to make things awkward | fillie

21 | marvelous auntie ave

Millie was staring at a blank wall,  her hands straining to keep hold of several crystal bar glasses when she asked her fiancé, "Where's the bar cart?" She tried to camouflage the annoyance in her tone, not wanting to reignite either of their fighting spirits.

"I thought you said to put it in the laundry room." He said, popping his head up over the fridge door.

"Why would I do that?"

"I thought Ava was still doing that cleanse?" He looked genuinely confused and she determined it was sweet that he was thinking of little details like that, so she relaxed a bit. He was trying.

"That was two months ago, love." she said, "I'll get it."

The two of them had been ravenously preparing for their dinner all afternoon. It had started out a bit contemptuous since the morning had been overtaken by a series of arguments starting with Millie informing Jake that she was uninterested in signing on to his movie, and ending with him saying that he didn't see how they were going to be able to plan their wedding with so many miles between them, so why even get married?

She broke down in tears before he rescinded his comment and they took a whole hour making up and taking back all the harsh words they both said. But at least now they had an understanding. Although that understanding cost precious time and now they were frantically trying to prepare different hors devours while waiting for the main course to arrive via postmates.

As Millie wheeled the bar cart out of the laundry room and back to its rightful place off the kitchen, she felt thankful that Lucy wasn't here to see her and Jake like this. She didn't want to hide her true self, but since Lucy had just met Jake, Millie wanted these initial memories to be brighter than this moment. Most people preparing for a dinner party were more chaotic versions of themselves than they probably wanted to be. It wasn't just Millie and Jake. But Lucy didn't need to see that so soon.

Finn had taken her to the studio again, and Noah tagged along. It was a bit weird to her that Finn and Noah were spending so much time together. Sure they were friends, but Noah was Millie's best friend, and normally, if he was in town, he wanted to be at her side at least ninety-nine percent of the time. And she typically wanted him there. But again, she was more than a smidge grateful that he hadn't been present to see the versions of herself and Jake that had reared up today. He might have had more opinions than she wanted.

"Time check?" Jake called out.

She looked at the clock, "T-minus thirty minutes."

"Head-count still the same?"

She checked her phone to see if there were any new messages. They invited Elsie to join, but Finn hadn't responded with a firm yes or no yet.

"Still no response, so yeah, still the same." She said.

"Are they official yet?" Jake asked, walking an overflowing vase of sunflowers to the dining table.

"They're too hard to read." Millie said, touching up the arrangement, "But I think they will be soon. He certainly wants to be."

Jake turned his head down to her with a broad smile on his face, "Good." Then he kissed her.

Something about the way he said good made her feel annoyed again, but she wasn't about to get upset this close to guests coming over.

"Now all we need is the chicken." Jake said, looking pleased with their spread. There was baked brie, bread, a charcuterie board with meats, cheese, and veggies. Another with just fruit, and then the doorbell rang.

"Ah, no," Jake sighed, his hand running through his hair, "The chicken's gonna get cold before they all get here."

But when he opened the door, it wasn't a delivery person, but Ava.