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Forever and a Day

CHAPTER THREE

“Sorry we’re late!” Amy cried as she got out of her car. “I really wanted to get the drive done in one day but there was a problem with one of our Japanese suppliers and it took forever to sort out.”

“A PR nightmare,” Jayne added, clambering out from the passenger side. “Compounded by the fact we had to stay in a disgusting roadside motel.”

“I’m just glad you guys are here now,” Emily replied, hugging them both in turn.

Amy opened up the trunk and started pulling out bags. She had brought a lot of luggage, Emily noted.

“What is all this stuff?” Emily asked, heaving a case from the back. It weighed a ton.

“Wedding supplies,” Amy replied. “Swatches for color schemes. Fabrics. Fragrances. All sorts of things.”

“But everything is organized,” Emily protested.

Amy rolled her eyes. “You’ll change your mind about things. Right down to the last second. What kind of friend would I be if I hadn’t brought things to cover every eventuality?”

Emily laughed. She couldn’t see herself changing her mind on anything but she trusted Amy. Plus her friend was always happier when she had a project, hence becoming a successful businesswoman while still a teenager.

“So where is hotcakes?” Jayne asked.

“You mean Daniel?” Emily replied, raising an eyebrow. “He’s in town with Chantelle and my dad. They’re buying some stuff to fix up the greenhouse.”

“Your dad, huh,” Jayne said, shaking her head with what Emily recognized from herself as disbelief. “When Ames told me I couldn’t believe it. I really didn’t see that one coming.”

Amy shot her a daggered look.

“What?” Jayne said, defensively. “I just totally thought he was dead.”

Just then Lois appeared to help them with their cases. She dragged two behind her along the driveway and up the porch steps.

“She’s still here?” Jayne asked loudly out the corner of her mouth. “I thought you were firing her.”

Emily shook her head. “Keep your voice down,” she hissed.

They went inside the inn and Lois checked them in. “I can show you to your rooms and take some of your cases,” she said.

Amy looked impressed. “She can do her job at last!” she whispered to Emily as Lois began lugging some of the cases upstairs.

Emily cringed. She loved her friends but they could be insensitive and rude sometimes.

“I need a shower,” Jayne said. “Get some of that motel grime off my body!”

As they disappeared upstairs to settle in and freshen up, Emily heard the bell ring. She could already tell today was going to be a whirlwind. She trotted down the steps and answered the door.

A young woman with black curly hair and glasses stood there. She had dangly earrings and lots of beaded necklaces hanging over a paisley patterned scarf.

“Hey, I’m Bryony,” she said confidently, holding out a hand covered in rings. “Serena’s friend from Maine U. I’m here to do the marketing for the website.” She grinned, showing off a gap between her teeth.

“Of course,” Emily said. “Come in.”

Bryony swirled inside, bringing the smell of incense with her. She had a laptop case slung over one shoulder.

“Okay if I set up in your reception room?” she asked, nodding toward the guests’ lounge.

“Sure, of course. Whatever you need,” Emily replied.

“Wi-Fi password,” Bryony replied. “Oh, and a coffee would be great. I live off the stuff.”

“You and me both,” Emily replied.

She fetched some coffee for Bryony but didn’t have much of a chance to talk to her further because the bell rang again. She answered the door.

This time it was a slim man in leather pants standing on her doorstep. Beneath his fedora he had long hair, and his eyes were covered by sunglasses. She knew some of Daniel’s friends were supposed to be arriving today but this man didn’t look like the kind she’d expect Daniel to be friends with.

“Can I help you?” Emily asked.

“I have a booking,” the man said. He had a distinct swagger about him, a sort of confidence that oozed from him.

As Emily led him inside and went behind the reception desk, she heard whispering coming from one of the rooms. She looked behind her and saw Marnie, Vanessa, and Tracey peeping out from behind the kitchen door, giggling.

When Emily turned back she saw that the man had removed his sunglasses, and to her surprise, she was staring at a very familiar face. It was the famous singer Roman Westbrook.

“Mr. Westbrook?” Emily said, trying to maintain her composure but freaking out at the same time. To think that her little B&B could be host to someone so famous! She really had come far!

“You can call me Roman.”

Emily felt a bolt of excitement shoot through her.

“You’re booked into our cottage for two weeks,” she noted, reading aloud from the computer screen. She saw that Serena had made the booking and wondered why on earth her friend hadn’t shared the information of a famous singer with her. It was very unlikely that Serena wouldn’t know who Roman Westbrook was. She must have kept it secret specifically to surprise them.

