by Glynis Astie
“He’s doing well, Dad. He’s happy to be back in California.”
He chuckled. “More than likely, he’s happy to be back with you. Who could blame him?”
OK, this is good. He sounded happy. I tested the waters further. “How are you, Dad?”
He sighed heavily. “The usual. I can’t get used to these crazy teenagers who come into the store. They have these huge spikes and piercings all over their bodies. Oh! And the tattoos! This one fellow had tattoos covering his entire face!”
“Wow, Dad, that must have been bizarre for you to see.” He knew I was mocking him a little.
He scoffed. “You don’t sound too surprised, Duck. Do you have piercings I don’t know about?”
I laughed. “Of course not! I’ve just seen all the things you’ve described pretty often.”
My father pretended to be shocked (Very little actually shocked this man.) “Where have you been spending your time lately?”
“The Bay Area is a lot more progressive than the suburb you live in, Dad. I’ll take you out to a few places to observe the next time you’re in town.”
“Sounds like a date. Now how’s the wedding planning coming?”
I filled my dad in on the plan to have the wedding in the US (Yes, I’m a coward) and then a reception in France. I had told my mom about our plan a couple of days ago, but I had been too stressed to tell my father (Especially since I didn’t tell my mom that the wedding would take place in California.) I knew he would have plenty to say about his having to take this particular trip to Europe. It didn’t bother him; in fact, it seemed he was looking forward to it, but he couldn’t resist pushing my buttons. It was one of his favorite things to do. And no matter how hard I tried to resist, I always took the bait. I had to find this man hobby.
“You mean I have to enter that godforsaken country?”
I sighed. He really enjoyed putting on a performance. “No, Dad, if you’re that uncomfortable, I’m sure Mom would be fine going without you.”
My father sighed dramatically. “No, I couldn’t do that to her. She needs me. I’m her emotional rock.”
I spit out the water I had been drinking and started to cough uncontrollably.
“Are you OK, Duck?” My father was laughing his ass off.
It took a couple of minutes, but I was finally able to speak. “You’re amazing, old man. Even after all these years, you’re still able to catch me off guard.”
He chuckled. “I’m the master, Duck. One day you may be able to rise to my level.”
I took a deep breath. “Dad? Is Mom around? I have something to discuss with both of you about the wedding.” I could already feel my heartrate starting to pick up. Why was I so freaked out about telling them the wedding would be in California? I was nearly twenty-eight years old. It was time to grow a backbone.
“Sure, Syd. She’s up front cashing out the drawer. I’ll give her a yell.” And this is exactly what he did. Unfortunately, most of the yell ended up in my ear. (Seriously, my dad is LOUD!) I had to remember to hold the phone away from my ear when he said that. I mean, he did give me fair warning.
My mom picked up the phone. “Syd? I’m so happy to hear from you, darling. I’ve missed you!” I couldn’t help but smile. My mom always made me feel special. It was going to make it that much harder to tell her our decision about the wedding location. Here goes...
“I’ve missed you too, Mom. How are you?” Come on! I can’t tell her without going through some pleasantries first. She raised me to have manners.
“Well, business is going very well. We have booked a bunch more parties - and not just birthdays! Anniversaries, going away parties and even one retirement party.” She sounded really excited. I silently hoped I wouldn’t kill her mood. Maybe I was overreacting? Maybe she would be fine with having the wedding out here. Oh, to hell with it. Just tell them, Sydney!
“That’s great, Mom! I’m so glad to hear things are going well.” I paused. “Listen, there’s something I’d like to speak to you both about concerning the wedding.” My voice started to shake a little bit. Why was I so nervous?
“Is everything alright, Syd?” My mom sounded concerned.
I cleared my throat. “Everything’s fine, Mom. Don’t worry. I just wanted to let you know that Louis and I have decided to have the wedding here. In California. We found this gorgeous hotel in Monterey overlooking the water. We can have the wedding out on a big, beautiful terrace. And there’s a long staircase leading down to the terrace.” I sighed. “It’s breathtaking.”
