Greek (Palm South University)

“That makes two of us.”

I open the door, close it behind me, and press my back to the wood, smoothing my breaths as much as I can as I listen to Kip shuffle off the front porch.

Then, I lose it.

“WE NEED TO CALL the florist,” my boss, Brittany, says in a slight panic through the phone. I just left the office not even an hour ago, and I hadn’t even had the chance to put my leggings on before my phone was ringing.

But this is how it is working with Brittany Nova.

That bitch doesn’t know how to not work.

“I called them this morning. The arrangements are all set, centerpieces complete, bouquets ready, they’re just finishing up prepping for the arch, which they’ll build on site,” I say, grabbing a wine glass from the cabinet and a half-full bottle of Malbec from the fridge.

“Oh, good. Okay, next, we need to finalize the wedding cocktail.”

“Already done. Bride and I decided on tequila, and the bartenders whipped up a few options for her this afternoon. She loved the one with grapefruit. We’re calling it, Rose in Love and I already have the team making a sign for the bar.”

“Rose in Love,” she repeats. “I don’t hate it as much as I thought I would. Okay, the seven-tier cheesecake — God help us — we need to—”

“Made to perfection. I stopped by the bakery on my way home. They made a smaller tier for me to taste and inspect. All the filling options are exactly as we asked, the colors are remarkable… although, I’ll be honest, the poor team of bakers looked like they were ready to collapse from decorating it. They’ll deliver it at four-thirty tomorrow evening, and I already made sure the venue has an entire fridge saved for it. They’ll store each tier separately and assemble in the kitchen during dinner, rolling it out just in time to be cut.”

“Brilliant,” Brittany breathed, and I could hear the pen sliding across paper as she ticked that off the list. “The surfboard guest book.”

“Set up with gold, silver, and black Sharpies right next to the Polaroid table.”

“The lights—”

“Are all prepped and ready, along with speakers and mics, and the team will be bringing them over at ten tomorrow morning so we have plenty of time to get it all set up the way we need. The only thing I’m waiting to hear back on are whether the tree lanterns are too heavy for the limbs to support, but don’t worry — we have gold bird feeder holders on stand-by if needed.”

“Fireworks?”

“I’m pouring a glass of wine and am about to start tying the ribbons on the sparklers now. Buckets are already decorated. The team and I have a plan of attack for lighting all three-hundred-and-forty-five guests. And the pyrotechnics have forty-thousand dollars’ worth of fireworks that will put Disney to shame and a boat to set them off of from the middle of the lake. We tested last night, and the lawn will be perfect for viewing.”

There’s a brief pause before Brittany lets out a dramatic exhale, and I can almost see her slumping back in her chair. “How did I get so lucky to find someone like you?”

“You say that now…”

She chuckles. “Okay, so I guess all that’s left for me to do is—”

“Is to go to the rehearsal dinner and have fun.”

“That’s never been a part of this job.”

I snort. “Well, okay, maybe fun is the wrong term. But relax. Jenna and Howard will be there and they are well prepped to take care of everything. You just focus on making sure the bride is calm, and keep her mother away from the schnapps.”

“That might be the hardest job of the evening.”

“That’s why we saved that one for you.”

She lets out a puff of a laugh. “Thank you, Jess. For everything. Try to get some rest tonight, too.”

“I plan on it, right after I put the final touches on the seating chart board.”

“See you in the morning.”

“Bright and early, boss.”

When we hang up, I chuckle to myself and leave my phone on the counter, bringing my wine glass and the rest of the bottle over to the dining room table — which has been more of my craft table lately than anything, lately. Since Ashlei moved out of our place and in with Brandon, and Erin spends most of her time at Bear’s, there’s never really any reason to clean it.

A ping of loneliness filters through me, but it’s gone just as quickly as it appears.

If I’m being honest with myself, I’ve enjoyed the last couple of months on my own. I’ve been able to throw all my energy into the job I worked so hard to get, into making a name for myself with my boss and the rest of our team. Even though summer is the slowest season for weddings in Florida, we still had several weddings each month — all with affluent brides who expected the best from us.