Emily turned around and found her fingers trembling as she unhooked the keys to the cottage. Behind the kitchen door, she caught sight of Marnie, Vanessa, and Tracey still watching, bug-eyed and giggly. Emily flashed them a surprised and excited grin.

Just then Lois appeared at the top of the stairs, having finished settling Amy and Jayne into their rooms. She stopped short on the staircase when she saw Roman Westbrook standing in the hallway and her eyes turned as wide as saucers.

Emily fought hard to keep her composure, turning to Roman and smiling with what she hoped was her professional hostess manner. “If you’d like to come with me, I’ll get you settled in.”

She led him along the corridor and back out the main door, turning to look behind to see whether Lois was still frozen to the spot on the staircase. Vanessa, Marnie, and Tracey had all emerged from the kitchen, tiptoeing as close as they dared behind her, giggling in a huddle like a bunch of school girls. Lois galloped down the stairs and joined them, whispering excitedly behind her hand.

Emily showed Roman along the pathway to the carriage house, her heart fluttering every time she allowed herself to think about just who she was walking beside. When she reached the door, she unlocked it, fumbling a little in her excitement, then gestured for Roman to enter.

“This will do nicely,” Roman said, glancing around at the self-contained apartment with a satisfied nod.

Emily felt a thrill of excitement to know that her little inn was good enough for a pop star of Roman Westbrook’s caliber! It was almost like she was floating along in a dream.

She showed him the bedroom and bathroom, as well as some of the utilities he had at his disposal, pinching herself the whole time, thinking, Did I really just show Roman Westbrook a washer-dryer / oven / coffee machine? How is this my life?

When the time came to hand over his key and their fingers brushed, Emily felt as wobbly as a teenager. It wasn’t every day one made skin-to-skin contact with a famous pop star!

“I’ll leave you to settle in,” Emily said. “The big house is always open for guests so please feel free to come in anytime you want. We have a bar and lounge inside for guests.”

Roman flashed her one of his famous smiles.

She twirled out of the carriage house, feeling light, as though walking on air, and hurried back to the inn to rejoice in the experience with her staff.

When she got back to the inn she found the four of them still giggling away.

Lois was beside the computer. “Serena booked him in,” she announced. “I bet she didn’t say a word because she wanted to surprise us.”

“Well, that worked,” Marnie laughed, joining Lois at her side. She pointed at the computer enthusiastically. “Oh my god. He’s here for TWO WEEKS!”

“That means he’ll be here for the wedding!” Lois squealed.

Everyone began to cry and whoop.

“I wonder why he’s in town,” Tracey said.

“It can’t be a vacation,” Marnie added. “He could vacation anywhere in the world. I doubt he’d want to come here.”

“Perhaps he’s recording his new album here?” Tracey guessed.

“In what recording studio?” Vanessa exclaimed.

“Maybe he’s shooting a video!” Lois cried, growing even more excited. “And we’ll all get to be extras!”

The bell rang yet again but the girls were so lost in their conversation they didn’t seem to even hear; at least Emily assumed that was the case because none of them moved. She took it upon herself to get the door.

To the background sound of her gossiping female staff, she pulled open the door and saw three men standing on the step. Burly. Tattooed. Rough-looking, in faded jeans and patched up leather jackets. Emily wondered if they were part of Roman Westwood’s entourage. Security guards or something. They certainly didn’t look like they were here to soak up the quaint seaside vibes.

“Can I help you?” she asked.

“We’re here for Daniel,” one of them said. “Hear he’s marrying some broad from New York City!”

They started laughing.

“We’re his friends,” one added. “His best men.”

Emily felt her face drain of blood. These were Daniel’s school friends? The ones she’d pushed for him to invite? The ones who were going to be in the wedding party?

She opened her mouth to tell them to come in but found her voice had completely failed her. All she managed was a shrill squeak and the weakest of smiles.

CHAPTER FOUR

Emily was still standing there gaping like a fish at the tattooed men who would soon be in her wedding party when Daniel’s pickup truck trundled up the driveway.

“That must be the groom!” one of the tattooed men said, turning on the spot.

The pickup truck slowed to a stop and Daniel hopped out with a spring in his step that was unfamiliar to Emily. She watched, stunned, as the three men bowled down the porch steps and tackled Daniel.

They’d better not bruise his face, she thought, wincing at the rough-and-tumble of old friends reunited.

Finally, Daniel’s face reemerged from the rabble of denim and leather. He was pink-cheeked, grinning widely. By now, Roy had opened up the passenger side door and was halfway out. To Emily’s surprise, he was also smiling.

“Well, look, haven’t you three grown up,” Roy said, laughing.

“Is that Roy?” the first man said.

“I said this was the place!” the second yelled, smacking the third across the chest.

