Noelle's [POV]
Los Angeles, California
"Mom! We don't need any more lights on the chairs. It's starting to look like an airport runway in here."
We've only been at the wedding venue for an hour and Mom's already turned it into a circus. People are running everywhere. Connor's spray-tanned face is somehow turning pale. He's tried to talk Mom out of every order she's shot at him. He has so much to learn.
"Noelle, it's Christmas. Christmas is made for lights." Mom looks back at me briefly from where she's directing the florist to remove the cacti and replace them with a row of miniature Christmas trees she shipped in from Georgia. The trees are shockingly white with blue ornaments only blue ornaments. It's Mom's preferred color pattern for Christmas.
"Mom," I say, grabbing her arm to get her attention. "Steve's family is more religious than we are. I'm sure they don't want the room to look like the North Pole."
