Page 105 of Bridesmaid Undercover
Everly grips my arm. “The movie wouldn’t have been the same without her.”
“It wouldn’t have,” I continue. “And when David Foster told Kevin Costner that the slow start of ‘I Will Always Love You’would never play on the radio, Kevin said he didn’t care—he wanted that version of the song.”
“And look what happened,” Everly says. “Number one song for fourteen weeks straight. Eat that, David. Even Dolly Parton said she forgot about licensing use of the song, and when she heard Whitney’s version for the first time on the radio, she said no one would ever sing it better.”
“Because Dolly knows best,” I say. “Did you know she took the money she made from the royalties of ‘I Will Always Love You’and built a school with it? She calls it the school Whitney built.”
“I didn’t know that,” Everly replies. “God, I love Dolly so much.”
“How could you not?” I ask. “Although, I saw this meme about her the other day that said, I love Dolly so much and she’s a gift to this world, but why couldn’t she have sung about working 11–3 instead?”
Everly lets out a laugh, the sound so sweet. “I mean, I bet if Dolly sang about it, we would have complied as a society.”
“Easily.” I smile down at her, wondering why the hell I can’t have such an easy conversation like this with Maple? More of that doubt starts creeping in, doubt I wasn’t ready to face today.
Everly lets out a sigh. “Well, if you think the foursome will help you and Maple, I’m up for it, but can it be a dinner? Nothing active like bowling or mini golf or…painting a picture while drinking wine.”
“I heard paint and sip is a lot of fun,” I say.
“I don’t need to get drunk to know I’m terrible at painting—I can tell you right here, right now, that a paint brush should never be in my hand.”
“That surprises me,” I say. “Given your creative nature, I’d think you could paint.”
She shakes her head. “Terrible at it.”
“Well then, a simple dinner it is. I know a few places that are pretty casual and offer a vibe that could work for a foursome.”
“Is that the official term we’re riding with?” she asks.
“I think so, unless you want something more complicated.”
“Please, entertain me with a more complicated term.”
Smirking, I say, “Hmm, we could call it ‘the foundation of double dating trickery created and brought to you by Professor Plum and Henrietta Hopper.’”
“Ooo, now that has a nice ring to it. Especially enjoyed the usage of ‘trickery.’”
“We can make bracelets for the occasion,” I say. “You know, like those friendship bracelets that are lyrics to a song, but with just the beginning letter to each word. Ours could be…” I think about it for a second. “Uh…TF…ODDT…what else did I say?”
She chuckles. “Maybe we just call it the foursome.”
“Might be best,” I say. “I can still make commemorative bracelets.”
“You make a few pom-pom garlands and now you’re a master at stringing all the things.”
I place my hand on my chest. “You’ve unlocked something inside of me that I don’t think I can stuff away. A man must string.”
She laughs. “Well, I look forward to my bracelet. Okay, I’m going to get back to work. Go mingle, have fun. Maybe eat a few of those meatballs because my God, if you don’t, I might eat them all.”
“In that case…” I move away from her and straight to the meatballs. When I glance over my shoulder at her, she’s smiling brightly and shaking her head at me.
See, everyone…just friends.
“Now that everyone is gone,I can give you my present,” I say to Polly and Ken who are sitting in their special wicker chairs, looking exhausted from the day’s events.
The shower went off without a hitch and it’s all because of Everly. She was running around everywhere, taking charge, making sure Polly, the moms, and Maple could enjoy themselves rather than worrying about the food, the drinks, or the guests.
“You didn’t have to get us anything,” Polly says as I hand them a card from the inside of my suit jacket. “The pink suit was a present in and of itself.”
