Our Family Wedding: One Stranger

Previously: Our Family Wedding VI (Velda)

Good things happen to bad people too...

That's what I said to myself when Gabrielle announced she was getting married. She was so happy, it was painful to watch. She had everything, it seemed - a fantastic wedding, a wonderful charming husband-to-be, a childhood love that refused to let go, tons of money, a perfect life. So it seemed. But it was crashing down like a pack of cards...

We all look to the back of the room where the only stranger in the room is rising to his feet; he looks surprised, like he can not believe what he just did. I feel almost sorry for him, but I know that now he has no choice. It was time to pay the piper.

I would have bet my life that no one would be more surprised to see him than Gabrielle, but the look of horror on her fiance's face is enough to get me curious. He looks like he has seen a ghost, and suddenly more things are falling into place...

The stranger walks up to Gabrielle, and as he moves closer to her you could see him transform; his confidence grows and suddenly he exudes such an aura of rage that we are all held spellbound by what we know is about to happen...

"She cannot marry him. She is married to me."

There is a gasp from all the guests, a mumbled accusation from the groom, and tears from the bride.

But today, we are not looking at Gabrielle. All eyes are on the stranger....

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I met Gabrielle in my second year in college at the Vet's office in the city. It was one of the many jobs I took to cover my tuition expenses. She was a beauty. I knew I did not stand a chance with her - girls like her never dated guys like me. But Gabrielle did not play by anyone's rules but hers. And she wanted me; she always joked that I reminded her of a guy back home who loved her almost as much as I loved her. She also joked that her parents would die if they ever found out who she was dating. And then one day she asked me to marry her.
I thought it was another one of the cruel jokes she played on everyone for her own enjoyment, but she was serious. We loved each other and she was willing to defy her parents for me. We were married secretly, and we gave ourselves a one-month Honeymoon before we would tell everyone and face the consequences. Gabrielle disappeared 3 weeks later. I never heard from her again. Her friends who only tolerated me when I dated her could not hide their disdain for me as they made it clear that my wife was gone, and she did not want to be found.
I spent months trying to deal with losing her. But when my older brother who ran our family's paper factory was killed outside a bar, I gave up on finding her and returned home to run the business. And here she was marrying the one man who murdered my brother in cold blood and killed my mother with grief.............

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Coming soon: All in The Family (Encore)

Our Family Wedding: VI

Previously: Our Family Wedding: V (Father of the Groom)

Velda

There is nothing I love better than the sound of silence.
As the preacher pauses dramatically at that unnecessary part of the wedding service,
I can feel the nervous energy rise to a crescendo in the room.
You could hear a feather drop as they all stop breathing.
Even though most of them expect that it will be another part of the service,
simply a formality, they cannot help their excitement,
their anticipation of something extraordinary.

And then that familiar voice comes from the back of the room:

"I DO"... A wildly interesting choice of words.

I smile in spite of myself. I had not expected him to do it. Some people, you have no need to meet them before you conclude, and rightly so, that they are spineless. But he has surprised me, and very few people surprise Velda.

I turn my attention from the back of the church to look into the faces around me.

Every guest looks confused, shocked, wildly curious. I can hear their minds working, spinning the gossip tales they would tell as soon as they can make a dignified exit out of the chapel without running for the oak doors.

The Bride: pale as a ghost, her lips moving, no words really getting formed.

The Groom: if looks could kill.... well, it's no secret that he is capable of murder.

The Groom's Father: Bored, irritated, a man with more important things on his mind.

The Mother of the Bride: Mortified. I know that at this moment there is nothing else on her mind besides what people will say, what the gossip rags will print about the scandal that is about to unfold here. I know because that is exactly what I would be thinking.

After all, she is my daughter...

I was born on the fast track. No one recalls if the first word I ever said was "More", but it is most certainly the first thought I ever formed in my pretty little head. More. I have always wanted more. More than those humble two rooms that formed the house I was raised in, with my entire family, all six of us. More than my father's job at the Postal Office, and my mother's teaching job at the Catholic School up the street. More than the tiny shop out front that we all took turns managing, earning pennies to keep the roof over our heads and the clothes on our backs. More than the regular occurrence of a free novel and a bright pencil for once again being the smartest pupil in the class. More than that whistle, that longing look, the scribbled poems and whispered words that men lavished on me. There was only one thing I never needed more of: I was more than beautiful, and everyone knew it.

