Then, instead of going home where they would feel appropriately sorry for her, she drove to a place she seldom visited. Well, besides Christmas and Easter. She drove to church, parked her car, and went inside the sanctuary, where she sat for a while. Finally, she went to confession, where she told Father Thomas that she had sinned by wanting to murder someone.
“Actually two people,” she corrected herself. “I wanted to kill them both equally.” He pressed her to explain her situation further, and she filled him in on all the details. He told her what to do as penance, which actually seemed rather minor for something as serious as murder. “Are you sure?” she asked him.
“Sure?”
“That it’s enough. I mean I truly did want to kill them. I imagined them both dead.”
“Do you still want to kill them?” he asked quietly.
She thought a moment. “No.”
“Go and sin no more.”
She nodded and stood, thinking that was a lot easier said than done.
As soon as she got to her car, she called Edmond’s cell phone, hoping that it would go straight to voice mail. Of course, it did not.
“Anna,” he said eagerly. “We do need to talk. And you’re right, it’s urgent.”
“Yes,” she said with surprising calmness. “That’s why I called.”
“Oh, good.” He sounded relieved.
“It’s obvious that our relationship isn’t working, Edmond. And instead of getting all crazy and saying or doing anything terribly stupid, let’s just admit that it’s not working and call it a day. Okay?”
“But, Anna, I need to—”
“I know you’re sorry, Edmond, and I’m sorry too. And I’m basically kind of exhausted right now. So let’s not drag this out. I forgive you. You forgive me. Let’s act like none of this even happened. Thank you.” And then she hung up and turned off her phone. Like peeling off an old Band-Aid, breakups were probably best done quickly.
Anna was curious to see a big hulking motor home parked in front of their house. And yet she was still in semishock, so nothing could surprise her too much. She parked her car in the driveway, then walked past the “campground” and into the house. She wanted to go straight to her room, where she could sit and stare at the wall and hope for the pain to subside, but Lelani was talking to her.
“Anna, you’ve got to talk to your mom about the guest list. She just keeps adding to it, and I’ve made it clear that we can only have eighty guests max. It means we all have to cut back. But it also means the wedding will be more intimate and—”
“Yes, yes,” Anna said woodenly, “eighty guests. Got it.”
“Are you okay?”
Anna forced a smile. “Of course, I’m fine. Just tired.”
“Did you see Kendall’s parents’ motor home out there?”
“How could I not see it?”
“You should see the inside. Mr. Weis just gave Emma and me the grand tour. It’s really something.”
“I can only imagine.”
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
Anna nodded. “Like I said, just tired.”
Lelani put a hand on her shoulder. “You do seem tired. I hope I’m not putting too much on you to help with the invitations. Am I?”
“No, I want to do it.”
“Oh, yeah, I almost forgot. In case you haven’t heard, Emma’s birthday party has been moved from here to your parents’ house.”
“Are you okay with that?”
Lelani shrugged. “It’s probably a good thing. So much to do. And your mother seems to thrive on being busy.”
“Yes. She’s a regular Energizer Bunny.”
“I don’t know how she does it.”
“The same way your mother does it.”
“Huh?”
“A little four-letter word.”
Lelani looked puzzled.
“H-E-L-P. She hires help. You should see her little black book. She has someone for every imaginable task—from accountants to window washers and everything in between.”
Lelani laughed like she thought Anna was joking.
“My mother’s talent is organizing, and then she takes over.” Anna smiled sweetly.
“Anna, you do seem tired. Why don’t you go have a rest?”
“That’s what I plan to do.” But Anna knew that she would have another good cry first. Hopefully she would cry herself to sleep. Then perhaps she could cry herself into such a state that she would lose her voice and call in sick in the morning.
Sixteen
Lelani
“Oh, we won’t need any of that,” Gil’s mother waved her hand as Lelani tried to give her a bag of party things she’d gotten for Emma a few weeks ago. “You shouldn’t have wasted your money. I have it all taken care of.” The older woman sank down into her green velvet recliner and sighed in a satisfied way.
“But I already had these things,” Lelani explained.
“Save them for her next birthday.”
“Where’s Emma?”
“Napping.”
Lelani frowned at her watch. “Still napping at this time of day?”
“Yes, I held her off as long as I could and just put her down a few minutes ago.”
“But now I’ll need to wake her.”
Gil’s mother smiled slyly. “That’s the beauty of it. Emma will continue her nap. You can run on home and enjoy a nice little break. And when you and Gil come back for the party, Emma will be awake and ready for her big night. Don’t you see? Now hurry along, there’s much to do.”
As she drove home, Lelani knew she should be grateful for this unexpected “break,” but instead she felt irritated. She had looked forward to spending a little time with her daughter, dressing her up special, taking some photos, and finally returning to the Mendez house. All that had been taken from her. Still, she reminded herself, Gil’s mother meant well. And no doubt there would be times when Lelani would truly appreciate this kind of generosity. Just not today!
“Where’s the birthday girl?” Kendall asked when Lelani came into the house carrying her bag of unwanted party supplies.
