"I'm so sorry I can't make it with you today," Kevin said as he was getting ready to leave. He was going to go over to Brian's and do some last minute adjustments to a few songs they were writing. Laura was going to go with Lisa to meet the wedding coordinator. She just smiled at him. "Honey it's OK, you'll be seeing plenty of this young lady, trust me! You're gonna get so sick of her, she's probably going to seem like a fifth wheel until our wedding is over!" Laura said with a laugh. "Anyway, I'm sure Lisa and I can handle things," she finished, as she kissed Kevin goodbye. "See you later, beautiful," he said as he walked out the door. Laura sighed. I love that man, she thought as she went to finish getting ready for the day.
Almost two hours later, Lisa arrived with Howie. "I hope you don't mind that I tagged along, cuz if you do, I can find something else to do," he said, staring at Laura with his puppy-dog eyes. Laura sighed sarcastically. "I suppose it's OK that you're here, 'Jim,'" she said teasingly. They still joked often about the day they first met at the hair salon in Orlando. It was a day that no one would forget, for it changed everyone's lives, and for the better.
"Well, shall we get going then?" Lisa said, observing that Laura was now ready to go. "Yeah sis, I'm waiting for you to stop your yacking," she joked, as she, Lisa and Howie walked out the door.
Upon arrival at the planner's office, Howie had opted to go do some shopping at some of the stores that were in the area, and there was plenty of them. Lisa and Laura figured that would keep him occupied for the couple hours that they would probably be there.
Laura sat fidgeting, twirling her fingers. Not out of nervousness, just excitement. I can't believe I'm here to plan my wedding, my wedding to Kevin! she thought, as an older woman entered the room with a younger woman following. Laura and Lisa stood up as they approached to greet them.
"Hi, my name is Kathy. I'm the owner of Happily Ever After. I just wanted to introduce you to my daughter, Misty. Misty just graduated from college almost a year ago and she's been working for me ever since. She'll treat you well, I assure you," Kathy said, looking at her daughter with pride. Misty just half-rolled her eyes and blushed in embarrassment. Lisa and Laura chuckled under their breath, knowing what it's like to have your mother get all sentimental on you, especially in public. "Thanks, Mom, I got it from here," Misty said, hinting that Kathy should leave. As soon as Kathy was out of the room, Misty giggled a little. "I'm sorry about her gushing over me like that, but I am her only daughter, I guess that comes with the territory then," she said, smiling. Lisa and Laura smiled back. "We know what that's like. We have a mother too!" Lisa said jokingly, and everyone laughed. "Well, then, why don't we all just sit down and start dishing so I can get an idea of what kind of wedding you're looking to have," Misty said. Laura knew already that this was going to be a good collaboration.
About three hours had passed already, and Howie had his fill of shopping. He didn't buy much, just mainly window-shopped. He even got a bite to eat. Howie glanced one more time at his watch. 1 PM, he thought, deciding to stop in and see if Lisa and Laura were finishing up with the wedding coordinator yet, or if they were close to it. Howie walked into the office.
"Can I help you?" Kathy said as she hung up the phone.
"Yeah, I'm looking for Laura and Lisa Mitchell... they're here to meet with a coordinator for Laura's wedding," Howie said. Just as he finished speaking, a voice chimed in.
"Here we are, dah-ling," Lisa said, smiling as she hugged Howie. "We just finished up. Laura and the coordinator will be out in a minute." Not so much as 5 seconds later, Laura came out with Misty following close behind. "Hey 'Jim,' what's shakin'? Buy out the stores?" Laura asked with a smirk. She knew how Howie could shop sometimes. He was the one, after all, that helped her shop for her clothing she was going to bring on tour, and had also helped her get some new things during the tour.
Howie smiled at Laura. She knows me all too well, he thought. "Actually, nope, just got a few--" Howie stopped talking. He noticed Misty and approached her.
"Misty??" Howie said, hoping he wasn't going to make a fool of himself by mixing her up with someone else. Misty looked up from her book work. "Howie??" she said, looking at him with a smile on her face. "Howie Dorough, oh my God! How are you? Well, I mean, I know how you are, I mean, the whole world knows how you are, what I mean is--" Howie cut her off, sensing her nervousness.
"Just chill, girl, I know what you mean. And you can talk to me normal. I'm still the same Howie I was before," Howie said, and they both laughed. Suddenly realizing that they've been carrying on so, Howie turned and faced Lisa and Laura.
"This is so cool, you guys. Misty and I used to live in the same neighborhood growing up. I was friends with her older brothers," Howie said, reflecting on years gone by. "Wow, I suddenly feel old!" he said, looking at Misty. "The last time I saw you, you were just about, ummm, I would say 15 or 16 years old."
"Just turned sixteen," Misty replied. "I'm almost 23 now."
"You think you feel old? How do you think I feel? I'm her mother!" Kathy chimed in, looking up from her paperwork for a minute. Everyone chuckled, including Kathy. She was, in fact, a very youthful woman, considering her 5 children ranged in age from 35 to 23, Misty being her only girl and her youngest.
"Time certainly does fly," Lisa said, thinking also of her younger years with Laura, and all her friends past and present.
"What a small world, that you guys know each other," Laura added. "You know what they say, six degrees of separation." Everyone smiled. "I guess that's true," Misty replied, still amazed to see Howie after so long.
"Well, speaking of time flying, we need to get going," Laura said, then turning to Misty. "Thanks for all your help today. I can't wait for you to meet my fiancé! He wanted to come today, but he's off being creative with Brian! Duty calls!" she said with a giggle. Everyone then said their goodbyes, and left the office.
Lisa smiled. "Wow, that was something else, that you know Misty, Howie," she said. "It is definitely a small world!"
"Yeah, yeah it is," Howie said, as they drove back to Laura's apartment.
Heather was home when Laura, Lisa and Howie arrived back at Laura's apartment. Kevin and Brian were there now too. Kevin smiled when the door opened and Laura walked in.
"Hello, beautiful. How'd it go?" Kevin asked enthusiastically. "It was great, love. She's gonna work out really well. Misty--that's her name--is going to come over Friday morning to meet you and work on some more details. She's such a sweet gal, and so young! She's about AJ's age, but she sure knows what she's doing, and that's all that matters, right?" Kevin kissed Laura's nose. "Right!" he said, holding her close.
"And, a demonstration of how small of a world this truly is, Misty and Howie know each other. They were, like, neighbors or something," Lisa added, sitting down next to Howie as he put his arm around her. "Yeah, I hung around with a couple of her older brothers, and my brother hung around with the other ones. She's got 4 brothers all together, all older than her. The 2 oldest were around John's age and the 2 younger ones were around my age. I mean, John and I love our sisters, but it sure beat the hell outta hanging around with them all the time!" Howie said, chuckling, everyone laughing a bit too. "Understandable, cuz I know we women can be a pain in the ass sometimes," Lisa said, then added quickly, "and if you guys know what's good for you, you'll keep your smart-ass comments about that to yourselves!" Brian smiled. "Nope, not going there. I treasure my life," he joked, with Kevin and Howie laughing in agreement.
Laura got up to go get everyone sodas. Kevin got up to help her. "So, it's really begun? Our wedding plans?" Kevin said softly in Laura's ear, wrapping his arms around Laura from behind. "Yes, it's really begun. Wedding bells will be ringing before you know it," she said, smiling as Kevin kissed her neck. He smiled, grabbed a couple sodas and he and Laura made their way back to the living room.
Take me home, baby!
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