“Well I think Chris is crazy and I am the one agreeing to marry him like this,” Lexi pushed the door open with her palms expecting to see what she had explained in detail. The theme had been starry night. Everything was supposed to be hues of midnight blues against crisp whites. The tables were to have midnight blue linens with bright white china and sparkling crystals that refracted the light from the centerpieces so that one felt like they were among the stars. The ceiling was the holographic image of the Nepalese sky where Chris tried to get Lexi to focus on something other than the fact they were lost. In one corner a five-tiered wedding cake stood almost as if it were a piece of art. The icing was midnight blue. The layers were encrusted with edible sugar crystals so that when one ate it they could eat a piece of heaven The crystals cascaded down the tiers becoming more sparse so that the night sky imagery could be seen. A top was a calligraphy S symbolizing the martial name. Everything was supposed to be breathtaking and while it was not what Lexi expected, it did take her breath away.

“Oh my god,” Jaime said slowly surveying the room. Since she had no idea what to expect, the sight was hard to comprehend.

“Oh Lexi,” Meghan put a hand on what was supposed to be her future sister-in-law’s shoulder. “Maybe we could,” she tried to be positive but this was one of the few times even a miracle could not save the day.

“Ahh hmm,” the maitre d’ cleared his throat announcing his arrival behind the trio of women. At least for the moment, Ms. Garfield seemed to be taking the news much better than he anticipated. “I am so very sorry Ms. Garfield. We did not think anything of Mr. Schmidt entering the room. He told the staff he wanted to make a few last minutes changes for you. We thought you would be surprised. Unfortunately, as you can see the room is now unusable. Since he only tampered with the items you supplied there is not much we can do, however, if you choose to press legal charges we have him at least entering the room. I am truly sorry,” the maitre d’ apologized as he gave a slight bow and backed out of the room. While he felt sorry, there was little he could do except clean up and set up or the next reception that was scheduled for eight hours from now.

Stunned, Lexi put her fingers to her lips as if to stifle any reply attempting to come out as she looked at her dream. The room looked as if a full on brawl had occurred here.
There was so much to take in that Lexi started with the tables. The flower centerpieces had all the blooms ripped off and strewn about like blood spatter in a homicide. The crystal vases within the flowers were shattered at varying heights indicating they were struck with something like a baseball. Jagged hunks of glass rose from a bed of stems making it appear like a splintered bone rising from some macabre grave.

“Lexi maybe we should call Chris,” Meghan said as Alexandra took a tentative step into the room. Looking at her other sister in law, Meghan had no idea what to do as Lexi seemed to be in a daze.

“No,” Lexi said sharply cutting her off as she moved into the room more. The crinkle and crunch from the shards of glass beneath Lexi’s feet echoed off the walls and floor. To Jaime, it sounded like a re-enactment of the initial destruction with each step Lexi took. Leaning over, Lexi picked up a hand-etched crystal wine glass of the night sky. “This was the wedding favor. At the top here,” Lexi pointed to the top of the little dipper, “is Polaris. It is in the constellation of Ursa Minor. Ursa Minor is also called little bear because Pooh is just a little bear,” Lexi’s voice caught in her throat. She set the glass down gingerly on the table knowing it might be the only one left.

“Honey it is going to be okay I promise,” Jaime came up behind Lexi and hugged her shoulders. The state of the room left many questions but the one that burned the brightest was why Lexi was marrying Toby when everything about this room screamed Chris. There would be time to find out more. Right now her heart went out to Lexi. The cake in the corner had obviously been sampled with someone’s fist having each tier smashed and the center cored out. The final insult was the holographic display of the night sky flickered on and off with an obscene message about Lexi’s virtue scrolled in bright red.

Turning her face around Jaime mouthed for Meghan to get Chris. No one but him was going to have a chance of fixing this and there was no chance at fixing anything. The maitre d’ was correct. Nothing could be salvaged for the reception Lexi and Chris had planned to have here even ten hours from now.

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Outside the reception doors
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As Chris and his brother’s turned the corner to enter the room, they would see Jaime and Meghan pacing outside the door. Meghan was wiping her eyes with a tissue indicating she had either been crying or was just trying to stave off tears. Jaime took a deep breath as she saw Chris approach.

Lexi