Working hard, being a great student and settling for the best jobs in the world would not give me the life I wanted. My parents were smart, educated and they worked harder than all the wealthy people I knew, and they worked themselves to the bone day after weary day. I wanted to be like the women I read about and only saw in magazines; they had the world at their feet and everyone scrambled to do their bidding. I watched them, I learned to act like them and talk like them and think like them. I watched their men too, they owned everything, even the women. That was the life I chose, all I needed was a fortune to call my own. As soon as I was old enough I was out of school, choosing to use my beauty and my intelligence for a far greater purpose. I was married and divorced a few times, each time ending up even richer than anyone imagined I could get away with.

People always thought I was too beautiful to be smart.

George's family did too. They underestimated me. He was 79, battling the weakness that comes with old age, confused that his mind was as sharp as the days when he built the largest business empire in the country as his body died a little more every day. While everybody rallied around, his sons and protegés, treating him with disdain and waiting for him to die and leave them chunks of his life's work, I became his friend. I was not even thirty, and I devoted two years to him, showing him the time of his life. He taught me how to rule an empire. "Owning wealth is wonderful", he always said, "but you have to control the people around you. You have to own them." I gave him the one gift he asked of me in return for the one thing I wanted: we spent the last few months together  in a secluded villa outside the country, and when his only daughter was born, I was a heiress with more money than I knew what to do with. We had both won. He showed them all, leaving them with nothing, and I finally had what I wanted, a kingdom to rule. A mysterious heiress, that is what they call me. Some even say I killed him myself after he signed the will.

I bought the villa the morning he died, hired the best caregivers in the world for my daughter, and I returned alone. For six years she was raised in the villa by herself protected from the world, even years later I explained her away as a child whose parents, close friends, had died tragically in another country. I told myself it was for her safety.

I had inherited a fortune legitimately. And it was time for me to enjoy it.

But I have always looked after her. She has never worked a day in her life, and everything she owns has been handed to her on a platter of gold, including her husband, her marriage. I ask for nothing in return from her, from all of them, except complete obedience. I own them, all of them in this room, their businesses, their homes, their secrets.

It is not a secret that I do not approve of this laughable charade, this wedding that will never be. But even the most powerful people get tired of pulling all the strings and working behind the scenes. I am an old woman, ready to dance with the devil for eternity and pay for my many sins. It is not enough to be rich and famous and powerful and then die while no one is watching. I want more. And I have found my stage.

I look at all their faces again and smile to myself.

Coming soon: Our Family Wedding: One Stranger

Our Family Wedding: Part V

Previously:  Our Family Wedding IV (Mother Of The Bride)

The Father of the Groom

Nine hours before I have to be on a plane to Mexico.

Six hours ago, I should have been in a meeting with the Diplomat in Canada.

Oil in Canada will not wait for my son's wedding.

My Son. 

I could not control the loud scoff that escaped my lips with that thought if I tried. But quickly I remember where I am as my wife tightens her grip on my upper arm, reminding me to behave myself. I attempt to stare her down with a black look; a futile attempt really, the woman has never been a pushover. Or we wouldn't be here. A supportive family putting on a lavish ceremony for our disowned, undeserving son. The bane of my existence. A murderer, a waste. If I had my way he would be far away, a destitute, not living off my wealth like he has a right to it. But his mother always has the last word, and because she wants us to be here, we are here. 

For a man known in many circles as someone to be feared, my wife has a big influence on most of my actions. Lesser men would say she is controlling, or she wears the pants in our home. I say, I love her, and why not indulge the woman who has sacrificed most of her life and her dignity to give me a wonderful home? I know I am a difficult man, and yet she has never complained. Letting her have her way is only one of the ways I reward her for pleasing me. 

What she doesn't know, what no one else knows, is that there is another woman who holds the reins on my decisions even more firmly than my wife does. She is my confidante, my advisor, and her wishes to me are law. I look to my left and watch in fond amusement as she sits still in her pew, her back straight, eyes fixed on an unseen object in the front of the chapel. Velda. Tough matriarch. The single most fearful woman in the room. And my benefactor.

