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Right now I'm |
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July 16, 2002Part One - The Wedding (Page 1)The Bridal Shower I'd mentioned in a previous entry about the conversation my boss and I had, and how she let slip that I was to have a "surprise" bridal shower. It took place on the afternoon of my last day at work (Thursday), and as I had told a handful of people that I was taking that afternoon off, I had to make like I had a big, bad boss who wouldn't let me take the afternoon off because of a "mandatory" meeting. As it happened, there was a mandatory meeting, but I'd gotten dispensation from my boss' boss that I could miss it. So he was let in on the scheme, and I made to be all pouty because I had to attend. I followed my boss to her house in my truck, and parked there so we could ride together. On the way we schemed about what our story would be to the rest of the ladies, who were expecting me to be surprised. We decided that we'd say boss had invited me to a late lunch, "just the two of us", as a send-off celebration. My poor boss had to keep two stories running - keeping with the front that I knew nothing about the shower, while coming up with a story with me about how she'd managed to get me to the shower. We arrived at House of Tricks (which I enthused about here), which boss had heard me in passing say a few weeks ago was one of my favorite restaurants. I was very flattered that she'd paid that much attention to detail. We walked into the "Red Room" (which was mauve) and I was presented with 10 expectant ladies seated around a lavishly laid-out table. So I made with the "Oh, I'm SO surprised! You shouldn't have! It's all too much! Oh, you guys!" and so on. They seemed to be convinced. Really, it was amazingly generous of everyone. I was dined and feted and asked all the usual shower-like questions - "How did you meet?" and "Did you know right away?" and "What are your wedding plans?", etc. etc. I wasn't too terribly hungry, so settled on a cheese and fruit platter that had the most amazing Brie in the world. An absolutely amazing French Raspberry cake followed it. Oh, my God. And then came the presents. Present after present after present was placed in front of me. After opening the first one, I understood what the "theme" was to be. Lingerie. In just about every color that lingerie comes in. A red teddy and a white teddy with a wrap, an electric blue teddy (my favorite), a black teddy, and a long flowing elegant night gown, which reaches to the floor and has a scalloped hem. It makes me feel very Harlequin. Plus two gift certificates to Victoria's Secret, plenty of massage oils, and other naughty little gifts which I'll leave to the imagination of my readers. There was even a present for Calvin (although technically the lingerie is a present for him, too). Pictures were taken and toasts were raised, and I came to even more fully appreciate what kind and wonderful people I work with. I headed home in a great mood - being made much of, followed by preparation for a wedding and a vacation, and the knowledge that you don't have to go back to work for eleven whole days, is enough to put anyone in great spirits. Calvin was on the phone with AB when I walked in the door. She was just down the street getting fitted for her wedding gown, and wanted to know if I wanted to meet her there to see it, and get measured for my bride's maid gown. I can't say anything about her gown here, because her fiancé may read this, but the dress is absolutely stunning and suits her to a T. Fortunately she has good taste in bride's maid dresses, too - the style and cut is simple and romantic, navy blue with a bustier that laces up the back. The wedding is a country theme, being held in a real-live gold mining town. Complete with stagecoaches, hoop skirts, and everything. From the plans she's told me about, it sounds like it's going to be quite a party. After I returned home from the fitting, I was in a frenzy of laundry and packing and making sure three million times that I wasn't forgetting anything. Lists were consulted, re-written, and crossed off. I must confess I was a rather stressy person to be around - no one else seemed to have the same sense of urgency I did, for some reason. Which is normal, because I do tend to work myself up into a swivet when I'm getting ready for a trip. Not to mention getting ready for a wedding. Sedona Poor Calvin had to work for a half day on Friday. I got up with him to finish up the packing and make sure everything (including Marie) was ready to go. I cooked up a special breakfast of hamburger and rice for the puppies, a pre-trip habit I have. Probably born of some guilt I feel for leaving them behind. I never feel like we pay enough attention to them anyway, let alone going away for a week plus and leaving them in the hands of the neighbor. I made a quick trip to Calvin's mom's restaurant to drop off some things and leave a letter with her expressing our regret that she couldn't make it to the wedding. Calvin came home at 11:00 or so, to find me prowling about the house making sure all the windows were locked, appliances were shut off/unplugged, garbage was taken out, fridge was cleaned out, and all the other thousand details any homeowner goes through before a trip. Which left me to sit idle while he showered and dressed, while Marie burned a last minute CD to take on the trip, while Calvin checked the hot tub one more time, while Marie made some last minute IM's on the computer… Yeah. I was antsy. I wanted to leave at noon. We left at 1:00. And picked up Marie's friend who was coming up with us. And ate lunch at Burger King. We were finally on the freeway to Sedona at 2:00. At that point, I calmed right down. Weird how I get all worked up until the very second that we leave for a trip, and then all the tension and "what if's" and "what did I forgets" just fall away. I noticed as we drove that my eyes kept lingering on the sky to the northeast - I knew I couldn't see the smoke of the Chedesky-Rodeo fire from our route, but I looked anyway. Just the knowledge that the beautiful spot that was to host our wedding was threatened with severe fire danger was enough to make me somber during the drive. The grass and shrubbery of the lower and mid-desert was dry and yellow, and almost painful to look at. As our elevation climbed, we could tell the significant difference that the lack of rain caused in the land, even since the last time we'd driven the route just weeks before. The green wasn't as lush, the limbs of the trees drooped just a bit, and everything was stone dry. Fortunately, our chosen spot in Sedona is fed by Oak Creek, which is still running freely despite the drought. Greenery was in abundance, and a saving grace to my tree-starved self. We pulled into The Orchards Inn at about 3:30, an hour and a half before we were to meet with the minister and wedding coordinator. We reserved two rooms, side by side - one for the girls, and one for Calvin and I. They were very luxuriously appointed - deep soft beds with plenty of pillows (five on our king bed, plus two throws), a small sitting area, a writing desk, a mini-fridge and microwave, and an armoire that hid the TV from sight.          Keep going - there are too many pictures to put everything on one page... |