Page 90 of Save the Date

Luckily, Will quickly washed it away with his mouth.

Thirty-Two

August 29

EMMA FELT HER EYES FILL WITH TEARS AS SHE STOODunder the chuppah in front of roughly one hundred and fifty people. She contemplated discreetly wiping her face but worried she wouldn’t be able to hold her huge bouquet of flowers with only one hand. Alan had clearly gone for the VIP floral package, and while her bundle of peonies was gorgeous, they were a bit cumbersome. Emma checked to see if Jackie was also struggling, but her big sister was too busy smiling at the bride and groom.

Alan and Debbie looked radiant as they held hands and gazed into each other’s eyes. No one would suspect they had already been married for forty years. Emma was so grateful her mom was finally getting the wedding she’d always wanted. Even if it had originally been planned for someone else (and then someone else again).

As the rabbi helped the happy couple renew their vows, Emma looked out into the sea of people and immediately found who she was looking for. Will was seated in the front row andthe moment they made eye contact he grinned and gave her a little wave. Even though they were only boyfriend and girlfriend, Emma felt confident she’d never have to go to another family event alone again.

The past few weeks had been the happiest of her life—

despite the barrage of online harassment and social media commentary about her life choices. Jackie had helped Emma film a video explaining her decision to officially call off her wedding and her engagement to Matt. Jackie had also pitched ending said video with a surprise cameo from Will to give viewers the happy ending they’d been rooting for—even it didn’t come with a ring. During the six minutes and seventeen seconds of footage, Emma did her best to take ownership over her mistakes (getting engaged to Matt despite their lack of connection), while openly sharing her joy over her new relationship. A lot of people were excited to see their two favorite cohosts announce they were officially an item. A lot of other people thought it was “disgusting” and “the end of feminism.”

But, as Jackie put it, “At least you’ve given people something tokeeptalking about.” It helped Emma’s morale that Amanda Sharpe had reposted her YouTube video with the caption “You go, girl!” Emma’s social media following had never been larger. Apparently, controversy was catnip for chronically online people—even if that meant she’d had to stop reading the comments for her own mental health.

Luckily, spending less time obsessing over other people’s opinions meant Emma finally had the space and perspective to figure out how to end her book. She’d written a new last chapter that detailed in excruciatingly vulnerable detail what it was like to realize your partner didn’t love you anymore. She shared all the horrible, masochistic thoughts that had gone through her head and how her broken engagement had made her question if she would ever get her own “good enough” relationship. But instead of leaving the readers feeling sorry for her orquestioning her credibility as a relationship expert, Emma had managed to reframe her story and leave them with a feeling of hope. “One person falling out of love with you doesn’t make you unlovable: it makes you human,” she wrote. “When things don’t work out, all you can do is try again. And then maybe a third, fourth and fifth time because you owe it to yourself to not give up.”

During a surprisingly positive editorial call, Michelle had convinced Emma not to mention Operation: Save My Date in her current manuscript, because the podcast was doing so well there was already discussion of a second book based off the show. It felt surreal to have so many good things happen in a row after a series of calamities, but Emma knew better than to question how long this high would last. She was too busy enjoying it.

Emma had started this whole experiment with the sole goal of being the one in the big white dress on August 29, but as she watched her parents joyfully exchange rings, she knew she was right where she should be.

“You may now kiss your wife,” the rabbi announced as the crowd erupted into applause. Alan grabbed Debbie and dipped her as far as her bad back would allow. She came up for air laughing and yelling at Alan for using so much tongue. Emma dropped her bouquet so she could clap loudly with both her hands.

***

“Have you talked to Matt yet?” Emma asked Jackie as she joined her at Table One during the reception—a table that was notably set for six and not five. “He seems so happy.”

Jackie followed Emma’s gaze to the bar where Matt and Kelly were canoodling. No one would suspect they were technically divorced. Emma had invited them on a whim, hoping they could find a way to all stay in each other’s lives after going through so much together. She’d been shocked and pleasedwhen they’d accepted without question. Not that she should have been surprised; Midwesterners were famously skilled at making potentially uncomfortable situations incredibly comfortable.

“During cocktail hour,” Jackie replied with excitement. “He told me they’re eloping next month. She’s smart to lock him down when he looks like that in a suit.”

Emma laughed. “Chris doesn’t look too shabby either.” She gestured to her brother-in-law, who was currently busting out his best moves with her nieces on the dance floor. They involved a lot of shoulder movements.

“Oh my god, he’s so embarrassing,” Jackie groaned, despite the smile on her face.

“I have something for you.” Emma pulled her phone out of her clutch and tapped the screen a few times before passing it to Jackie.

“What is this?”

“It’s your new YouTube channel. I got you the domain Youtube.com/YouDoKnowJackie. You can change it obviously, but I thought it might be cute.”

“Why would I need a YouTube channel?”

“Because your talents shouldn’t be wasted all on me. And mommy influencers get a bunch of free perks.”

“You thinkIshould become a mommy influencer?”

“Or beauty. Whatever appeals to you more.”

“What if it was more of a lifestyle channel? That way I could share my workoutsandmy haircare routine.”

“Even better. I’ll send you the log-in details.”

Jackie didn’t reply because she was already too busy making notes on her phone, including “Ask Chris to get his teeth whitened.”

“Sorry to interrupt the party,” Alan’s voice suddenly boomed over the speaker system. Emma looked up to see both her parentssharing a mic on stage with the band. “But we just wanted to take a moment to thank you all for being here.”

---