I paused, hoping they would have something positive to say. I mean, it was my day, right? Well, technically, it was Louis’ day too, but he didn’t care as much about the details as I did. Besides with my family, it was my opinion which mattered the most. This is what I wanted and I expected them to back me. OK, I hoped they would. I desperately wanted this.
My dad was the first to break the silence. “First you tell me I have to go to France of all places and now you tell me I have to go to California? Where I might fall into the ocean? Duck? Are you trying to kill your poor father?”
I paused for a moment. Wait. What just happened? Suddenly, I was cackling until I could barely breathe. My dad may have been a gigantic pain in the ass, but he loved me and he understood me unbelievably well. He knew exactly what to say to release my tension.
My mom was giggling as well. “Teddy, you’re incorrigible. Sydney, a wedding in California will be wonderful!”
I breathed a sigh of relief. I often forgot how much my mom loved California. She had lived in San Francisco for a few years in her early twenties and would have settled there if it weren’t for my father - my biological father. She definitely would have moved back to California once Kate and I moved out here, but there was no way that my father (my real father) would have moved. She told me once that she was tired of being separated from her true home by penises. She actually said, “penises.”
“Which hotel did you decide on?” My mom was bursting with excitement.
I grinned. “The Monterey Plaza. Have you ever been there?”
“I’ve never stayed there, but I did have lunch with a friend there once. It’s gorgeous!”
I started jumping up and down. I felt like a five-year-old who had just gotten a hot fudge sundae. (But honestly, you would still get the same reaction out of me for a hot fudge sundae.)
“We have a lot of planning to do, Mom! I hope you’re ready.”
“Are you joking? I can’t wait. Have you picked a date yet?” I could picture my mom dancing around her store. She always did that when she was happy about something. It used to embarrass me to no end, since she had no qualms about doing this in public.
“We’re looking at next September, which gives us a full twelve months to plan.”
“Oh, Syd. It’s going to be beautiful!” She had now entered the weepy stage. That was a quick transition! Could this be a little residual menopause? Focus, Sydney. This is a topic for another conversation. One that did not involve my father.
My dad coughed. “OK, Lyn, I think it’s time to get you home. It is closing time and the customers don’t need to see you have an emotional...thing.”
My mom laughed through her tears. “You’re probably right, Ted. We love you, Syd. Promise me you’ll call soon so we can talk details.”
“Of course, Mom. We have a lot of work to do! We’ll have to bring Kate up to speed. Though I think in her current state, she’ll serve us best in an advisory capacity. No hard core work for her.”
My mom sighed. “Poor Kate. I hope her morning sickness goes away soon.”
“Me too. I love her very, very much, but she’s one cranky pregnant woman. I want my sister back.” I frowned.
My mom snorted. “Cut your sister some slack, Syd. It takes a lot to create a life and for some women, it takes a whole lot more than we’d like. You’ll find out for yourself someday.”
Gah! I wasn’t ready to think about children yet. Louis and I were already on
the fast track in our relationship. Children were definitely a few years away.
“Thanks for the reminder, Mom. I have way too many other things to think about. I think a child at this point in time would be the end of me.” I chuckled.
“Don’t even joke about that, Duck. These things have a way of happening...”
Gross! My dad was talking about my sex life. It was time to end the call.
“On that note, Dad, I must go. I love you both! I promise to call again soon.”
My mom was not eager to end the call. “Say hello to Louis for us! And please tell his mother how much I’m looking forward to meeting her.” I could hear my dad in the background trying to get her to hang up the phone. A sentimental mother is one difficult woman to battle. And the possibility of leftover hormones from menopause didn’t paint a favorable picture for my father.
“Bye, Duck!” I could picture my dad trying to physically remove the phone from her hands.
