New Beginnings

14 - Change of Plans

It was February and I was getting busier. I had wedding season, prom, and before those, a few proposal dinners for Valentine's Day all coming up. I got a call early one morning from the family I had done the 50th anniversary party for when I was in Atlanta.

"Hannah, I know you are far far away, and probably are swamped, but... I really need you to take over my daughter's wedding."

"Well Martha, I would be happy to take a look to see if I can make it work. Are you looking at sometime next year? How many people?" I had worked with them several times when I still lived there, and they hired my dad for their parties. I had enjoyed doing their anniversary party as well.

"Well, it will be very intimate, only about 50 people. We just want the ones that really matter to be there. And it is set for April. This year... in April," my client almost whispered.

"What? That is 2 months! Martha, I would love to help, but that is very short notice. I don't know if there is any way I can make that happen." I felt awful, but it was true.

"I know you can make magic happen and I am willing to pay all your travel expenses, and a generous bonus for the time constraints... plus your full fee even though we already have the venue, the flowers, the invitations, and a lot of random other things. We even have your father for the catering."

"If you already have all that, why do you need me? And what happened to your other planner?"

"I want your magic touch, dear. You have such a flair for the aesthetic and the little touches that make it special. Valerie wants a fairytale wedding, and I know you can make that happen. We need someone to direct the whole thing and finish the job. The planner we hired has stopped returning our calls. We've been working with her for months, but she just stopped. I would have hired you in the beginning, but I didn't think I could get you since you were all the way out there. I knew this was a long shot, but I am desperate."

"Oh no! I am so sorry! That is incredibly unprofessional! OK, let me see if I can make it happen. Email me a list of what you already have, and her wishlist. I need the venue, the date, all that information. I promise I will try to make it happen, but I can't promise that I will make it happen. I will let you know by the end of the week."

"Fair enough. I know it is asking a lot, but I would absolutely love it if you can! We were so thrilled with the anniversary party you did for us, and everything you've done in the past."

I looked over my calendar, comparing the date Martha had told me and saw that I did have a potentially free spot. I had two unconfirmed holds, but I was pretty sure at least one wasn't going to follow through. Neither had paid a deposit yet. They were just "penciled in" for my reference. As a courtesy, I emailed them both and waited for their responses.

I wondered how it would be seeing Minhyuk for the first time since we went back to being platonic friends. We had been talking and texting as often as Kyun and I did, so things didn't feel awkward. I was sure it would be fine. At least I hoped so.

I knew that my feelings were deeper than I was ready to admit, and that was not what either of us needed. I was doing OK now by keeping myself busy to avoid thinking about him. It didn't work as well as I had hoped, but I did manage to put him in his own little space in my head. That space ended up being my dreams mostly. I could control it during the day, but my subconscious was another story.

I pushed on with my day, phone calls to venues and florists, emails to clients, reminders to other clients, and then on to paying bills. This was the part I hated, the administrative part. I had Heidi to help me with a lot of it, but she was only part time. And she was on vacation that week, so I had to do it.