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"We should go."

Conrad looks over from the driver's seat with a playful frown, "You hate antique shops."

"I don't hate them." Liz clarifies

"The last time our moms took us, you almost had a heart attack."

"Because Dakota convinced me that majority of the shit in there was haunted." She says, "I was like, 8."

"What would we even get in an antique shop?"

"I don't know." Liz mutters, "A nice lamp."

"A lamp?"

"We need a lamp for the living room." Liz says, "One that stands, not for the table."

"Okay." Conrad chuckles

Liz sits up suddenly, "Is that Belly?" Conrad looks over as they watch Belly try to balance her bags on her bike handles, "Pull over."

Conrad does a u-turn and pulls up on the curb. As soon as he puts the car in park, Liz jumps out, "Come on, we'll give you a ride."

Belly looks up, "You're busy, remember? I'll bike."

Conrad appears beside Liz, "You're not gonna be able to with all that stuff."

"Well, it's too much trouble. The bike's not gonna fit in the car."

"We can put the seats down."

Belly looks between them, "Okay, fine. I'll drive. Take the bags, I'll take the bike."

Conrad stares back at her with a deadpan expression before taking the bike. As he turns toward the car, he calls out, "Liz, you take passenger."

Belly rounds the front of the car as Conrad works on getting the bike in. Liz hops in the other seat while Belly places her bags on the floor in the back. They hear the trunk close before Conrad hops in the seat behind Belly.

The three look over as the bike adjusts. Liz looks up to Conrad, "You gonna be okay back there?"

"Yeah."

Liz looks over at Belly as the girl nods, "Okay."

•••

The car ride had been silent for majority of the time. It had been a tad bit awkward, but not uncomfortable. Conrad reaches forward and grabs the stamps Belly set on the center console, "These for the wedding invitations?"

"Yeah." Belly nods as Conrad sets the stamps back down, "Taylor said I have to get them hand canceled. Whatever that means."

"Canceling is when the post office marks the stamp so it can't be used again." Conrad explains, "And doing it by hand... keeps the envelope from getting damaged."

"How do you know that?"

"I used to collect stamps, remember?" Conrad chuckles

Liz giggles as Belly smiles, "Oh, yeah, I forgot about that. You were so intense about them."

"Remember when Jere stole one to send a postcard, and you were so mad that you cried?" Liz smiles

"That was an unmounted mint George Washington red. It..." Conrad tries as the girls laugh, "It's a very rare stamp. God, I was a geek."

"No, you were not." Liz says

"I was." Conrad laughs, "I collected stamps. I had a vintage encyclopedia obsession. In middle school, I even moderated a Ring-bearer subreddit."

"A what?" Belly asks

"It's a Lord of the Rings thing."

"Okay, yeah. No, you definitely were a geek. I take it back." Liz says

"Yeah, I..." Conrad mutters as Belly chuckles

"Um, are you guys cool if we make one more stop?" Belly asks looking to the two before turning back to the road, "Just like ten minutes, tops. Please?"

Liz turns to Conrad who raises his brows. She turns back to the front, "Yeah, no problem."

"Yay. Okay, thanks."

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"Welcome." The clerk says

"Hi." Belly says holding the door open for Liz and Conrad. As they enter, she approaches the counter, "Wow, those are gorgeous."

"They're for a wedding this weekend. So, what can I do for you?"

"Um, I'm having an event."

The clerk looks to Liz and Conrad who stood over by the door, "Okay, can you tell me more
about the vibe of your event?"

"It's nothing fancy. Just a party on the beach."

"How about orchids? We get them flown in weekly from Hawaii."

"That might be a bit out of our budget."

"What is your budget?"

"Small. Very, very small." Belly chuckles, "What about peonies? Are they super expensive?"

"Oh, I love peonies." Conrad says stepping forward, "My mom had them in her bouquet when she got married."

"Oh, so it's a wedding." The clerk says

"Mm." Conrad mutters as Belly glares at him, "Sorry."

"Uh, yeah, a very small, very casual wedding." Belly says

"Well, I'm gonna need a few more details before I can give you a proper estimate."

"Yeah, sure, um, uh, well, we'll need four floral arrangements and then, uh, two bouquets... one for me and one for my maid of honor."

"Will you want corsages for the mothers of the bride and groom?"

"No, we won't need those." Belly says shaking her head

The clerk then turns to Conrad, "And what about you? Will you want boutonnieres for yourself and your groomsmen?"

