All Good Things: The Final Fanfiction Saga

Chapter Five: Pause for Thought

A few weeks later

"What about the first of August?" Emma suggested. "That's almost four months from now. It'll still be summer, so it'll be nice outside."

"Yeah, but if we want to take a honeymoon, it'll be too close to September," J.C. replied, leaning back in his chair.

"What's wrong with that?" Emma asked.

"It just seems like September's gonna be a busy month. It always seems to be, no matter what you do. I'd rather not run into that kind of traffic right after we get married."

"OK," Emma looked at the calendar and frowned. "Then should we move it up a week? Two?"

"How about May? Over Memorial Day weekend?" J.C. suggested, peering at the calendar.

Emma looked up at him. "J.C., that's less than two months from now."

"So?"

"I can't plan a wedding that soon," Emma said.

"Why not?" J.C. asked. "People do it all the time."

Emma pulled out a few pamphlets. "Because the places I looked at, they have no openings that early. Everything's booked. At least all the nice places."

J.C. glanced at the different pictures. "I'm sure there's more. These all look good."

"It depends," Emma reached for his restless hand and made him sit down. "Depends on what you want for your reception. Obviously it's gonna be a lot of people, so we need somewhere that will fit. If you want it in July, these places--" she pointed to a few pamphlets "--will be free, but they only hold 40 people."

"Forty people?" J.C. exclaimed, sitting up. "There's no way."

Emma nodded. "I know; that's why you have to help me out here. That's why we can't do the wedding that soon."

"OK," J.C. nodded. "Find somewhere else, then. I'm sure whatever you decide on will be great."

It gave Emma pause enough to look up. "Do you plan to participate in any part of this event, Mr. Chasez?" she asked, voice inflecting a cool tone.

J.C. suddenly felt guilty. "I'm sorry, Mama." He took her hands in his and began rubbing her palms. "I don't mean it to look like ... I just always thought girls liked planning this stuff by themselves, and I just had to show up. I know that sounds chauvinist in the most portly sense, but I've never been engaged before."

He looked so adorable at that moment, shrugging his shoulders and looking genuinely sorry that Emma's frustration melted. She knew this bored him to death, while she thrived on it. Every hotel ballroom she visited, she'd imagined the decorations and the guests, and she and J.C. slow-dancing in the middle of the floor.

But she was a woman, and a future bride, and he was -- well, he was the groom, but he was also a male, and he couldn't be expected to fret over what side of the room a band could set up, and whether dinner would be buffet or served.

That's it, that's all it is, Emma thought with a sigh. At least I hope it is.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"I do have to warn you," the woman in the pale green suit said, twirling a pen in her left hand. "The job can be pretty unglamorous. "There are some very unpleasant but important people in the business, and if you're looking to speak your mind, this isn't the place. You have to be able to get along with everybody."

Madeline nodded, shifting her weight in the leather chair. "I understand. What would the day-to-day duties be like?"

"As a junior assistant, you'd spend a lot of time on the phone, calling media and communicating their time slots for interviews, things like that. You'd work under a publicist, pretty much handling their grunt work. The intern has to be extremely detail-oriented; if you relay the wrong information just once, it reflects badly on our client. Eventually, we'll probably send you out to a couple premieres or junkets, where you'd interact with the talent and fetch them their water, etc., and after a while you'll be assigned to say, one upcoming film, handling everything from its buzz to the premiere night. What do you think about that?"