Say Yes by Mellie George

arms out.
                I stood up,
and walked to him.  “Mr. Grady!  Hi, how are you?” I asked, hugging him.
                “I’m doin’
fine, I’m doin’ fine. I thought I heard someone say you were back in my
diner.”  My eyes quickly flashed to the counter, and I saw Sam glaring at me,
and when our eyes met, she quickly looked away.  “So, how you been, girl?” he
asked, in his thick southern drawl.
                “I’ve been
great.  How’s your family?”
                “Oh, they’re
great, thanks for askin’.  Tell me about being a big chef in California.  You
haven’t tried stealin’ any of my recipes, have ya?”
                “As if I
could.  Your food is one of a kind.  Believe me, I’ve tried recreating some of
them, and I just can’t get them to taste as good as yours.”
                “Well, aren’t
you sweet? I knew there was a reason I always liked you, Lilly,” he said, with
a deep laugh.  “So, you staying in town for the holidays after Violet’s
weddin’? Which, by the way, thank you for invitin’ me to, young lady,” he
added, winking at Violet.  She smiled warmly back to him.
                “Well, that’s
the plan.  I thought since I was already here for the wedding I’d stay on until
Christmas.”
                “Well, it’s
good to have you home again, girl,” Mr. Grady said, giving me another quick hug
around the shoulders.  “Well, I’d better get back in the kitchen, I gotta make
your food!” he said, laughing.  “And, you ladies order whatever you want, as
much as you want, because it’s on the house.” We all started to protest, but he
shook his head and put his hands in the air.  “Now, don’t argue with me, my
mind’s made up.”
                “Thanks so
much, Mr. Grady.  It was great seeing you,” I said, kissing him on the cheek.
                He smiled, and
said, “Oh, enough of that now.  You keep that up, and I may never go back in
that kitchen.”  We all laughed loudly.  “You girls make sure you say goodbye
before you leave, you hear?”
                “Oh, yes sir,”
I said, taking my seat again.
                “Alright, I’ll
catch up with yun’s later,” he said, and walked back into the kitchen.  After
that warm welcome, my encounter with Luke’s ex girlfriend was all but
forgotten.
     
     
                After eating myself
into a pancake induced stupor, and looking through all of Violet’s plans from
her “Wedding Bible” as she called it, I felt like it had been a pretty
productive morning.  This wedding really was going to be beautiful.  She showed
me some sketches of her wedding dress, which was gorgeous . I could not wait to see her in it.  She also showed me a picture of Daisy in her bridesmaid
dress, and I was ecstatic.  They were beautiful, thank God.  Surprisingly, her
colors weren’t holiday themed, given the time of the wedding, which was only
five days before Christmas.  Our bridesmaid dresses were a delicate ice blue,
and the only difference in them was Daisy’s dress was strapless, and mine had
wide straps in order to distinguish us.  They were fitted at the top, and then
they started to flow out at the waist.  Over the ice blue satin lay a sheer,
almost tulle-like overlay, and the bottom of the dress flowed around like a sea
of crystal blue water.  They were so amazing, and I couldn’t wait to try mine
on.  Violet had really done an amazing job with this wedding.  She wanted it to
be like a winter wonderland, and I really think after seeing everything, she
was going to knock it out of the park. 
                Just then, I
glanced up at the clock on the wall, and noticed the time.  It was fifteen
minutes until eleven.  I started to panic a little bit.  Luke was going to be
here in fifteen minutes.  I glanced at my watch, and Daisy