Gulf Coast Wedding by Maggie Miller
Chapter Twenty-six
Travis headed outside to dump another roll of carpet padding into the dumpster that had only just arrived. They were making good progress. With him and Levi working on the carpet removal, and Denise taking off the cabinet doors in the kitchen, things were moving along nicely.
As he heaved the roll into the dumpster, Mia pulled up. She hopped out of her car. “Hey, how’s it going?”
“Pretty well. How’s the wedding planning?”
“Great. Reverent Bartholomew is all set.”
“That’s good to hear. We’d be a little stuck without him. I realize Agatha could do it, but I’m not sure she’s ever actually done a wedding before.”
“I have a feeling she’d prefer being a guest.” Mia walked around the car. “But Reverend Bartholomew is exactly who I wanted to talk to you about.”
“Oh? Is there a problem?”
“Not with the wedding.” Her eyes filled with concern suddenly. “But I just came from his house. He’s a widower and it’s clear that not much has changed in that house since his wife passed. I think he’s struggling to keep up with things a little bit. The landscaping specifically. I was thinking maybe we could take a day and maybe mow his yard. Cut his bushes back. Trim the palms. That sort of thing. Especially considering that he’s performing the wedding in exchange for the meal.”
Travis nodded in immediately understanding. “I’m sure Levi and I can make that happen. And I’m happy to give him some money for the service. He doesn’t need to do it for free.”
Levi came out of the house, a roll of carpet over his shoulder. “Did I hear my name? Hey, Mia.”
“Hi, Levi.”
Travis stepped back from the dumpster. “How about some day you and I head over to Reverend Bartholomew’s place and work on his landscaping? Mia said it needs some upkeep and it’s getting harder for him as he gets older.”
Levi tossed the carpet in, then brushed his hands off. “He’s the guy officiating for us, right?”
Mia nodded. “Yes. And he offered to do it just for the meal afterwards.”
“But I’m going to give him some money, anyway,” Travis said.
“Sure,” Levi said. “And I’m happy to contribute to his fee.”
“That’s great, you guys. I’m going to talk to my mom about it, and the decision will be based on his performance at the wedding, but if all goes well, tomorrow after the wedding dinner I’d like to offer him the designation as our official officiant for all weddings performed at the inn. That won’t be much at first, but it will give him a little more income.”
Travis liked that idea. “That’ll help some. More so as things get going, because I think the inn is going to become a popular spot for weddings. Lots of people know the Kingston’s, and after Beth gets married there, word will spread.”
“That would be awesome.” She glanced past them at the house. “You mind if I take a peek inside? I haven’t seen the place yet.”
“Not at all,” Levi said. “Come on in. My mom’s working in the kitchen taking cabinet doors off.”
She followed them in. “Wow, you got all the carpet up already. You’ve been hard at work.”
Travis nodded. “We have been. Watch out for the tack strips, though.” He pointed to the nail spiked wooden pieces that lined the floors perimeter. “We don’t have all of those up yet and if you step on one, you’ll regret it.”
“Yikes, I bet.” Mia seemed to take inventory of where the remaining ones were.
Levi stared at the ones he’d left behind. “I should probably get those up next before working on the next room.”
Denise peeked around the corner. “I thought I heard Mia. How are you?”
“I’m great,” she answered. “Just came from Reverend Bartholomew’s and he’s all set to do the wedding.”
She smiled. “Wonderful. Isn’t he a lovely man? When he first retired to Blackbird Beach, he filled in a few times when Pastor Crouch was away or under the weather.”
“He is very nice,” Mia answered. “I think he’s struggling a little with keeping up with things. Just age, you know.”
“That poor man. We should have him over for dinner.”
Levi nodded. “That would be good. Travis and I are going to go over and work on his landscaping. Mia said it’s a little overgrown.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful.” Denise looked at Mia again. “Were you in his house?”
“I was.”
