Page 7 of Home Body
“You didn’t tell me that last night,” Dalia said. “I assumed in a week or two.”
“Nope. Today’s the big day when I walk down the aisle in a fabulous designer wedding gown in front of two hundred people to marry a douchebag. Until death do us part, no less. I have no idea what to do.”
“Kenyon, sugar.” Mamie patted the table to emphasize her point. “This is a heart-wrenching decision no one can make but you. No matter what you decide, there’s something I want you to remember. Your wedding may feel like the end-all-be-all, but there will be many far more important days in the years to come. A woman’s life isn’t predicated on one flashy, expensive day when she wears a big gown and there’s lots of hoopla. The best days are the ones that happen out of nowhere – the people you meet, the family you create, the unexpected moments that bring you pure joy. Like when you’re in your comfy shorts and a tee shirt and you’re sitting outside in a summer breeze with someone you love with every fiber of your being, and suddenly it strikes you that life couldn’t possibly get any better. Or when your toddler waddles up to smack you with a gooeykiss that makes you laugh. Or when you wake up in the night and know your loved ones are sleeping peacefully, and you can sleep peacefully. Those are the moments that make a good life. Goodness will come to you throughout your entire life. If you decide not to go through with this wedding, it will not ruin your life. I promise you that.”
Struck by those words, Kenyon paused thoughtfully before responding. “Thanks, Mamie. I needed to hear that. It gives me a lot to think about.”
“Okay then. If you’re wedding is today, we need to get a move-on.” Dalia stood up and pointed at Kenyan. “Let’s get this sideshow on the road. I’ll drive you to your damned wedding or wherever else you want to go.”
“Honey, what are you going to do?” Mamie got up and stood next to her guest, who stood up beside her. The matron wrapped an arm around the young woman’s shoulder.
The question overpowered the bride-to-be – or bride-not-to-be. Kenyon’s mind went blank. She looked out the window at Rose galloping around with Rover, who bounced around with wild abandon. It was the kind of happy family scene she’d always pictured for her own life when she became a mother. With Chad as the father.
That fairytale had up and died an excruciating death. The shock of that reality ignited a spark in her brain that lit a blazing fire, and suddenly she could clearly see what she must do. She needed to bury her slaughtered fairytale once and for all, and there was only one way to do that.
A wedding-funeral.
CHAPTER 5
“Kenyon, you’re sure you want to do this.” Dalia’s tone wasn’t judgmental but merely verifying what the bride-to-be wanted to do. They’d been discussing it ever since driving away from the farm. It was only twenty minutes to the church, so their trip would be short. There was no time to lose.
“Yes, I’m sure. I want to do this. Dalia, it would help me so much if you’d come in with me.”
“Ah, we hardly know one another. I mean, I’m driving you to a wedding I don’t think you should be having…” Dalia patted her tooled-leather-covered steering wheel, indicating that driving was okay “…but I don’t think I should stick around.”
“I understand how you feel, but I don’t have anybody else. Not anymore. It’s one favor too many to ask, I know, but it’s the most important day of my life.”
Dalia squinted, not sure she wanted to do this but relenting under the beseeching glare of the beleaguered woman beside her. “Okay, okay. I’ll do it. I’ll stay with you in the dressing room. I’ll even do your hair and makeup, seeing that you asked. I keep my makeup bag that I use at work behind my seat.”
Kenyon sighed with relief. “Thank you so much.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Dalia groused. “Hey, you do remember our promise, right?”
“Oh yes. I promise I will never tell your secret about being a stripper.”
“Oh god, it makes me cringe just to hear you say it. Don’t ever forget – no one can ever know. No one!”
Kenyon mimicked zipping her mouth. “My lips are forever and ever sealed.”
“Okay. I’m not worried about the other two you were with. They never so much as looked my way.”
“They would never recognize you anyway.” Kenyon motioned up and down Dalia’s body. “I didn’t even know who you were this morning.”
“Okay, okay. They won’t know me. So I’ll go in with you but I’m not going to be all nicey-nice to those two bitches or go sit in the congregation.”
“That’s fine. Just be with me while I’m getting ready with those traitors in the room. Don’t let me knock them off. They aren’t worth a life-in-prison sentence.”
“Deal. I help you and you help me by keeping my secret.”
“Okay. Now. The first thing that will happen is I’m sure Chad will be there waiting for me,” Kenyon explained, “begging me to go through with the wedding. He’ll apologize profusely and promise never to stray again. I can hear him now. ‘Oh babe, I love you so much. I’ve been lost and I strayed but the thought of losing you has made me find my way back to you. Back to my own heart.’ He’ll press his hands to his chest over his heart at this point. ‘I’ll never, never let you go again.’”
“Wow. That’s dramatic. Does he really sound like that?” Dalia had cackled at the performance as she navigated the potholes that mottled the county road.
“Not usually. But he’s desperate. You see, if the wedding gets called off it’ll be bad for his professional image. After all, he’s the lawyer who’s ‘the moral choice.’ His billboards even say so.”
“Ah. Ouch. That is bad. What about your matron-of-honor? Will she show up, do you think?”
“Humph. You mean matron-of-dishonor. Yeah, she’ll probably be there. Saving face is critical to her, too, because she’s married to a very wealthy guy she sure as hell doesn’t want to lose. Tamara loves money almost as much as she loves herself. I watched her get like that over the years and always made excuses for her because we’ve been friends for so long. But I finally have to admit she’s a total bitch.”
