Brook Hollow Country Club
Polished hardwood floors gleam in the light that filters in from the large windows which overlook a private patio. Expensive Persian rugs rest beneath each grouping of furniture. Two large fireplaces can be found on opposite walls, giving the club a generally warm atmosphere. To the back of this large, open room, is a bar that is continually manned by an employee.
Billiards and card tables can be found in a smaller room down the hall, as well as a separate room for shuffleboard, and another for quiet games of chess. Outdoors features a series of private tennis courts, each equipped with a trainer to help those members who have never attempted the sport before.
The most important piece of the club takes up a large portion of the outdoor acreage. A complete 18 hole golf course, featuring both water and sand traps, as well as small decorative lakes always has at least one group of club members on it.
One of the perks Ivan enjoys when it comes to being the right hand man of the mayor (and even more than that behind the scenes), is that he is often whisked away by said mayor while on duty. Which often times leaves the tall man getting paid by the hour to basically flutter around in the background and, occasionally, fill himself with finger snacks. Today is one of those occasions.
With the Mayor here…somewhere, Ivan can be found by the coffee table in the lobby, whipping himself up a cup slowly and without much rush.
Planning a wedding on short notice is something that Hope is finding rather difficult. While she's managed to get a few things quite easily, the church, the flowers, the dresses… finding the perfect location for the reception is proving to be tiresome. Wandering through the lobby with a well-dressed woman beside her, trying to point out the perks of the country club, the Tyler twin simply looks down at the pink and black binder tucked under her arm, and the clipboard that she holds.
"Yes, well the premises are quite lovely, but the fact that you refuse to allow us to have our own caterer is ridiculous." Balancing the binder on the clipboard, she flips it open. "I'm looking for something more like this, and if you can't handle this then I think we may have to find a different venue."
The woman looks over the image, then furrows her brow. "I'll go speak with the chef immediately, Miss Tyler, and if we're unable to handle this, we'll cut the cost and allow your own caterer."
A smug grin appears on Hope's face. "Oh, wonderful. I truly appreciate this, Trudy. It will mean so much to my parents, you helping out like this…" When the woman heads off down the hallway, Hope just rolls her eyes and makes her way toward a couch, so that she can sit and jot down some notes.
Ivan knows that voice. Hell, Ivan lives with that voice. He wakes and sleeps to that voice, every day. And so, is it any surprise that once he hears it, he swirls around with clear interest, trying to catch sight of its owner? He sobers once he spies her - however - already able to tell the twins apart at a glance - but that doesn't completely abate his interest. And so, with styrofoam cup in hand, he saunters his way to the couch. "Is all that research for the wedding or for school, kiddo? The latter would make you seem less obsessive…"
Not expecting the voice to come up behind her, Hope very nearly drops the binder and the clipboard. Juggling them for a moment, she finally keeps the pages from flapping out of the binder, and takes a deep breath. "Wedding, though as soon as Trudy Larson comes back with a price quote, I need to head to the campus." For her floral arrangement course, so that she can keep her new job at the flower shop. "I've been trying to get in touch with Faith, but there's no answer at the apartment, and I don't have her new cellular number. Please don't tell me she's missing again, I really don't think my stress levels can handle that."
"You don't? Huh. I'll tell her to get in contact with you, then? Or better yet, I can give you her number now, if you'd…hey, listen, you want to sit down?" Ivan quirks a brow upwards at all the pamphlets and papers and binders she's holding onto. "Or I could hold something for you while you get everything organized. And right - no, she's not missing. We're just not living at the apartment any longer, due to…unforseen circumstances." Beat. He pauses, wondering if he should tack on the last bit. "We're looking for a house to buy."