“Abuela Mendez is keeping her.”
“Keeping her?” Kendall frowned. “That woman is starting to seriously worry me.”
“Just keeping her until the party. She thought I needed a little break.”
“Seems like she would have plenty to do putting the party together.”
“Seems that way. But she has help. In fact, I saw a Parties to Go van driving toward their house. I wouldn’t be surprised if she’d hired that to be done as well.” Lelani pulled out a package of pale pink crepe paper and looked longingly at it. “Guess this will have to wait for next year.”
“Unless you want to have two parties,” Kendall suggested eagerly.
“Two weddings, two birthday parties … are we starting to see a pattern here?”
Kendall laughed. “I see your point. Speaking of weddings, my parents just left.”
“I noticed their RV was gone. Is your dad taking it for another spin around the block?”
“No, they decided to relocate to an RV park about fifteen minutes from here. They needed to empty their tanks, whatever that means.”
“Well, I’m sure the neighbors won’t miss them.” Lelani looked out the window and chuckled. “Last night I imagined Toni standing out there in the middle of the street, screaming Move that bus!”
“Hello,” called Megan as she came into the house.
“You’re home early,” observed Lelani.
“That’s because I didn’t have to ride the metro. Marcus picked me up.”
“How is old Marcus?” asked Kendall. “We haven’t seen his face around here in ages.”
“Marcus is fin
e.” Megan set her oversized bag on one of the dining room chairs. “He’s had his shots, got his ticket, and is on his way home to pack his bags.”
“When does he leave?” asked Lelani.
“Tonight.”
“Tonight?” Lelani looked shocked. “How are you doing with that, Megan?”
She made a half smile. “I just hope he’ll be safe.”
“We should all be praying for him,” Kendall said. “For his travel and health and everything.”
“I know he’ll appreciate that.”
“Are you really okay?” Lelani gently asked her again.
Megan kind of shrugged. “It’s hard.”
“I can imagine,” said Kendall. “I mean, Maui seems like a long ways away, but Zambia. I don’t even know where that is.”
“In Africa,” Megan said dryly.
“I know that.”
“Sorry.” Megan sighed. “It’s been a rough day, and saying good-bye to Marcus didn’t make it any better.”
“But won’t you see him off at the airport too?” Kendall asked.
“I wanted to, but he said no. It’s a really late flight.” Megan looked like she was on the verge of tears.
Lelani put her hand on Megan’s shoulder. “I’ll understand if you don’t feel like coming to Emma’s party to—”
“No way,” Megan said. “That’s the one thing I am looking forward to after a day like this.”
“So, what are the Madison Middle School monsters up to these days?” asked Kendall.
Megan rolled her eyes. “You know, I’ve been there a week now. I’d think they’d get over themselves, but it’s like they’re still testing me. Today in third period, Levi and Jackson used a photo from a porn magazine as their inspiration for their charcoal drawing.”
“Eeuw.” Kendall made a face. “Was it any good?”
“Their proportions were off, but the shading wasn’t bad.” Megan shook her head. “I confiscated the evidence and sent them both to the office.”
“Well, at least it wasn’t a drug deal this time.” Lelani shuddered. “It’s hard to believe middle school kids are so … so …”
“Rotten,” Kendall supplied.
“No, I was thinking sophisticated, but that’s not right. I just don’t remember kids being like that when I was in junior high. Oh, there was drinking and skipping classes to surf and things like that. But no hard drugs or porn or kids having sex right there on school property.” She frowned at Megan. “As a parent I’m starting to feel pretty worried. What will it be like when Emma is in middle school?”
“There are a lot of good kids too,” Megan said. “And Emma will be one of those. Speaking of our little princess, where is she?”
Lelani explained and then excused herself. “I might as well enjoy my little break, right?”
“Especially since it’s getting littler by the minute.”
“Why didn’t you just bring Emma home?” Gil asked Lelani as they were driving over to his parents’ home.
“She was napping.” Lelani looked at the pale pink party dress laid out on the seat between them. She’d gotten it on sale at Macy’s not long after they’d returned from Maui. It was the quintessential little-girl dress, and she couldn’t wait to see Emma in it. Plus, she had white tights with a ruffled bottom and the sweetest little pink Mary Janes, as well as a pair of pale pink satin bows for Emma’s hair.
“Uh-oh, looks like we’re approaching a traffic jam.”
Lelani looked up to see a long string of red taillights ahead. “Can you take an exit and another route?”
“We just passed an exit. The next one, I’m guessing, is probably about where the traffic jam begins. Probably a wreck up there.”
Lelani knew it was useless to be impatient, but she really wanted to get to the party early enough to get Emma ready. “How long do you think it’ll be?”
“Who knows.” He had his Blackberry out and was already dialing. “Hey, Dad,” he said cheerfully. “Tell Mom we might be late. Traffic jam on the 205.” He made an apologetic smile to Lelani. “Hard to say. But we’ll be there when we get there.” He chuckled, then hung up.
“Sorry, Lelani,” he said as he reached for her hand. “I know you wanted to be there early.”
