Chapter Four:
As more and more people filed into the room Lou’s heart beat faster and faster. She knew she wouldn’t be able to endure an entire evening of this.
“I’ve gotta go find something to do.” She said to Cici over her shoulder as she walked away.
Maybe there was something to do in the kitchen. Some last minute detail to take care of. If nothing else at least it would get her away from all these people. Why did she always find herself seeking refuge in a kitchen?
“Who knows” she thought.
Then it happened. She was so lost in her own thoughts as she weaved through the tables in the reception hall that she didn’t even notice the man get up from his chair right in front of her. By the time she saw him it was too late to stop the collision...even though it all seemed to happen in slow motion. Just when she thought she was about to hit the table and send everything on it flying into the air she felt someone catch her. It was the man she had nearly run over. It was the man from her shop. Will.
“Good gracious Lou Ella! Are you trying to kill us all?” Remarked Angela.
Wonderful. Of course Angela gets a front row seat to her making a fool out of herself.
“I’m so sorry” said Lou as Will steadied her back on her feet.
“Are you ok?” He asked her.
“I’m fine.” She answered.
“Well we’re so glad you’re ok. Do you need someone to escort you the rest of the way?” Angela said as she and Will’s sister openly laughed at her.
“I think I can make it.” She replied and set off for the kitchen as fast she could.
When she finally made it there she looked around for any unfinished business. To her disappointment everything looked like it had been taken care of. She could hear outside in the main room that the Bride and Groom were being announced. They would have all the designated dances and then probably cut the cake. Maybe she could just stay in here for the rest of the night. She’d seen enough first dances and cake cutting to last her a life time. Maybe she could even sneak out the back and go home.
“Lou!” Layla said interrupting her train of thought. “Are you hiding in here?”
Layla knew her too well for her to get away with lying, but she did it anyway.
“No, I was just making sure everything was taken care of.”
“You know yall are way too organized for something to go undone. Come sit down with us. Everyone’s already talking about how good the food is. Plus I think they’re about to cut the cake!”
“Alright, I’m coming.”
Lou followed Layla back to the table she was sitting at and sat down with the rest of the people already there. As soon as she was seated she heard the DJ announce that the couple was about to cut the cake. She turned to watch along with everyone else in the room….except for him. Why was he looking at her like that?
Will instantly realized that Lou Ella had caught him looking at her and quickly looked away. He had been completely taken off guard with his reaction to her when she had almost knocked him over earlier. His first encounter with her had been nothing to pique his interest, but when he caught her in his arms something in his chest jumped. Maybe it was just the shock of nearly getting knocked over by this woman. Or maybe….no.
“It was nothing” he thought to himself. But he couldn’t help but take notice of her form as she had walked away from him and into the kitchen. It didn’t help that his sister and Angela had noticed him noticing her. They made some kind of remark, but he ignored their comments like he did most everything else they said. He loved his sister, but Angela Decker brought out the worst in her. They had been talking non-stop about every person that walked through the door the entire time they had been there. No wonder Angela’s husband didn’t want to come.
The couple finished cutting the cake and the DJ started playing music as everyone filled the dance floor. Will didn’t consider himself a very good dancer which usually didn’t bother him. He had had neither the occasion nor the desire to dance in years, but tonight for the first time in a very long time he wished he was light on his feet.
Lou stay seated as the rest of the couples at the table got up to go dance.
“You ok here?” asked Layla.
“Yeah! I’m fine.” She quickly replied. But she wasn’t fine. She was annoyed that she would be stuck sitting at this table for the rest of the night by herself. But the last thing she wanted was people feeling sorry for her. So she put on her best smile as she watched everyone dancing. She pretended that watching these people do the eclectic slide was the most interesting thing she had ever seen. Then she felt someone standing right behind her chair. She looked over her shoulder and knew it was Mark before she could even see his face.
“How ‘bout a dance?” He asked.
She took his outstretched hand and followed him to the dance floor. Just as they made their way to the floor the song that had been playing ended and a slow song began. She secretly rejoiced because strangely she wanted to be close to this man. This man that she barely knew.
“Have you been hiding from me?” Mark asked her as her took her in his arms and began to sway back and forth.
“What are you talking about? I haven’t been hiding.” She answered.
“Well I’ve been looking for you all night and haven’t been able to find you anywhere.”
Lou tried to keep the cheesy smile off her face. “Well I’ve been here. I guess you just weren’t looking hard enough.”
“He smells good” she thought to herself. She loved it when a guy smelled good. The last man she had been involved with had always smelled exceptionally well. Not overpowering, but noticeably good. That was one of the first things that she had been drawn to about him. Why was she thinking about him now? She hadn’t thought about him in months. No one knew that he was a big part of the reason she moved back home. He had broken her heart and she just couldn’t stand to keep running into him. So she bailed. Which made her feel like a pansy, but it was all she could think to do. But she wasn’t going to let him ruin this night. She was dancing with a really nice guy. And he smelled really good.
Will tried not to stare at Lou as she danced with some man he had never seen. Was that her boyfriend he wondered to himself? He spent the rest of the night trying to ignore the two of them as they danced. He sat at the table with Angela and his sister and did his best to seem uninterested in her. He knew Lou wasn’t paying any attention to him he just hoped his sister or even worse Angela wouldn’t catch him staring at her again. Then he overheard them say something that caught his attention.
“I guess Lou Ella may have finally found herself a man” quipped Angela.
“Why is she still single? She didn’t find anyone when she went of to the city?” asked Catherine.
“Oh she found someone, but I guess she just couldn’t hold onto him. No one really knows what happened. They were engaged to be married and then next thing we all knew she up and moved back here…with no more ring on her finger.”
“Poor girl,” said Catherine “maybe she’ll be able to hold onto this one.”
Angela and Catherine laughed together as they moved onto the examination of their next victim, but Will was stuck on what they had just revealed.
“She was engaged?” He thought. Well he for one hoped that she didn’t hold onto this new one.