“Sofia, I think we should.” I take a step forward but stop when I hear the door open behind me. Looking over my shoulder, I see Helena. She is wearing tight jeans and a thick sweater.
“Sorry, darling,” she says, walking to me and smiling up at me, getting on her tippy-toes and kissing my lips. “Have you started without me?” She looks over at Sofia, who just smiles at us.
“No,” Sofia says softly. “We were just waiting for you. If you will follow me this way. I have three tables that I’ve set up as samples.”
I follow her away from her office and down a corridor into a big room. “This room is nice,” I note, looking around at the rustic area.
“It’s not our style,” Helena says, looking at me and then at Sofia.
“This is a setting area,” Sofia informs her. “If you wanted to do it outside, a tent will have to be installed. This area is for smaller weddings and more for an intimate feel.” I glare at Helena, who doesn’t even feel fazed by my look, nor does she care. “Now this is the first table I have set up for you.” She stops at a round table. “Obviously this is a smaller version of the table. I went with a white tablecloth, as you can see. You will see the large black plate on the bottom that never leaves the table until after the service.” She points at the last plate with two white plates stacked on top of it. “I put together a sample menu that will go on each plate.”
“I like it,” Helena says. “I like the tall black vase.” She points at the tall vase in the middle of the table filled with white flowers.
“I like the little ones.” I point at the little square black vases that are smaller and filled with tulips and daisies. “It’s easier to talk to the person across from you.”
“Then I did this one a little bit more.” She walks over to the table, and I hate everything about it. “Blingy,” she says and Helena gasps.
It’s a table with a black tablecloth and all the vases are clear with bling on them. The black-and-white plates in the middle have a black napkin inside of those rings that holds them together, again full of diamonds. “Now this,” Helena declares, “is what we were looking for.”
Sofia makes the mistake of looking up at me, waiting for me to say something, but instead I just look down at the table. There is chattering going on around me, but I just stare at the table setting. “I don’t even think we need to see number three,” I hear Helena say from beside me. Even though she walks over to the third table, but I don’t, I just look from the first table to the second. Knowing I would never choose any of this.
“Okay, so I’ll work on that,” I hear Sofia say. “And I’ll send you a couple of decorations that would add more bling,” she says, and I can’t even begin to think about more bling.
“Also, I would love the dance floor to be in white and our initials in black,” Helena adds and Sofia nods at her as she makes a note.
“Sounds good,” Sofia assures her as we walk back to the waiting area. “I’ll work on that and send you guys the prices for each of those so you can look at them. Again, everything can be modified.”
“Thank you so much!” Helena shrieks and claps her hands together all happy. “We will wait for your email.” She turns to me. “Do you want to add anything?”
“No, I think I’m good,” I reply, looking back at Sofia who is just standing there. “See you soon.” I nod at her and walk out into the hot breeze.
“What is your problem?” Helena hisses out once we get to her car.
“I don’t have a problem,” I tell her, annoyed. “It’s just too much,” I finally say, and she rolls her eyes at me and folds her arms over her chest.
“Happy wife, happy life,” she states. “Now, where are we going to eat?”
“I’m going home,” I tell her. “I have an early morning.” For the first time in our relationship, I lie to her.
“Ugh, fine,” she pouts, “I’ll go home and do more wedding planning.”
“Okay,” I say, leaning and kissing her lips before walking to my car.
“You’ve become so quiet lately,” Helena says, right before I get in my car.
“Have I?” I ask, waiting for her to ask me why. Waiting for her to ask me if I’m okay, but she doesn’t, instead she just nods her head.
“Yes, and I don’t like it.” She turns and walks over to her car. “Don’t ruin this experience for me.” She gets into her car and takes off, leaving me staring at her taillights. I look toward the office, seeing a light on and wondering if I should go and talk to her. But just like two years ago, I turn around and walk away.