Chapter 32: Right Feeling
POV: Zac
July 30, 2008
We had gotten up early with the intention of her driving to her appointment after dropping me off, but I was barely awake when Taylor called.
“What’s up?”
After several moments of hearing him cough he finally seemed able to talk. “I’m not coming in, I’ve been up all night coughing and I have a fever. I don’t want you and Isaac to get this crap. I’ve called him already.”
“Is he going in?”
“I have no idea, but you guys can do whatever. Stella is going to…” He had to pause to cough and it sounded bad. “she’s going to bring me some meds and get me better.”
“Okay, you get better and if you need anything let me know too. I’ll give Ike a call and see what he wants to do.”
I let Taylor go and called Isaac, Gabby was barely waking up and Isaac said to take the day. He was going to spend the day with Nicole planning their move and wedding.
“What’s up?” Gabby asked.
“Taylor is coughing and has a fever, he’s not going in and Ike is taking the day with Nicole. So, guess it’s you and I.”
She actually laid back down for another hour before we had to get up and get ready to go. Her appointment was at 8:45, she went back at 8:40 and I settled into a chair. Her appointment would be about an hour, so while I waited I did venue searching. I got a long list of places in town and even called a few to make sure they had someone there to show us around or at least let us in. I was really hoping I could find something that would beat Philbrook, but I wasn’t sure I ever would. She came out at 9:50 and there were no tears or otherwise blurry eyes, there had been days where she came out and needed a long hug before we could leave.
“Everything go okay?”
“Yep. I’m ready to do whatever. Well, can we grab food first?”
“Yep.”
We did a quick lunch at Taco Bueno before I took her to the first place on the list which was the Tulsa Garden Center, it offered a expansive garden but we wouldn’t be out there, instead we would be inside the building. Granted it looked expensively done inside and there was a few highlights she kind of liked, the locations for pictures had several options she liked, the rounded area she liked but she just shook her head when she got in the car.
“If we did August it would be perfect because it has the gardens.”
“Okay, no garden center. I’m not done yet though.”
I checked a few hotels but I really wasn’t hopeful on them myself, they were often boring inside and these were no different. The Sky Lofts did have a very impressive view of the city, which was something she liked but she rejected every single one of them. I scratched the remaining hotels off the list because obviously they wouldn’t work.
I went to the Vesica Piscis Chapel next, it had great reviews on the website so I was hopeful she would love it. She did perk up when we drove into the parking area, the Vesica was a very pretty place outside, almost looked like an expansive house. I was hopeful that the perk up would continue but once we were inside and they were showing us around, she didn’t seem thrilled.
“Okay, talk to me Gabby. What about this place is not good to you?”
“It’s the same color, brown and dark brown with a brown floor.”
“They can add lights Gabby, any color we want. We can add flowers, we can add ribbons and bows. It’ll break up the brown. Is there anything you do like?”
“I like the windows, but there isn’t enough of them and the view is okay, but we don’t see a lot.”
“Babe the sky loft had windows and a view.”
“Yeah, of downtown. I don’t want to see the city, I want nature Zac. Like Philbrook.”
“You are driving a hard bargain here, I know you want Philbrook but do you really think we can plan a full scale wedding in a month?”
“I do. I tried to tell you Zac, there isn’t anything that will top that place.”
“We shall see.”
“I’m telling you, you’re not going to find anything.”
“I have a whole list left, have a little faith.”
I dragged her to another four places, most had nice areas with lots of windows but I could tell by the utterly bored look that none of them were doing anything. I was beginning to think she was right, that nothing was going to top Philbrook and that we’d be planning a wedding and a tour in the next thirty days. I really didn’t want to be doing that because something would go wrong if I did.
The Tarp Chapel which was now the Glass Chapel was on the list and just the outside seemed to excite her and the inside was a lot of glass and the outside was nice and scenic. She at least smiled a bit here and didn’t look quite as bored, but she still didn’t rank it over Philbrook.
“What did you not like about this place? It’s glass and has a great view. The price is decent too, they’re willing to let us be there all night.”
“I like the inside I don’t like the view of the parking lot that will behind us in every photo. I’m telling you, Philbrook is the right one.”
“But not for December, Gabby I can’t plan a wedding and a tour at the same time. I know you want Philbrook but there just isn’t a way to do that. We won’t have time to break during the tour and it won’t be decent if we rush the planning in 30 days.”
“You don’t have too. I’m not doing a damn thing during the day. I can plan it myself.”
