love in the time of trash fires

Now that Max was almost fully better, Athena was focused more on actually planning her wedding. The only trouble was, she didn’t really have any female friends to talk wedding plans with and she felt a little overwhelmed with the options she found for venues and color schemes and caterers. She was frowning intensely at a catalog when Michael walked by. He halted and backtracked to where she was sitting at the clinic lunch table and chuckled.

“Honey, you’re planning your wedding, not doing open heart surgery. Why do you look so intense?”

Athena sighed. “I don’t know. I think I’m just nervous.”

“To get married?”

“No. I’ve never been nervous about Max. I guess I’m just worried…that I’ll mess the wedding up somehow.”

“You can’t mess it up. It’s your wedding. Whatever will make you happy is correct. And don’t worry about cost, either. I’m not exactly a church mouse and I am more than happy to pay for anything that my little girl wants on her special day.”

Athena smiled slightly as he kissed the top of her head.

“I know,” she said. “Thanks. Wait, what are you doing with that tape?”

Athena narrowed her eyes. “You’re making a finish line, aren’t you? You and Max are racing office chairs again.”

“What? Don’t be ridiculous.” Michael was already backing out of the room. “This is a professional place of business.”

“You’re both fired!” she shouted after him. She rolled her eyes and glanced back down at the catalog and color swatches she’d been looking at, thinking about what her dad had said. None of these posh venues felt right. She sat back, thinking about things she and Max had done since they met. They used to go out on late night dates after his races, and when they’d been together for six months they’d stumbled across a weird bar called The Curio Shoppe. It was part of a hotel, and it seemed whoever built it had never been able to settle on any one theme. The whole place felt retro and sci-fi at the same time. The vibe was fun and the bartenders were nice; they’d gone there quite a few times since.

Athena glanced at the calendar and realized that their three year anniversary was less than three months away. Ideas started running through her head and she pushed the catalog aside, scribbling things down on a notepad. When they got home, Athena plopped next to Max on the couch.

“I think I may have figured some things out for the wedding,” she said nervously. “I wanted to run them by you before I did anything.”

“Athena, you know I’ll be fine with anything you choose. I’m just happy to be there.”

“It’s still our day,” she insisted. “I want you to like everything.”

She went over what she had come up with, and Max cracked a smile.

“I think it sounds perfect,” he said. She started making arrangements over the next few days, securing a date and a venue and starting to fill out invitations. The guest list was small but she still wanted to send the pretty invitations she’d found. It made everything feel more real.

Saturday they were off from the clinic and Athena was making the bed when there was a knock at the door. She heard Max open it and froze when she heard him say, “Mom? What are you doing here?”

“I’m here to meet the girl my little Maxie is marrying.”

Athena cautiously peeked into the living room to see Max with a woman with big hair and a lot of jewelry, and a much younger man. She recognized Margie from pictures she’d sent Max.

“Oh, and there she is!” Margie exclaimed. “Well don’t be shy, dear, I’m not going to bite you.”

Athena shuffled into the room. “Um. Hello, it’s nice to finally meet you—oof.”

Margie gave her a surprisingly strong hug and Athena tried not to choke on the strong floral perfume.

“You’re just a doll. Maxie, you didn’t tell me your fiancée was so gorgeous.”

“Doesn’t anyone ever call before dropping by anymore?” Max asked. Margie waved a hand.

“Oh, hush. You told me you’re getting married, you should’ve expected I’d stop by. Now, honey. What do you need? Do you have a dress yet? Your something borrowed, your something blue, all that?”

“N-no,” Athena stammered, feeling a little dazed. “I don’t have anyone to go dress shopping with and I guess I’ve been kind of avoiding it.”

“Well that won’t do at all. I’ll take you. We’ll get you something perfect. Maxie, you and Fernando behave till we get home.”

“Wait, what?” Max frowned. “Fernando has better places to be.”

“Maxie don’t be a sourpuss, it’s bad for your skin. Come on, sweetie.”

Athena barely managed to grab her purse before she was dragged out of the apartment. She threw a bewildered shrug at Max and then rode down to the lobby with Margie, who summoned a cab.

“We’re going to get you everything you need,” Margie said. “The dress, the shoes, the wedding night goodies.”

Athena flushed as the cab driver shot them a look in the rear view mirror.

“Oh,” she said. “You really don’t have to—“

“Nonsense, of course I do. Maxie told me you were feeling a little down because of your own mother. And a girl needs someone to take her wedding shopping, so here I am.”

Athena smiled slightly, feeling a little less like a scared turtle. Margie was a big enough personality to share with half a dozen other people, but it was kind of nice not having to shop for her dress all alone. They went to a cute wedding boutique that served mimosas while you shopped and Margie kept up a steady stream of chatter and cooed over how Athena looked in every dress she tried on. Athena felt like she was going to collapse from exhaustion from trying on so many when she found the one she wanted.

It was strapless and had beadwork across the bodice, and a long cream colored train trailing behind it; with a slit up the skirt that was flirting with the line of inappropriate. She told the salesgirl she wanted it, and the girl looked a little relieved. Athena shot her an apologetic smile since they’d been there so long, and handed over the dress so they could make some small adjustments before she came to pick it up.

Margie took her to lunch after that for some rejuvenation, asking Athena all about how she and Max met and swapping gossip. Then she dragged her out for more shopping and Athena almost melted with embarrassment when Margie really did take her into a lingerie store. But she had to admit that she had fun bouncing around town with Margie, and she did manage to cross a lot of wedding items off her list.

By the time Margie got her home and made her promise to come out with her again while she was in town, Athena didn’t feel bad about Veronica’s absence anymore. Max looked relieved to see her come home, and once Margie and Fernando were gone Athena drooped onto the couch next to him.

“I think my feet are numb, and I am exhausted,” she said. “But your mom is fun. And I got a dress.”

“That’s good,” Max said, kissing her forehead. “Fernando is less fun and I got a lecture about how all of us should go vegan. Including Zip.”

Athena laughed softly. “Do you want a burger for dinner?”

“Absolutely.”