Meant to Marry Me

Sitting down at her laptop, Bree did a quick search for a getaway she might be able to fit into her schedule while she had the week off. The more she thought about going to the beach, the better it sounded. How long had it been since she had a real vacation? The cabin trip back in college definitely didn't count. She imagined herself sitting by the ocean, sipping a drink, letting her toes sift the sand as seagulls circled overhead and the sound of the waves soothed her to sleep. "That's it... I'm going to the beach!" Bree decided, doing a quick search for last minute getaways. She was browsing through available hotels in Key West when her phone rang. She considered ignoring it so that she could continue her search, but then she glanced over and saw that it was Lilly, her ex-college roommate. She hadn't spoken to her in weeks, though they'd been doing a better job of staying caught up than they had right out of college. Bree quickly swiped to answer. "Hello?"

"Hey, girl. How are you?" Lilly asked. "How's life treating you?"

Right away, Bree could tell that something was wrong. "I'm good, really good, Lill. How are you?"

Her friend groaned. "I'm okay. Things could be better."

"Oh, no. Is it your sister's wedding again?" A few weeks back, Lilly had called and told her she was running around like a crazy person trying to get her sister's wedding plans finalized. Monica was getting married, and Lilly was the maid of honor, which meant she was responsible for a lot of the details. Monica and Lilly were very close, but from the sound of it, her sister was a little bit of a bridezilla. Lilly had vented for an hour about how upset her sister had been when she'd accidentally ordered the flowers wrong--not the wrong flowers, but hadn't said something as specific as her sister wanted. "This is why they make wedding planners," Bree had reminded her, and Lilly had said she was many things, but that was not one of them.

"Yeah, it is her wedding," Lilly admitted. "Bree, I have a huge problem, and I don't know what to do about it."

"That doesn't sound good." Bree took a deep breath, preparing to try to help the girl who had always been so kind to her. "What is it?"

"Well, you see, my sister really likes country music, so she asked me to hire this local singer who does a lot of weddings in Gulf Shores. I called her months ago and thought we had it all worked out. I even put a down payment on the booking from my own money to make sure she had availability."

"Yeah?" Bree asked, wondering if this was going to go from a vent to the asking of a favor.

"Well, I called her to confirm this afternoon, and somehow, she ended up writing it down on her calendar wrong. She insists I told her the wedding was June 28, but it's not. It's next Saturday, June 18. I know what I said!"

"Oh, no, Lill. That's terrible! Is she going to give you your deposit back?"

"Nope, huh uh. She says it wasn't her fault, and if I want my $500 back, I'm going to have to sue her."

Bree shook her head. "That's a huge amount of money for a down payment." She'd never gotten that much for a wedding, let alone just the deposit. She'd only be playing one, maybe two songs after all. "Who was it? Martina McBride?" "No, her name is Mila Lune. Have you heard of her?"

"I can't say that I have," Bree admitted. "Has she released anything?"

"I don't think so. I don't know. She's popular in Alabama."

"That's good... for her. Gosh, Lilly, what are you going to do? Your sister must be furious."

"I'm sure she would be... if I had told her."

Holding back a chuckle, Bree said, "Yeah, I guess that would be one way to keep her from getting mad."

"You don't understand, Bree. I love my sister so much! But she's a nut when she's like this. She's insane! She makes those ladies on that show Bridezillas look like perfectly rational human beings."

"I wish I knew what to say, Lilly, but I don't know any musicians in Gulf Shores, Alabama."

"I know, sweetie. That's not why I called you."

"Oh, you just wanted to vent?"

"No, I was thinking... maybe you know a singer in Nashville who could help me out."

Bree started thinking of all the singers she knew who might be available on short notice and willing to go to Alabama to sing at a stranger's wedding. "How many songs?"

"Just one--during the ceremony."

"Uh, well, there are a couple of people who might be available. What date did you say? June 18?"

"Yes, but my sister has stuff planned from June 11-18. Not that they'd have to be here the whole time, but if they could come, she'd put them up in the hotel on the beach, and they could take part in all of the activities we have on our schedule. Or just hang out at the beach."

