Marriage Matters

Forty-seven

The next afternoon, Chloe met her mother and grandmother at the Drake for an afternoon tea. The hotel was only a few blocks from June’s house and Chloe loved it. They’d been going there ever since she was a little girl and as they entered the lobby, she felt nostalgic.

“What’s wrong?” her mother asked, nudging her.

Chloe took in the flower arrangement on the table and the enormous chandelier that dangled overhead. “I don’t know,” she said. “It’s like, in the past few days, I suddenly started seeing things differently. Like a grown-up, instead of a kid.”

“A diamond will do that,” June said. “This is just the beginning. Next, you’ll probably start wearing dresses and putting on makeup.” She said this while eyeing Chloe’s jeans with disdain.

“These jeans were very expensive,” Chloe lied as they walked into the tearoom. “They’ll fit right in.”

Of course, they didn’t. Everyone was dressed up but, honestly, Chloe didn’t have time. She’d slept over at Geoff’s, went straight to class and then worked a shift at Tiny Tumblers. Still, she had started to think about her appearance in the past few days, particularly her nails. Every time she caught a glimpse of the diamond on her finger, she resolved to go get a manicure.

“So, you feel different?” Kristine said as a waiter whisked away her coat. “More mature?”

“Let’s not get crazy,” Chloe said. Even though she wanted to appear as stately as the harp player or as the coiffed women sipping tea at the tables, she still had a childlike urge to run around the room screaming, I’m engaged, I’m engaged, I’m engaged! “I think my maturity level is right on par to where it’s always been.”

“Maturity is highly overrated.” June settled into her chair and reached for a menu. “Maturity requires hormone creams.”

“Gross.” Chloe laughed. “TMI.”

Kristine looked puzzled. “TMI? What is that?”

Chloe and June exchanged a look. Together, they chorused, “Too much information.”

June looked incredibly pleased with herself as she flipped through the menu.

While Kristine and June tried to decide on a flavor of tea, Chloe studied her ring. She’d noticed that it always looked different, depending on the light. At home, it had a crystal glint. On the walk to school, it sparkled with purples and blues. And here, in the tearoom, it flashed with deep golden tones.

Chloe sighed. The artistic nuances of the diamond ring were something she’d love to share with Ben. That, of course, would require her to tell him that she was engaged, which she still hadn’t quite worked up the nerve to do.

“Earth to Chloe,” June said, waving a hand in front of her face.

She snapped back to the present. “Yes. What?”

“We’re about to plan a wedding,” June said. “Will you take notes? As the student of the group, I feel you’re the one who is most capable.”

“Sure.” Fumbling through her backpack, Chloe unearthed a notebook. She felt guilty, somehow, as if thinking about Ben at a time like this had been inappropriate. Pen poised, she cleared her throat. “Go for it.”

“Alright.” June adjusted her red felt hat and pursed her lips, as though deep in thought. “To start, I have engagement photos booked for us this Saturday afternoon. I’ll need Kevin and Geoff, of course, so—”

“Stop right there.” Chloe held up her hand. “That’s two days from now. You have to give me more notice. I’m booked for, like, three months—”

June gave her hand a small squeeze. “Don’t worry, my darling. It will take two hours. I’m thinking sunset, by the lake. Then you’re back to whatever it is you have planned.”

Mentally, Chloe ran through her schedule. She was working until four so, even though it would be tight, it would work. Still . . . “You have to give me more notice,” she grumbled. “From now on. Deal?”

June sighed. “I’ll do my best, but the next few months will be very busy. I want this wedding to be the most impressive thing Chicago has ever seen. Imagine . . . the snow glistens from the ground. Lights shine from every tree. The city still sparkles with the magic of Christmas and—”

“Wait, what?” Kristine cried. “You want to get married in two months?”

Chloe’s eyes widened. Two months? There was a lot on the roster in the next two months: exams, internships, not to mention homework, Tiny Tumblers and actually having a relationship. How on earth was she going to fit in a wedding?

