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The Wedding
Jennifer’s wedding cost nearly six hundred thousand dollars.
I know because she sent us the invoices.
Not asked.
Sent.
Her family supposedly contributed, though their contribution mysteriously shrank as the event became more extravagant.
Margaret and I paid more than I wanted to admit.
She insisted.
“It’s Lucas’s wedding.”
At the time, we still did not know whether there would ever be another celebration with our son.
Margaret wore a dark blue silk gown.
Long sleeves.
High neckline.
Elegant.
When she came down the stairs, I stopped breathing.
She touched the wig self-consciously.
“Too much?”
“You look exactly like the woman I married.”
“That woman was twenty-four.”
“She had worse taste in shoes.”
Margaret laughed.
For that moment, cancer disappeared.
I will always be grateful for that.
At the ballroom, Lucas hugged her.
A real hug.
Margaret’s eyes closed.
I saw hope return.
Then Jennifer appeared.
She looked Margaret up and down.
“Good. You wore the hair.”
I nearly responded.
Margaret squeezed my arm.
Not today.
So I stayed quiet.
For her.
During dinner, Jennifer asked me three times about the wedding gift.
The first time she disguised it as humor.
“Is that mysterious envelope still hiding somewhere?”
The second time she sent Lucas.
“Dad, Jennifer just wants to know whether we need to sign anything tonight.”
The third time she whispered to a bridesmaid loudly enough for me to hear.
“I guarantee it’s the house deed.”
I touched the envelope inside my jacket.
It did not contain a house deed.
It contained two documents.
The first was the cancellation of everything she expected.
The second was a certified record Daniel had received forty-eight hours earlier.
A record that would prove Jennifer had entered the ballroom already married to someone else.
I intended to give the envelope privately.
After the reception.
Margaret made me promise.
“No public humiliation.”
Even after everything Jennifer had done.
That was Margaret.
Then Jennifer tore off her wig.
And my promise changed.
