13: Where's a Bridezilla When You Need One?

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By the time I hear Teresa wake up the next morning and start to ruffle through her bags, I've only gotten three good hours of sleep

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By the time I hear Teresa wake up the next morning and start to ruffle through her bags, I've only gotten three good hours of sleep. It kills me to admit it, but Bay is that damn good.

In the stupid rom-coms, he's charming as hell.

In the moody, dark indie movies, he's so sympathetic that I find myself muffling my tears with my pillow.

Even after I finished binging the movies that I could find on Netflix, I scrolled YouTube the rest of the night watching Bay's interview clips, and I finally started to understand the world's fascination with him. He's refreshingly humble and shy, but funny and relatable at the same time. He says all of the right things, too: when asked about his physique, he changes the subject to his favorite ice cream flavors. When prodded about his humble beginnings, he lays on the southern accent like a thick blanket. It's like when he's in front of a camera, he has an entirely different persona from the one I know.

Long story short, I now understand why everyone has Bay Fever. And I really wish that I didn't.

"You look like a raccoon that tried drugs," Teresa says once we've dressed, moseyed our way downstairs, and sat at the kitchen table. Both of us clutch steaming, oversized mugs of coffee.

"Barely slept," I say, too embarrassed to admit the real reason why there are dark rings around my eyes.

"Still feeling bad?" Teresa asks sympathetically.

"I'm a lot better, actually," I say, perking up for my friend's sake. We're supposed to go looking at local venues for her wedding today, which is something I've been looking forward to for a while. God help me, nothing will ruin our plans if I can help it. "So, do you know what you're looking for in a venue? Does Ryan have any preferences?"

Teresa takes a measured sip of her coffee. "That's a good question. I'm not totally sure what he'd want."

I raise my eyebrows. "You haven't talked about it?"

"Oh, of course we have." She waves dismissively. "He's just not a very picky person. You know how guys are."

She stares intensely at her mug, as if distracted, and I'm about to prod a little further when my mother barrels into the kitchen like a bat out of hell. I jump and nearly give myself a third degree coffee burn.

"Mom! Everything okay?" I ask, and she runs around the kitchen, opening drawers and shoving envelopes off of the counter as if looking for something. Her hair is still wet from her shower.

"My keys, looking for my keys," she mumbles.

"Can I help, Mrs. Wheeler?" Teresa asks, eyes wide, and my mother slowly comes to her senses. She stills and takes a deep breath.

"Sorry, girls. I didn't mean to frighten you. I just got a call from the restoration place, and they're already on their way over to the B&B. With no warning." She huffs. "They'll need the original blueprints of the building, and I can't even remember where I keep them, so I need to get over there ASAP."

"Do you need any help?" I ask with a sideways glance at Teresa. I feel like a horrible person, but I hope to God that she says no.

"I think I can handle it, sweetie, thank you. Although–Oh, no." She presses a palm to her forehead and squeezes her eyes shut. "You might have to take Kayley to the costume contest."

My stomach sinks like a stone in a pond.

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