Never Have I Ever...

[HazelFox]

Hey guys!  Just thought I'd try my hand at some fiction.  Sorry I'm not the greatest with punctuation and grammar 😅

 

Name’s Levi, and I can’t tell you the last time I’ve felt this exhausted.  I’ve spent the past 10 years of my life working as a wedding planner, but never have I experienced a day as chaotic as this one.  

The bride wanted an outdoor wedding, which that in and of itself wouldn’t have been so bad, if she had thought ahead in case of uncooperative weather... Or if, you know, she hadn’t been a total bridezilla and treated everyone she had hired as her slaves.

First, myself and the tent crew arrived at 6 A.M which ended up with me spending the first hour imagining how everything would be laid out, then just twiddling my thumbs, waiting for the bride to arrive so I could go over my ideas with her.  She finally showed up at 8:30 (after I tried to call her 3 times) She disliked my ideas, so after what seemed like 20 times of mentally rearranging how everything would look and play out, we found and idea she liked.

 It ended up taking the tent crew 5 hours to fix up the tents, so that they would have the most beautiful view of the pond below, only for the bride to decide she wanted them to take everything down and move the tents back 6 FEET so that she could have the perfect wedding photos.  I tried to talk her out of it, saying that her pictures would be gorgeous as is, but she quickly waved me off and told me “They needed to be perfect.  Gorgeous wouldn’t cut it.”  I groaned before walking off to tell the crew what she wanted.  Several of them gave me the stink eye before rallying together to take these massive pieces of fabric down.  I gave them the most sympathetic expression I could, really I did.  I can’t imagine what that’s like to have to take those things down just to move them 6 feet and put them back up.

Weeelll Just about the time those guys had everything taken down... it started raining.  And not just a little sprinkle, it poured.  The bride screeched that she was getting soaked and everything would be ruined, before racing back to her car and just sitting in the parking lot, leaving the rest of us to try to pack away everything before it could get totally water logged.  It took us a good hour to have everything packed away and loaded before we could finally head out (the bride had left some time ago).

I clambered into my silver Chevrolet Silverado before cranking the heat on high and prepared to call my wife, Skylar.  I explained to her everything that had happened, and that I was soaked to the bone and heading home.  She understood completely, and sounded as sympathetic as she could be, before telling me that she’d have a late lunch ready for me when I arrived.  We hung up and I shifted the truck into drive to attempt the trek home in this rain, which proved to be rather stressful between the fact that the rain was forcing me to drive at what felt like a crawl and I had to keep the windshield wipers on high to still be able to see the road.

After what seemed like hours of driving, and nearly witnessing two accidents, I pulled into the driveway of our suburban home.

I raced inside to be immediately greeted by my wife and our three Corgis.

Skylar was a beautiful as ever, with her waist length curly locks of brunette hair pouring over her sun-tanned shoulders and down her back.  I couldn’t believe it was 5 years ago when we planned our own wedding.  We were high-school sweethearts, meeting in our junior years and marrying when I was 23 and she was 22.  

She locked eyes with me, expressing  such a warm smile, and threw her arms around my neck before planting a kiss on my cheek.  I stared deeply into her chocolate brown eyes, but had to pull away as I shivered, my body reminding my that I still had sopping wet clothes plastered to my skin.

“Levi!  You’re soaked to the bone!  Go up to the bathroom, get out of those clothes, and take a hot shower.  You can get some food when you come back down.”

I stepped to the side of her, making my way up the stairs to our master bath with our Corgis, Sir Chance, Lady Lilly and Lady Lee, at my heels, their nails clicking on the wood as they trotted up the steps.

The hot showers did wonders for me, not only did it warm me up, but it helped to drain away the stress of the day.  In all honesty, I probably spent more time in there than I should have. 

After my shower I walked back down the stairs and made my way through the living room and into the kitchen, where I spotted Skylar stirring something on the stove.  She looked over here shoulder upon hearing approaching footsteps.