 No one remembers now, but there was a time when my now-sprawling empire was only a far-fetched dream. I was a young man with big dreams, and no means of ever achieving them. And then I met this mysterious heiress who changed my whole life in one afternoon. No one really knows the source of Velda's wealth, and naturally I was curious, but when she offered me her unlimited means to pursue my dreams of tapping into the earth's liquid gold, I asked no questions. In seven years, I was wealthier than I had ever imagined. And now, thirty years later, Velda still remains in the background, giving advice, planning the great future, pulling the strings, learning my many secrets...

Like my son. I remember her words clearly, many years ago when I had gone to her, mad with fury, murder on my mind. My wife had come home with good news: after three years of trying unsuccessfully to have a child, she was finally pregnant. I knew without a doubt that she had been unfaithful, it was impossible for me to have children. Velda had listened quietly, without judgement, speaking only after I had said all that was on my mind. Then she looked me in the eyes and said firmly "You will go home, tell your wife that you are happy and excited about the news, and you will love that child like he was your own. You need a heir. No one needs to ever know that you are impotent. No one." It was difficult, but she was right. I had discovered very early that I was unable to ever have children. But I kept it a secret and to my shame and discomfort I allowed my wife to deal with the guilt that it was her fault and that somehow, she had failed me. But Velda was right, I could never accuse her of anything if I wanted to keep my secret. So I accepted my first son, and my twin daughters, knowing every day of their lives that they were proof of the greatest betrayal from the woman I loved with my whole being.

However, a secret I could live with turned out to be almost too much to handle as our son grew from a delightful boy into a reckless young man. The ungrateful bastard has caused me and his mother more grief than any other problems we have ever had to deal with. From the bad behavior all through his younger years, to more dangerous activities as a teenager, all culminating in the murder of an innocent man outside a bar abroad. At every turn, his mother has pleaded and I have obliged her, paying the best lawyers money could buy to make all his troubles go away. But after he was convicted I knew that he could never inherit my empire. His mother asks why I hate him so much, it is not hard to point at his actions instead of his conception...

I look away from him and exchange a nod and smile with the Best Man. He could be my heir. He had lost his family at a young age, and my wife had convinced me to officially adopt him as my own. It was the best decision we ever made. He is everything I want in a son: smart, respectful, responsible. Velda agreed. It was also a brilliant coincidence that he was in love with Velda's god-daughter. We had it all planned out, we would wait until she was done with college, and guide them gently into a lasting relationship together. He would be my heir, she would be Velda's heiress, as well as her father's. Together, we would create the greatest empire in the country, and I would finally have a son I could be proud of.

But as she walks down the aisle towards the wrong son I have no choice but to accept that even without a penny to his name, he has again thwarted my plans, reminding me why I hate him so much. But there is still time to put our plans together. Velda has a plan and she is patient. So am I.

We all face the priest.

"Dearly Beloved, we are gathered here today in the sight of God, and in the face of these witnesses, to join this Man and this Woman together..."

This needs to be over soon. I glance at Velda and her displeasure is evident on her face. I always wondered why she never said anything. For a woman so powerful and vocal in society and business and politics, she never seems to exert much influence in her family. But as I have learned, things are never as they seem with her. The priest continues to drone on and on about the sanctity of marriage, I tune him out as I rehearse again the few words I have prepared to sway the Board of the new company I am acquiring.

"Now, if anyone knows of any reason why these two should not be joined together in Holy Matrimony, speak now, or forever hold your peace..."


The silence gets my attention and I look around. Everyone is staring at the one person who dared to interrupt this joyous occasion. And for the first time, Velda is smiling...


Coming soon: Our Family Wedding VI (Velda)

Our Family Wedding: IV

Previously: Our Family Wedding III (The Best Man)

Mother of the Bride

FIFTY FIVE years old and still as dumb as the day I got here.

Every day since I have had breasts, I have gotten myself into one kind of trouble or another. And it always comes back to bite me right where it hurts...

Or at least leer at me, like my son-in-law's best man is doing right now... in front of 350 guests.

What an irreverent imp!

I have stooped really low many times in the past years, but my daughter's best friend is a mistake that I will never be able to explain, if it ever got out. It had meant nothing at first when I started to flirt with him at a wedding many months ago. Ever since I turned fifty I had been feeling old, and something inside of me craved attention, and passion, anything to feel young and attractive again. Imagine my surprise and delight when I discovered that he wanted me too. What started out as thinly veiled banter quickly escalated, and before I knew it we were upstairs together in the Mayor's Manor while the entire city partied the night away at the biggest wedding of the year. It was so exciting, knowing we could be discovered at any time. I know that a part of me wanted to be caught. How envious would my friends have been? Only I could still command the attention and ardor of a twenty-something years young man. Just what I needed...

