Page 24 of My Stepbrother's Wedding
Elizabeth gasped and grabbed her chest. Dad shrugged and kept eating. The Malegonians clapped and patted him on the back.
Like Elizabeth, I’d never liked seafood, but I prodded my fish with a fork, working up the nerve to try it. Will’s cell phone rang. He answered and blabbered something in Malegonian. His smile turned to a frown. He said something to Irena and her family, and a wave of nervous faces overtook the party, followed by painful groans. The music stopped.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
Will shook his head, clearly agitated. “The reception venue just canceled on us. We need to find somewhere else to host three hundred people for the last night.”
Elizabeth shrieked. Dad dropped his fish. Irena buried her face in Will’s shoulder. Her family muttered to one another in a frustrated tone.
“What are you going to do?” I asked.
“Find a new place,” Will said grimly. “But I need to hurry.”
Half the guests made for the door. I sat glued to my seat next to Elizabeth and Dad. The only Malegonians left were Mira and Miranda. Both looked annoyed but not especially surprised. Miranda unleashed a long string of irritated curses in her language.
“This happens too much in the Balkans,” Mira translated. “People don’t plan, and everything goes wrong at the last minute.”
I knew we were only getting a loose interpretation from the fury at which Miranda continued, but it was enough.
“What happens if they can’t find a new venue?” I asked.
Mira took a deep breath. “I hope we don’t find out.”
***
We sat anxiously for the next two hours, sipping Turkish coffee and eating the endangered species. The others returned. Tight jaws and downcast eyes made it clear the situation hadnot been resolved. Will sat next to his mother, rubbing his temples.
“How did it go, honey?” Elizabeth asked.
Will shook his head. “We found a new place for the reception, but they wanted more money than we budgeted.”
“How much more?”
“Five thousand dollars.”
I gasped.
“We’re going to cover this, right?” Elizabeth fixed her eyes on Dad.
Dad paled and huffed for air like he’d just had a panic attack. After a moment, he caught his breath and said, “They might as well ask for the deed to our house.”
Elizabeth’s face turned as red as her hair. “This is important, Ralph. People only get married once.”
Dad groaned as every eye in the room locked on him. “Can we talk about this when we get back to the villa?”
“We don’t have much time,” Elizabeth said sharply. “The reception’s tomorrow.”
“I know, but shelling out our retirement was not what I had in mind.”
The Malegonians broke off into nervous chatter. Elizabeth stared daggers at Dad until he crossed his armsand turned away. I tried to turn invisible and daydreamed about escaping. Getting money from Dad was like trying to draw blood from a carrot, and the longer this argument dragged on, the more stressful it would become. Part of me blamed Will. He knew how to play our parents against each other. Emergency or not, it was a big ask for Dad to shell out that much cash.
“Fine, Ralph.” Elizabeth rose from the table. “You’ve made yourself clear.”
“Where are you going?” Dad asked, a dumb look on his face.
“I’m going back to our room.” Her glare burned into him. As cheap as Dad could be, Elizabeth could sometimes override him by sheer emotion.
Will set his hand on his mother’s shoulder. “Petrush and Miranda already said they’ll cover the new expenses.”