“Oh!  There you are, love!  Do you feel any better?”

“Lots.”

I walked up behind her and wrapped my arms around her petite waist and rested my head on her shoulder.  

“Smells good, what is it?”

“Home made chicken noodle.  I figured it would be good for you after the drenching you had, plus I’m always game for soup.”  

She grinned, exposing her gleaming white teeth.

I let go of her waist as she moved to take a ladle out of the drawer and pull a couple of bowls out of the cabinets, grabbing a couple of spoons while she was at it.  I waited patiently as she filled the bowls and handed me mine.  

“Food in here, or in the living room?”

“Living room,” she stated as she was already brushing past me to sit on the couch and pick out a movie on Netflix.  I moved next to her, and settled in to start eating.  

“How does ‘Birdbox’ sound to you?”

“Fine.”

We ate in silence, which is understandable, considering both of us were completely invested in the movie.  The only disturbances were that of the rain pelting the window panes and the little porkers we call dogs happily wrestling on the carpet.

After the movie had ended, I aided Skylar in washes the dishes that had accumulated over the day.  

“So, how was your day?”  Without looking up from the dish she was scrubbing,

“Oh, not bad.  Greg was on my case again today about making sure I send him my portion of our project by Tuesday.  I’m like yeah, yeah, I heard you the first 83 times.”

She punctuated the last sentence with a small chuckle, amused by her workaholic boss.  

I mentioned that I’m a wedding planner, well Skylar is a software developer.  She works remotely in our office upstairs and enjoys her work very much.  She says it’s nice to not have to commute to work every day, even if that means having to day up all night working on a project occasionally.

After the dishes were finished, I decided to settle in on the couch and read for awhile, while Skylar went to work on her project some more.

Long about 10, the rain had finally stopped, and Skylar made her way back downstairs to see if I was coming to bed.  I set my book on the coffee table and followed her to the bedroom where performed the night time rituals of brushing our teeth and washing our faces before curling up in bed together.

“I’m sorry today was rough, but look at the bright side, tomorrow has to be better.”  

Skylar rolled over onto her side, facing away from me.

She’s right, it has to be better tomorrow.  It has to...

[HazelFox]

Should I continue?  If so I'll obviously get to the point.  This is just the intro

 

[NickG1998]

Please do continue this amazing story I love it already 

[HazelFox]

The next day arrived too soon.  I cracked open my eyes as the sun seeped through the curtains and beat on my eyelids.  I begrudgingly lumbered out of bed, not looking forward to what the wedding site looked like today.  

“You gonna call Chelsea today?”

I looked over at Skylar, who had just emerged from the bathroom, wrapped in a  towel from this morning’s shower.  

“I guess I’m gonna have to.  I actually hope she answers this time, and doesn’t leave me trying to call again and again.”

I got dressed an headed downstairs to fix us our morning coffee while trying to prepare myself for the wails I would be subjected to, going on and on about how the wedding was ruined now.   I guess I was growing more and more frustrated, as suddenly I felt a hand resting on top of the one I had been using to stir the coffee.

“I know you’re frustrated, love, but don’t take it out on the mugs.”

Skylar looked at me with her usual warm smile.

“Sorry, I just caught so caught up in this wedding I didn’t realize what I was doing.”

“Why don’t you grab some breakfast?”

It was a well known fact Skylar and I were not morning people.  Neither one of us felt like cooking in the mornings unless it was a special occasion, which meant we would just grab whatever was available.

Normally, I would have stayed to eat with Skylar, but I had opted to just head out to the venue to see what I was going to be up against, instead of repeatedly calling the bride.  I grabbed a banana, said bye to my wife and our dogs before heading out the door.

I arrived in a timely manner, parked and marched myself quickly yet collected to where the crew was setting up the tents again.  As soon as I set foot on the slick grass it flew forward and landed me on my back.  This was going to be a long day.  