“And the guests? We told everyone December.”
“I’m sure they’ll be fine if we move it up. I’ll even explain it’s my fault.”
I laid my head on the steering wheel, I understood she wanted that place but 30 days just wasn’t enough time and she wasn’t listening to that! She thinks she can plan everything but we had no idea on any details yet, and it would take more than 30 days.
“You can’t plan it without my help in some areas anyway. Compromise with me here.”
“I don’t want to compromise on a place that feels right for one that doesn’t.”
“I have three places left, at least see them.”
“I’ll go to however many you want me too, but so far nothing has felt right.”
“Last three, if they don’t feel right or you don’t like them then we’ll book the Philbrook tomorrow. But, I am going to warn you that 30 days will not be enough time and there is a chance that Philbrook won’t be available then either.”
She just smiled at me and I headed to the next place. The next two seemed to do nothing but she did listen, viewed and even entertained the person’s ideas, so it wasn’t like she was just dead set on Philbrook and not giving them a chance at all. She was trying, but even I could agree neither of them felt right. There was good views but I could see houses far off and I knew that was a potential for paparazzi pictures.
The last venue was a bit outside town, so we went ahead and stopped for dinner, I kept the conversation off venues, because I had sensed some tension in the car and I was getting ill and frustrated. I knew it would take longer than 30 days, it was a stretch that we gave ourselves months and not a year, but thirty days was just stupid and it wouldn’t turn out well. Yet, I know that I’d do whatever it took to make her happy.
The drive out to the last place took a bit of time but she was watching the city fade and the country area take over. The Chapel in the Woods was the last place I had found while searching. She seemed utterly bored by the plain front of the building, even I didn’t find it much thrilling. Looked like a normal house from the front.
I parked and looked around. “We’re in the woods, literally.”
“The outside of this building isn’t grand, but the location is private and it’s not Philbrook, but it’s not bad.”
We walked to the door and knocked and a young lady answered.
“You must be the Hanson’s?”
“Yes, Ma’am.” I said.
“Come in.”
The foyer area was decorated with fresh cut flowers, a nice elegant table with a white cloth running down the center, the walls were beige. This was not starting off well, it was brown and brown.
“Where would you like to start?”
“Wherever you feel is the best place.” Gabby replied.
Her tone of voice said it didn’t matter where if every room looked like this. She lead us to the bride and groom’s suits, which were very nicely done. There would be ample room for both of us to get ready and for whoever was included. The rooms were pretty bland though.
“We tend to show the chapel area last, this is the foyers where your bridesmaids and groomsmen would begin, the chapel can also be used for the reception, otherwise we have a separate room right here for the reception.”
The reception room was pretty bland in my opinion, she did indicate it could be a cocktail area while they set up the main room and we had our professional pictures taken. She then lead us back to the chapel doors.
“We have a wedding set up in there right now for tomorrow, it will give you an idea of how it is usually set up. The couple chose dark colors like navy blue and maroon red, but we can accommodate a wide range of colors.”
“Okay.” Gabby said.
Yep, that was her bored tone and I took a deep breath and braced myself for the eventual let down, but when she threw the doors open she didn’t move. The room had hard woods floors which were a lighter tone and the seats were black, but they had slip covers on them to make them a deep maroon color. What little walls there were was a light beige and at the end was a cross in blue, looked like marble. The rest of the room had panes of glass, clear unobstructed view of the natural woods and lawn areas around the church.
Gabby hadn’t said a word nor had she moved and I was certain those were both positive signs. She carefully moved into the room and looked around. While Gabby moved into the room I asked her about our date, the need to have the place for an extended period of time and the use of fireworks because it was New Years after all. It turned out there was a park nearby that done fireworks every year and they were very visible from the back side.
“What about pictures?” Gabby asked.
“There is a gazebo outside in which we can decorate in whatever flowers you wish, given your date though they would probably need to be artificial outside, but our artificial flowers as you can see here are very realistic.”
“Those aren’t real?” I asked.
“No, Sir. We had them made in several basic colors, red, white, blue, and yellow so that guest can have them without the expensive cost of fresh cut or in the winter months.”
“They are very real looking.”
“I’ll leave you to talk a bit, but I must ask not to move anything.”
“We won’t move anything.”
“Can the cross be covered?” Gabby asked.
I blinked, she was in a Chapel asking if it can be covered? That was random as hell!
“Covered, what do you mean?”
“If I didn’t want a cross in the background of every picture, can it be covered with a cloth or some type of linen? I don’t mean painted or anything, just covered.”