But at the back of my mind was one thought... He is in love with my daughter...

I have seen the way he looks at her with naked, intense longing when he thinks no one is watching. For so many years I was convinced that he was the one for her. No one has ever been as devoted to her as he is. All her life he has followed her everywhere like a lost puppy. I shake my head in bemusement. I have always been surprised that she does not seem to notice his desire. I see myself in her, a self-absorbed princess who barely notices anyone else in the room but herself. She is spoiled, just like me, and she feeds off the adoration of others, expecting nothing less than their undivided attention at all times. But I feel no sympathy for her love-struck friend, he had his chance through all the years he wasted being just friends with her. Good thing he has kept our affair to himself, no reason to create a scandal. what was I thinking? If this ever got out... If any of the things I have done ever get out...

I distract myself from my wayward thoughts by checking everything over one more time with my well trained eye. The flower arrangements are beautiful, flawless, they will be imitated by many brides in the coming months. The guests are seated just the way I planned, beautiful people in prime spots for the pictures, and the others tucked neatly in corners where they will not be photographed. I should commend the ushers for doing a neat job. Everyone is right where I want them to be; everyone except Aunt Velda, of course. No one tells her what to do. If only she would just smile. It is a happy day! It should be a happy day...

My baby is finally about to marry the man of her dreams. He is a charming young man, from a highly respectable family. And even when I voiced my fears about the speed of their courtship, her father insisted that it is a good match. I know what he really means is that merging his company and the new in-laws' in the future is a good idea. But still, he is her father...

Or is he?

The first time I was introduced to my future son-in-law, my heart stopped. Memories of the early days of my marriage came flooding back. My wedding was a grand affair, much like this one. I was the talk of the town for many months. But wedded life was not what I expected. My new, rich husband had no time for me. Gone was the attentive, dashing man that courted me for many months. Suddenly he was busy at all hours of the day. I spent many lonely afternoons while I listened in on business conference calls and pretended to be interested in his new ideas and his work. My young ambitious husband was caught up with building his empire.

I was bored out of my mind, tired of shopping, tired of long days at the spa. Being a trophy wife was starting to feel like a chore. Until he suggested that I take my first vacation: he pointed to the globe on his desk "pick any point on the map. I'll pay for it". My first holiday was an exotic island: it was a wonderful time. The sights, the food, the men: charming gentlemen, older, more worldly, distinguished and very determined. It was not hard to break my vows and allow myself to be seduced. It was my delicious secret. As my husband got busier I took more trips, until I discovered I was pregnant... I was always afraid my secret would be discovered when she was born. But she looks exactly like me, she always has... maybe I am afraid for nothing, but I wonder every day...

I could hardly wait to be done with dinner as she introduced her boyfriend to the entire family. And as soon as I could get away I was on the phone with the man I had always feared to be her father. He assured me coldly that I was mistaken. There was no way on earth my daughter is his. Now I know my fears were unfounded. Whoever her father is, my daughter is not getting married to his son.

Or is she?

The music begins and I watch with tears in my eyes as my beautiful daughter floats down the aisle on my husband's arm. She is so beautiful. At least I got that right. My heart swells with love for her, but it leaves an after-taste of intense fear...

"Dearly Beloved, we are gathered here today in the sight of God, and in the face of these witnesses, to join this Man and this Woman together..."

My palms are sweaty now. My heart beating in fear. Can I allow her to take this big step without ever really knowing for sure? Can I trust the word of a man I hardly know? Would he be so cold as to allow a marriage between his only son and his daughter? What kind of mother am I? I have not prepared her to be a married woman. What if she ends up like me? Makes my mistakes? She knows nothing about being a wife, nothing about making compromises and sacrifices for another person. She is not ready... The thoughts are tumbling over themselves in my head...

"Now, if anyone knows of any reason why these two should not be joined together in Holy Matrimony, speak now, or forever hold your peace..."


I feel dizzy. Now is the time. She will hate me forever. Before I allow my head to stop me from doing what my heart knows is right, I hear the words whispered over the nervous silence of the chapel "I DO"

Coming soon: Our Family Wedding V (The Father of the Groom)

Our Family Wedding: Part III

Previously: Our Family Wedding II (The Groom)

The Best Man

Weddings.
Weddings Weddings Weddings.

