"Absence makes the heart grow fonder, but it sure makes the rest of you lonely." - Charles M. Schulz
Samantha's POV
"How long till she gets back?" I asked, emptying the other half of balloons to be filled with air into the tray.
"Two hours," Rachel replied, not looking up from the table she was setting up in the corner of the living room.
"Hm... we don't have that much time. Sure we're going to get everything ready in two hours?"
"We have less than two hours by minutes... pretty sure we'll get a lot done if we don't talk though," she muttered.
"Got it," I chuckled and set to tying up already inflated balloons.
Rachel was a very good partner to work with. You could totally place a bet on her dedication and positive attitude to work and win. She was keen on perfection or at least something close to it. It amazed me sometimes. I was a perfectionist to an extent considering my kind of job didn't allow much room for mess-ups or errors but Rachel, on the other hand, practiced a whole different kind of perfectionism. It was like she had to get it right and get it on the first try. I knew writers were thorough and liked to polish their art till it was flawless.
We worked in silence for almost an hour, setting things up without getting in each other's way. I tied the ribbons to the balloons and just let them float up to the ceiling. I set some down on the floor and then I laid out the customized robes beside the candy tray Rachel had set up on the table. I stopped for a bit, with my hands resting on my hips, and took in the all our hard work. The room was finally coming together and only a few more things to check of our list before we were done.
"... Balloons, check. Confetti, check. Bride-to-be sash, check. Customized robes, check. Skin care items, check. Wine, check. Games, check. Candy tray, set up. Snacks, over there," I muttered to myself as I ticked things off the list but paused on the cake. We didn't have that yet. "Cake?"
"Yeah. Thanks for the reminder. Tara offered to pick it up from the store on her way here. I'd give her a call," she walked off to make the call.
Asides getting paid a good amount for my job, there was this happiness that came with seeing people in love tie the knot that made the whole process worth the while. Seeing the love in their eyes, the tears from overwhelming emotions, the serenity that accompanied a couple's first dance, the soft smile on the faces of their loved ones as they stared at love in human form, the warm congratulatory hugs and kisses. It was all so beautiful to watch and I just couldn't help but enjoy and appreciate every moment of my job.
Working as a planner was like a pacifier for my insecurities. It was foolish, I know, to calm my insecurities by watching other find happiness. It was stupid to use others as standard for what love looked like. It didn't help that love was unique to every person and I ended up having so many models that I began to find it hard to identify love for myself. I was infatuated with the idea of love that I just couldn't bring myself to loving someone for who they were. I only loved that they said they loved me. I didn't trust that what they felt was love because love wasn't supposed to be good so I would end things before it got any better. And for someone looking to settle down and build a family, it sure stirred up conflict on the inside.
My parents had loved each other but their love was full of so much sadness and pain. I grew up with that. Grew up with the idea that love wasn't something pleasant and there had to be hurt and pain, tears and shame for it to be called love. I just wanted this opinion to be proved wrong but I wasn't willing to let anyone come close enough to where they would break down my walls so I looked for it in others. I was scared of being hurt and having to accept it as part of the process so I always ended things before it got too deep. I felt empty inside and there was this longing deep down that I yearned to satisfy by watching others love. It gave me some sort of hope that in all of the uncertainty and chaos of life, love wasn't a facade. People found it in other people and it really was beautiful.
"... called her. Picked it up already. She's on her way here. Hayden's dropping her off before heading to the bar. I guess the boys have something planned for Javi," Rachel walked back in. "I wonder what they're up to. Those men could have strippers flying off poles."
I hummed, still spaced out.
"Hey," Rachel came close to me and waved her hand in my face.
I looked up and I saw the concern taking form on her pretty features.
"You alright? You don't look so good? Are you tired? The planning is stressing you out? You need a break? Your body hurts? I know it can all be overwhelming and I'm always here to help. I feel like such a bad person. I didn't bother about how you were faring and was just bombarding you with all these tasks and stuff to do. Now that I think about it, you do look a bit pale. I think you should go see a..." she rambled on.
"Rachel, relax," I chuckled. "I'm fine, really. I was just in my head thinking about different things. I'm good now."
"Hm... you sure?" She narrowed her eyes on my face. "I still think you should go see a doctor or at least take something that would improve your immune system. You could take next week off if you need to. I'd handle all the final meetings."
"Thanks but I got this, Rach. It's my job, don't forget. I run around for a living." I grinned.
Just as she was about to reply, a knock landed on the door and we both turned.
"Freya?" I whispered.
"I doubt it. We still have about thirty minutes before closing time."
"What if she decided to come home early?"
"Late, you mean. I already spoke to Javi about what we had planned and told him to make up some sort of excuse to stall her."
"Oh, cool."
I walked over to the door and peeped through the hole. I saw a girl, young and looking to be in her early twenties, with cute eyes standing on the porch.
