Wedding Day, Part 2
Seattle, 9:30 a.m.
"Thanks for breakfast, Mom," said Derek as he headed to the door.
"Where do you think you're going?"
"To Meredith's. To play with Chrissy."
"She's going to be helping her mom get ready for the wedding. And I need your help."
"Mom, Meredith says she's going to be bored when her friends are working on Meredith. Meredith's going to stay upstairs, so you don't have to worry about me seeing the bride before the wedding."
"We have to go flower shopping. I'm responsible for trusted getting flowers for the wedding."
"Seriously? Me going flower shopping?"
"Haven't you ever bought a woman flowers? Didn't Addie like flowers?"
"Of course I bought Addie flowers. She loves tulips. I used to buy her tulips every Friday when they were in season. But I've never bought flowers for Meredith."
"Well, weddings require flowers. Izzie has asked me to buy lots of flowers for your wedding, and I'll need help carrying them to the car. I'll be ready to leave in 20 minutes."
"Okay." Derek realized that he had to give in to his mother even if he thought the florists would be willing to carry the flowers to her car.
New York, 12:30 p.m.
Addie frowned when she heard her husband open the door. She wasn't looking forward to this conversation. But she had promised Nancy that she would go to Kathy's party, and she would feel so much better about entering the Shepherd party if her husband was with her. She smiled when she saw him enter the bedroom. She loved looking at him. "Hi sweetheart," she greeted him.
"Hi lazy bones."
"I'm growing your child. That takes a lot of energy."
"I know. I'm just teasing. How have you been?"
"Fine. We got an invitation for this afternoon."
"I'm beat, Addie. I ran for fifteen miles this morning. I'm preparing for the New York Marathon."
"I know that. My friend Nancy . . ."
"You mean your ex-sister-in-law, don't you?"
"Yes." Addie smiled; Jake knew her so well. "My ex is getting remarried today, and his sister Kathy is hosting a party to watch the wedding."
Jake looked puzzled.
"You remember his daughter has leukemia. I think I mentioned that. So the wedding in Seattle is tiny, and his sisters and their families have to watch on video. So Nancy wants us to go."
"Seriously?"
"Yeah. It sounds weird, I know, but Nancy and I were very close, and she's upset about the wedding, and she wants me to be there."
"Why is she upset about her brother getting married?"
Addie wasn't quite sure if explaining would help her cause. "She was attached to me. She met Meredith once, and it didn't go well. I've told her that I'm happy for Derek, and I like Meredith. It's funny, but, if we go, I'll know Meredith better than any of the Shepherds. I worked with her for a while in Seattle. She's a talented doctor."
"I'm beat, Addie. Why should I go? You could go without me."
"It's going to be weird for me to go to see my ex-in-laws, and I'd feel much better about going if my handsome, brilliant husband was with me."
"You want to show me off?"
"You got it."
"Okay."
Seattle, 10 a.m.
"Knock first," instructed Izzie as she and Chrissy approached the door to Meredith's bedroom.
Chrissy knocked on the door.
"Come in," said Meredith after a few minutes had passed and the knocking had intensified.
"Mommy, you get breakfast in bed on your wedding day."
"That's wonderful."
"I helped Aunt Izzie make yummy pancakes."
"And how do you know they are yummy?"
"Because Aunt Izzie let me try them first."
Meredith smiled and looked at Izzie. "Thanks for letting Chrissy get the first batch."
"She was a big help. I love cooking with Chrissy. She's a talented chef."
"All your doing."
"She also cooks with her Grandma."
"She's been cooking with you since she was a toddler."
"It's always been fun for me." Izzie hugged Chrissy. "I've always wanted to help you be a better cook than your mom. But that's easy. You're already a much better cook than she is."
"Thank you, Aunt Izzie. I love cooking with you."
"Me, too."
"How about making me some more pancakes?" asked Meredith, having finished her first batch.
"Let's go, Aunt Izzie. We need to make mommy more pancakes."
"See you in a few minutes."
Seattle, 11:00 a.m.
"Time for manicures," shouted Cristina as she entered Meredith's bedroom.
Chrissy turned to Meredith and asked, "What's a manicure?"
"I'm going to paint your fingernails," explained Cristina. "I have seven different nail polishes, and you get to choose."
"I've never had a manicure before," said Chrissy.
"It's fun," explained Izzie.
"We're all going to get our nails done," explained Meredith.
