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Saturday, May 6th, 2005
She incessantly chewed on her Chanel
lip gloss-coated lip; it was a habit she just could not break.
“Have you thought any more
about your seating arrangements?”
She looked up with widem sparkling brown eyes. “No.
I…I’ve been busy.”
“Well,” Said Juliette, “That’s okay.
We can arrange all of that closer to the date anyway.”
She nodded slowly and took a sip of
her mimosa, “Okay. Have you received any more RSVPs?”
“Oh, yes…”
Juliette said, rifling through her large planner, “Jill and Ken Howardton can’t make it, they send their apologies.
Sienna said she and Jude will be there…let’s see, who else? Robbie and Luke RSPV’d.”
“That’s
good.” She said, “I adore them.”
“Have you decided on the favors?”
She
nodded, swallowing her mimosa, “Mmm, yes. Those fabulous Cartier watches for the men, and for the women, I’m not
sure quite yet. But I know I want my bridal party to have David Yurman and some kind of spa package at the Mandarin.”
“Okay.
Well, that’s a start.” Juliette said, making a note in her planner. The alarm on her Blackberry rang, “Three
o’clock already? I have to go meet with the people at the Plaza. I’ll see you on Saturday for brunch?”
She
nodded, “Yes.”
She got up to walked Juliette to the door of her huge apartment. She
kissed Juliette good bye and closed the door behind her. She shut her eyes and sighed.
There came
a knock at the door and she wondered who it could be. She looked through the peephole and opened the door.
“Hey
Aubs,” Smiled a bronzed Ginny Malone, kissing her friend on the cheek. Ginny Malone was, in essence, the image of a
young bohemian. Her parents were huge art collectors and currently owned almost all of Andy Warhol’s work. She had known
Ginny since the fourth grade and since then, they had all but been torn apart.
“Hi, Gin.”
Aubrey sighed and ran a hand through her hair.
“You seem quite delighted on this amazing
Wednesday morning.”
She opened her mouth to speak but couldn’t find the right arrangement
of words to describe anything going on in her head.
“I just saw Juliette leaving,”
Ginny said, snacking on a cold slice of a quesadila from some local lunch shack ten blocks from where Aubrey lived so lavishly.
“This quesadila is amazing. Oh, hah, I hope you weren't planning on eating that?”
She
shook her head and leaned against the kitchen counter, “Gin?”
“Hmm?”
“Would
I be completely crazy to…” She paused, her brows furrowed in obvious deliberation and hesitation. “Call
off this wedding?”
Ginny stopped mid chew and looked at her best friend with wide 'are you
kidding me' eyes, “Let me remind you just who you're marrying, darling. Chad Monroe? The handsome and charming heir
to the Monroe fortune. Did I mention he’s charming and handsome?”
“Sometimes
I think he’s too charming and too handsome.”
“Well maybe you're just being picky?”
She
sighed, “This isn't me being picky or even slightly selective.”
“Do you know
how many people would die to get married at the Plaza in prime wedding month? This wedding is the event of the next five years,
Aubrey. You can't just make this commitment and then blow it off. A wedding isn't a pair of Blahniks you buy thinking you
like them and return them later when you have a change of heart.”
She looked utterly defeated,
“I know.”
“Is there something wrong with him? Does he have six toes? A third
nipple? What?”
“There’s nothing wrong with him. He’s as close to perfect
as it gets.”
“Oh. Okay.” Ginny concluded, “So then it’s you?”
“Isn't
it always?” She joked dryly.
“He’s Chad Monroe; you're Aubrey Roehm. Together…you're…Manhattan’s
most beautiful, not to mention wealthiest, couple.”
She frowned, “But I’m not
even remotely excited about this wedding.”
“You're probably just bogged down with all
the plans.” Predicted Ginny, finishing off the rest of the quesadila and tossing the parchment in the trash under the
sink. “This is a huge wedding; three hundred and fifty guests, right?”
She nodded slowly.
“It’s
probably just stress getting in the way of your excitement.”
“Maybe.”
“Oh,
Aubs.” Ginny sighed, “Be happy, okay? In a month you’ll be Mrs. Chad Monroe.”
She
didn’t think it was so great, but she didn’t tell Ginny that. “I know…”
“Weddings
are stressful for every one, no matter what.” Advised Ginny, “Why don't we go to the Hamptons this weekend? The
weather is supposed to be amazing, we can take the boat out and go sailing.”
“I can’t.”
She said, “I’m having brunch on Saturday with my parents and Chad’s parents.”
“We’ll
leave Saturday afternoon and come back on Monday night.” Said Ginny, “Please?”
“I’ll
think it over.” She said, “Have you talked to Emma lately?”
“I haven’t,
as a matter of fact.” Ginny replied, “She left me a voicemail, but I never got around to calling her back.”
“Is
she still in LA?”
“For the moment, I guess.” Ginny said, “She said she
was coming home tomorrow in the message she left me, but you know how things change with her.”
“Yeah.”
Aubrey said, running a hand through her wavy dark brown hair, “What if I’m just not ready to get married?”
“You’ve
been ready since fifth grade when we planned our weddings in those big pink binders, Aubs.”
She
was frustrated; even her own best friend wasn’t listening to anything she was saying. “What time is it?”
“Quarter
of four.”
She sighed and looked down at her flat Jimmy Choo sandals, “I have to meet
Chad in a couple hours.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah; we’re
having dinner at Ducasse.”
“You sound so blasé.”
“I’m
just not in the mood to be seen.”
“What does that mean?” Ginny laughed, shoving
her hands in the front pockets of her Earnest Sewn jeans.
“I’m not in the mood to
go out tonight; sometimes I just want to lock myself in my room and hide under my covers.”
“We
all do,” Ginny replied simply, “It’s a fact of life. I went to Ducasse the other night with Jimmy and Alex.
Try the melon gazpacho. It’s the most refreshing thing I’ve tasted in months.”
“I
don't like gazpacho.”
“I don't, either. You know that. But I tried it and now I’m
addicted.”
She willed a smile, “Did I tell you we got Madeleine Peyroux to play at
our wedding?”
“That’s fantastic, Aubs!” Exclaimed Ginny, “It really
is. How can you not be psyched about Madeleine Peyroux playing at your wedding? I would probably hyperventilate and pass out…she’s
so amazing!”
She chuckled softly and unscrewed the cap of her Vitamin Water on the counter,
taking a small sip.
Ginny looked at her Tiffany watch, “Ooh, I’m going to be late.
I have an appointment with my personal shopper at Bergdorf’s. Are we still on for SoHo House in the morning?”
Aubrey
nodded, walking her friend to the door, “Yes. Can we move it to nine?”
“Yeah,
sure. I might be going out tonight, so the extra sleep could go the mile for me.” She said, “Tell Chad I said
hello, okay? And cheer up; you have so much to be excited and grateful about, Aubrey.”
“I
know.” She replied, “I’m just in one of those moods.”
“I think it’s
the rain,” Ginny smiled, kissing her friend on the cheek and giving her a quick hug, “Call me later?”
“I
will.”
“Love you.” Ginny called.
“Love you,
too.” She waved as Ginny left the apartment, smiling.
Aubrey shut the large mahaogany front
door and her smile immediately faded to no more than a frown. She walked into her lavishly styled living room and sat down
on the couch, looking out the large window at the gray rain falling down, blanketing the city. She sighed to herself, “Yeah.
Definitely not the rain.”
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