Devil's Backbone (Muke)

24

I don't end up falling back asleep. Instead, I watch the same movie four times and try to unsuccessfully distract my mind.

When Michael wakes up, I get out of bed. The movement makes me nauseous, and I throw up in the bathroom. After cleaning up and getting ready for the day, I make blueberry pancakes and sausages.

"I've got to work today, honey. We'll be out of town, so I probably won't be home until tonight. Don't wait up, okay?" He informs me once we're done eating.

"Alright," I agree. I've got to catch up on cleaning and stuff, anyway. Besides, Calum has been dying to come over and help me with my wedding plans. This is his opportunity, since Michael has left almost all of the wedding up to me.

He gets ready, kisses me, and leaves. I turn on some music and get to cleaning. It takes just over two hours to finish everything, and then I call Calum.

"Hello?" He answers on the third ring.

"Hey. Are you busy?" I ask as I shove some cleaning supplies back into their cabinet. I toss a wad of used paper towels into the garbage can.

"No. Ashton's gone, so I'm bored as hell."

I start walking into the living room. "Well, remember how you wanted to help me make wedding plans?"

As I plop down onto the couch, he laughs.

"Yeah, I remember," he responds.

"You can come over if you want. We can work on that."

He's quiet for a few seconds. Finally, he speaks. "I'm on my way. See you soon."

With that, he hangs up. I set my phone on the coffee table and turn on the TV. There's a Bob's Burgers marathon playing, so I choose that channel.

Calum arrives less than fifteen minutes later. I let him in and he sits on the couch next to me.

"One second," I say. I jog upstairs to mine and Michael's room and grab my laptop. That's where we've been doing all of the searching, comparing, and planning for the wedding. There are tons of documents and bookmarked websites saved. Some with ideas, some with lists, and some with random tips.

"I've decided that I'm getting a dress," I state when I get back into the living room.

"Me, too!" Calum exclaims. I chuckle.

"Have you picked yours yet?" I wonder.

He shakes his head. "No. I'm going with my mom and sister this Saturday. Do you want to go?"

I beam. "Of course I do!"

It upsets me a little bit that he didn't mention it to me before, though it's a petty reason to be upset. I try not to take it personal; he's been super busy as of late.

I open up my laptop and drum my fingers along the keys as it turns on. Calum scoots closer and watches me type in the password.

"So, what have you planned so far?" He wonders.

It's a little embarrassing to say nothing. Well, not nothing. Close enough, though.

"The theme, the date, and the venue," I reply.

He already knew all of this, of course. 

"Alright. Your theme is still everything that glitters, right?" He checks.

I nod. There's going to be glitter everywhere we can put it. Centerpieces, favors, the aisle, everything. We'll probably even have my niece throwing glitter along with the flower petals.

"Okay. Let's start with the tables. Now, we can do circular tables, or square, or rectangle. Square and rectangle will fit more people, but circular are prettier and allow for more conversation," he says.

"Then I want circular," I state.

We want people to be able to hold conversations at the wedding, not just eat and dance. It won't be as fun if the tables get in the way of our guests talking. Plus, they look better. Fancier.

We browse tables and I pick some that seat ten each. We'll need about twelve to fit everybody.

"What are your wedding colors?" He asks me.

"Berry tones," I respond.

He claps his hands together and grins.

"Great! We need twelve tablecloths, so we can get them in different colors. Three blue, three people, three red, and three pink!"

By the time he leaves to start dinner for Ashton and himself, we've planned quite a bit. The tables, tablecloths, dishes, and some of the decorations.

I plug my laptop in to charge and go back downstairs to start cooking. Calum and I have been snacking on crackers and mini cupcakes all day, but I'm hungry for some real food.

I make some frozen pizza, wanting to keep it simple and fairly fast. While it's cooking, I tidy up the living room and kitchen.

Once I've eaten and showered, there's nothing to do but wait for Michael to get home and sleep.