Mark My Words Read online

  ***

  Marv McCresson woke with a start as he shielded his eyes from the bright sunlight that shone in his bedroom window.

  “Rise and shine, cowboy… It’s nearly 10,” said Gloria as she pulled the curtains aside to let in some light.

  Marv groaned as he buried his head in his pillow.

  “What do we have to wake up for?”

  “We are having brunch with Artie and Philomena today.”

  “I thought we were hibernating until the spring? Look at it outside. It’s freezing.”

  “C’mon, don’t you want to get out?”

  “Oww… If you insist... Where are we going?”

  “The Fountain for brunch… We’re meeting Artie and Philomena.”

  “That sounds like fun. I’ll be up in a minute. I’ve been looking forward to bothering that old fella.”

  “Poor guy. He’s wound so tight.”

  “Yeah, especially when he hears that the wedding has been moved up to next weekend.”

  “I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to go… White sandy beaches, crystal clear water…”

  “You in a swim suit…”

  “So fresh, Marv!”

  “Are you breaking out the bikini?!”

  “God no! Not at my age! But I have something saucy you might like,” Gloria said as she winked at Marv.

  “Now get dressed!” she yelled as she yanked the covers off of their bed, revealing Marv’s Yogi Bear boxer shorts.

  “Oh, baby, don’t leave…” said Marv trying to pull Gloria back into bed.

  Gloria shook her head ignoring him as her boots clicked against the floor.

  “I wish you wouldn’t leave me, but I love seeing you walk away.”

  “That line is old as dirt.”

  “Like me,” Marv said snickering as he got out of bed.

  ***

  “Does no one know how to keep time, anymore?” grumbled Artie as he peered at his watch. They had just arrived at the Fountain restaurant no less than five minutes ago, and Artie was already beginning to get antsy.

  “Quit your fussing. Look… Here they come now. Oh! She looks gorgeous!”

  Marv and Gloria were strutting across the busy street looking as if they had not a care in the world. It was apparent that Marv felt like a teenager again, just thrilled to have his lady back by his side.

  “Look at you!” squealed Philomena as she took in her old friend. She twirled Gloria around, eyeing her up and down and proceeded to hug her tight.

  “And you! I love the red hair!”

  “You look stunning. So svelte!”

  “She’s a stone cold fox,” quipped Marv smirking at Gloria.

  Artie rolled his eyes at his youthful friends.

  Marv held out his hand for Artie to shake. He was immune to Artie’s grouchy moods. Marv smiled at his oldest friend with a jovial grin, just waiting for him to crack. Arthur finally did, and he started laughing heartily.

  “How was the land down under?” asked Marv.

  “Amazing. We took so many pictures,” mentioned Artie.

  “Speaking of amazing. A little bird told us that you were back in town,” Philomena said excitedly to Gloria.

  “I couldn’t miss my girl’s wedding. Not a chance.”

  “We were so happy to hear that they got back together,” Philomena added.

  “Me, too. They are at peace. Perfectly happy,” said Gloria, so pleased at things had fallen right into place again.

  “So,” began Artie, “What’s this I hear that you too are shacking up together?”

  “God. Word travels fast,” complained Marv giving his friend a surprised look.

  “Any news on you two tying the knot again?” asked Philomena curiously.

  Marv and Gloria exchanged a funny look as smiles spread across their faces.

  “Technically, we were never divorced.”

  “What?!”

  “I could never bring myself to do it. I loved him too much.”

  “So things are back to being perfect again… As if nothing happened…” asked Artie.

  “Well, if you think about it. Nothing did happen. Gloria needed space, I wanted to stay home. I hoped she’d fly back to me eventually,” said Marv as he gave Gloria a sweet smile.

  “That’s so sweet…” gushed Philomena.

  “That’s so… weird! I’m sorry. It’s just weird. C’mon. What husband wants his wife back after she says she needs space? Enough space to fill up two decades?”

  Gloria and Philomena gave Arthur hostile glares as if they were about to murder him on the spot.

  “Have you no sense of romance?” asked Philomena with agitation in her voice. “Are you not in enough trouble?”

