“Because it’s a big day. And because you want to remember it always. You want to make it special. Like you said, it’s only one day. But doesn’t that make your wedding day a rarity? You’ll have your whole married life to do what you want.” Megan frowned. “Well, maybe.”
“So, are you saying I should have a big overblown wedding that makes Mrs. Mendez happy? Or that I should have a Maui wedding that may or may not make my mother happy? Or what?”
Megan looked stumped. “I’m not sure what I’m saying. Maybe I’m just tired. It’s been a long day.”
Lelani chuckled. “Thanks for helping me to figure this out, Megan.”
Megan rubbed her head. “Yeah, sure, anytime.”
“Just wait until it’s your turn,” Lelani called out as Megan headed for her room.
Megan laughed in a way that sounded like she wouldn’t be planning her own wedding anytime soon. Apparently she and Marcus were nowhere near that place yet. Good for them. No need to rush things. In fact, Lelani sometimes wondered why she and Gil felt like they were in such a rush. On the other hand … she smiled to herself as she opened her textbook. Sometimes, like now, she wondered why they weren’t in an even bigger hurry.
She tried to refocus her attention as she picked up where she’d left off in the early Pleistocene period. At one time she would’ve been extremely interested in archaeology. Now it was mildly intriguing, but more than anything, she just wanted to get on with her life, and finishing her degree had become an important part of that. Her dream to become a doctor seemed almost within reach. But, to her surprise, even more than finishing med school and starting her own pediatric practice, she wanted to marry Gil and to be Emma’s mother. Okay, she wanted it all. Really, was that too much to ask?
Five
Megan
“So, tell me, how did your interview go?” Megan’s mom asked as soon as they sat down at the Soup Pot to wait for their order.
“I feel hopeful.” Megan dropped her teabag into the little ceramic pot. “Mrs. McCall, that’s the principal, really seemed to like me. And she thought it was great that I’d been working in interior design.”
“See, all experience is valuable.”
Megan laughed. “In fact, she was so interested that she even asked me about helping her to redo her office.”
“That sounds promising.”
Megan nodded. “I’m praying God will open the door.”
“Did you tell Cynthia yet?”
“Tell her what exactly?”
“That you may be leaving the design firm.”
Megan shook her head. “No way. I don’t want them to know that I’m even looking. Vera would probably use that as an excuse to give me my walking papers.”
Her mom chuckled. “That Vera—I just don’t understand what makes her tick.”
“Probably a mechanical heart.”
“Poor Cynthia. She suffers from Vera almost as much as you do.”
“I’m afraid she’ll suffer even more if I leave. I think I’m actually a buffer, like Vera takes her meanness out on me and then goes easy on the others. Honestly, I probably wouldn’t be leaving if Vera were a little bit nicer.”
“I think that God sometimes uses difficult people to get us to where he wants us to be.”
“Kind of like how Pharaoh motivated Moses to look for greener pastures?” Megan joked.
“Actually, I think it was God who motivated Moses. But Pharaoh made it easier for him to want to leave.”
Their soup arrived, and Megan’s mom began to inquire about the progress of the wedding plans. Megan gave her the latest update—how Kendall’s mom was likely to take over, and how Gil wanted Lelani to consider a Maui beach wedding after all.
“How does Lelani feel about that?”
“I’m not sure. Gil thinks it might help her relationship with her mom.” Megan sighed and shook her head. “The more I hear about other people’s mothers, the more grateful I am for mine.”
Her mom smiled. “Well, thank you.”
“Thank you!”
“If Lelani decided to get married in Maui, would you still be her maid of honor?”
“That’s a good question.”
“Well, just so you know, I’d be willing to help with your airfare. I know you’re not making much at the design firm.”
“And even if I get the teaching job, I’ll still be unemployed by mid-June.”
Her mom frowned. “I hadn’t even considered that. Don’t you think it’s possible you might get hired for the following year?”
“Even if I did, my contract wouldn’t be effective until September.”
“Yes, of course. It looks like you’ll have some decisions to make before summer, Megan. A possible change in job as well as where you live.”
Megan just nodded. She’d been considering both things.
“If you want, you can always move back home.” Her mom smiled hopefully. “I wouldn’t mind a little company.”
“I’ll think about it.”
“To be honest, I’ve been considering listing the house. I really don’t need all that room, and I hear real estate is starting to warm up.”
“Really?” Megan felt a flash of worry to think her childhood home, the very house her dad designed, might no longer belong to them.
“I thought I might get a townhouse. Something simple and small and where someone else gets to do the maintenance.”
“I guess that makes sense.” Megan sadly sipped her tea.
“I know it’ll make you sad, Megan. At first anyway. But it’s just part of growing up. You’ll get used to it.”
“I think I’m a little resistant to change right now. I mean, changing my job would be a relief. But having to move this summer, well, I’m not looking forward to that. And the idea of not being able to come home when I want.” Megan sighed.
“Home is where the heart is. You’re always welcome wherever I am.”
“I know.” Still, Megan wanted to say, it won’t be the same. Except that she knew how selfish that sounded.