After hours of going back and forth with Chelsea on why we should send out alerts that due to weather, we would be having an indoor wedding.  I finally gave in and allowed this girl to have an outdoor wedding that would involve a lot of people sliding around.  Hopefully she didn’t invite anyone elderly.

The hours trickled by, and before long it was time for the wedding to begin.  I couldn’t help but sympathize with the guests as I heard them grumble about how slick and muddy everything was.  Some of them appeared to be wearing very expensive shoes, ones that I hoped wouldn’t be ruined after this event.  

I found myself not really paying attention to the wedding, instead focusing on the growing scratchiness in my throat.

Yeah, that be about right, catch a cold from someone involved in the wedding preparations.

After the wedding had taken place, I just wanted to go home.  I was tired, my throat hurt to swallow and everyone was uncomfortable.  At least the sunset looked beautiful, shimmering and sparkling on the pond below. 

The reception was rather uneventful, which considering the days leading up to it, caused me much relief.  My sinuses ached and burned, and my throat was continuing to torment me, a sure sign I was getting sick.  Wedding season or not, I was not going to take any clients over the next couple of weeks.  No one would want to see their wedding planner reduced to a sneezy wreck, something that always happened whenever I got a cold.  

The reception ended at around 10 pm.  I bid everyone fair well and helped clean up.  My nose was already itching, but I refused to sneeze in front of everyone employed by the couple, especially when we were in such close proximity, gathering lanterns and folding up chairs.  Finally around midnight, I clambered into my truck, feeling rather chilled from the cool night air.  I text Skylar, figuring she was probably already asleep, and started the journey home.

Upon entering my house, everything was dark and eerily quiet.  My bones ached, the first thing I wanted to do was crawl into bed.  I started to head towards the stairs when I was stopped in my tracks.  Heh...  Apparently, the tickle in my nose had grown to great enough proportions to warrant a sneeze.  Although I didn’t really want to, with the pain in my throat, but I decided to let it happen.  

Heh... h-h ehh... I let out an audible groan, my chest expanding in preparation.  Oh man, it itches.  I moved my arm to be in front of my face, at the ready.

Heh.. HEH h-hhh  ATCHIEEEW 

That... definitely didn’t feel good on my throat, but at least the tickle was gone for now.  I made my way up the stares and plopped myself on the bed beside Skylar, her soft snores being the only sound in the room.  I was more than ready for a good night’s sleep.

[ichixshiro14]

Ooh this sounds like it's going to be a ride 😈 I'll bet such a bad cold is catching...

[Kolen]

Ooh I likey very much

very nice character development, I like how he is already doing his best to hide his oncoming illness *runs hands together* can't wait!

[prismaticpollen]

I love the way this is shaping up! It would be nice to see Skylar catch Levi’s cold, or to see her taking care of him.

[NotWho]

I love the way this is narrated! I’m excited to see how this plays out, I know it’ll be great!

[NickG1998]

I absolutely love this story the narrating is amazing keep up the great work 

[RipleyToo]

Love this story!! 

[HazelFox]

Hey guys!  I just wanted to inform you that I am working on a next part.  Life has just been really busy with college and then my car's alternator went out and my computer decided now is the perfect time to need a new motherboard, so yeah, things have been a little crazy

[SneezeAbbie]

No worries, life is pretty shitty sometimes. We’ll wait patiently for your return  

[EveP]

Life happens to us all. Take the time you need. Good things are worth waiting for.

[Kolen]

Take all the time you need meanwhile this story is waiting to be reread. Better get busy-

[HazelFox]

Hi guys, I swear I haven't forgotten about you.  My life has been turned upside down.  My car's broken down 3 times, so now I'm just gonna sell it for scrap metal and my dad is currently in the ICU and has been for over a week.  I'm a little distracted right now 😅

[EveP]

I hope things settle down soon and that your father has a speedy recovery. 🤗

[Kolen]

I hope when you get a new car it works wonderfully for at least a decade and a half, and I send my best wishes to your father!🥰