The air is steaming again with the sweet aroma of desperate women. I do not know what it is about happy weddings that creates sad, lonely, ready-for-anything women. They are everywhere, and they are always trying to prove something. Its funny that by June every year you can already spot the serial wedding-hounds. Like Daisy - Lord bless those endless legs - and her exotic frienemy, Jummai. It would be awesome to get them together in one room. That would be a party. And then there were the older women who prowled weddings looking for fresh blood to make them feel young again. Those were the ones who let loose with such abandon that would make their younger competition blush. Almost everything I know, all the tricks that have women coming back to beg for more, I learned from an older woman.

Speaking of older women, it is taking a lot of restraint not to wink at The Mother of The Bride as she sits over there primly, doing her darnedest not to look at me. But her respectable attire does not fool me one bit. There is a feisty nymph inside those respectable motherly clothes. But this is not the time or place; and whether or not I get a repeat performance from her, something inside me knows that I will get her alone in a room again and watch those eyes grow dark with wanting me. Not that I really want to, but I never do what I should do. For now, I put my lecherous thoughts aside and turn my attention with the rest of the guests as they rise up to welcome the Bride.

The glowing, blushing bride.
My girl.

I have known her since high school when she was a sassy little know-it-all, and many years later I still feel that intense sense of protectiveness towards her. Even now, I want to snarl at every man in the chapel and growl

"Mine. She's Mine"

The same way I almost did when my best friend proudly announced to me that he was going to make her his. But I held back, I reasoned that he could only be taunting me into admitting what he had hinted at all these years - that I was in love with her. Besides, she was not remotely his type, and everyone knew he was still disgustingly in love with the ex-girlfriend who dumped him and fled to Europe. Wonder what happened to her... It was a huge shock to me when she shyly came to me and told me that she had decided to date him. "He's sooooo perfect," she had crooned, all smiles, as she gushed excitedly about him. I could not believe my ears, I had never imagined that someone like her could be remotely interested in someone like him and I truly regretted introducing them...

She had just graduated from college and had come for a two week visit, to relax and catch up. I think deep down I was hoping that now that she was all grown up, something would blossom between us. Unfortunately, my best friend had shown up uninvited to talk about his runaway girlfriend and see if I had any new information about her. It was a funny story really: he swore to everyone that he had done nothing wrong and that he was in love with her, but her family protected her from him like he was the devil. After many weeks, the subject was tiring and I just wanted him gone. So I did the selfish thing and asked her to take him to a local bar while I finished up the imaginary work I brought home from work.  I knew she would not be impressed with him and would find an excuse to get rid of him soon enough. But something must have happened that night because a complete change came over him and he started to pursue her ardently... and now, in less than a year, they are getting married... and I am still surprised by it all.

I look at her smiling and glowing as she floats down the aisle and I literally stop breathing. It's no secret by now that I am in love with her. I have always loved her. But when someone has so much power over you, you do everything you can not to fall into their hands. Because then they can really hurt you. So the more I loved her the more distance I put between us. And now it is too late; because how do I say to the only person I have ever loved "I love you, but I slept with your mother six months ago, because I wanted you....." I feel the sting of tears as I realize I am losing her forever and I look away. The mistake I make is looking sideways at my best friend...

The look in his eyes as he watches her coming down the aisle is cold, hateful. If I did not know him I would say he had the look of a killer, and even though he is not looking at me I shiver a little.


"Dearly Beloved, we are gathered here today in the sight of God, and in the face of these witnesses, to join this Man and this Woman together..."

Who is this man?

I have known him very well for years. And even when he has been away in school or taking care of family business we have managed to stay in touch. And I owe him my life: after my parents died and I had no one, his family took me in as one of them. They are responsible for my education, my comfortable life, everything. But they have always had their secrets. And as I look at her over his shoulder I feel the cold hands of fear squeezing me so hard that I can hardly breathe. I cannot, will not, let her marry this cold stranger...

"Now, if anyone knows of any reason why these two should not be joined together in Holy Matrimony, speak now, or forever hold your peace..."


I open my mouth to speak, and before the words are formed I hear them whispered and echoed throughout the chapel "I DO"

No one is as surprised as I am...

Coming soon: Our Family Wedding IV (Mother of the Bride)