been really hard for me to keep my mouth shut. After my meeting with Pastor, I'd really like to give Mrs. Mac a piece of my mind, my middle finger, and then say something like, There's no way in hell that Pastor John is marrying us, so there . I'd even stick out my tongue for good measure.
But then I remember I'm an adult.
Darn.
Finally during dessert, Phillip turns to his dad and says, "Dad, I have some good news."
His dad says, "Does that mean you finally asked her?"
Mrs. Mac says, "Asked her what?"
Phillip turns to his mom. "I know Dad told you all about us building in Kansas City."
She nods.
Phillip continues. "The good news is we offered Jadyn the opportunity to design it, and she's accepted."
Mrs. Mac smiles and starts to say something, but Phillip keeps talking. "And there's more."
"More?" Mr. Mac says with a confused look.
"A lot more. We've decided to start looking for a house in KC right away. We've also decided to get married right away."
"Why?" Mrs. Mac says. The she turns to me with an accusatory look. "Are you pregnant?"
This is the same woman that told me just a few weeks ago that I should get pregnant and make Phillip marry me. Now, she's pissed.
Phillip says, "She's not pregnant." He covers my hand with his. "Although that would be amazing."
I melt. Phillip just makes me melt. Always.
I went from feeling like a cat with her back all hunched up and readying her claws, to a little puddle of mush.
"How soon are we talking? You know, most weddings take fifteen months to plan."
"I do know that," I say. Ha! I've been secretly planning for a week. I know lots of stuff you don't. So there. "We're still working it all out, but we're shooting for December or January."
"December or January!!! That's only a few months! I have no idea how we're going to plan a wedding that fast."
She seems really stressed by this thought, which I think is a bit odd, as she managed to help her son plan a surprise engagement party in less than a week. So I say, "You don't have to worry about it. Phillip and I will do all the planning."
She looks at me, obviously reading my mind and knowing I don't have a clue. "So have you set a date? That's the first thing you need to do."
"We disagree. We decided to set a timeframe. A lot of the places I've called are already booked, so we're not setting a date until we find a place."
Philip says, "That sounds reasonable, don't you think, Mom?"
His mom huffs, "Are you sure you want to rush this? You just got engaged, and you're wrong. The first place you need to reserve is the church."
I wanna tell her I'm never wrong, but this will be more satisfying.
What the hell.
Call the president. Give him the launch codes.
It's time to drop the bomb.
"We're not getting married at the church," I say.
"You're what!? Why not? You HAVE to get married in the church."
Here we go. Here's where I'm gonna have to spill it. I haven't told Phillip yet. I've sorta been afraid to.
Phillip comes to my rescue. "We thought since it will be winter, and there will probably be lots of snow, that we would have everything in one place. It makes sense, and it's what we want."
"Phillip, you HAVE to get married in the church."
"No, we don't," he tells her. "It's our wedding. We can do whatever we want."
"Well, we still need to call Pastor John and see when he's available."
I grab Phillip's hand and hold it tightly for strength. "I met with Pastor John. I don't want him to marry us. We'll be having someone else do it."
Phillip turns to me. "You said something about that after you met with him. What's going on?"
I look at Phillip then lower my head and look at the kitchen table. I take a deep breath and say, "Pastor John told me that your mom's concerned about you marrying me, Phillip."
Phillip's eyes get big. He faces his mom angrily. "Is that true? You were so excited about us getting engaged. You've been pushing us to plan the wedding."
She sighs. "I was, yes."
"And now you're not?"
"I'm just
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