"She has my number," Hope points out. Which is why she's a bit concerned to have not have heard from her sister. "I'm guessing she's not thrilled about the upcoming nuptials, and is just avoiding me." Dropping down to the nearest couch, she sets her binder on the coffee table and starts going through it, slipping in the info for the country club into one of the back slots. "But if you could tell her to call me, that would be wonderful. It's hard to tell her I want her as the Maid of Honor if she's not talking to me." Shifting her eyes up to him, she shakes her head a little. "Well congratulations then. I really hope you know what you're getting yourself into…" Since she has no faith in her sister anymore, and has no doubt that Ivan's going to wind up heartbroken and that's not something she'd wish on anyone.
"I'll have her call you," Ivan confirms kindly then, taking the moment off to sip at his coffee before taking the initiative and slipping onto the seat beside Hope. "I don't think she's avoiding you, mind. She's been a little out of sorts lately, and…" Beat. "Random question, I know, but your parents are coming into town for the wedding, right?" But then she's looking to his with that frown and shaking his head - and he can't help it. His lips purse and he tries to straighten himself up, adopting better posture to look more presentable. "I know what I'm getting into." He confirms, pausing to clear his throat. "But you…married, eh?"
"Thank you," she replies, very business like in that. Hope has a contingency plan if her sister is avoiding her, it's one she's had in place since Faith got shipped off to Green Oaks originally. She will muddle through if she has to. "Of course they are. I don't think I could get married without daddy there to walk me down the aisle." Her relationship with her parents is strained at the moment, but she'll put all that aside for something this important. "Sorry that came out wrong, Ivan. I'm sure you know what you're doing, just remember what I said before, alright?" Lifting the newly neatened binder up onto her lap, she flips through to the last page to show off the dress. Something she'd rather be doing with her sister, but since her sister is too busy or ignoring her, Ivan will have to do. Because she's excited, and she has to show someone. "I love him, Ivan. Though I'm really going to have to ask that if you come as Faith's date, you don't throw shoes at my husband, alright?"
Ivan smiles faintly, amused by the clearly drawn differences by the two women who look so much alike. One cannot imagine the wedding without her parents. The other is praying for the opportunity to walk down the aisle alone. "I can imagine that. And it's alright, Hope. I understand. But…yeah." Really, what's there to say? All he can do is shrug his shoulders and sip at his coffee once again. Since she's so eager to show it off, he does look over her shoulder to the binder. "You're going to look beautiful in that dress," he speaks, confidently and from experience. "He's going to be a luckier man than he is already. And I-…ah." He'd grin, but he's not sure that's appropriate. "You heard about that, then? Well, I solemnly swear to keep all footwear on my feet at all times."
"You'd better. I haven't turned into Bridezilla yet, but if there is flying footwear at my wedding, so help me you'd better avoid the cake knife." The compliment seems to have put her in an actually brilliant mood. Quietly, she closes the binder. "You're the only one who's seen it besides Maggie over at the Magnolia Boutique." It's not so much that Hope absolutely wants her neglectful parents around, but that it's tradition, and she's had this wedding planned since she was twelve. Balking at tradition now is just something she's not willing to do. "So a house, hmm? Planning on popping the question yourself then, or just seeing if the two of you can actually cohabitate in a place that you actually share?" It may be an assumption, but she's pretty sure her sister wouldn't agree to let Ivan buy the house on his own.
"I can see it now. Something like…My Big Fat Greek Wedding, which copious amounts of Halloween, and some Carrie on the side. Now that would make for one hell of a movie." Ivan enjoys putting people in a brilliant mood. Particularly people that look like Hope. And so, when she admits that, he can't help but smile broadly. "Yeah? Well…I'm going to pretend that that honor was bestowed to me by choice and not by chance. You not going to allow Bobert to see it, to keep up with traditions?" He inquires, before finishing the rest of his coffee.
But then, the spotlight is shifted to him and his decisions. "Yeah. A house. The apartment was…cozy, but I guess now's as good a time as any to get a new place. There were some…interesting neighbors around." He'll not mention that Faith was singled out by a vampire - that's her story to tell, really. But he does take in a deep breath when she delves in deeper. "Well…a bit of both, I guess? I'm going to ask her to marry me someday. I just want to have everything all set up beforehand, you know? A house to live in, my finances all worked out…I wouldn't want to half-ass something like that." No longer is he marriage-shy. Not after how many near-death experiences she was put into - he doesn't have the luxury of wasting too much time.
