Just Beginning by Theresa Rizzo

to—”
    “They died when Gabe was twelve. His uncle George raised him.”
    “So you’re canceling everything you’ve dreamed of for the past decade, for him?”
    Seeing the color flush her mother’s cheeks and the glint of battle lighting her eyes, Jenny hurried on, but not before noting the irony of Mom’s protective reaction. Her mother didn’t approve of her marrying Gabe, but if they were going to do it, apparently she wanted it to be everything Jenny’d dreamed of.
    “Not only for Gabe, for both of us. I was getting stressed out by all the millions of little details—”
    “If it’s that stressful, you’re obviously not—”
    “That’s only part of it.” She broke in, not wanting to hear more of her mom’s negativity. “I need this day to mean as much to Gabe as it does to me. I don’t want a redo of his first wedding. It has to be perfect for both of us.”
    “But you’ve planned this day since you were a little girl.”
    “I know, but my tastes have changed. We found this amazing all-inclusive five-star resort in Maui that’s perfect. We met with their wedding planner and got it all worked out. I’ve got my soul mate, my dream dress, the perfect bouquet, a wonderful meal, and dancing—we can even have the butterfly release.
    “The only really disappointing thing is that the wedding cake comes with that nasty fondant icing—there are no other options. But I can live with that as long as the family’s all there.
    “It’s October eighteenth—during Ted’s fall break. We got permission from Judith to take the kids, and I know you’ll have to take Michael out of school, and I know it’s short notice. And I know it’s a long way to go, but please, say you’ll come.”
    Please, please, please. They have to come . Jenny wasn’t even sure she could get married without her parents and Michael.
    “Where do I even begin?” her mother muttered. “One month is not a lot of notice, and did you even think to consult anybody before finalizing a date? No. You expect everybody to drop everything and fly to Maui because you two want us to?
    “Jennifer, weddings aren’t all about you two—that’s romantic marketing nonsense. Weddings are an art in negotiation, compromising what the bride and groom, and both families want. The way you start your marriage sets a tone for your future relationships and interactions with both sets of in-laws, and his kids. I’m sure you didn’t think of that.”
    Jenny wanted to shrink under her critical stare. “Not exactly like that.”
    “I’ll have to talk to Michael’s teachers and try to get his school assignments, and I have no idea if your father has a business trip scheduled then, but it’s likely he does, so you’re asking him to rearrange his work schedule.
    “And you’re mighty cavalier about losing thousands of dollars in deposit money. I’d hoped when you showed up with that check, it meant you’d learned some fiscal responsibility, but obviously I was wrong.” She sighed. “We’ll do our best to make it to your wedding. However, we will pay our own way. We do not want to start out our relationship with your husband paying for us—he can’t buy his way into this family or our good graces.”
    What ? Jenny scowled at the unfair accusation. Gabe was a sweet, generous man. Buying his way into the family was the last thing he’d think of. “He wasn’t trying to. Why do you have to make it sound so dirty? We realize what an inconvenience it would be, and he wanted to make up for that by doing something nice.”
    Mom opened her eyes wide and tilted her head. “Did it ever occur to you that maybe we wanted to be more included in our only daughter’s wedding? More included than writing a check—oh, right, now you’ve taken that away for us, so we don’t even have the opportunity to give our only daughter a beautiful wedding.”
    Are you kidding me right now? This is so unfair . Never in a million years did Jenny expect this