ALMOST HEAVEN

Chapter 19

Later that night everyone had gone home and Clyde was eating his third slice of pumpkin pie at the dining room table. Laurel sat across from him watching him eat.

"I can't help but admire how much you can eat, Clyde, and still stay thin."

"My daddy was the same way. I take after him. And it's your fault I'm always eating this much."

"How you figure?"

You keep making this good food for me. You got anymore of that whipped cream you made?"

Laurel got up and got the bowl of whipped cream out of the fridge. She grabbed a spoon and put some on his pie. He looked up at her, making a sad face. She burst out laughing and gave him another spoonful.

She sat back down. "So, you've really given some thought to our wedding, haven't you?"

"I didn't mean to blindside you there, Laurel. I shouldn't have said anything without talking to you first."

"It's all right, Clyde. I think it's really sweet you been thinking about it."

"Haven't you given it some thought? You knew I was going to ask you at some point. You never thought about how the wedding would be?"

Laurel thought out her next words. "I have to be honest, Clyde, I never thought about a wedding. I just thought, Clyde and I will get married. We'll be husband and wife and that was what I was looking forward to, what I was thinking about. Living my life with you and you know, all the things that come with marriage."

'Hmm. Are you wanting something like just a justice of the peace down at the courthouse?"

"Clyde, that's the thing. I haven't thought about the ceremony. I wasn't one of those girls who had some idea of a big fancy wedding. I had a girlfriend in high school who had this Pinterest board all about what she wanted for her wedding. That wasn't for me."

Clyde put down his fork. "You didn't want anything like that?"

"It wasn't that I didn't want it. It's that I knew it wouldn't happen to me. What was the point of thinking about it? I only had one friend who had a big glamorous wedding. My parents did get married down at city hall. No one had any money for that sort of thing."

Clyde was quiet as he thought about what she said. "Laurel, you don't have to make any decisions right away. Take some time to get comfortable with the idea. I would like to have a ceremony with family and friends."

"A ceremony would be nice. We could have it here at the house. Maybe rent one of those tents. I could do the food."

"That's a thought. Why don't you just take some time to think about it, ok?"

"All right. What do you think about June for the wedding?"

Clyde grinned. "June is a real pretty time of the year, angel. I like that idea."

Clyde took Laurel out the next weekend to Eliot Springs for dinner. Laurel was surprised when they turned into the entrance for Eliot Springs. To the right was a sprawling mansion, lots of wood shingles and rock walls. They continued down the driveway past the mansion and the immediate gardens to an old barn like building. Clyde parked in the crowded parking lot. He hopped out of the car and came around to open the door for Laurel.

"I had no idea there was something this grand in this area," Laurel said. "That house was a hotel?" She pointed back to the mansion.

"Yup, supposed to be modeled after some place out west. It was built around 1900. They built it for wealthy West Virginia coal mine owners and politicians. It did all right for a while but the Depression hit and the hotel went into a downward spiral. It's been a lot of things. Once it was a monastery and then a drug rehab place. About ten years ago, a couple from Parkersburg bought the place and renovated it. After the hotel was renovated to an event center, the couple renovated this building to make a restaurant. The restaurant used to be an old grinding mill back in the early 1900s. You'll be surprised by this place, Laurel."