"Ew. No. I refuse to have pig blood dousing me on my wedding day, or put Windex on my face." Nose-wrinkling, Hope grins, possibly a little evilly. "Though if there's shoe throwing, I'll get someone to hold you down and force feed you the chocolate covered strawberries." Which would be just as bad, but funnier in a Willy Wonka 'Violet Beauregarde' way. "He is definitely not seeing it beforehand, which is getting more difficult to do. The puppy likes to sneak into the guest room and steal things."
A house. Her sister… in a house. "Well, that is the thing. You can never really choose your neighbors, so unless you're moving out to the middle of the forest, or a desert, you'll have to be careful." The words are grave, serious, and full of worry over vampires. That's just who Hope is. "I've thought about getting something larger, but we really won't need it for a while." Not until they decide to have a family, so it doesn't make sense to move just yet.
"Heh. Well…he'll be pleasantly surprised at the night of your wedding. I can assure you." The binder is closed, but Ivan can still motion towards it with a nod of his head. "Writing your own vows?" But his legitimate question is cut off by her semi-theatrical threat, and furrowing his brows darkly, he draws away from her. "Whoa there, no need to get nasty now. You keep your organic tools of mass torture to yourself. And…I know." Ivan does know. Ivan knows better than anyone. Solemnly, he nods his head once. "I'm taking special care with what neighborhoods I choose to scope out. Being in my position has given me a couple of resources over the years, if you know what I mean. But - that's good. You and him have someplace permanent to live now, right?"
Hope loves the dress she's chosen. It's so very princessy, and pink, and her. That's the most important thing. "I hope so, but the wedding will be taking place during the day." There must be plenty of sunlight, for pictures and to avoid the vampires that will want to come and ruin it for her. "I hadn't thought of doing that, but it's a good idea. Though I don't know if I'll be able to do much more than repeat what the reverend says…" For a girl who seems so calm and together, the thought of standing up in front of everyone she knows and declaring her love for someone makes her feel especially nervous. "We do. Bobby owns a duplex, so it's as good a place as any to start. I hope the two of you find some place nice, no matter where it is. Faith deserves to have nice things and be happy."
"Oh! Right, of course." Ivan pauses to think. "But what I said still stands, I guess. He's going to be very pleasantly surprised during the night too. You're…you're going to share a very special moment with him then." It is true, after all, so far as Ivan knows. "You don't have to write your own. The ones in place are there because they're tried and true. So I'm sure the wedding'll be just as magical doing it the traditional way. Heh. We've actually checked out a couple of places lately. One looks like it has good promise. If you'd like to check it out before we sign all the papers so that you can make sure it's on the up and up, I can make that happen? And…yeah. Yeah, she does deserve to be happy. And I'll go out of my way to make sure that she is."
Beet red.
That's about the only way to describe the color as it rushes up Hope's cheeks. There is nothing said for a very long while, then she's clearing her throat quite a bit. "Oh look, there's Trudy," she says, rather swiftly. Hopping to her feet and nearly spilling both binder and clipboard, she fingerwaves at the woman, and then nods back to Ivan quickly. "I should go handle this," the words still spilling out awkwardly fast. "Just have Faith call me and we can work something out. Okay? Bye!" Just like that, conversation ended, Tyler twin running off to see if they can do what she wants, or if she's about to get a rather good deal on their ballroom.
Ivan is not unfamiliar with Tyler women and their blushes. And so when Hope turns that fetching shade of crimson, all Ivan can do is grin. Broadly, and with much amusement. "Yeah. Let me give you a couple of pointers - be vocal. 'Bout what you like, 'bout what you really like, and how much you're enjoying yourself. Drives us wild, it does. Oh and try - what? You're going already?" Feigning innocence, he blinks a handful of times, before giving up and dissolving into low chuckles. "See you around, Hope. Congratulations."