My mom was struggling to get a few last words in. “Bye, Syd! We love you!” Click.
Clearly, my dad was trying to curtail the level of emotion that he was going to have to deal with this evening. He found women in general to be far too irrational for his taste, but he loved my mom dearly, so he grudgingly talked through her concerns. But that didn’t mean he had to like it.
I laid back on the couch and closed my eyes. I felt much more relaxed than I had in a long time. Things were starting to fall into place. Louis and I were blissfully happy, we had a beautiful apartment and we were starting to plan a gorgeous wedding. Life was perfect. Now all I had to do was plan the perfect wedding. How hard could it be?
Chapter Twenty-Seven
The last three weeks had been a flurry of wedding research. Maya was in heaven. I think she purchased every bridal magazine in existence. Luckily, Kate was starting to feel better, so the three of us had spent many evenings buried in these magazines, discussing everything from the style of my wedding gown to the font choice for the invitations. I had never appreciated how many details there were to create the perfect wedding. Consequently, I was unbelievably glad I had the two of them and my mom helping me. Otherwise, I don’t think I would have made it out alive. My brand of crazy mixed with Bridezilla was a lethal combination and they were very skilled at keeping me in check.
With all these resources, the details quickly began to fall into place. The previous week Louis and I had booked our dream hotel in Monterey for a Saturday wedding in September of next year. We were introduced to our wedding planner, Monica, and given a list of local vendors for everything from flowers to tuxedos. We set up an appointment for early next year to talk about ceremony details and to sample wedding cakes. Louis thought it was hilarious that I was most excited about the cake. But seriously, how could you not be excited about the opportunity to keep trying different cakes until you found the most delicious one? Fork, please!
I also had the good fortune of having my good friend, Lexi, refer me to her cousin who would do our flowers for cost. I was thrilled by this offer as I had been completely floored to find out how expensive florists could be. Louis and I didn’t want to spend a fortune, but I also had no intention of having carnations as my bridal bouquet. It’s funny, when you’re a young girl planning your wedding, it seems like a magical experience. (Because in this fantasy, you have an endless budget.) But when you grow up and actually do it, you realize that planning a wedding requires a lot of compromise as well as economy. It was easy to see I wasn’t going to have the “perfect” wedding I had long imagined, but it would be beautiful.
I had also never imagined as a child that the true lifesaver for my wedding planning would be a website. All you had to do was enter your wedding date and a few details and you were given a personalized calendar with task lists for each day leading all the way up to your wedding. It was pure genius! I felt a great sense of relief knowing no detail would be forgotten. In fact, I felt a closer kinship to the creator of this website than I did to some of my friends. (Who wouldn’t? My interests always came first as far as the website was concerned!)
Louis was in awe of the lengthy discussions Kate, Maya and I would have on various wedding topics. He didn’t understand why the process of planning a wedding had to be so complicated. I did my best to keep him in the dark, because if he actually knew the extent of our discussions, his head might explode. Men didn’t understand the importance of choosing the right flowers, wedding favors, invitations, etc. They didn’t appreciate how everything had to come together in just the right way in order to make us happy. And they certainly couldn’t fathom that because most women hoped they would only get married once, everything HAD to be perfect. But there was no pressure or anything...
Amidst all the wedding planning, I had completely forgotten about my birthday. This speaks volumes about my level of distraction. While I was not thrilled about being that much closer to thirty, I loved celebrating my birthday. You get cake, gifts, a special birthday meal and people just fuss over you in general. (And I always buy myself a gorgeous new outfit.) Celebrating my birthday lifts my spirits every year. And this year, I would have a fiancé to celebrate with! I had never had a boyfriend on my actual birthday, so I was looking forward to my birthday in particular this year. I was on pins and needles as I wondered what he had in store for me.
