Heal My Heart

E i g h t y - T w o : C h a r l i e

"Stemless or traditional?"

Leah frowned and looked at both pictures. Kingsley reached for the tablet with a grubby hand and Leah pushed it out of his reach bouncing him some on his knee. "I think traditional has its charm but stemless goes with the theme."

"Which is?" I asked dryly.

I felt like I was sending mixed signals here. Casual but fancy all at once. "I've been thinking about this for weeks so you better fucking love it," she began warningly.

I leaned forward. "Shoot."

"Subtle elegance."

A smile burst across my face. I loved it. It was...perfect. "Leah! Thank you so much!"

"I know, I know. But that means that we need to relook at the menu."

"What's wrong with it?"

I pulled it up and frowned anxiously. "It's just a little...diner-esque. I mean, sliders? Fries? Chicken breast? Steak?"

"Scott loves steak."

"Okay. Keep the steak. But surely there are better entrees you can think of."

"Brooke thought--"

"Brooke doesn't know shit."

I paused. "Okay so I actually found some stuff that I thought looked good but she said it'd be too expensive. But...Scott didn't give me a budget?"

"And it's ultimately up to him. What's your idea?" She asked.

"Da!" Kingsley gladly contributed.

"He's sleeping so shush you silly thing." Leah tickled his stomach and Kingsley giggled. "Charlie?"

"For the appetizer butter poached red spot prawn. The salad would be a Butter Lettuce Salad with Cranberries and Roquefort Cheese. For the soup: butternut squash soap with ginger. For the entree I want to have an action station--where chefs make the food for you, y'know?"

"That'd be amazing!"

"But the rest is catered and that'd be weird."

Leah hummed in agreement. "But I like the idea of having Autumn Wedding: Entrée
Herb Roasted Organic Chicken on top of a Red Bliss Potato Cake with Lemon, Blanched Garlic and Wilted Pea Greens, Roasted Portobello, Zucchini Squash, Roasted Pepper and Spinach with Warm Goat Cheese Quenelle and Fennel Tomato Fondue as a vegetarian option, Miso-Glazed Black Cod, and Roasted Filet Mignon with Potato Leek Galette, Sautéed Spinach, and Roasted Vegetables for Scott." I bit my lip. "The one thing Scott said he wanted to be involved in for sure was the food."

"That sounds amazing." Gushed Leah. "And Brooke said it was a bad idea?"

"She just said I had a big ideas," I corrected. "And expensive ideas."

"Let Scott decide that."

Kingsley lunged for a toy on the table. "Careful you!" Leah swung him around and grabbed the toy giraffe. "There."

"There's so much still so much planning and Scott seems like he's avoiding me kinda?"

"I think you're reading into it too far. He's just busy. But he'll find the time."

"Yeah..." I led off. "I know."

Kingsley made a sheep noise. "He likes animal sounds more than actual words." Leah picked him up. "And he'll just get louder. I'm going to take him outside--we'll look more tonight okay?"

"Okay."

***

Two more weeks crawled back.

Scott was hardly more than a ghost however. Sometimes I would wake up and he'd be there then I'd wake and the bed space was cold and empty. I knew he was really busy--he was running a business and micromanaging the entire house as well as worrying about our wedding, Kyle's continuous disappearance, and Bailey's ever deepening depression.