Page 5 of Save the Date

Emma knew that her lifelong obsession with marriage had a lot to do with her parents. She equated marriage with family so she was always eager to take the leap from dating toI can trust you with my life. She had seen her parents consistently show up for each other and she craved that for herself. And to be perfectly honest, she wanted to wear the Oscar de la Renta wedding dress she’d already purchased at a huge discount.

“So none of you think it would be too early for me to start dating?” Emma asked.

All four heads swiveled side to side.

“Would it be too early for me to get into a serious relationship?”

Again, four shakes of the head, although Chris’s was less emphatic since he was back to sending emails on his phone.

“What about finding someone who not only wanted to date me but also marry me—” Emma paused for dramatic effect “—on August 29?”

“Of this year?” Debbie exclaimed with enough shock for the entire group.

Emma nodded.

“As in, six months from now?” Alan added as if that couldn’t possibly be right.

Emma felt a smile creep across her face as everyone stared at her in disbelief. She knew she was about to head down a path that would completely blow up everything she’d been taught about love, marriage and party planning. But maybe it was time for her to hit the detonator for once instead of being collateral damage.

“I’m not going to call off the wedding,” Emma declared with more conviction than she had any right to feel. “I’m just going to find a new groom.”

Three

EMMA’S FAMILY HAD EVENTUALLY COME AROUND TO THEidea once she made the appropriate arguments. Jackie had been the first to fall; all Emma needed to do was reference reality TV shows likeIndian MatchmakingandMarried at First Sightto prove that the Western standard of dating—meet, date for years, have a long engagement—wasn’t the only way to go about finding a suitable partner. Emma had barely gotten the words out before Jackie was on board and clamoring to help set up her dating app profiles.

Alan and Chris were convinced by a more practical approach. Emma brought up all the nonrefundable deposits that had already been made: the band, the venue, the flowers, the multiple outfits! From a financial standpoint, it simply made more sense to at least try to find a groom than give away all that money without a fight. Plus, it was far easier to exist in LA in a two-income household. Why should Emma’s quality of life drastically decrease if it didn’t have to? Maybe she could find a really nice guy who was also really rich—wouldn’t that be a nice twist for everyone? Chris and Alan thought so.

Unfortunately, this angle didn’t move the needle for Debbie.Apparently, she didn’t want her youngest daughter to “marry a stranger just to save some money.” So Emma shared the other big part of her motivation that had quickly formulated in her mind as her plan took shape. As much as finding a new groom was something Emma wanted to do for herself and her future, she also saw it as an opportunity to influence the Western narrative around marriage—a narrative Emma had already been fighting against in her career. If she pulled this off, she’d be sending a message to all her followers (and maybe the world) that the length of time two people knew each other wasn’t what made or broke a relationship. And neither was the amount of lust and attraction couples felt at the beginning. What mattered most was a certain level of compatibly paired with a commitment to making it work.

If Emma’s practice had taught her anything, it was that following the traditional rules of courtship didn’t protect people from divorce. What did protect people was a willingness to work through their issues. Love didn’t stay alive because you had great sex on your third date forty years ago; love was something that needed to be tended to and maintained. Emma just needed thestartof something wonderful with someone. They could grow the rest of their partnership once they were married. And after about forty minutes of listening to Emma make her case, Debbie reluctantly agreed.

But her best friend Imani, who had just finished listening to a truncated version of the exact same spiel Emma gave her family, wasn’t convinced.

“This is a horrible idea,” Imani said, with her arms folded across her chest, sinking further into their shared office couch.

Emma had met Imani the first day of her master’s program. They’d become fast friends and had managed to turn their dream of co-running a private practice into a reality after years of working at clinics to get their required hours for licensure. Sure, the office space was small and smelled faintly of bodyodor despite being professionally deep cleaned three times, but it was their own. And none of their clients had complained—at least not about the smell. They complained about everything else constantly.

“I appreciate your honesty,” Emma said. “But that’s not what I need right now. I’m currently in the market for unbridled support.”

Imani raised her eyebrows and clicked her tongue with distaste. She had an expressive face that went well with her equally expressive outfits. Imani had never met a color too bold and she changed her hairstyle almost daily to align with her mood. Emma knew her pragmatic best friend would be the hardest to convince that finding a new groom in time for her original wedding was a good idea. Or at least not a completely terrible one. But she was up for the challenge, and/or willing to beg.

“Sorry. Still a no. You’re going to need to find your unbridled support elsewhere.”

“But didn’t you like the part about changing the narrative—”

Imani put her hand up to stop Emma from saying another word. “It doesn’t matter if I like it or not. We are living in the real world where six months isn’t enough time to know if someone is a psychopath or not. That’s just a fact.”

Imani had a point. It had once taken Emma nearly ten months to figure out one of her clients was a malignant narcissist with violent tendencies—and she was a professional.

“Now, if you were trying to pitch me on this with someone you already knew but had never dated, like that guy Bryce from—”

“Oh my god.” Emma sprung up from the couch and started pacing their shared office. “You’re so right! I don’t need to start from scratch with someone completely new.”

Images of Tony began to flood Emma’s thoughts. Tony in the car. Tony in the shower. Tony catching and then immediatelyfalling off a wave. She hadn’t seen the guy in years and suddenly it felt like he was in the room with them.

“I can just reach out to one of my exes and try to make it work this time!”

“Whoa.” Imani grabbed for Emma’s leg as she marched by her. “That’s not at all what I meant. I meant someone you already know but have never dated. People getting back together never works. Couples break up for a reason.”

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