“How are things at your church?” her mom asked. “And Marcus, is he still thinking about selling everything he owns and moving to Zimbabwe or wherever it was?”
“Zambia actually. And he’s still very interested. He’s on board with a guy from church, who’s organizing a mission to put in some wells over there.”
“Would you go too?”
Megan shrugged. “Sure, I’d like to. The funny thing is that I thought I was the one who had the dream to become a missionary. And sometimes I feel almost jealous, like Marcus has stolen it from me. How juvenile is that?”
“Isn’t it something you two could do together?”
“Marcus has kind of hinted at that possibility. The problem is that he’s financially set. He could actually go and do something like that. I mean, he’s been making a lot of money these past few years. I, on the other hand, am not exactly rolling in the dough. And my financial future will look even bleaker if I find myself unemployed this summer.”
“But maybe your unemployment will be your ticket to Zambia,” her mom said optimistically. “You wouldn’t even have to ask for time off.”
“I guess if I’m really supposed to go, God will provide, right? Maybe I just need more faith.”
“Here’s an idea, Megan,” her mom said. “Suppose I do put the house on the market, and suppose it does sell. How about if I dedicate a portion of the sale toward the Megan Abernathy mission fund?”
“You’d do that?”
“Of course. Why not?”
“See!” Megan proclaimed. “You really are the best mom ever.”
Her mom gave her a sly look now. “I don’t know. When I hear about those other wedding moms and how they’re acting, well, I’m not s
ure I’d be much better if it were your wedding. To be honest, it’s one of those things I’ve looked forward to for a long, long time. You might be singing a different song about your mother by then.”
“Tell you what, Mom. If I ever do get married—and that’s so out there that I can’t even wrap my head around it—I’ll welcome your help in planning my wedding.”
Her mom beamed. “And I’ll hold you to that.”
“Just don’t hold your breath.” Megan paused to taste her soup.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” her mom asked.
“Just that Marcus and I aren’t talking about marriage or anything. In fact, he’s been so distracted with all he’s doing in church that I’m starting to feel a little left out.”
Her mom laughed. “Well, isn’t that a change? I remember sitting in this very restaurant listening to you fretting over your unsaved boyfriend and telling me that you wanted to break up. Now you’re complaining that he’s too involved in ministry.”
“I suppose I do sound pretty flakey.”
“Actually, you sound like a young woman who’s at a crossroads.”
Megan considered that. “I like the way crossroads sounds more than the word change. Crossroads mean you’re going somewhere.”
“You are going somewhere, Megan.” Her mom patted her hand. “I can just feel it.”
When Megan got home from work, Anna was extremely worked up. “I cannot believe Lelani and Gil want to move their wedding to Maui!” she exclaimed even before Megan had a chance to remove her coat. “Did you know about this?”
Megan slowly took off her coat, hung it up, then turned to Anna. “Why are you so upset?”
“Because my mother is going into hysterics.”
“Hysterics?” Megan went into the kitchen and put on the teakettle.
“Apparently Gil mentioned it to her today at the restaurant. She called me at work at least a dozen times. She’s had her heart set on this wedding, and she’s already told most of our relatives and probably already bought her dress, and now she’s totally bummed and doesn’t care if she takes me down with her.”
“Sounds like you’ve had a rough day.”
Anna nodded as she sat down on the kitchen stool. “I tried to be understanding … at first. But then she just kept calling. She kept coming up with reasons they should have the wedding here and finally suggested they get married twice. Once on the mainland and again in Maui. Anything to have her way.”
“Well, if it’s any consolation, I feel kind of sad to think they’ll be married in Maui.”
“But you’ll go to the wedding, won’t you?”
Megan shrugged. “I don’t know. Airfare, hotel … that’s a lot of money just to go to a wedding.”
“I’m going,” Anna declared. “My mother told me that much.”
“Maybe you’ll be able to step into the maid-of-honor position.” Even as Megan said this, she felt sad. She’d been so honored to be Lelani’s choice. It wouldn’t be easy to let it go.
“I don’t know. Maybe one of Lelani’s old friends will want to stand up with her.”
“Maybe. By the way, has Gil decided on his best man yet?”
“I assumed he was going to go with his old best friend, Richard, but he hasn’t said anything for sure. And he and Richard aren’t all that close anymore. My mom is pushing him to invite one of our cousins. We have no lack of cousins to choose from.”
Megan chuckled. “Must be nice.”
“Sometimes nice. Sometimes a great big pain in the—”
“So this is where the party is,” said Kendall as she carried Emma into the kitchen. “We just got up from a late nap, and Emma is hungry.”
“Where’s Lelani?” asked Anna. “Shouldn’t she be home from work by now?”
“She’s not at work.” Kendall strapped Emma into the high chair, then reached for the box of Cheerios.
“Where is she, then?” asked Megan. Usually Lelani sprinted home from work, she was so eager to see Emma.
“She’s with Gil.” Kendall poured some Cheerios onto Emma’s tray. “Apparently they have something very important to discuss.”