"Can I go first, Aunt Cris?"
"Sure, sweetie. What color do you want?"
"What do you think, Mommy?"
"Aunt Cris chose some pretty colors, so any color is fine. Which one do you like best?"
"I think this pink is pretty." Chrissy pointed to a sparkling pink.
"That's beautiful," commented Meredith. "I think I'll use the same color."
"We'll match, Mommy."
"I'm going with the light pink," volunteered Izzie.
"And I'm going with red," added Cristina.
"We're all going to be beautiful," announced Chrissy.
"That's right. The flower girl, the bride, and the bridesmaids are all supposed to be beautiful," nodded Izzie.
Seattle, noon
Derek looked at his car. It was loaded to the brim with flowers of all kinds and all colors. "Mom, I don't think I can fit one more flower in the car."
"That's fine. I'm done. Now let's have lunch at Pike's Place. I've always wanted to eat there."
"Mom, I wanted to go to Meredith's."
"Derek, I want to have a nice lunch with you, just the two of us, before you get married."
"Mom, we just had breakfast together this morning. I really want to spend some time with Chrissy today." He looked at her. He didn't want to put his thoughts in words; he knew he'd have other time to spend with his mom, but he was very worried about Chrissy. "And besides, we should probably get the flowers in vases as soon as possible. I'm sure Chrissy would love to help with the flowers."
"You're right about that. Okay. We can go to Meredith's now."
Seattle, 12:20 p.m.
Derek and his mother walked into Meredith's house, both carrying several bouquets of flowers. Chrissy heard them come in, and she ran down the stairs. "Daddy, daddy, I've been missing you." She saw her grandmother and added, "You, too, Grandma."
"And we've been missing you," said Carolyn as she put down the flowers and gave her granddaughter a big hug.
"You have lots of flowers," exclaimed Chrissy.
"Flowers help make a wedding beautiful. Do you want to help us decorate the hosue with flowers?"
"Yes, I do."
"Okay. Why don't you sit here and look at all the flowers while Daddy and I get the rest from the car?"
"There are more flowers?"
Derek chuckled. "Your grandma bought out several flower shops. We spent all morning shopping for beautiful flowers. We have lots and lots of flowers. So it's going to be a big job to decorate the house. But we'll have fun doing so."
"Do you want to see my nails, Daddy? I got a manicure."
"Sure." Derek looked at her nails. "They're gorgeous. You chose a beautiful color. Now I have to go back to the car to get the flowers. Tell Mommy that I'm here, so she stays upstairs. Grandma doesn't want me to see her til the wedding."
"Okay."
Chrissy ran up the stairs and went into Meredith's room. "Daddy's here, so you have to stay upstairs, Mommy. And he brought lots and lots and lots of flowers."
"I'll go down and help decorate," volunteered Izzie.
"I'm going to help, too. There are so many pretty flowers." Chrissy and Izzie went to help with the flowers.
"So, you're getting a real wedding with lots of beautiful flower."
"With Izzie, Carolyn, and Chrissy, this is going to be quite a show." Meredith chuckled. "I never thought I'd get married."
"Well, here you are. I'll do your hair, if you want."
"Sure. Go ahead. We have plenty of time. I have to stay up here until the wedding starts."
Seattle, 12:30 p.m.
"Lexie, it's time for lunch," called Susan.
Lexie came down the stairs and joined her parents for lunch. "I see you made my favorite mac and cheese."
"You came all the way from New York for just three nights."
"I thought it would be fun to watch the wedding together."
"We always love having you at home," commented Thatcher.
"Lexie said she has a job offer to work at Seattle Grace starting in July," announced Susan.
"How did that happen?" asked Thatcher. He noted that Lexie was alarmed by his question. He decided to reassure her. "Of course, I'd love it if you moved here."
"Mark was offered a job running the plastics service at Seattle Grace. The chief also said I would have a job, too."
"That's great," said Thatcher. "There are other hospitals in Seattle, if you want to come here."
"Seattle Grace is the best. Why should I work elsewhere?"
"I don't like the chief of surgery, Dr. Webber."
"Why?"
"I just don't like him."
"You must have a reason."
"He's not trustworthy, believe me."
"What did he do, Dad?"
"Just trust me."
"He has job for both me and Mark. And I could work with Meredith, too."
"It's up to you, sweetie," said Susan. "We'd love to have you here."
"Mark and I will talk about it, but I would love to be closer to the two of you."