June flicked off a piece of lint nestled on her dramatic velvet cuff. “For heaven’s sake,” she said, looking back and forth between Kristine and Chloe. “Why are you two acting so surprised? I told you I wanted to get married quickly.”

“Yes,” Kristine said, shooting a worried look at Chloe. “But come on, Mom. We can’t plan a wedding in two months.”

June waved her hand. “Nonsense. Your father and I were married in a matter of weeks, when he was called to Vietnam. It most certainly can be done.”

Chloe considered this. “I guess a lot can happen in two months. I got engaged in two months.”

“Yes.” Her mother’s voice was tight. “I’m well aware of that.”

June shot her a look. “Unnecessary.”

Chloe looked at her mother in surprise. “Wait . . . What?”

Since when did her mother have a problem with her engagement?

“Mom,” she pressed. “Come on. What is it?”

“I just . . .” Tapping her fingers against her mouth, Kristine turned to watch the harp player by the fountain. The woman’s fingers were moving across the strings at lightning speed. “The engagement was fast. That’s all.”

Chloe was surprised. For years, her mother had been saying she needed to hurry up and find someone. Now it was too fast? That wasn’t fair. Besides, it felt good to do something romantic and spontaneous, instead of being “closed off to love,” like Ben had said that night in the bar.

“Why does that even have to matter?” Chloe asked.

“It’s just . . .” Kristine turned back to the table and arranged the silverware in a neat pattern. “Marriage is something to commit to for a lifetime. I’m afraid you’re trying to— Ouch!” Glaring at June, she said, “Mother, don’t kick me. I have every right to my opinion.”

“This is a celebration tea.” June took off her hat and set it on a chair, smoothing her ash blonde waves. “You can save your opinion for another time.”

A silence fell over the table. The waiter walked up, perfectly cheerful. He set a tiered tray filled with finger sandwiches, scones and desserts in the middle of the table and explained each item in detail.

When no one reached for anything, he gave a confused smile. “Alright, ladies. Let me know if you need anything else.”

Chloe could think of a couple of things that she needed. Like a more understanding mother.

“You know what, Mom?” The steam from her tea was hot on her face, so Chloe pushed it away. “I said yes to Geoff’s proposal because I’m tired of working so hard to make everything happen. For once in my life, something came easy for me. I met someone, he loves me, he proposed. The end.”

With that, Chloe reached for a sandwich and took a bite.

“But it’s not the end,” Kristine insisted, looking down at her wedding ring. “Chloe, it’s just the beginning.”

June snatched a scone from the tray. She scooped up whipped cream from the bowl and dumped it on her plate, banging her spoon loudly against her dish. “Sometimes, I just don’t understand you, Kristine. Didn’t you get angry with me? When I said these types of things to you?”

“That was a completely different situation, Mom.” Kristine wrapped her hair into a bun and held it there. “You didn’t like Kevin.”

Geez. This tea was revealing all sorts of tidbits that Chloe would rather not hear.

After all, it wasn’t a secret that her father and June had butted heads over the years, but Chloe had always assumed it was in good fun. She’d never realized that June hadn’t liked him. Chloe turned to her grandmother, waiting for some sort of an explanation.

“Chloe, I adored your father,” June said. “I was simply worried that your mother wasn’t ready to get married. For heaven’s sake, she met him in college. She was very young.”

“Yes,” Kristine said, dropping her hair. It fanned out above her shoulders. “I was young. But we’d known each other for quite a long time before he proposed.”

At school, Chloe had learned that sometimes it was best to ask questions directly.

“Mom, do you want me to marry Geoff?” she asked. “Yes or no?”

Kristine hesitated. “Honey, I want you to be—”

“Happy, I know,” Chloe said, her voice dry. “Yes or no?”

Kristine fidgeted with her wedding ring. After a long moment, she looked up at Chloe with her clear blue eyes. “Yes. I want you to marry Geoff, if that’s what you want. You’ll have my full support.”

“Great!” June said, clapping her hands. “Then can we please plan this wedding?”

June picked up where she’d left off. She explained the strings she’d pulled to book them a church two days after Christmas, her ideas for food, music, decorations . . . There were so many little details to think about that Chloe had to write quickly to keep up.