“We have not covered it before but I would assume that it can be. A heavy or thick material would need to be used, also it would need to cover that whole area. That is something we do not personally do, so that would be on you and your planners. Also, it would need to not ruin the wall.”
She nodded and the lady stepped out, I walked down to where she was.
“You aren’t acting bored or uninterested. Did I actually find a place that bumped Philbrook?”
“I love everything but that cross.”
“Do you not like them in general?”
“I’m not sure and it could be because of the clashing colors in here, it just with these colors it looks very off.”
“Well, picture it with solid black chairs or even solid white.”
“It would look better with those colors.”
“You didn’t answer my question.”
She stood there quietly for several minutes before turning. “I really want Philbrook but this place feels right too. You will do pictures at Philbrook, right?”
“I already have them booked and a photographer for the sixteenth of next month. I’ll even wear shorts if you want. I want you to be happy Gabriella, I know you really want to do the wedding there but thirty days isn’t enough even if you do everything something will go wrong. I’d rather have more time to plan it and make sure it’s right.”
She looked around again. “Then let’s do it here. It’s not Philbrook but it’s very close. We’ll be inside but have a view of the..well, dead woods at that point but maybe it won’t be too bad. Added, it’s private and it is more scenic and no city view.”
I kissed her forehead. “It shouldn’t be bad with the natural woods, there are winter blooming flowers you know.”
We found the lady again and began the process of actually booking, which included a down payment on the total cost. She provided us with a lot of pamphlets for photographers, catering, and even florists in case we wanted something they didn’t have. Once we were certain we had the venue booked clear through the next day, I promised we would clean up before leaving. We headed home.
“What did you ask my mother? You never told me. I saw you go off with her but you never said why.”
She giggled. “I asked her to come with me when I picked out the dress. She actually went ahead and booked a day at a local place in August, the weekend after our pictures actually.”
“I figured you’d take Abby.”
“Well, I plan to take her too and depending I may take Stella and Nicole, but it depends on what they’re doing.”
We made it home and got changed into pajamas, I called Taylor who was feeling better but was certain he would need another day or two, so Ike and I made plans to come in tomorrow and then take a longer weekend, we could do some vocal tracking without Taylor or even brainstorm ideas. She sat down beside me when I hung up.
“So…Dr. Cortez and I didn’t really talk about past events today.”
“No? I thought you guys were starting with that and working forward.”
“I wanted to ask about something. I wanted to know why the idea of moving would be something that I didn’t want to face or deal with. Logically I know that home is not a specific place.”
“Did she help you answer your question?”
“Yes. It really had nothing to do with actually moving, because I know that a home can be anything as long as there is love there. Even hotel rooms can be home. It was that most couples don’t buy a home right away, that’s pretty permanent in the long run. When you mention moving into a house it was saying you didn’t plan on going anywhere.”
“I don’t plan on going anywhere. Not unless you go with me.”
“That was the issue though, I’m not use to that. I’m use to empty promises of forever not ones that are actually kept and you seem very serious to keep yours, even if you were drunk when you made it.”
“I wasn’t that drunk Gabby. I may have thought like you that it wasn’t a real chapel, but it doesn’t mean I didn’t take the words seriously. Come December they’ll be real too, because neither of us will be drunk. I wouldn’t have remained married if I didn’t mean the words.”
“It’s what she said too. It really wasn’t about not moving, it was just that fear.”
“So…are you okay with looking around for a place?”
“Don’t you have a lease here?”
“My lease ends next year in June. I will have the option to re-sign and will have options on how long, but it does end in June.”
“Then if you want to look we can. I have no idea what to even consider in a house.”
I put my arm behind her. “Well, you obviously want the basics. If you like the way this place is set up then you’d want open concept. I’m not sure how many bedrooms we should aim for, least two but we can go as high as we think we’ll need. We can have office spaces, garages, it’s a lot. But, you know the perfect time for that will be the endless hours on the road.”
“Right…because I’ve never bought a house and I have zero ideas what I want.”
I kissed her. “We can discuss that later on. Right now we should sleep, we get a long weekend but Ike wants a full day tomorrow.”
“Yay for full days.”
I giggled and we got up and headed to bed. I was glad for the therapist really because she was helping her to feel and to deal with those emotions she didn’t deal with before. As tired as I was, she was actually asleep before me, but I wasn’t far behind.
**Chapel in the Woods is really NOT in the middle of nowhere, I altered the location to fit the story.**