Page 14 of Four Weddings to Fall in Love
Unfortunately, my dad now looks concerned, too.
“If you need help,” he says, “I can ask around.Find some eligible young women to introduce you to.What are you looking for?Marriage?A little fling?Personally, I’d recommend marriage.”He glances at my mother and smiles.“But—”
“I don’t need help from my parents,” I tell him.
“Don’t bring me into this,” Mom says.“This is all on your father.You know I stay out of these things.”
“You stay out of them until you threaten someone with a hedge trimmer,” Jon says.
Mom responds with a shrug, and Dad laughs.
Just a regular day in the family.
When our food begins to arrive, Mom immediately reaches for the siu mai and winces.It’s faint, but it doesn’t escape my notice.
“Is something wrong?”I ask.Between my parents, my mother is the stoic one, and it’s rare for her to show even the slightest expression of pain.
“I pulled something when I was working in the garden,” she says.“Don’t worry.”
The problem is that I’m a bit of a worrier, even if I don’t always say anything, and I’ve been worrying about my mother since I was seven.When Jon was born, something wasn’t right.I’m not actually sure what happened to her—we never talk about it—but she wasn’t well for a long time, and she had four little boys to look after.She rarely complained, but I could tell.
I decided I’d do my best not to cause her any stress.Okay, that isn’t exactly how I framed it in my seven-year-old mind, but I was determined to be good.I wouldn’t get in trouble.I would try to be helpful.
I would be the one she didn’t have to worry about.
Mom has always made it clear that she wouldn’t put pressure on us to get married, unlike Auntie Gladys with her kids, but I do wonder if that’s what she’d like to see.For a split second, I resolve to be more proactive about it.I can enlist Dad’s help, sign up for every dating app, and—
No.Mom would never expect me to subject myself to such horrors on her behalf.
But one day, it would be nice to get married, and if I find a woman who can love me like I love her, I hope I make a better first impression than I did on Kim.
My father is the middle child.He has a younger sister, Doreen, as well as an older brother, Gilbert, who is married to Gladys, aka my mother’s nemesis.They’re only rivals in my aunt’s eyes, however; Mom merely thinks Gladys is annoying and overbearing.Not that Mom has said that, precisely, but it’s fairly clear what she thinks, and I tend to agree with her.
I presume Auntie Gladys sees my mom as competition because my father’s mother—now deceased—was pleased that my mom gave her four grandsons.Gladys has never forgiven Mom for that.
But now, my aunt is “winning” because her kids will all get married before me and my brothers do.Today, it’s her eldest daughter’s turn.
The wedding is at a lavender farm a little outside of Toronto.Just under an hour from my apartment—if there’s no traffic—but I figured it would be easier to stay overnight, so I parked at the hotel before heading over in the shuttle that Dylan’s family arranged.
Dylan’s family isvery rich, a fact that has been emphasized by Auntie Gladys an excruciating number of times.If it weren’t for that, I’m not sure how thrilled she’d be about Mirabel marrying a white guy, but she’s happy with him.
The ceremony won’t start for another twenty minutes, but I’ve already taken my seat.Mom and Gladys are standing to the side of the outdoor seating area, and I can’t help overhearing their conversation.They’re not that close to me, but my aunt’s voice carries.
“Three children getting married in two months!”Gladys says.“Aren’t we lucky?”She doesn’t give my mother a chance to answer before barreling onward.“Iknowit must sound like a lot, but I really am pleased!My mother is visiting for the entire summer so she can attend all three—isn’t that wonderful?It’s beensomuch work, though.I swear I’ve spent a thousand hours on flowers alone.”
I imagine my mother is inwardly rolling her eyes at the hyperbole.
“Aiyah!”Gladys says, rushing up to the altar.“No, no, this is all wrong.”She yells at someone, who comes over and makes minor adjustments to the arch under which Mirabel and Dylan will be married.Frankly, the “before” and “after” look the same to me.
I’m irritable today because I’m roasting in my suit.It’s much warmer for this Canada Day wedding than it was for Malcolm and Tessa’s wedding last month.Kim probably would have preferred…
I shut that thought down quickly.
I don’t think of her often, but she still pops into my mind every now and then.
“I’m boiling,” Jon complains from my right.
“Yeah, it’s very hot,” Evan agrees.