“Okay, hold on,” Kristine finally said. June had just revealed a plan to release doves with rose garlands dangling from their beaks. Taking the notebook out of Chloe’s hands, she scanned through three pages of notes, her forehead wrinkling more and more after each page.

June watched her in surprise. “What are you doing? Is there something I missed?”

“Mother . . .” Kristine said slowly. Setting down the notebook, she looked off into the distance as though trying to choose the right words. “I’m very excited about all of this and so happy for you. But . . .”

June took a sip of tea, patiently waiting for the caveat.

“I’m concerned about some of your suggestions,” Kristine said. “This all feels a little over the top, especially considering that Kevin and I will be paying for two of the three weddings in question.”

June’s laugh tinkled as brightly as the harp. “Darling girl, please don’t tell me we’re going to start that whole thing again. We’ve been through this before, a quarter of a century ago. I’m not going through it again.”

“Mother, seriously.” Kristine glared at her. “I’m not going through it again. So, don’t even try it.”

“Try what?” Chloe asked, taking a bite of an egg sandwich. The filling practically melted in her mouth. “This is good,” she said, holding it up. “What’s she not supposed to try?”

“When your parents got married,” June said, “your father did not want me to pay for the wedding.”

“Mother.” Red splotches crept up Kristine’s neck like flames.

“Your father is incredibly proud, you see. It took some pressure on my end to help him to understand that, if he wanted to marry my daughter, he was going to do it in style.” June gave a little smile. Reaching for her scone, she took a bite, then waved it as she talked. “This time, I will not even tolerate that conversation. This is my wedding, my daughter’s vow renewal and my granddaughter’s wedding. I will pay. End of story.”

Kristine’s eyes surveyed the groups at the other tables, as though wishing to sit somewhere, anywhere else. “I’m not going to debate this with you right now,” she said. “Not here.”

“There’s no debate.” June’s voice was firm. “I have been investing the money to use for Chloe’s wedding before she was even born. Now that the opportunity is here, I have more than enough to give her the wedding of her dreams. What’s wrong with that?”

Kristine pressed her fingers into her temples. “You know what’s wrong with that.” Her pretty eyes looked troubled. “Kevin’s not going to like this. Please, just let us take care of it.”

Picking up her teacup, June extended a pinky and turned to Chloe. “Darling, why don’t you decide?” June’s expression clearly read, Your mother is being unreasonable. “Do you want your father to work himself to the bone to pay for this wedding? Or do you want to use the money that I won’t need when I’m cold, dead and lying in the ground, but would bring me such incredible joy to use today?”

Chloe thought for a moment. Ever since her father lost his job and started this new one, he’d seemed pretty stressed out about money. He worked all the time, and he was always asking about her scholarships. Last year, he’d even mentioned something about wanting to move back into the city but owing too much on the house to do it. The last thing Chloe wanted to do was put more of a burden on him, especially if June was so eager to pay for the wedding.

“I vote yes.” Chloe finished her sandwich in one bite. At her mother’s groan, she shrugged. “Sorry, but Dad works too hard. Let’s give him a break.”

“Your father loves to work,” Kristine said, shaking her head. “You have to understand that. He’s not going to go along with this. I can tell you right now, it’s just going to cause a big problem.”

“It will be fine.” June patted Chloe’s hand. “Everything, including this wedding, will be just fine. Not just fine. Spectacular,” she said, fanning her hands out like a stage performer.

Chloe bit her lip. “I hate to tell you this, especially after all your big plans, but I don’t want my part to be spectacular. I want to keep it pretty basic. So does Geoff.”

After getting engaged, she and Geoff had a long talk about the wedding. Since he’d been married before, he wanted her to plan whatever she wanted, as long as it wasn’t over the top. Considering Chloe had never wanted a big wedding, she was perfectly happy to keep it simple.

“Simple?” June seemed baffled. “Who wants a simple wedding?”

Kristine raised her hand. “I wanted to get married in your garden. I was so scared at the idea of walking down the aisle, all those people looking at me . . .” Her freckled face flushed at the memory. “But you insisted on having some big old wedding in a big old church. I almost passed out.”

