Page 78 of Fathers of the Bride
The last cake was lemon thyme with lavender icing.
“Nice lemon flavor, a hint of herb, the icing tastes like flowers,” Martha commented.
“You like it best, don’t you Daddy?”
“I do. But it’s not my wedding.”
She looked at Avery and said, “I think this is the one.”
“Yes, absolutely,” he agreed.
She was right, of the ones we’d sampled it really was the best.
“I vote for the bourbon vanilla,” Martha said, out of nowhere.
“Well, you know it’s a wedding, not a democracy,” I said.
“But Pudge and Lissa would prefer the bourbon vanilla.”
“How do you know that?”
“I just do.”
There was an awkward silence.
“Speaking of Pudge and Lissa, they came by the other morning,” I said. “With their sensitivity coach.”
“God, mother hates him,” Avery said. “I’m so glad we’re with you tonight.”
“Have more respect,” Martha said. “Your mother is your mother.”
“Why exactly did they come by?” Kelly asked.
“They still want to be part of the wedding.”
“But that’s why we went through the engagement party,” she said. “I mean, I don’t think we’d have even had one—”
“But you didn’t even come to the engagement party after your fathers ruined it. Avery’s mothers deserve a second chance,” Martha said.
“Are they paying you to say that?” Avery joked.
She followed up with, “After everything they’ve done for you, you should be on their side, Avery.”
“No, I should be on my fiancé’s side,” he said.
“The whole point of the engagement party was so there wouldn’t be sides,” Kelly said.
Char and Cher were back. I said, “We’ve decided on the lemon thyme—”
“The bourbon vanilla,” Martha interrupted me. “They’ll take the bourbon vanilla.”
“No, that’s not what Kelly decided.”
Oddly, Martha muttered, “I can’t say that. It’s too rude.”
“What?”
“Nothing.”