  “Uh, oh… What did you do?” asked Marv as if he was speaking to a bad dog who had chewed up his master’s carpet.

  “Oh, hell. Can we not discuss it?” Artie begged.

  “Oh, were discussing it, alright,” Philomena reassured him.

  “I love you Philomena, and our children, but you all drive me insane.”

  Suddenly the server came to the lobby and escorted the group to their seats. Arthur attempted to be a gentleman and took Philomena’s coat for her and hung it up on the coat rack that stood in the corner by their table.

  “So, I’m sure you’ve heard by now that our Sloane is engaged,” said Philomena opening up the conversation in a happy tone of voice.

  Arthur refrained from showing his great disdain for the topic, for now.

  “I did hear… We are so excited!” said Gloria as she eyed Arthur hoping to get a good read on him.

  “So when is the big day?”

  “Apparently sometime in June,” Arthur said gruffly.

  “Don’t sound so thrilled…”

  “I just don’t want her rushing into something.”

  “Honestly, I don’t think she is. She’s known the fellow for a really long time, and they’ve gone out for over seven years…”

  “It’s just so sudden for me. I just met the bloke yesterday.”

  “I wonder why…” quipped Marv as he smirked at his friend.

  Looking confused, Artie gave Marv a hostile glare.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “You’re a tad overbearing. Tone it down a bit. They’ll come to you more readily with this stuff.”

  “Oh, right. Father-in-law of the year who actually set his daughter up with his son-in-law. I forgot.”

  “Yup. I know what I’m talking about,” said Marv proudly.

  Artie rolled his eyes.

  “He’s a good kid, Artie. Once you get to know him. He has a good head on his shoulders,” Marv said agreeing with Philomena.

  “It seems like it, and I’m happy for her. Truly, I am. I am just not pleased that they are breaking tradition. He didn’t even ask me for her hand in marriage.”

  “You do know who your daughter is, right?”

  “Of course. Bull-headed, stubbornly independent Sloane.”

  “How can you give something away, that wasn’t yours? She’s a grown woman, pal. It’s time to let her go.”

  Arthur looked at his jovial friend Marv with solemn eyes. For once Marv was not joking. He said exactly what he needed to hear. For once, it wasn’t agitation that took over him, but sadness. Marv could read his friend like a book. While he seemed against the idea completely, he was just against the idea of losing his daughter. Philomena and Gloria exchanged surprised but pleased glances. Marv had cracked his hard exterior. It was time to monopolize.

  “So, Gloria… Do you and Marv have any special plans for Valentine’s Day?” Philomena asked with a spark of excitement in her eyes.

  “I was hoping that we could go down to the Casinos for the weekend. It would be so nice to get away.”

  “Ya know… I was just thinking the same thing. Arthur, wouldn’t it be lovely to visit St. Thomas and start scouting out venues? It is beautiful there this time of year.”

  “Will it get me out of
the dog house?”

  “It just might.”

  Arthur grumbled to himself as he thought about his credit card bills. He was wealthy, there was no questioning that, but he was also a spend thrift, too. Philomena, on the other hand, was not. At the end of the day, though he complained every second of it, he just wanted to make Philomena happy.

  “Oh, just book it.”

  “Big spender!” cheered Gloria as she gave Philomena a high five.

  Artie shrugged as if it was no big deal.

  “Whatever is going to keep her happy.”

  “God, you people make my trip to AC look cheap. Thanks,” said Marv playfully.

  Chapter Six

  A Fine Frenzy

  Sloane paced the hardwood floor of her living room as everyone’s eyes followed her every movement. With her clipboard in hand, Sloane browsed the list of things to do. Holly and Brant huddled up on the sofa dressed comfortably in jeans and t-shirts, while Luke had just returned from work still dressed in a business suit. Marv, Philomena and Gloria sat at the bar sipping their beverages and waiting for directions from Sloane. Suddenly, the front door barged open and three tall thin men walked through with amused looks on their faces.

  “Finally!” Sloane said as she took in her brothers’ faces.

  Philomena bounced off of her barstool and ran to her three sons and kissed each on the cheek.

