The planning
Planning a wedding can be stressful but planning a wedding in two months is beyond that.
Never the less, Holtz and Erin could not be any happier.
Whether they were discussing the colours of the decorations, who to invite or how to change their surnames at one or other point one of them burst out “We’re getting married!” as excited as humanly possible which often resulted in passionate kisses and discarded clothes decorating the floor.
“Okay, so, Abby, Patty, Kevin, Kevin’s dog, Dr. Gorin aaand my mother.”
Erin sighed.
“I haven’t even told her we’re together yet, never mind the wedding…”
Holtzmann took her hand and gently squeezed it.
“We’ll tell her tonight at dinner. I’m sure she’ll be happy for you.”
She pulled Erin into a tight hug.
That night Holtzmann was dressed in her very best suit and Erin had chosen a dark red dress.
“It’s gonna be fine, Ez.”
Erin blew a long breath…
“I hope you’re right.”
She really did.
Jillian opened the door for her and Erin greeted her mother with a wave. All she’d said on the phone was that she had something really important to tell her.
The woman was nervous as hell and frankly, so was Holtz. If Erin wanted this to go well so did she.
Erin’s mother’s expression could be not described any other way than simply surprised. It wasn’t exactly an expression of a positive surprise and yet it wasn’t negative either.
“Hi, Mom…” Erin smiled, one hand in Holtz’s, who extended her other arm towards Erin’s mother, initiating a handshake.
“Jillian Holtzmann.”
“Mom, Jillian is my fiancée. We’re getting married in December.”
Her heart was pounding at a speed Erin was certain could not be healthy. Jillian could feel her heartbeat though her palm.
“Hi. I’m Catherine. Erin, you didn’t tell me you were dating someone.”
Erin briefly looked down.
“So, you two are… engaged?”
“Yeah. Yeah, we are.” Erin’s tone, all the anxiety in it aside, was happy.
“Well, this is a surprise. I’m a bit shocked but… if you’re happy, I’m happy.”
She sat back down and so did Erin, Holtz making sure to pull the chair out for her before taking a seat herself.
“So, tell me about yourself.”
“Well, I’m a nuclear engineer and I am madly in love with your daughter.”
Erin blushed.
“Okay, what about the colours? We need to pick colours. Should we do two or three?”
“Go big or go home.”
They’d been sitting on the bed the entire day, Erin’s laptop resting in her lap, Holtzmann in constant movement. Right now her chin was resting on Erin’s shoulder, hands wrapped around her wife-to-be.
“Okay… Uh, blue, different shades of blue?” Holtzmann made a noise that indicated she wasn’t all for the idea.
“Blue and purple? And white?”
“I like purple.”
“Okay. What shades? Turquoise, I like turquoise. And lilac or iris or amethyst, we should do amethyst and just pure white, maybe, what do you think?”
“I didn’t understand half of what you said but you seem happy about it so I’m all for it.”
Erin blushed and Holtzmann was glad she hadn’t lost the ability to make her do that.
“Okay.” She picked up the notebook with the checklist, checking off ‘The colours’ and writing ‘-turquoise, amethyst, white’ next to it.
“Next is the flowers, so I was thinking we could just do roses but different colours, so if we’re going with turquoise, amethyst and white which are basically blue, purple and white we could do blue, purple and white roses. Roses have meanings, right, depending on the colours? Wait, I need to check their meanings...”
A brief pause followed.
“Okay, purple roses mean love at first sight.” She looked at Holtzmann and smiled.
“Perfect. Blue symbolizes mystery and ambiguity, makes sense and white is… Marriage and new beginnings, check.”
She was talking faster than Holtzmann imagined humanly possible, it was oddly endearing.
“How’s that sound?”
“Perfect.” Looking at Erin, that was the only word she thought of and it was the best word there was.
Erin smiled, followed by a long puff of air leaving her lips.
“We’re only through the first four on the checklist and I’m already overheating.”
Holtzmann laughed.
“We’ll get through this. What’s the next point?”
“The location.”
“Okay, what about the HQ’s roof?”
“I’d love that… Alright, the roof it is. What about the cake?”
“I want rainbows.”
“Jillian Holtzmann, have I mentioned that you have the cutest dimples?”
“Six times now. But it’s still nice to hear.”
She pecked her girlfriend on the lips.
Wedding shopping a month before the big day in the busy, holiday-spirited New York had been a rather interesting experience so far.
The two had based most their wedding decorations off of Pinterest projects and were currently skimming Home Depot for wooden planks that Holtzmann had insisted on having with ‘Pick a seat, not a side, either way it’s for a bride’ written on one of them, despite the wedding having no more than five guests, six counting Mike Hat.
Erin had decided to write ‘This way to the Holtzbert wedding’ on another one. Yes, they’d chosen to combine their last names.
“Shut up, it’s cute.” Erin had said when Abby cheerfully laughed at their decision but soon enough she was laughing with her.
“Hi, may I help you, what are you shopping for?” The woman seemed kind with a big smile on her face.
“Mason jaaars.” Jillian declared, as if she was declaring the beginning of the French revolution.
Erin laughed.
“Our wedding, actually.”
“Oh, well, congratulations to you two, what’s the theme?”
“Fast.” Erin laughed and Holtzmann nodded along.
“Why so?”
“Well, you know, what with Trump and Pence in the office…” She gave a small smile, earning a sympathetic look and an understanding nod.
“Well, is there anything I can help you find?”
“Yeah, thank you, we were actually looking for… well, wooden planks.”
“Hey, um, Abby, Patty, Holtz and I have something to tell you.” She said, grabbing the woman’s hand.
“We’re getting married. Cause I ain’t afraid of no wife.”
“And I’d like you to be my maid of honour, and also my only bridesmaid.” She laughed.
“And I was hoping you could be my best woman, Patty-cakes.”
Basically, they were tackled with hugs and congratulatory words.
“Remind me to never pain mason jars ever again.” Erin sighed. DIY-ng a wedding was not as easy as it sounded.
Holtzmann wrapped her arms around her.
“Why don’t we call it a night? We still got plenty of time and you’re almost done with the jars. Plus, I finally finished the signs, and yes, before you ask, they are absolutely, unquestionably, impeccably adorable. Like cute to an obnoxious level.” There was pride behind her words as her eyes looked into the distance, light reflecting in the sea blue eyes and making the blonde curls shine in the most perfect way possible.
“God, I love you so much. You’re the most beautiful being on this whole damn planet.”
They shared a kiss, one of those extravagantly good kisses, the weak-in-the-knees kind of kisses.