"Mm, no." Conrad chuckles awkwardly as he looks over to Liz

"Oh, no, no." Belly says quickly

"I'm not the groom."

"Yeah, he's the, he's the brother of the groom."

"We have a 5,000 minimum spend for weddings." The clerk says

"Five..." Conrad clears his throat, "$5,000?"

"I can assure you, our prices are competitive."

"Mm-hmm." Liz mutters as she steps up, "Um, can you just give us like two seconds?"

She, Belly, and Conrad step away from the counter. Conrad scratches his chin, "Okay, what if, what if you... what if you just use my mom's hydrangeas?"

"Yeah." Liz says, "They're at least as nice as whatever she's got, maybe nicer, and they're not $5,000."

"Okay, yeah." Belly nods with a deep breath

"Is that okay?"

"Um, thanks for your time." Belly says to the clerk before turning back, "Let's just get out of here."

"Thank you." Liz smiles before following Belly out

The three reached the car shortly after. They sat in silence before Conrad sits up, "Aren't you going to try one?"

"Hmm?" Belly says opening her eyes and looking over as he points to the cupcakes, "Oh. Yeah, sure."

"What?" He says as Belly opens the box, "Isabel Conklin's not excited to eat a cupcake? Who are you?"

Liz smiles as Belly bites into the cupcake.

"Mmm."

"Mm-hmm." Belly nods as she sets it back in the box, "Not bad."

She grabs the other cupcake and bites into it. Liz raises her brows, "Well?"

"Um, this one's 70% cacao, that one is 80% cacao." Belly explains

"What's the difference?"

"Honestly, I have no idea." Belly says as Conrad chuckles, "I like milk chocolate. Doesn't matter anyway, 'cause we can't afford a cake from that place, so I guess we'll just... get a sheet cake from Stop & Shop."

"Okay, well... don't do that." Liz grimaces, "What if you... what if you just did one layer... said, "fuck the mirror glaze..." and you just get..." Liz shrugs, "regular milk chocolate frosting. That's got to be cheaper than whatever fucking cacao bullshit they're selling."

Belly laughs as Conrad speaks up, "And then, instead of delivery, I'll pick it up."

Belly's phone buzzes on the console, "Oh." She says before she answers, "Hey, are you on the road?"

"Hey, Bells, um, n-no." Jeremiah says, "Uh, bad news. I'm stuck at the office and I probably won't get to Cousins until late."

"Seriously?"

"I know, I know, I suck."

"Jere, we were supposed to go to Michaels today."

"This weekend, I pro... I promise. This thing for my dad has become a whole ordeal."

"Um, their pre-Fourth promotion ends today."

"Well, I-I can't just leave."

Belly sighs, "I have good news. Uh, I think we can still get the cake from your preferred bakery."

"Great, the two-tier mirror glaze?"

"Uh, slight change of plans." Belly says looking over at Liz, "How about a one-tier chocolate cake with milk chocolate frosting, no cacao, but you can still keep the raspberry coulis."

"Belly, cacao is the bean. It's what chocolate is made of. Look, the whole flavor profile depends on the bitterness of the dark chocolate and the sweet tartness of the raspberry." Jeremiah complains. Liz frowns as she looks back at Conrad, "The cake is my one thing, and you said each of us get one thing."

"Yeah, yes, I know I said that, um, but we-we just have to be realistic." Belly chuckles, "I mean, we can't, we can't spend $750 on a cake."

"Well, then I'll put it on a card and pay it off later." Jeremiah says making Liz shake her head

"Jere..." Belly tries

"Hey, I got to go, okay?" He says before the line goes dead. Belly sighs before setting her phone down.

"I'm sure that it's killing Jere not to be here." Conrad says as tears well up in Belly's eyes

"I know that it's stupid to get upset about not going to Michaels." Belly sniffles, "And I know that he's busting his ass at your dad's company. But I just... I'm stuck here making all of these decisions about things that I... don't really care about and that we can't even afford."

"And I... All that matters to me is making this commitment to each other in front of the people that we love. Well, most of them." Belly scoffs, "I just feel like I'm... I'm carrying all of this by myself, you know, and I'm doing all of this alone."

As Belly wipes her face, Liz shrugs, "Then, fuck it, we're going to Michaels."

"Seriously?" Belly asks, "I thought you said you had to go home."

"The roof will be there tomorrow, and these coupons expire."

Belly turns back to Conrad who shrugs, "I do what she says."

Belly looks back over at Liz who raises her brows, "Let's go, let's pillage corporate America."

"Okay. Okay." Belly chuckles as she starts the car

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