“I’ll bet it’s about the wedding,” said Anna. “Did you know that they may be moving their wedding to Maui?”
Kendall’s eyes lit up. “I wish I could do that.”
“Why don’t you?” asked Megan.
Kendall poured milk into Emma’s sippy cup, then put on the lid. “I considered it, but Killiki really wants to meet my family. And I have a big family.” She handed the cup to Emma. “In fact, I was just adding them up on my guest list. Just my siblings, their spouses and kids—and some of their kids are married—and then there’s my parents and my godparents and, anyway, I have twenty-four people and that’s just my immediate family. By the time I include extended family and close friends, it won’t be a very small wedding.” She slapped her forehead. “And I forgot Nana!”
“Sounds like it’s a good thing your mom is going to help out,” Megan told her as she reached for the whistling teakettle.
Kendall nodded. “Yeah, I guess so. Because I think it’s gonna get pretty crazy before this is over.”
“I guess if Lelani has her wedding in Maui, we can help out more with yours,” offered Megan.
“That’d be great.” Then Kendall frowned. “But I can’t believe we’re going to miss Lelani’s wedding. That’s so sad.”
“I won’t be missing it,” Anna told her. “I wouldn’t be surprised if my mom’s booking the flights and hotel and everything even as we speak. She’s pretty upset about the whole thing, but she still plans to go.”
“Hello to the house!” called Lelani from the living room.
“Sounds like Mama’s home,” Kendall told Emma.
“We’re in the kitchen,” called Anna.
Lelani joined them, going straight for Emma. “How’s Mama’s big girl?” she cooed and Emma’s face lit up.
“We were just breaking your news to Kendall,” Megan told Lelani.
“What news?” Lelani was extracting Emma from the high chair now, smothering her face with kisses.
“About the wedding.”
Lelani nodded somberly. “Ah, that.”
“So is it a done deal then?” pressed Anna. “You’re really going to have it in Maui?”
“If Gil has his way.”
“But what about what you want?” Megan asked.
Lelani shrugged. “Gil seems to think it’s what I really want.”
“But is it what you really want?” persisted Megan. “This is your wedding.”
“Maybe the problem is that I’m not sure what I want. I mean I know I want to marry Gil. And it would be nice if there was a way to make everyone happy. But you know what they say about pleasing all the people all the time.”
“You’re sure not pleasing my mother,” declared Anna.
Lelani gave Anna a worried look. “Is she pretty upset?”
“Upset is putting it mildly.” Then Anna launched into the tale of her mother-interrupted work day, making this version even more dramatic than the one Megan had already been subjected to.
“Excuse me,” Megan told them, “but I need to get into some comfy clothes, and then I’ll start dinner, since tonight is my night to cook.”
She listened to the music of their voices as she walked through the house—Anna’s dramatic descriptions, Kendall’s off-the-wall comments, Lelani’s attempts to smooth over everything, and all this was topped off with Emma’s random squeals of delight. It was funny how familiar and appreciated those sounds had become to Megan in less than a year’s time. She knew she would miss all this when mid-June rolled around. Why did it seem that things were always changing? Sometimes Megan wished she had a magic wand that she could wave to simply fr
eeze the present good times and delay the future. Oh, she knew it was childish and shortsighted, but sometimes …
As Megan changed out of her clothes, she told herself that it was probably for the best that Lelani and Gil wanted to be married in Maui. Really, it would’ve taken a major effort to pull off a classy wedding in such a short amount of time. Plus, Megan had been coming up blank on the perfect location. Not that she’d been ready to give up. If all else failed, she figured they could’ve had it at her mom’s house. With the vaulted ceilings, massive windows that looked out over the river, and a spacious great room, it could’ve been quite nice. In fact, Megan often entertained fantasies of getting married there herself. Of course, her daydreams had always included her dad escorting her down the winding, open staircase that he had designed. His sudden death was just one more change in life that she had been unable to control.
As Megan pulled on her UGGs, she realized she had a hard time letting go of a lot of things, including the idea that she was going to plan and participate in Lelani’s wedding.
Yes, it would’ve been a lot of work, but she’d really been looking forward to it. The artist in her had already started conjuring up ideas, trying to come up with ways to make their big event feel like it was taking place in a tropical paradise. She’d even toyed with the idea of creating some kind of a backdrop that resembled the setting sun over the ocean. If they’d be forced to have an indoor wedding, she imagined using king-sized white sheets and sunset-colored spray paint and some colored lights. She even considered bringing in beach sand and seashells and having it spread out around the altar. With Hawaiian music and food and leis and everything … well, it could’ve been fun.
As silly as it seemed, Megan could relate to Gil and Anna’s mom. Oh, she wouldn’t mention any of her personal feelings to Lelani. But she understood Mrs. Mendez’s disappointment. As pathetic as it seemed, Megan had been excited about being Lelani’s maid of honor and all that went with it. But it was time to “buck up” as her dad would say, be a big girl and not let Lelani see that she felt slighted. After all, Lelani had enough to deal with.
Three Weddings and a Bar Mitzvah Page 5
