Why We Allowed the Wedding to Continue
People later asked why we did not stop the wedding.
Why we did not tell Lucas immediately.
The answer is complicated.
Part of it was legal.
Investigators wanted additional evidence.
Confronting Jennifer risked destroying it.
Part of it was Margaret.
She wanted one final chance to see whether Lucas would choose differently without knowing there were consequences.
That sounds foolish.
Perhaps it was.
But parents are rarely rational where hope is concerned.
Three days before the wedding, Margaret called Lucas.
She put the conversation on speaker.
“Could you come over?”
“I’m slammed, Mom.”
“Just for an hour.”
“We have rehearsal stuff.”
“I need to talk to you.”
Silence.
Then Lucas sighed.
“Is this about Jennifer?”
“Partly.”
“Mom…”
“I’m asking you as your mother.”
Another silence.
“I’ll try tomorrow.”
He did not come.
The next day, Margaret called again.
No answer.
The night before the wedding, he texted:
Love you. See you tomorrow. Please don’t start anything with Jennifer.
Margaret read the message twice.
Then deleted it.
The following morning, she put on her wig.
