My Old Friend

Chapter 15

TIM POV: I wake up to hear Liz yelling over the phone. 

"They have to be a faint yellow Darlene! Not like this highlighter orange you sent over." She screams. I groan as I drag myself out of bed. I slowly stumble over to the bathroom, where the beast herself is residing. She has curlers jammed in her mane, as she applies makeup. Her pink lip gloss shimmers as I pass. I brush my teeth and splash water on my face. 

"Mornin'." I say. She rolls her eyes at me. 

"Can't you see I'm on the phone?" She whispers sternly to me. I put my hands up in surrender and leave the room. 

I hate this house. She demanded that we move into her Monroe mansion. I don't like being further from my mom, but she doesn't care. She's three hours from her parents, which means many gruling trips down to Baton Rouge to be interrogated.

I know I'm too harsh on her, it's just all this wedding planning and everything... She's a bridezilla. I mean, that's all she's been doing for the past few months. She wants this massive, 'big easy' wedding down in New Orleans. Luckily, her parents are funding it. I hate huge weddings, but she insists we do it. 

It makes me think about the days where Audrey and I talked about eloping down at the city hall. We wanted something simple, and quick.

But long gone are the days of simple and quick. Liz is far more complicated. Everything has to be absolutely spotless and supreme, or else there will be a problem. Part of me loves her depth and devotion, but another part gets annoyed with how detailed she is about every little thing. 

"Hey baby, why don't we go to lunch this afternoon? You know, spend some time together." I recommend as she comes down stairs fully done up. Her bleached blonde curls bounce as she hops around the kitchen. She's wearing about a thousand tons of makeup on her face.

"Can't. Meeting with the wedding planner about the cake." She says, looking at her phone. I take a deep breath. 

"Alright, how 'bout dinner?" I suggest. She thinks for a moment before declining again. 

"I promised my mom I would meet her for dinner tonight. Sorry babe." She says, giving me a kiss on the cheek. Her lip gloss sticks onto my cheek. I wipe it off with my wrist. She heads out the door, taking the keys to her Mercedes.

"What to do... what to do..." I mumble to myself. Looking around the empty house. I sit down on the couch and take a breath. I look over towards my office. I have a case or two that I could work on... I contemplate this idea, until I quickly determine I'm not focused enough right now. The phone begins to ring, causing me to jump. I look at the clock to see it's eleven in the afternoon, which is much later than I originally interpreted. 

I pick up the phone, and a shy voice answers. 

"Hey... uh... hi." Audrey says softly. I sit up straight and rub my forehead. 

"Hey, you alright?" I ask. Her voice breaks, signalling that she is far from fine. 

"Yeah, yeah. You know, it's just early." She says, taking a deep breath. "Hey, Addie has been asking nonstop about you, and I know you have no obligation towards her... I was just wondering what you would like me to tell her." She finally gets to the point. I give a small smile and look down at my hand. 

"Tell her I'll be over in a half hour." I say, getting up and running upstairs. Audrey remains on the phone. 

"No, you don't have to... It's perfectly fine." She says. I laugh. 

"I have nothing to do today, so it's not a problem." I say. I can feel her smile through the phone. A long silence fills the air until she finally speaks up.