“Cilla, I’ve seen nothing like that in my life. I’m gonna tell Pres, he’s gonna be jealous as fuck. He is into this spooky shit, and I can bet he’s gonna want you to call Tank to do it again for him,” Jet is babbling as we climb into the club’s SUV. A laugh bursts out of him, and he turns to look at me, “Cilla, you are the best goddamn security job I ever had, and ever will have. Can I be your bestie?”
I cannot stop the giggle that pops out, and honestly, Jet is cool usually. Seeing him shocked and then excited has made my day. “Thank you, Tank. That was awesome, and you’ve made Jet a happy man.”
*You’re welcome, Cilla*
Jet takes me home, and I make him come indoors because honestly, sitting outside makes him look like a stalker. The wedding planner arrives that Jet had arranged previously. She looks smart but casual, which is nice, as I expected her to wear a suit and be stuffy.
“Hi, Cilla. I’m Miranda, and I’m very happy to meet you. Congratulations on your upcoming marriage,” Miranda is soft-spoken and comes across with a lot of sincerity.
“Hello, Miranda. I’m not sure where to even start…” I start to say, but Jet jumps in before I can complete my sentence.
“Do you know that stuck-up bitch at the bridal shop?” Jet takes Miranda by surprise.
“Um, you mean the one here in town?” Miranda asks, and I can see she’s a little nervous about the question.
“Yeah, that one. She’s a bitch…” Jet continues, and I step closer, pat his arm and mumble for him to calm himself.
“Please take a seat,” I point to the kitchen table, and we all sit. I can see Miranda is nervous about what response to give. Both Jet and I are waiting now for her to decide about what she is going to say.
“I have worked with many bridal boutiques, and I’ll be honest that I will not recommend that one to any of my clients.I won’t give nasty comments about the store because the dresses are stunning, but the staff leave a lot to be desired,” Miranda speaks with respect, although she is basically saying the place is downright nasty-minded.
“Well, I want a suit rather than a long flowing dress. I think a nice plain dress, a jacket, and a bundle of flowers are enough. We are having the wedding at the clubhouse, so you may need me to take you there so you can see what you are dealing with. It will be outdoors, and the brothers are building an archway for me to stand under with Mason when we say our vows. Oh, I don’t want it overly flowery, a few floral arrangements dotted around would be nice, but I think that is enough.” Miranda is working on her tablet while I’m speaking, taking notes and nodding each time I tell her something new. “We need a caterer, photographer, and florist. Budget and venue are not an issue. We are on a short timeline as we have just under six weeks to complete the planning and have the wedding.”
Miranda continues tapping out her notes, then looks up with a bright smile I might add. “This is great. I have caterers I can call on for this. Think about what you want me to offer. Do you want finger-type foods already plated and handed out to them, or a sit-down meal, or even a buffet type that they can help themselves to a meal?”
“I reckon the brothers would eat stuff like BBQ chicken, burgers, and side stuff. They’d not enjoy sitting at a table like the posh things we see. Not sure what finger foods are, Cilla, but if they are tiny bits, you can shove in our mouth you’d need a fuck lot of it…” Jet states, and I grab his hand and squeeze, which he interprets that he needs to be quiet.
“Okay, Miranda, with the comments Jet has made how about we have casual food? Like chicken cooked in different ways, ribs, steaks, and the usual side dishes to accompaniment?”
“We can arrange that. I know the perfect caterer.” Tapping on her tablet again before looking up once more. “Flowers we can arrange a few placed in strategic places outside to enhance where you walk to Mason. Which would leave the inside free and not require clearing after the wedding. How do you feel about that?”
“That suits me fine. I only want to hold a few flowers tied with a ribbon. Not a full bouquet because it would be a waste of flowers in my opinion.”
“Okay, I can arrange that,” Miranda jots more down, and I’m beginning to think this is going to be a nice, calm wedding. “Do you have a color in mind?”
“Um, maybe cream and pale lilac?” I ask more than tell, because I don’t know what would be available.
“We can do those colors.” More tapping on the tablet. “Photographer, I use the same one and she is fantastic. She always seems to get the best shots at the best angles. You can have only the service photographs, or you can have her walk around taking photographs as she sees things of note?”
“That would be nice, but only outside. I don’t want any indoor photographs taken.” I don’t think Tracker would like photographs of the clubhouse for anyone to use in a bad way. I’ll be happy to have the wedding outside of the clubhouse for everything.
“Okay, leave it with me and I’ll get this all arranged. I will need to pop over to the clubhouse so I can make the plan. Then I can give you the rundown of my service costs. Is all that okay with you, Cilla?” Miranda is packing her tablet away as she speaks.
“Yes, that is good. Arrange a time with Jet, and he’ll make sure you are able to see the compound area where the wedding will be held. Is that okay, Jet?”
“Yeah, no problem. I’ll arrange it all with Pres, get it nailed down for you, Cilla.”
As I show Miranda out, she turns and hands me her card. Jet had originally given her the date of the wedding, which I hadn’t thought to do. “The bridal store in Gainesville is accommodating. They will help you find the suit that you envision. Give them a call and make an appointment. Ask for Paris, she is lovely and she’ll do everything she can to make sure what you want is what you get.”
“Thank you, Miranda.”
Miranda gives me a huge smile. “No, thank you. I’ll speak to you soon, and Jet, I’ll contact you to visit the clubhouse tomorrow. If you can have a day and time for me that is convenient, I’ll do my best to be available to visit.”
“No problem. I’ll speak to Pres and sort something out,” Jet responds, and then we give her a wave as she leaves.
Once back indoors, Jet smiles. “I reckon we found a good one in Miranda. What do you think?”
“Yes. She seems to understand and not push for more than we want. Get her into the compound so she can see where the wedding is being held, and we need to get over to Gainesville to this shop she mentioned.” I look up when the door opens and Mason walks into the house.