Happily Ever After All by Wendy Markham

Author:Wendy Markham [Markham, Wendy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Graydon House Books
Published: 2007-05-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 9

The next time I have a gut feeling about anything, do me a favor and slap me.

Back in Brookside in March, I think I actually said something about wedding plans being smooth sailing from there on in.

As I recall, that was the same day I promised my parish priest that I would separate from Jack for intensive prewedding spiritual preparation.

Yeah, that didn’t happen. None of it.

Here it is many weeks later, and the wedding machine has kicked into high gear. My mental checklist is getting longer by the second—and mostly unfulfilled.

A few days after we got back from Buffalo, we took the train up to Westchester and told Jack’s father the big news. He didn’t cry and wish us “Cent’ anni,” but he was very—for lack of a better word—cordial.

Then again, I guess cordial is the perfect word to describe Thomas Candell’s reaction. He shook Jack’s hand, gave me a kiss on the cheek and told us he’d look forward to the wedding.

“That was it?” Wilma asked, mildly outraged when we stopped by afterward to recap the conversation.

“What did you expect him to do, Mom? Break out in song?”

“No, Jack, but I’d expect him to break out the checkbook. He didn’t say he’s going to help you with the wedding?”

“No, but we don’t need his money,” Jack assured her.

The thing is…we so do. We’ve been scrimping in every possible way, but I’m worried that we’re not going to have enough to pay for the big day when it finally rolls around.

“We’ll get money for our wedding,” Jack tells us.

I want to remind him that we’re in credit card debt, and we want to have a down payment on a house.

But I can’t say that in front of his Mom, and anyway, I have enough to worry about for now.

Priority number one: I really need to order the navy velvet dresses for my bridesmaids, and I plan to, tomorrow.

I thought I had the whole thing nailed months ago, long before I had a ring on my finger. There were going to be eight bridesmaids. Just eight. Plus Raphael.

As of last month, there were still going to be eight girls, plus Raphael, and I had asked all of them already, gotten their deposits and dress sizes.

Then I decided I seriously want to have Jack’s sister Jeannie, too. She’s been really supportive in all this. She even offered to make me a headpiece if I can’t find one I like. She’s pretty crafty and made her own for her wedding.

So far I haven’t found anything that works with my boring straight brown shoulder-length hair unless I put it up. Jack did mention that he doesn’t like it that way, but what does he know?

I definitely don’t want a tiara or a headband or silk flowers or, God forbid, one of those little hat-type things. And I don’t want a big puffy cloud of white illusion floating around my head, either. So I may take Jeannie up on the offer to make the headpiece.

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