All of Me

Sobbing, Diana explained her tears, though Rena had to stop her a couple times and have her repeat her words, lost in tears. “I don’t know what we’re going to do. We’ve already called and told the people at The Liberty we didn’t want them to hold the date because this was such a sure thing.” She slammed her fist down on the steering wheel.

“What was that?”

“I’m sitting in my car. Hit the steering wheel.” She turned the ignition for the air conditioning and continued. “They’ve had a million weddings at that beach, in that hotel! I don’t understand why we can’t have ours there.”

“Did you ask about the other weddings?” Rena asked, trying to be logical in the face of Diana’s passionate anger.

Diana blew out a breath and rolled her eyes at herself. “No. I was stupid and lost my temper. Told the woman her office was a sh*thole.” She let a watery laugh escape, and Rena giggled too.

“A sh*thole?”

“Total sh*thole. No personal items, brown walls. It was sad, really.”

“That is sad,” Rena agreed, sensing that Diana was over the breakdown. “Okay, why don’t I meet you at your house with a bottle of wine and some ideas for a new venue? Marty is still out of town, right?”

“Yes, for three more days,” Diana answered. “I have wine at my house. Straight from the grapes in our vineyard.”

“Oh, that is the best kind,” Rena gushed. “I’ll bring dinner, then. What goes best with your wine?”

“Food,” Diana chuckled. “Anything is fine. See you around six.”

“I’ll be there.”

*****

Rena pushed the door open with her foot since her hands were occupied holding a box with four pints filled with delectable, odorous Chinese food. Diana rushed over and closed it behind her. “Damn, that smells good.”

“I got four different dishes so we can sample everything.” She placed the box on the counter as Diana grabbed plates and utensils. Rena enumerated the dishes as she lifted the pints out along with four eggrolls. “Obviously, eggrolls. Broccoli and beef, chicken lo mein, General Tso’s chicken, and pork fried rice.”

“Diverse,” Diana laughed as they began opening the pints and filling their plates. “I thought we’d eat on the back porch. It’s a nice night, but I put some blankets out there just in case.”

“Sounds good to me,” Rena answered around a mouthful of chicken. “Let’s load the food back in the box, though, in case we want seconds.”

“I have two wine glasses, full to the brim, on the table outside as well as the bottle for refills,” Diana announced as she lifted her plate and napkin to walk to the porch.

“Perfect,” Rena murmured as she followed her.

After settling into their seats, Diana sipped her wine before tucking in to her dinner. Although the wine really didn’t compliment the Chinese food in the slightest, she didn’t care. She offered to get Rena a glass of water while they ate, but she said she was good with the wine. Both ate in silence, looking out over the vineyard, lovely in the early twilight.

“You know,” Rena began after scooping seconds onto her plate, “this place is absolutely beautiful.”

Diana swallowed and replied, “Thank you. I love it here. I sit out here in the mornings to drink my coffee.” She gasped, frightening Rena. “Oh my gosh, just the other day, I was sitting out here and saw a deer. I was so mad at myself because I didn’t have my camera.”

“Definitely a missed opportunity,” Rena acknowledged as she sat up and looked around. “Can we take a walk?”

“I’m still eating,” Diana said.

“It’ll still be here when we get back. I need to take a look around,” Rena mused as she sat back and set her plate on the table. “Come on.”

“Ugh, fine,” Diana grumbled as she shoveled another bite into her mouth before rising. As they left the porch and headed for the line of vines, she asked, “What exactly are you looking at?”

“That gazebo in the center of the vineyard,” Rena said, pointing.

Diana frowned as she followed her friends through the paths. She and Marty walked out here sometimes, but the gazebo was in serious need of repair and not really safe to sit in. They hadn’t bothered to repair it because they didn’t intend to live here forever. The next owners, who might actually be interested in working the vineyard, could fix it.

“You know, I was thinking…” Rena began as they reached the gazebo and she circled it, staring intently at the steps and the floor. “Why don’t you and Marty get married here?”

“Here?” Diana asked, skeptical as she looked around. “How would that work?”

Rena finished her circle and stared at the distance to the house. “I’ve planned weddings at vineyards, and though this one does have obstacles, I think, if you and Marty signed on as clients with the company, we could overcome those obstacles and create a beautiful venue that you could, if you chose, rent to other wedding parties.” She shrugged. “You know, earn your money back.”

Diana tilted her head as she considered the idea. The house was at least fifty yards away from the gazebo, which meant there was no viable aisle for her to walk down. However, what used to function as an outhouse was only a twenty or thirty yards away, so if they cleaned it out, she could start there. She circled the gazebo as well. Some of the flooring needed to be replaced, as well as a few of the rails and decorative pieces around it. But mostly, it just needed a fresh coat of paint and this could be where they stood while taking their vows.

“Okay, picture this,” Rena interrupted her thoughts, mistaking her silence for misgivings. “We create an aisle with twinkly lights, using the guests’ chairs as borders. From the house to here is a long way, bu—”

“From the outhouse there,” Diana pointed. “It’s used for storage, hasn’t been an outhouse in decades.”

“Yes!” Rena exclaimed, having overlooked the little house. “Perfect!”

“And we can have the guy who works the vineyard come in with his people and trim back the vines a little to make it more aesthetic, and with white drapes and twinkly lights on the gazebo, after a paint job, of course, this will be just gorgeous.”

Rena had nodded along with her words as she spoke, wistful. “I can’t believe you didn’t think of it first.”

“Me either. I feel a little dumb,” she laughed, shaking her head. “As soon as Marty gets home, I’ll talk to him about it.”

“Do you think he’ll agree?”