2326. Here comes the bride

30 Replies

Karen’s mother and I have been estranged for about twenty years. Karen was only three when Samantha packed up and left. She wanted nothing to do with Karen. Now suddenly it’s all lights and bubbles.

Karen’s about to get married – this very day in fact – and as soon as an engagement was announced Samantha appeared out of the woodwork and began organizing things. Karen wanted a small quiet wedding; Samantha wanted it big. Karen wanted it in a little country church; Samantha wanted it in a sprawling garden. Karen wanted to wear something new and lovely that she could use as Sunday best after the wedding (we’re not particularly well-off); Samantha wanted a full-scale wedding gown. Karen thought little home-made cupcakes could be fun; Samantha wanted a three-tiered wedding cake. The list went on and on.

Of course Karen tried to be nice. She tried to steer convivially between her own wishes and the demands of her mother. Not particularly successfully I must admit. The wedding is today. It’s meant to be outside. It’s meant to be with an extravagant wedding gown. It’s meant to cater for at least two hundred people. The mother of the bride has a new hat. And a new dress. And a new handbag.

Anyway, I’m happy to say it looks like it’s raining. In fact it’s currently hosing down. And I’ve just got a text message from Karen and Gilbert. They got married yesterday in a registry office before leaving for their honeymoon.

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30 thoughts on “2326. Here comes the bride”

  6. umashankar

    This is thought provoking story notwithstanding the twist sought through the climax. There is poetic justice in the end for the extravagant protagonist, induced by the prudent daughter and aided by the elements much to the delight of the hapless father.

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Bruce Goodman Post author

      Thanks Peter. My brother was “scheduled” to be married three weeks after my father died. (I’m sure that could be better phrased). Dad had already bought the alcohol. I remember my mother saying, “I wish to goodness they would elope”!

      Liked by 1 person

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      1. badfinger20 (Max)

        Oh I meant the mom taking over the proceding and then bailing.
        Jennifer and I lived together for 7 years before we got married…I wasn’t a fan of a commitment lol…although we had bought a house!

        Liked by 1 person

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  10. Sarah Angleton

    Cheers to Karen and Gilbert! My mom had a wedding kind of like this. She was the granddaughter of a country sheriff, whose only child (her mother) had a Depression-era elopement and so my mom’s wedding was her grandparents’ chance to put together an over-the-top political/society event. There were as many guests she didn’t know as those she did. She did go through with it, but when I got married, she was extremely hands off with the whole thing.

    Liked by 1 person

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