Ivy
It looked like something out of a fairy tale.
Arrangements of soft flowers adorned every space of the foyer, leading into the dining room where two long tables boasted even more flowers and enough space to feast on the delectable food Marcello and his team had put together.
The back doors were opened up, creating a seamless flow from the dining room to the outside area which was filled with delicate fairy lights, casting a glow over the orchestra quintet warming up for tonight's performance.
That's pretty much where the fairy tale ended.
"Your sister can't stop throwing up! The doctor's his way with more of her morning sickness medication," Mrs Everett said, rushing past Ivy to the staircase. On her way past, she threw Ivy the phone she'd momentarily had pressed against her ear. "Please call your father again."
"Where is he?" Ivy asked, already guessing.
"The office," Mrs Everett called out, already taking the stairs as quickly as she could in her floor length Herve Leger dress.
Ivy called, and called, receiving her father's voicemail each time. Then the doctor arrived, rushing upstairs to poor Charlotte. If Mrs Everett had any maternal bone in her body, she'd let Charlotte miss out on the rehearsal dinner and let her sleep in bed instead.
Not long after, Mr Everett arrived home with his brief case in one hand and crinkled lines across his forehead which deepened as Mrs Everett went on and on about him sneaking off to the office "on today of all days."
Ivy removed herself from the crossfire by going upstairs to look after Charlotte whose poor face was pale and sweaty courtesy of her morning sickness. There wasn't much Ivy could physically do besides fetch her sister more glasses of water and offer her moral support.
"Better out than in," Ivy called into the ensuite bathroom as the sound of Charlotte vomiting echoed into the bedroom. Charlotte's face was directed into the toilet bowl while Ivy's was smiling at the text from Luke which said he was on his way.
A tiny part of Ivy felt guilty for inviting Luke along to Rosie's rehearsal dinner. Her mother didn't approve of Luke, and then there was the entire Josh and Rosie mess which Luke wasn't entirely filled in on, not to mention the general dysfunctional dynamic the Everett family had going on.
After meeting Luke's family and seeing how close they were, Ivy was worried that all of her family drama would be too much for him to handle, especially given that they weren't technically a couple. Ivy didn't even worry Scooter with her family problems, and he was probably her best friend.
"What does Ryan think of our family?" Ivy found herself asking Charlotte. She thought back to the protective way Ryan held her younger sister's hand as they stared into the terrifying depths of hell that were Mrs Everett's eyes.
"He thinks it's messed up as hell," Charlotte managed a laugh between bouts of sickness, hopefully that meant her nausea tablets were kicking in. She looked down at her stomach for a moment, the beginning of a baby bump barely making the surface yet. It mostly just looked like she'd had one too many tacos at lunch. "All I want for this little one is a family that knows how to love one another."
"He's a good guy, you know." Most seventeen year old boys don't react with smiles and a fierce sense of protection when they find out they're going to be a dad.
Charlotte nodded, "I know. He's handling this baby thing better than I am."
"I think you're doing pretty well."
At that moment, Mrs Everett appeared in the door - much like a witch who was partial to designer dresses - and Charlotte began throwing up again.
"Oh, Ivy. Thank god. Rosie's still at her final dress fitting and your father is paying the caterers and Josh's car won't start. Would you mind going to pick him up?"