  “Ian… You look thin. Eat something… Andrew… Fix ya’self… Your tie is crooked! Oh, Trevor. You reak of cigarettes!”

  “Hi, Mother…” they said in unison as they took her nagging complaints as a sign that she truly did love them.

  “Now, let’s be clear. You’re father is not to know!”

  “He probably already knows…”

  “I’m not kidding, Ian!”

  “Fine… Fine!”

  Sloane peered at her brothers with an annoyed glare, “Can we begin or do we have to wipe schmutz off their faces, too?”

  “I’m sorry, honey… They look a mess, though,” said Philomena as she began wiping down Andrew’s face.

  “Mom… They are approaching fourty and they are lawyers. Get it together.”

  Sloane’s brothers took their seats in the living room as Sloane continued to pace.

  “Okay. Plane tickets are taken care of. Luke booked the site for the reception. We booked a block of hotel rooms so everyone has a place to stay for the weekend. We are dealing with the wardrobe stuff tonight. I still need to figure out the flowers and decorations…”

  “Oh, I know just what to do!” announced Philomena as she stood from her barstool again. She waved her acrylic nails all around and her hands flew about as she talked.

  “Imagine this, sugar plum… It’s Valentine’s Day! We can have pink and red crepe paper hanging from pew to pew, and hearts adorning the end of each aisle. Then up front we can have a beautiful arbor or a chuppah, with a lovely cupid hanging from it… Then…”

  Holly tried to control her laughter as she watched Sloane’s face turn from annoyed to irate.

  “If I see one bloody fat cupid, a single heart or a single piece of confetti, crete paper or any other such nonsense, I will scream!”

  “I just thought since it was Valentine’s Day!”

  “Absolutely not! This is my wedding, not a circus!”

  “Okay, where was I?”

  Gloria spoke up, “Sloane, I used to handle the décor for the weddings at Le Blanc. Why don’t you let Holly and I handle the decorations?”

  Sloane looked at Gloria with a strained look. It was hard for her to relinquish control.

  “Yes…. I think that will work well. Holly knows my style.”

  “As for flowers I think white and pink English tea roses will do well.”

  “What am I missing?” Sloane asked as a million thoughts bounced in her head at once.

  “This weekend,” reminded Luke.

  “Oh, right! How could I forget?!”

  “This weekend we have pre-wedding events planned. All the guys…” Sloane began.

  “We have a conference in Vegas this weekend…” reminded Ian, speaking for himself and his brothers.

  “Yeah, fine…. Let me rephrase. Luke, Brant, Marv and my father will be heading up the mountains to Luke’s cabin for a bit of male bonding.”

  “I hope we survive the weekend with your Dad,” Luke said.

  “You’re taking him to the wilderness?!” Philomena shouted as she began laughing.

  “He can’t go anywhere without his gadgets!”

  “There’s electricity. Just no phone signal,” Luke laughed.

  “Okay, moving on…” said Sloane continuing down her list. “All the ladies will be joining me in AC for a night of gambling, dancing and fun. The next day, I have a spa day planned for us at Moet Spa, so be prepared to be pampered!”

  “It sure looks like you have all your wedding stuff in order, then…” said Brant looking pleased.

  “Well, we still have to go shopping, but we’re in good condition. There is just one thing that has my heart in a fine frenzy.”

  “What is that?” asked Holly with a nervous look on her face.

  “If this is about Arthur…” Philomena began.

  “No, it’s actually not. I can deal with him. I cannot deal with this bitch Amanda, though…”

  “Amanda?!” yelled Holly. “Who the hell is Amanda?!”

  “Luke… Who’s Amanda…” asked Brant as he elbowed his friend nervously. “Please don’t tell me you messed this up…”

  “As if he could find anyone who could replace me!” laughed Sloane as she grabbed her television remote. “No, folks. This is Amanda…”

  Sloane clicked on the flat screen TV to reveal a hurricane storming through the Atlantic, right towards the Virgin Islands.

  “This is what has me worried.”

  The weather forecast came onto the screen and began explaining the situation at hand.