“It’s not your fault.”
“If I could arrange for a helicopter to pick you up, I would.”
She smiled and squeezed his fingers. “I know you would.”
“So how goes the wedding planning?”
“Well, Anna has sent the invitations.”
“How did Mom respond to the cuts in the guest list?”
“I honestly don’t know. I left that in Anna’s capable hands.”
“Speaking of Anna, is something up with her?”
“I’m not sure. She’s been really quiet lately. She says she’s swamped at work, that it’s always like this at this time of year. Some big publishing show in New York that everyone has to get ready for. Anyway, she hasn’t been around much. I’m just thankful she had time to get those invitations done.”
“And you’re still certain that I don’t need to wear a tux?”
“That’s what Megan is saying.”
“Because as much as I hate them, I’m totally willing to put on a monkey suit for you, Lelani.”
“Thanks, but this isn’t going to be a formal wedding.”
He leaned over and kissed her. “Have I told you that I’m the luckiest guy on the planet?”
“Not lately.”
He kissed her again. “Well, it’s true. I’m marrying the most wonderful woman. Not only is she beautiful and intelligent, but she’s sensible too. And she has the most adorable little girl. Quite the package deal.”
“Well, thank you.” She kissed him back. And so, as they waited for traffic to move, they took advantage of the time and were eventually surprised to hear the sound of a horn informing them that it was time to move.
Within minutes they were parking in front of his parents’ house. Not exactly in front, since there was already more than a dozen cars filling the driveway and lining the street.
“How many people did your mother invite?” Lelani asked as Gil helped her out of the car.
He shook his head. “It seems she invited, well, just everyone.”
The party seemed to be in full whirl when they entered the house. Relatives mingled everywhere, along with streamers and balloons and party favors and hats, all in a brightly colored fiesta theme: screaming shades of tangerine, lime, electric blue, and magenta.
“And here’s our birthday girl now,” Gil’s mom was announcing as a young woman (not someone Lelani knew) led Emma into the great room. Emma looked a little frightened as she held this woman’s hand and toddled into the center of the crowd. She wore a bright magenta dress with so many ruffles that she looked like a hot-pink Michelin baby. Her legs were bare, and her feet were clad with white ruffled anklets and shiny black patent-leather shoes. Her chin was quivering, like she was about to start crying.
“Isn’t she gorgeous?” cried Gil’s mother as Lelani handed Gil the pale-pink dress, then pressed her way through the crowd and scooped up Emma just as she was starting to cry.
“Happy birthday, sweetie,” Lelani said calmly. “Want to come outside with Mommy?”
“Mama-Mama-Mama!” Emma’s face erupted into a relieved smile and she clung tightly to Lelani.
“I’m taking the birthday girl out for some fresh air,” Lelani said as she pushed her way toward the patio. Gil was next to her, sliding open the door so she and Emma could escape. And then it was just the three of them out by the pool.
“I’m surprised your mom took the cover off the pool,” Lelani said as they sat down on patio chairs. “She usually leaves it locked up when Emma is here.”
“She likes having it opened up for parties,” he said with a grim expression. “But I’m a little surprised too.”
“It’s not that I’m afraid exactly,” Lelani admitted. “I know that Emma can sort of swim, with assistance. But if she were alone and wandered in.”
“I’ll speak to Mom about it.” He put a hand on her shoulder. “Are you okay?”
Lelani forced a smile for Emma’s sake. “Yes. I’m fine. And look at you, Emma girl, you are looking like one little hot tamale in your big ruffled dress.”
Emma grinned and began to babble.
“What’s wrong?” asked Gil’s mother as she came out to join them.
“I think Emma was a little overwhelmed,” Lelani said. “I didn’t want her to have a meltdown in front of all your friends.”
“She seems perfectly fine to me.” Mrs. Mendez held out her hands to Emma. “Want to come with Abuela?”
But Emma didn’t reciprocate.
“You go back inside, Mom,” Gil told her. “We’ll be along shortly.”
Other guests were starting to trickle outside too.
“Everything looks very festive,” Lelani told her.
“And you see that I remembered you wanted Emma to wear pink?” she said hopefully.
“I see that.” Lelani nodded.
“There’s lots of food,” she continued. “And we have the piñata and birthday cake and presents and—”
“Yes, yes,” Gil said a bit impatiently. “I’m sure you have a lot to do, Mom. Just let Emma chill for a while, okay?”
“But you will bring her back inside,” she pleaded, “so everyone can see her?”
“Of course,” Lelani assured her.
“It looks like the party’s coming out here anyway,” Gil said.
“Hey, there’s Auntie Megan and Auntie Kendall,” Lelani told Emma. And soon they were joined by a more familiar set of faces.
“Happy birthday, Emma,” Megan told her.
Kendall planted a kiss on Emma’s head. “Happy birthday, princess.” She tweaked a ruffle. “Let me know if you need a new fashion consultant,” she said quietly, and they all laughed. Emma clapped her hands and laughed too.
Three Weddings and a Bar Mitzvah Page 14