June picked up a fork and pointed it at her. “Kristine, your wedding was wonderful. Frankly, I’m shocked you didn’t appreciate it.”

“My wedding was wonderful and I did appreciate it.” Kristine recited this as though she’d said it many times before. “But it was a little out of hand. And so were you.”

“I most certainly was not.” June stabbed her fork into a sandwich.

“Ha!” Turning to face Chloe, Kristine said, “Did you know that she swapped out my flowers at the last minute? Without even asking me?”

Chloe’s jaw dropped. “Grandma. You did not.” Although, to be honest, the move sounded exactly like something June would do.

June sniffed. “My selections were lovely.”

Kristine let out a sound that could have been a squawk. “I walked into my reception on my wedding day and I thought the flower company had made a mistake! Instead of violets and baby’s breath, there were these gaudy birds-of-paradise. Everywhere. It looked like a funeral home in Hawaii.”

“It most certainly did not,” June said. “The violets would have looked wimpy. They would not have filled up the room. The birds-of-paradise, on the other hand, were gorgeous. They received several compliments.”

“Because that’s what matters. Compliments.” Kristine sat back in the chair and glared at her mother. “This time, if I am seriously sharing a wedding with you, I am the one in charge of the flowers.”

“Sorry.” June actually did look apologetic at this. “Charley and I fell in love over flowers. We’ll be in charge of that.”

“Fine.” Kristine wrinkled her forehead, as though trying to think of something, anything, that June would let her do. “Then . . . Then in my bouquet, if I even carry one, I’m going to have violets!”

“You tell her, Mom.” Chloe nodded. “Get it all out on the table.”

“Let’s not get it all out.” Kristine gave June a wry look. “I don’t want to start World War Three.”

June’s eyes bugged slightly. “What else could I have possibly done to ruin your wedding day?”

Eagerly, Chloe leaned forward. This was just like sitting in on family therapy. Typically, when the conversation got this heated, the therapist suggested the family take a moment and cool down. But that was not about to happen at this table.

“The speech,” Kristine said, then folded her hands and waited.

“Oh, please.” June sat back in her chair. “Tell me something I haven’t heard.”

“I haven’t heard,” Chloe sang.

“Apparently,” June explained, “your mother and father did not appreciate my wedding toast. However, that was simply because they did not understand it. One day, they will and—”

Kristine’s face was thunderous. “We most certainly will not.”

Chloe was fascinated. “Grandma, what on earth did you say?”

June thought for a moment. “I said—”

“No.” Kristine held up her hand. “Don’t you dare. I do not want that repeated in front of my daughter. It was the most rude, insulting thing I have ever heard.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” June fanned herself with a napkin. “You simply misunderstood.”

Chloe was amazed. She could imagine the two of them back then, planning out the nuances of Kristine’s special day. It was so strange to think that one day, Mary Beth could be sitting here as an adult, listening to Chloe and Kristine discuss the same issues.

Kristine must have caught the expression on her face, because she said, “Chloe, we’re not trying to upset you . . .”

“I’m not upset.” Trying to laugh, she told them what she’d been thinking. “I’m about to become a mother.” She pointed at Kristine. “That makes you a grandmother.” Turning to June, she said, “And that makes you . . .”

June smiled. “Pretty darn great.”

Eyeing the display of scones, Chloe reached for one and absently broke off a corner. “Do you think . . .” Popping it into her mouth, she swallowed it over a lump in her throat. “Do you think I’ll be a good mother?”

Kristine nodded. “Absolutely.”

“Better than me,” June said, her voice mournful. “Apparently, I was a terrible mother.”

“Oh, give me a break.” Kristine’s bright blue eyes scanned the room. “Alright, I’ve had enough. Where’s the waiter? I think I’m going to need something stronger than tea.”

“This does not bode well.” Chloe laughed. “Day one of wedding planning and Mom already has a drinking problem.”

“It’ll only get worse,” June said. “Marriage is a tricky thing. And it all starts with the wedding.”