"Uhm... I don't know who she is but she definitely isn't Freya."
Rachel chuckled. "Let her in. That should be Tara."
I opened the door and the girl looked up. Her eyes widened in confusion and surprise when she saw me. She was probably expecting to see Rachel.
"Hi... Uhm sorry to bother you but please is this Freya's house? A friend gave me this address but..." she stammered in a nervous manner.
"Come in, Tara!" Rachel yelled from the living room.
"Oh... I hear Miss Rachel. Sorry," she blushed.
I stepped aside to make room for her to step in and I offered to help her with one of the stuff she had in her hand. She smiled in thanks and handed over one of the paper bags. I locked the door behind her and followed into the kitchen where we set everything on the counter.
"I'll put the cake in the fridge," she said, taking it out of the box.
It looked so good that I wanted to dig in immediately.
"What is all this, little missy?" Rachel looked in the bags. "The only thing you were supposed to come with was the cake."
Tara scratched the back of her head. "I know. I just couldn't help but bring her a gift. It's bad enough I couldn't join you to set everything up."
"A gift or gifts?" Rachel dragged the s in gifts, waving at all the fancy paper bags on counter. "It's alright. I didn't even do much. She did most of the work," Rachel pointed at me.
"... Tara, meet Sam. She's the planner. She's also Wolfe's sister."
"Oh! Hi. I'm Tara," she stretched her hand forward with a wide smile on her face. "I know Wolfe. He works out at the gym."
I shook her hand. "Hi. Uhm... thank you for helping with the cake."
"Oh it's no problem. Had to help out with something. You're very pretty," she blushed.
"Thank you," I smiled.
"This place smells so good and looks good. You're definitely planning my wedding," she beamed.
"You're getting married?" I asked, confused. She looked too young to be getting married but I caught myself from slipping. I, of all people, should know age had nothing to do with finding happiness.
"No! At least not yet but someday, I hope," she smiled.
"So Hayden dropped you off huh?" Rachel smirked.
"Yeah," she dragged out the word, looking everywhere but at Rachel. She was all shades of cute in one tiny body.
"Why didn't he say hi?"
"Uhm... the boys need his help at the bar. I think they have something going on. He had work to do at the gym and I just happened to be leaving at the same time so he offered to drive me to pick up the cake and drop me off."
"Sure he wasn't hanging around for you?" Rachel smirked.
"Well... I wouldn't cancel out that possibility."
They went back and forth, moving from one topic to another fluidly. There was no awkward moment between the two and it was either they were extremely close or extremely chatty. Either way, they made a good pair of conversationists.
My mind drifted off again, feasting on what Tara had said about the boys. I wonder just what it was they were planning that was keeping them busy. It could be a bachelor party. Brent and Drew were like Rachel and me but for the guys. It was only right that they had a party on the same day as Freya's bridal shower since this was the last weekend before we had to move to Raven hill for the wedding. Brent...
My mind said one thing and my body did the opposite. My mind said to thank him for being there for me during my embarrassing breakdown on our way back from SilverLake but my body chose to avoid him and act like nothing had happened. I just couldn't afford to form an emotional connection with him. It was enough that I was madly attracted to his masculinity coupled with the fact that his flirty actions confused me, I just couldn't go below the surface. No good could come out of falling for a guy like him. His actions made it clear the kind of relationship he was interested in and I just couldn't give that to him. We had differing wants when it came to relationship and even though I knew deep down he was also empty and searching for something he didn't realize he needed, I just couldn't be the one to fill that void because I was as empty as he was. It was best for both of us not to be in the same space.
"... the more you're away from them, the more you miss them," I heard Rachel's voice cut through my thoughts.
"W-what? W-were you talking to me?" I stuttered, thrown off-guard by her statement.
"Not at all. We were just talking about the kids. I was telling Tara how I missed them. It's only been a few hours but it feels like days."
"Oh... cool... great," I hummed.
"Are you really okay?" Rachel came to my side and put her hand to my forehead.
"Yes. Really. I'm okay," I smiled.
"Okay then. Javi texted me a few minutes ago. He says she'll be here any moment from now. I put the wine in the ice bucket. All we have to do now is wait," she said.
After twenty minutes of random conversation, we heard her car pull up to the driveway and Tara ran to the window to confirm that it really was her. We turned off the light in the living room and took our positions- confetti in hand- as we waited for her to open the door. We had locked the door from the inside with Javier's home key that he had given to Rachel so we could have access into the house. We stood still and listened as the key worked and the knob turned. Seconds later, she stepped into the house and reached for the light switch which was our cue.
"Surprise!" We jumped out, popping the confetti cannon over her head.
"Jesus Christ!" Freya screamed as all what she had in her hand dropped to the floor. "You guys scared the living daylights out of me!" she groaned.
Mission accomplished.