Finally, my birthday arrived. It was a Thursday night, so I didn’t think Louis would plan a crazy night, but no doubt it would be romantic. I was filled with anticipation as I waited for him to come home from work that evening. Of course, I was all decked out in my birthday ensemble. This year, I had chosen a black fitted pencil skirt, a shimmery violet blouse with a black lace camisole underneath and black high heeled boots. I decided to wear my hair down and followed Maya’s detailed instructions on how to use my new sparkly makeup. I was pretty sure I did her proud this time!
When Louis walked through the door, I jumped up and ran to him. He broke into a huge grin.
“Happy Birthday, mon coeur!”
I threw my arms around him and squeezed him tightly. Hmmm. There was a peculiar absence of flowers. I thought he might send me some at work today, but when they didn’t arrive, I figured he had decided to bring a bouquet home with him. Perhaps he had something special waiting for me at the restaurant we were going to?
Louis held my face in his hands and kissed me. “How was your day?”
I grinned. “It was nice! My boss took me to lunch and then invited a bunch of people for cake in the afternoon. Oh, and Kate and Nick sent me the most beautiful flowers.”
He rubbed his eyes. “Excellent. Now where would you like to go for dinner tonight?”
Did I hear him correctly? Did he just ask me at six o’clock on the evening of my birthday where I wanted to go for dinner? Was this some kind of joke?
OK, let’s back up a minute. You’re probably reading this thinking, what’s the big deal? Most men are like this. The fact is that Louis and I had spent a lot of time talking about our childhoods and while he had told me birthdays were never a big deal in his family, I had told him how important they were in mine. I make a huge fuss over my family and friends on their special days and I like to have the same treatment in return.
I had shared this information with Louis in a very upfront manner. I had even told him once if he wanted to marry me, he would be expected to buy me flowers at the very least four times a year - my birthday, our anniversary, Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day (when the time came). I had been very open and honest with him about what was important to me and did not expect him to simply know these things as many women did.
So, now that you have this added background and have been privy to his previous romantic behavior, you can share in my feeling of “What the fuck?” Please forgive my language, but profanity is absolutely necessary in this case.
I stared blankly at Louis. “You mean you haven’t made reservations anywhere?”
He cocked his head to one side. “Was I supposed to?”
; I was at a loss for what to say. I felt completely let down and didn’t know how to handle it. My mind started to take off on a journey of its own. This was the man I was going to marry? This was how I was going to be treated by my husband? Is this what I really wanted? I mean, I know marriage is about compromise, but is it too much for him to go through a little effort for my birthday, knowing how important it is to me? How hard is it to buy some flowers and make a dinner reservation? I needed to sit down.
I walked over to the couch and eased myself into a sitting position. I started to feel the tears coming and didn’t know what to do. Louis came over and sat next to me. He took my hand and stroked it.
“What’s the matter, Syd?”
I dropped my eyes to the floor and took a breath. “I’m not sure.”
He grinned and took a box with a ribbon out of his pocket. “Maybe this will make you feel better?
I tried to smile. I took the box and turned it over in my hands.
“Thank you, Louis.”
“Go ahead! Open it.”
I removed the ribbon and opened the box. Inside was a box containing a travel size bottle of Chanel No. 19. I do love this perfume, but it felt like a little bit of a letdown considering he had given me a full sized bottle of Eau de Givenchy when he returned from his trip to France - just because he missed me.
I cleared my throat. “Thank you, Louis. I love this perfume.”
“I’m glad you like it, mon coeur. Now where shall we go to dinner?”
At this point, I was barely holding it together. I glanced over at Louis and willed the tears to stay in my eyes.
“You know, Louis, I’m not feeling that well. Would you mind if we stayed here?”
He frowned at me. “Are you sure?”
I nodded. “I’d like to take a bath.”
He slid his hand down my back. “Do I get to come?”
Is he serious? “I actually have a bit of a headache. I think I’ll relax alone, if you don’t mind.”
Louis seemed confused. “Shall I order some takeout for the birthday girl?”