Free Nuptials for Sale by Virginia Jewel Page A

quickly.
    “Won’t that cost your company a lot of money?” Josh asked.
    “Not really.  While the ceremony and reception are occurring, we’ll use that time to do some simple restocking and rearranging in other parts of the store.  When it’s all over with, we’ll open the store up to the public and be ahead of the daily schedule.” Nathan smiled at us warmly.
    “He’s also failed to mention the fact that while the ceremony is happening here, it will be broadcast nationwide on televisions in all SuperMart locations.  Shoppers all over the country will flock to their local SuperMart after watching you two exchange vows here.”  Sam laughed and punched Nathan playfully on the shoulder.  “At least that’s what he’s hoping for.”
    Nathan changed the subject.  “Let me tell you about the reception.”
    He took us to the Lawn and Garden section and walked us through all the plans he had. 
    “We’ll string lights up all over the ceiling.  It’s usually a little darker in here than in the store, so the lights will help brighten the place up.”  He pointed to the spot where bags of mulch and several rows of plants were sitting.  “We’ll put tables and chairs up here for the guests to sit and enjoy the food, but for the most part we’re hoping people will just walk around and mingle.” 
    “There will be cameras set up here,” Sam pointed around the outdoor section, “here, and here.  Plus, we’ll have some camera men walking around getting some close ups.”
    “If you guys will give us a list of some music you’d like, we can pipe it in through the outdoor speakers to help with the atmosphere.”  Nathan smiled at us.
    “What about the dances?” Sam asked him.
    “Well, the weather is supposed to beautiful that day, so I was thinking that perhaps we could have the first dance and the father-daughter dance here, in the open-air section.  We can set up some of these fountains around and maybe a few benches for people to sit on.”  Nathan smiled again.  He had obviously been working very hard to plan a reception that would make us forget that it was being held in a SuperMart. 
    “It sounds amazing,” Josh gushed.
    Nathan looked at me expectantly, “What do you think?”
    “I think it sounds very beautiful,” I smiled at him, “and expensive.  I’m glad we’re not paying for this.”
    Everyone laughed.
     
    12.
     
    “What the hell?” I said as I pushed against the door of our apartment, which wouldn’t budge.
    “Sorry!” I heard Josh shout from the other side of the door.  “Just give us a second and we’ll let you in.”
    “What’s going on, Josh?” I said through the small opening I was able to create in the doorway.
    “Our furniture was delivered today and we’re trying to put it together and get the old stuff out.”  Josh said as he yanked the door open a little further.
    “Oh.” 
    I’d forgotten that we’d picked furniture out from SuperMart’s website the day we appeared on Wake up America. 
    Josh pulled the door open about halfway and stuck his head out.  “Give me your hand and I’ll pull you over these boxes.”
    I gave him my hand and he pulled me up and through the door.  I stepped up onto the box blocking the doorway.  The entire living room was covered in boxes, both empty and full.  There were long slender boxes resting against the walls in the hallway and several boxes sitting in the dining room. 
    “What are we supposed to do with all this stuff?” I asked Josh as I looked around.
    “I called the guys to come over and help me get rid of some of the old stuff and put the new stuff together.”  Josh pointed to the guys who were working diligently to put our apartment back together.
    “Hey Mel!  Congratulations!”  Mike, one of our friends from college greeted me from the floor.  “It’s about time you guys finally got together.  I thought this guy was gonna have to wait forever for you to figure it out.” 
    Josh tossed a