Chapter 7
Chelsea wasn’t sure she’d ever packed so fast. They’d enjoyed tea at a little restaurant with fancy lace and soft colors. For the most part, it would have been pleasant. That is if Catherine stopped going on about the dress. Even her mother could see she was becoming irritated. As soon as they were back at the house, Chelsea excused herself before running up to her room. She didn’t even bother packing them neatly, just tossed them into bags, stuffing them in deeper to fit. Matthew walked in as she sat on her black suitcase with her knees zipping the bag closed.
Matthew raised an eyebrow at her hurried packing. “So, big outing with my mom, I’m guessing it wasn’t great.”
“It was fine.”
“Babe?”
“Okay, fine. I don’t know how you’ve dealt with her for all of these years. I would have pulled my hair out before they assigned me a mandatory straight jacket.” She dug her knees in a little deeper, grunting as she zipped the bag closed. “I mean, she wasn’t horrible. She’s just…your mom has a way…”
Matthew laughed. “Yeah, a way of making people feel like ants? Or make you feel like you don’t even have an elementary education, let alone a college degree? She can be that way?”
Chelsea dusted off her hands before wrapping her arms around his neck. “I’m just really eager to get back to our happy home. I miss our apartment. I miss our neighborhood. I miss sleeping with you.”
“I know,” he said as he kissed her forehead, “I do too.” He watched her walk over to the bed to start on another bag. “What about your parents?”
“Oh, mom said the hospital got slammed without her. They’re begging her to come back early,” she said handing Matthew a bag.
What she didn’t want to tell him was that she also thought her mom was lying. It wasn’t like the hospital didn’t sometimes call her needing her expertise and efficiency, but it was the look on her face when she’s said it. She could tell her mom felt the same way about going home as soon as possible. Chelsea handed Matthew another bag before picking up one of her own.
At the bottom of the stairs, her parents were already chatting with the Rawlins. Her dad excused himself to put their bags in the car after thanking the Rawlins for having them as guests. He shook Lyle’s hand. It didn’t take much for Chelsea to see that her dad really liked him, she trusted his judgment of character. Chelsea gave her mom a hug before kissing her cheek.
“I’ll get to see you before the wedding, right honey?” Her mom asked.
Chelsea smiled. “Of course, we’ll grab lunch.”
“And you’ll attend one family dinner with Matthew here. I know how these things go. Once you get married you’ll forget all about us.”
Chelsea chuckled. “Never.”
She gave her dad a hug before she stood in the door waving as they crunched along the graveled driveway. Sangi was at her elbow doing the same. Chelsea sighed. The wedding was getting closer everyday. It brought a slight fluttering in her belly. Once her parents were out of view, Chelsea turned to see Matthew giving his mom a hug.
“Whatever happened to grandma?” He asked.
“She couldn’t make it. You know how she loves to be all independent,” Lyle said.
Catherine smirked. She seemed to be more than fine with grandma not attending the weekend soiree. Chelsea wondered vaguely why that was, but more importantly she was getting impatient. She shifted from foot to foot, more than ready to get on the road.
“She will be at the wedding though, right?” Matthew asked.
“Of course. She said to send her love and say congrats. She’ll be home in time for the wedding.”
Lyle gave Chelsea a tight hug before Andrew did the same. She and Catherine nodded at each other. It was the best it was going to get for now. Sangi and Andrew’s hug lingered a little too long, before they broke apart, clearing their throats and trying to appear casual. Chelsea stifled a laugh. Who were they fooling? As they settled into the car, Chelsea let out a long sigh, leaning her head against the seat as the summer wind rushed over her face.
“You survived,” Matthew said smiling.
*****
The moment they stepped through the door, Chelsea became herself again and so did Matthew. He played around, kicked up his feet, disregarded clothing for the rest of the day. Chelsea settled in next to him on the couch. Slowly, the wedding was coming together. Catherine’s planner called later and they came to a tentative agreement. The planner, Helen, would keep things close to what Catherine wanted, but approve everything through Chelsea. That worked for her.
She found the lacy dress she wanted, the gold accented beautifully against her skin. Chelsea was glad she’d stuck to her guns by saying no to the other dress, this one she was in love with. When work started back the next morning, she was a whirlwind of coffee, wedding planning and work. She woke up two hours earlier every morning to work on the wedding, at night she didn’t fall asleep, she passed out it seemed.