted. So Rika had to buy three dozen white roses for the wedding. And she wanted other flowers as well, but she didn't know which would look good with the roses. So both girls had to find cheap flowers that combined with white.
"How about pink Carnations?" Sakura asked smelling a bouquet. She loved flowers. Her favorite was the Sakura blossom.
"They look pretty Sakura! I think they'll do" Rika answers and asks the clerk to send three dozen to the chapel where Chiharu was to be married and gave the lady the date of the event. When they were out, Rika let out a yawn. "You sure have good taste Sakura. You're a great help"
"Rika. Aren't you sleeping well?"
"Actually I am. It's just.." Rika lets out another yawn. "Chiharu is sometimes keeping me awake. Sometimes she calls in the middle of the night to tell me that her wedding cake has to blue, then another night she says it was to have silver decorations. Or other times she says that her reception party should have white balloons. It's exhausting!"
Sakura starts to laugh nervously. "So, you've never handled someone like her?"
Reading Sakura's meaning, Rika shook her head fastly. "I've done worse. Believe me" and then she laughs nervously. Sakura knew better. Rika didn't want to talk badly about Chiharu, they were best friends after all. So she lied.
After going to the florist the girls had to talk with the catering service. Here Rika got out a small booklet where she had written all of her info. Sakura read behind Rika's back and got surprised at the long list of food that apparently Chiharu wanted.
"Um. Rika" Sakura tapped her friend's shoulder.
Rika turned around to face Sakura. "What happened?"
"All that food. You're not gonna order all of it. Are you?"
"That is where you come to help Sakura" Rika smiled at her friend. Unlike Naoko, Rika was never obvious. She didn't smile mischeviously. You just knew she was up to something.
Sakura let out a sigh. "What do I have to do?"
"Decide what food Chiharu would prefer"
Sakura swallowed hard. She knew what that meant. If she decided what food to cater and Chiharu didn't like it, Sakura would be the one to pay dearly. Damn Rika! She was feeding Sakura to the shark!
Sakura gave her friend an irritated glare and took the booklet from her hands and started scanning the list. French? No. Italian? Maybe. Japanese? For sure! Spanish? Hell no! Chinesse? Depends. American? What did Americans have? Fried chicken and french fries? Nope. After reading the list over and over again, Sakura talked to the manager and ordered Japanese, Chinesse, and Italian cuisine to be catered to Chiharu's wedding reception. Rika gave the woman the date and address.
After a long day of work, Sakura was exhausted. She sat in the sofa in Rika's office and let out a long yawn.
"It isn't easy being a wedding planner. Is it?" Rika asked her friend.
"You mean it isn't easy being Chiharu's wedding planner!" Sakura says. But Rika just laughs silently.
Just two chapters to go!