“It was decades ago,” the third argued back. “How am I supposed to remember?”

“Because it was the best vacation we ever had!” the first exclaimed.

Roy emerged fully now and extended his hand. “Stuart?”

The man nodded. “Yes. And you remember Clyde and Evan?” He gestured first to the man with the scraggly ginger beard, then to the shorter, overweight man.

“How could I forget that weekend when Daniel invited you all over for fishing?” Roy replied.

“That was great,” Evan added. “I don’t think we’ve all been in the same place since that weekend, you know.”

“So you’re his best men, I presume?” Roy queried.

Stuart beamed widely. “Of course we are. It’s only fitting that Daniel’s oldest school friends should be in the wedding party.”

“Even if it has been over a decade since we all got together,” Evan added.

“Have you met my daughter Emily?” Roy said, gesturing to where Emily continued to watch on in disbelief. “I’d never have guessed Daniel would grow up to marry my little princess one day!”

Now it was the three friends’ turn to look shocked. They glanced at Emily on the doorstep, mouths open. But rather than appear embarrassed by their mistake, Emily realized they were relishing it. They were clearly the types of men to enjoy embarrassing others. She inwardly cringed.

“That’s the missus?” Clyde exclaimed. “Well, why didn’t she say so?”

He laughed and ran up the porch steps toward Emily. When he reached her he swept her into a bear hug. Predictably, he smelled of stale sweat.

Emily tried to maintain her composure. But really she was panicking inside. She didn’t want to judge Daniel too much on his choice of companionship, especially if they were old school friends – kindergarteners tend to pick their friends at random after all – but she just couldn’t reconcile the four of them together. This was the closest she’d been to Daniel’s bad-boy past. A glimpse of the boy he’d once been and could easily have become had he not left Maine for Tennessee when he did. She should be grateful that he’d chosen these three really, when the other option was Tennessee friends who knew Sheila.

Just then, Chantelle hopped down from the truck and gave a cursory glance in the direction of the three men. She wasn’t fazed, however. She was used to random people coming to the inn and had certainly come across hillbilly types in her earlier years in Tennessee.

“Papa Roy, can we start on the greenhouse, please?” she asked.

“Of course,” Roy said. Then, turning his attention to Stuart, Clyde, and Evan, he added, as polite as ever, “If you gentlemen will excuse me.”

Roy and Chantelle busied themselves with unloading the pickup of all the items they’d purchased.

“Let me give you the tour,” Daniel said to his friends.

He led them past Emily and into the B&B.

She watched them go, still stunned, still unable to reconcile Daniel with these three burly men. She turned to follow them inside, in time to see Amy and Jayne walking down the staircase.

Stuart whistled at the two women and Emily grimaced. Neither of her friends was the type to let that kind of thing fly. Not even Jayne, who usually loved male attention. Terrified it was all about to kick off, Emily rushed in to intervene in advance.

“Amy, Jayne,” she called out. “Did you settle into your rooms okay?”

Amy flicked her narrowed eyes away from Stuart and to her friend. “Yes. Thanks, Em. But we have to get to work. There are tons of errands to run.”

“Really?” Emily said with a groan. She felt like all she’d been doing for weeks was planning the wedding. Could there really be that much more to do? But on the other hand, leaving the inn was probably a good idea. The least amount of time spent with Daniel’s friends the better. “Okay,” she accepted. “Let’s get out of here.”

She rushed her friends out the door before Daniel had a chance to introduce his friends. Out the corner of her eye she caught sight of his expression. He seemed annoyed by her behavior, by her rudeness at not allowing everyone to become acquainted. But she couldn’t help it. If he’d prepared her in some way maybe it would have been different. At the very least she could have told him to make sure they didn’t catcall her friends, and warn her friends to expect some rube-like behavior. But just like always, Daniel had kept her in the dark about some of the more unsavory elements of his past. And once again, the blank spaces of his past niggled at her, making her doubt the very foundation their relationship stood upon.

*

Emily and her friends drove to the next town over in order to go to a perfume boutique that Amy had been wanting to visit for years.

“They make the fragrance specifically for you,” Amy explained as she drove. “A bespoke scent for a unique lady.”

“Sounds…” Emily paused. She’d wanted to say unnecessary but caught herself at the last second. Instead she finished with a meek and unconvincing, “…fun.”

“Everyone’s doing it these days,” Jayne added from the back seat. “It would be simply uncouth not to.”

Clearly excited by the trip, Amy parked and then steered Emily by the shoulders into the store, bouncing with every step.

The lady at the counter greeted them with a warm smile. Emily was grateful when Amy took the lead. She didn’t much feel like interacting. Her mind was still stuck on Daniel’s friends.