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"I could make some calls I guess...."

"That would be great, Bree, but actually... I was kind of wondering if maybe... you could do it."

"Me?" Bree was shocked. She wasn't expecting that. "But I don't even know your sister."

"Oh, I know, but she loves your music. Her fiancé does, too. She actually wanted me to ask you to begin with, but I told her you were busy because I didn't want to bother you, and then she saw this Mila chick singing your song on YouTube or some place and wanted her, so I called her instead. But if there's any way you're available...."

"My schedule is so full right now, Lill. Let me look at my calendar." Bree opened her calendar on her laptop and then realized the week Lilly was talking about was the week she was looking at going to the beach. "Oh, wait--did you say the eleventh through the eighteenth?"

"Yes." There was a hopeful lilt in her friend's voice.

"I have the twelfth through the nineteenth off. My manager scheduled it that way because she thought I needed a break and everything is about to get nuts after that. So...."

"So... you can do it?"

Bree wanted to make sure before she said yes, so she checked a couple of other things. She had nothing scheduled. The wedding was at the beach, which is where she was just looking. Gulf Shores was beautiful, even if it wasn't the Florida Keys. "Yes, I can do it."

Lilly squealed so loudly, Bree had to hold the phone away from her ear. "This is great! Thank you so much Bree! Monica is going to be so absolutely thrilled! I will let her know and then get you an itinerary and all the details. It's cool that you won't be here the first day. If you wanna come later in the week, just let me know, but she's basically had her fiancé rent out the entire hotel because she doesn't want anyone else around." "Gosh, he must be loaded."

"Don't ask me. I don't talk about money with them." She sounded a little hostile about that, so Bree let it go. "You are so amazing, girl! I'm so happy! Thank you so much!" "I'm just glad I'm available. This is the first week I've had off in so long, I can't remember when."

"Now I feel bad. If you don't want to...."

If you're loving the book, nel5s.org is where the adventure continues. Join us for the complete experience all for free. The next chapter is eagerly waiting for you! "No, it's fine. I was going to go to the beach anyway. This way, I'll get to see you and spend some time relaxing. It sounds like you're going to be awfully busy, though." "Yeah, I'm guessing so, though there is a wedding planner at the resort, so that's something. All right. I'll let you go so I can talk to Monica. Thanks again, Bree." "Sure--but Lilly, what song does she want me to sing?"

"Oh, right. 'Meant to Marry Me' of course."

Bree was quiet for a moment. "Does she realize that song isn't actually about getting married."

"I mentioned it to her, but she said it's perfect and that her fiancé loves it, too. She says it's the only song she's ever seen him get emotional over, whatever that means. I don't think he has any say in anything, so at least he'll be happy when he hears a song he likes, I guess. Anyway, there's no changing her mind."

Taking a deep breath, Bree said, "Ookay. Do you have my email address?"

"I do--breematthewssings at gmail.org."

"That's it."

The girls said goodbye, and Bree hung up, wondering if this was a good idea. She had a stirring inside of her, like something big was about to happen. Maybe she'd sing at the wedding, and her sister would hate it. Or maybe she'd go to the beach and meet the man of her dreams. Whatever it was, it seemed important.

No longer needing to find a place to go, Bree decided instead to do her homework on Gulf Shores to see if there was something she wanted to do while she was there that might not be on the itinerary. She also wanted to watch that YouTube video of the cover of her song. She hadn't even realized anyone was covering her. Part of her was flattered, and part of her was scared.

Lilly had mentioned that Monica and her fiancé were big fans, which was cool. If her career kept trending the way it was, she wouldn't be able to do weddings or small gatherings anymore soon enough, not without causing a big stir anyway. It was a great feeling to know how far she'd come.

At least she'd get to see Lilly again, the best roommate a girl could ever have. Even if everything else was a disaster, it would be worth it because of that. "Gulf Shores, here I come," Bree said, finding a smile. She was ready to go find the sun.