  “Tropical storm Amanda has now been upgraded to Hurricane Amanda. This is a CAT-3 storm with expected winds of up to 115 miles per hour. Right now it is about 300 miles off the shores of Antigua. It is still too early to tell what this storm will look at full force, but our technology shows that this storm has the potential to intensify further. If that is the case, the U.S. and British Virgin Isles could be adversely affected as well as Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Cuba.

  Sloane clicked off the TV as everyone watched the screen in horror.

  “We’re hoping it fizzles out… It’s still quite a way from St. Thomas.”

  “It’s still a concern, though…” said Holly.

  “So what are we going to do?” asked Philomena nervously.

  “Nothing is keeping me from marrying this man,” said Sloane as Luke brought her hand to his mouth and kissed it delicately. “We move forward and monitor the situation.”

  “In my experience,” Marv said, “This things tend to fizzle out before they reach land.”

  He was trying to do what he could to ease the tension in the room.

  “That’s my hope, Marv… Okay. I think we’re ready to go. Ladies can pile up in my Mom’s car… Gents please accompany Luke to the tux shop.”

  ***

  “It’s best just to stand back,” Holly warned Gloria and Philomena as Sloane waded through rack upon rack of bridesmaid gowns.

  Sloane was notorious for her impeccable fashion sense and reputation as a fierce fashionista. Sloane not only held down a successful career as a personal shopping, but she was also an event planner. In other words, Sloane was in her element. She was determined to find the perfect gowns for Holly, Philomena and Gloria, she just had to wade through racks of tafetta, tulle and frou-frou dresses.

  “Oh, Sloane! While you’re doing that I’m going to start looking at the bridal gowns!” said Philomena excitedly.

  Sloane’s eyes nearly bugged out of her head.

  “Holly, don’t you dare let her pick anything out that looks like it belongs in the ‘80s. I’ll be
right over!”

  “Would I do that?! You’ll be gorgeous!” exclaimed Philomena.

  Sloane rolled her eyes as she finally found the dress she was looking for: a tea length dress made of champagne colored satin. It was dainty and classic and perfect for a wedding on the beach. Strapless and sweet, the dress featured a sweetheart neckline and elegant ruching across the bodice.

  “Oh, Sloane… That is perfect!” gushed Holly as she held the dress up to herself in the mirror.

  Sloane approved immediately.

  “That’s the one. Grab one for each of you and try them on. I need to go see what my mother is doing.”

  ***

  Philomena had three bridal attendants pulling just about every bridal gown off the rack. It was a sea of lace, satin and tulle as far as the eye could see. Sloane nearly broke out in hives.

  “No, no, definitely not!” yelled Sloane as her mother held up a heavy long sleeved gown with lace sleeves and a bead encrusted bodice.

  “It looks just like the dress your cousin Eleanor wore!”

  “Eleanor was married in what…? 1986? Let’s just put that back.”

  “Well what about this one?!” Philomena said, clearly thrilled with her choice.

  She held up a puff sleeve ivory gown with a twelve foot train and an elaborate tulle skirt. Holly nearly choked when she saw it. Meanwhile, Gloria was in the next aisle over where there were much more subdued and elegantly designed gowns.

  “Sloane, come look at this one…” Gloria yelled.

  Sloane immediately left her mother and the hideous dress and went to see what Gloria had in mind. Gloria had pulled a simple strapless A-line dress with a muted floral design on the skirt. It was much closer to Sloane’s style but still not quite what she was looking for.

  While Sloane, Philomena and Gloria searched for the perfect dress, Holly discretely laid the bridesmaids gowns down and picked up a gown that she had seen the second she walked in.

  “Oh, Sloane…” called Holly as she waited by the dressing room.

  “Where are you? You’re my maid of honor, please help me.”

  “I already have.”

  “What?”

  “Just come here.”

  Holly held the strapless Empire line wedding gown by its hanger allowing Sloane to see the beautiful detail and the elegant lines of the dress. The gown was ruched from top to bottom with a beautiful damask sash with a white and champagne design that flowed gracefully down her back. The skirt trumpeted at the bottom like the petals of a rose, and stretched out into a simple court train, where the champagne damask pattern continued. To be quite clear, the dress was perfect.