“Here,” Amy said, shoving a smelling strip under Emily’s nose. “What do you think? Blood orange.”

Emily crinkled her nose. “I don’t think that’s very me.”

“No, I suppose not,” Amy said. She bent her head down and began looking through the other options of smells.

“You seem distracted,” Jayne said to Emily.

“Sorry,” Emily replied. “I’m just… thinking.”

“Not about fragrances, I assume,” Jayne asked. “Come on, Em. You know you can tell me anything.”

Emily shook her head. “I don’t want to say. I don’t want to sound like a bitch.”

Jayne gave her a look. “Honestly, this is me you’re talking to. I’m the Queen Bitch. I doubt anything you could say would even come close to sounding bitchy to my ears.”

Just then, Amy rushed over and grabbed Emily’s arms. She dabbed some perfume onto her wrist.

“Smell!” she exclaimed with excitement.

Emily sniffed. The fragrance was fresh and floral. “That’s much better,” she said.

Amy grinned. “Okay. I’ve got it. I’ve got the perfect smell to complement this.” She rushed away again and bowed heads with the girl behind the counter as they sifted excitedly through the samples.

“So?” Jayne pressed Emily. She clearly wasn’t going to let her drop it.

Emily sighed loudly. “It’s just those guys at the inn.”

“The boars who looked like they hadn’t showered in a week?”

“Yup, those ones,” Emily replied. She bit her lip. “Well, they’re Daniel’s friends. His best men.”

“Oh dear God!” Jayne exclaimed with a theatrical gasp. “They’re going to be in the photos?”

Emily felt her cheeks burn. Jayne’s horrified response was making her feel worse.

“It’s just the way that he keeps these things about his past from me,” Emily explained. “Like I would never have imagined in a million years that his best friends would be like that.”

“Me neither,” Jayne replied. “I thought he’d have some hunky lumberjack types.”

Emily sank her head into her hands. “I wish I’d have let him ask his boss now,” she replied glumly. “I’d prefer paint-stained hands over those three any day.”

Amy came over with another scent stick, a look of concentration on her face. Without even speaking she grabbed Emily’s arm and dabbed the new scent inside her wrist, on top of the first one. Amy sniffed. Frowned. Sniffed again. Then grinned.

“I think I’ve got it,” she said.

Emily sniffed. “Yeah, that’s nice,” she replied in a lackluster voice.

“You don’t like it?” Amy asked.

“It’s not that,” Jayne interrupted. “Emily met the groomsmen today.”

Amy raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Daniel’s elusive friends?”

Jayne grabbed Amy’s arm. “You’ll never guess. It was those three in the foyer!”

Amy’s eyes widened. “The ones I almost unleashed all hell upon?”

“The very same.”

Amy looked at Emily then. “Oh, babe. I’m sorry.”

Emily cringed again. Daniel’s friends were oafs, but she was revealing a very nasty side of both her and her friends’ personalities. She knew they were being judgmental and petty. But she couldn’t help it.

“Look,” Amy said, taking charge of the situation as she was often wont to do. “Why don’t we finish up here now we’ve found the scent and head back to the inn? We can have some drinks, get everyone’s tongues loosened up a bit. Then we’ll get to the bottom of it for you. Find out the deal. Who they are, what they do. Find out any juicy gossip.”

“It’s the juicy gossip I’m worried about,” Emily replied glumly. “I just don’t understand how Daniel can be who he is with this mysterious past and these strange friends. None of it matches up. There’s like young Daniel who hated his home life and was flunking school and almost ran away, the one who was friends with those three. Then there’s Tennessee Daniel, the one who fathered a kid and beat a guy to a bloody pulp. Neither of them are my Daniel. It just freaks me out.”

Amy rubbed her shoulder. “You’re just getting wedding jitters. It’s fine. Everyone has pasts.”

“But not everyone hides them like Daniel does.”

“He’s just embarrassed,” Jayne said. “I would be if those were my friends!” She cackled.

Emily wanted to let her friends lift her spirits but it just wasn’t helping. The idea of all of them sitting around a table conversing, not to mention with alcohol added to the mix, didn’t seem that appealing to her. But it was going to have to happen sooner or later. May as well get it over with.

“Okay, fine,” Emily said. “Let’s just get it out of the way.”

Amy paid for the fragrance, exchanging business cards with the girl behind the counter, and they left the store. Emily’s friends linked arms with her, supporting her, like always, through every step of her journey.

“I don’t know what I’d do without you guys,” Emily said as they strolled together back to Amy’s car.

“I do,” Amy said with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. “You’d smell a whole lot worse!”