Before I Say 'I Do'
Chapter Eight: "Takin' Care Of Business".
One month later. Late June, 1982.
"Don't you all think it's a bit strange that Jackie and Hyde haven't done much for their wedding lately?" Brooke asked all those present in the room.
With the exception of the two in question, all those who were in the Hyde-Burkhart wedding parting sat together in the Forman living room. Despite the eldest Forman's claimed dislike for all- Kelso, Brooke, fez, Donna, Eric, Bob, Pam, and even Leo- hanging around his house, they all had a current spot somewhere in the living room. They all sat patiently, watching a rerun of Happy Days on the television set. They had all been sitting in an amused silence, just enjoying the show- but it wasn't really until the young mother had mentioned it that got those in the room all thinking.
"Hey, you know," Kelso began, "They haven't been doing anything for their wedding!"
Bob looked over at the head of the Forman house. "Why haven't the kids been doing any wedding planning, Red?" he asked curiously.
"Wait," Leo interrupted, "Kids are getting married? Isn't that illegal, man?"
Red rolled his eyes and ignored the dirty hippie's question. "I don't know, Bob," he lied simply.
Of course Red knew about the wedding planning- and so did Kitty, Eric, Donna, and W. B. For the last month, those five and the engaged couple had been getting whatever they could done for the wedding, and had gotten so much done that the wedding had been moved up to July 31 that year, the last day and the last Saturday of the month. They did all that they could without the rest of the group, those who had been holding them back a bit- and as they guessed, things were now getting done quicker and easier. Did they all feel bad about this at least a little bit? Of course they did- but not bad enough to not go and take care of what they had to get done.
Of course, he wouldn't tell them this fact, and he could only hope that his son and his daughter-in-law wouldn't blab about it.
"Alright," Bob said skeptically, "I just figured that you'd know, considering Hyde lived in your house for a while."
"What the hell, Bob?" Red asked in an annoyed tone of voice, "Why do you care so much?"
"I'm curious too, actually," Pam cut in, her voice as cheerful as ever, despite its confused tint.
"I am curious as well," Fez added in casually.
Eric and Donna exchanged strange looks, but both remained silent. They both were thinking of all they had gotten done with their best friends for the upcoming wedding. They had been sworn to secrecy about the wedding planning, and were both prepared to keep that promise. Both decided to keep their mouths shut and only to speak if it were necessary.
Brooke took notice of the silence coming from the young married couple. "Hey, Donna," Brooke tried to get the attention of the redhead.
Donna looked up at the young mother, her effort to look inconspicuous was obvious. "Yeah?" she asked, acknowledging that she had heard her.
"Has Jackie told you anything about the wedding?"
The redhead gave a fake look of disappointment. "Uh, nope. Not a thing."
"Geez, that's hard to believe," Kelso said in amused tone and looked back at the two girls, "Cause I remember when I was dating Jackie, she was always talking about our wedding. And I mean always!" The only way I'd get her to stop was by making out with her."
Brooke gave an angered look. "Michael-"
"Or by doing it with her."
"Michael!"
Kelso looked at her, confusion written all over his face and his hands up in surrender and in question. "What'd I do?"
All Brooke could do was roll her eyes.
"Ok, then," Pam said a bit awkwardly, her voice still perky and cheerful, "I'm going to head out. It's obvious that they're not coming- again. I'm off to Happy Hour at the bar on Center Street. I'm meeting a fireman there. His name is Will Jacobson."
"Isn't he the fire chief?" Eric asked skeptically, trying to help keep the conversation in a different direction.
Pam smiled as she stood up from her spot on the piano bench, nodding enthusiastically. "Uh-huh."
"What if there is a fire?" Fez asked, a bit nervously.
Pam shrugged carelessly. "Then they'll call the fire department, of course," she answered with a chuckle and headed toward the door, "Toodles!" And with that, she was out the door.
Bob cleared his throat as he stood up and rubbed his hands together a bit. "Yeah, I should get going, too. Kmart's having a sale on leisure suits," he smiled.
"I wonder why," Red grumbled.
Bob shrugged. "Beats me. They're leisurely, it's in the name! Anyway, I wanna get there before they run out. See you all later." And with that, he left the Forman house.
Red looked to his daughter-in-law. "He really doesn't get sarcasm, does he." It was more of a statement rather than a question.
Donna just pressed her lips into a line and shook her head. "Not really, no."
-/-/-
Kitty Forman, Jackie Burkhart and Angie Barnett walked through the store slowly. They inspected each fabric carefully, checking its pattern, color, feel, and thickness. The three made little comments and mental notes as they continued on through the man aisles of fabric. The bride-to-be read aloud each fabric name and number that interested her, her future sister-in-law writing down each title and code in her small notepad, and the motherly figure giving helpful and suggestive tips about each fabric.
"Thank you so much for helping me with my wedding dress, Mrs. Forman," Jackie gushed to the older woman.
"Of course, Jackie," Kitty smiled, "I'm just honored that you allowed me to make your wedding dress for you. I was actually a bit surprised that you asked."
"Of course I would! Then if you make it, then it's a one of a kind dress- kinda like how I'm one of a kind."
Angie gave an amused smile. "I didn't know you knew how to make a dress, Mrs. Forman," she commented.
Kitty smiled proudly. "Oh, I've made plenty of dresses over the years. When Laurie was a little girl, I made all of her dresses. I've even made quite a few for little Betsy," she giggled.
Angie gave a strange look. "What about for someone a bit… taller?"
Kitty was hesitant. "Well, aside from making a dress for Laurie every so often, and altering parts of dresses, not really. But it shouldn't be much harder. It's just a little girl's dress- just bigger and more elegant in this case." She then let out one of her signature laughs.
As the elder woman moved out of earshot, Angie leaned in close to her soon-to-be-sister-in-law. "You have a backup plan, right?" she whispered.
Jackie nodded quickly. "Yeah, I do," she confirmed.
The group of three continued through the fabric store for another hour and a half. They looked through the fabrics, ribbons and buttons, almost psycho-analyzing each item that they saw. After leaving the fabric store, they went to a designer who drew the kind of dress that the bride-to-be desired, giving a copy to each woman and keeping one at the shop, just in case. After leaving the shop, the three all went to a posh and cute little café in town for lunch and a break from their busy day.
"Oh, Jackie," Angie began as she stuck a fork in her meal," How come Brooke, Donna and your mom didn't come with us?"
Jackie nearly choked on her soda. "Well," she cleared her throat, "Donna would've came, but she doesn't have a good sense of fashion, so I told her she didn't have to come."
"What about your mom and Brooke?"
Jackie swallowed hard as she looked over to the elder woman, her words written all over her face, pleading: Help!
All Kitty could think of to do was to let out one of her signature laughs in a nervous response to the questions and such flying around her.
Hi there! How are you all? Sorry about the updating process now, but I have a good reason. Updates will only be once a month now at most. If I finish writing a chapter earlier than planned and have time to type, then I will update earlier than this schedule. But, this may not always be the case. Hopefully, next update should be at the end of June (today is the last day of May). But I have a reason for this.
I was just hired as a cashier at Sears, meaning I'll have a summer job (woot woot!). I also start college at the end of August as a freshman, meaning work. I am also currently writing a few stories on Episode Interactive, which takes a while due to coding and choices. I'm also currently writing a book that I wish to bring to a publisher to try and get published in the future.
I am sorry for the updating gaps, but blame life. Anyway. I hope you liked this chapter, and I hope that you'll wait for me to update. Thanks for reading, and peace from all the hippies of the world. =^-^=