“How is it? Do you think I should go with them and do a little cleaning?”
Mia seemed to think about that. “It probably couldn’t hurt. He’s got a lot of stuff in there. And while I wouldn’t say it was dirty, some maintenance couldn’t hurt. There were some dishes in the sink. A little dust here and there. A random cobweb. The carpet needed vacuuming, that sort of thing.”
“Nothing I can’t handle.” She glanced at Levi. “What day are you going over?”
He shrugged. “Depends on Travis’s schedule, I guess.”
Travis hadn’t thought about it. “We could go tomorrow. Knock it out. With the two of us, it shouldn’t take that long.”
Levi nodded. “I can do that. Mom, what do you think?”
Denise shrugged. “Sounds good to me. But don’t you think we should call him? Make sure it’s okay?”
“Probably not a bad idea,” Travis said. They wanted to help the reverend, not make him feel like he was being ganged up on.
“I’ll call him,” Denise said. “I try to say hello to him whenever I see him at church functions.”
Mia smiled. “Thank you. And I’m happy to help with all of that too. Inside or outside. Wherever I’m needed most. After all, I’m the reason you’re all going over there.”
Travis narrowed his eyes. “Can you afford to with all the wedding stuff you need to do?”
“I can spare a few hours to help out.”
“Okay. I’m glad you let us know about him,” Travis said. He hated to think of a senior needing help and not getting it. “We’ll make sure everything’s in top shape by the time we’re done.”
“Well,” Mia said. “Do you mind if I have a quick look around before I go? Still have some wedding errands to run, but I wanted to see the house.”
“Not at all, feel free.”
“Thanks.” She spent a few minutes peeking in the bedrooms, but it didn’t take long to see the place. When she came back, she grinned at Levi. “This place is going to be amazing when you get it all done.”
He nodded. “I agree.”
“Nervous about the ceremony at all?”
“Not the least little bit.” He was suddenly all smiles. “I can’t wait actually.”
Mia pointed at him. “That’s perfect. Every groom should answer like that. Okay, see you all later. The house looks great! Someone let me know about the time tomorrow.”
Travis nodded at her. “I will.”
“Thanks.” She took off with a wave.
Denise took her cell phone out and stepped onto the lanai to call the reverend.
“No nerves?” Travis asked.
“Nope. Why?” Levi’s eyes narrowed. “You think I should be?”
“I think you should feel however you need to feel. But nerves wouldn’t be strange. Even as sure as you are of things.”
Levi seemed to take that in. “I really just can’t wait to begin our life together. The way it should have been all along.”
Travis let a hint of a smile bend his mouth. He couldn’t argue with that. He clapped Levi on the shoulder. “The sooner we get this house done, the sooner your life here can start. Let’s see if we can get the rest of the carpet done before one of us has to pick up Clayton from school. Who’s doing that, by the way?”
“I was, but my mom’s going to get him now. That way you and I can work a little longer.”
“Sounds good.” Denise and Clayton should get some time together to get to know each other a little better.
Levi grabbed a pry bar and headed for the front room. “I’ll be working on the tack strips. Yell if you need me.”
“Will do.” Travis was about to return to the bedroom he’d been working in when Denise came back in. “Did you get a hold of the reverend?”
She nodded. “I did and he was tickled that we want to come over and help. He was so thankful. He said he has a working lawn mower and some other yard equipment that you’re welcome to use. I told him we’d be over around nine. Is that okay or too early?”
“Nope, that’s perfect. Glad to hear he’s got a mower, too. That means I don’t have to haul one over there. Thanks for calling him.”
“Of course. I think after I pick Clayton up from school, he and I will make some banana bread to take over to the reverend as well.”
“Good. Clayton could use some domestic skills.” Travis smiled. Tomorrow morning, they’d do a good deed for someone who greatly deserved it.
And then tomorrow evening, Travis would get to watch his daughter marry a very good man.
Tomorrow was going to be an outstanding day.