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The mood at the table shifted, and Rose struggled to regain control of the situation. “I’ll discuss it with him, but don’t you think it would be better if I could tell him I was taking care of it? Then he’d have less to—”
“No. Going behind his back isn’t going to help. You need to have a frank discussion with him.” Lanie’s tone softened. “I know you didn’t come to this decision lightly, and I’m sure Steven will understand that.”
“You think he’ll agree to postpone?” Rose was unable to keep the skepticism out of her voice.
Grinning, Lanie shook her head. “Of course not, but he might at least appreciate a well-reasoned argument.” When Rose didn’t respond, Lanie leaned forward. “Look, I agree with you that he has a lot of stress, and the wedding planning is unlikely to help, but before you go trying to convince him, I’d like to propose a counterpoint. It’s early in Steven’s recovery, and we don’t know enough at this point to make such a decision. What would you say to monitoring the situation and deciding what to do in a couple of weeks? At the very least, we could talk to Carissa to get her opinion. She might have an idea of how to approach the vendors to give them a heads-up.”
“I just hate to leave things up in the air. If it was only the heart attack or the spinal contusion alone, that would be one thing. But patient recovery is often unique to each individual. I’m not sure if we’ll get a clear timeline, and the wedding is in almost three months.”
Lanie pursed her lips. “Are you sure there aren’t other reasons you might want to postpone?
That caught Rose off guard. “What other reasons would there be?”
Her future sister-in-law shrugged. “Maybe you’re concerned about what Steven will be like once he’s released from rehab. How it might place you in a caregiving role again.”
Rose swallowed, reminded of the comment her patient had made about her being the perfect candidate to care for Steven. Although there was a trace of truth in Lanie’s words, Rose shook her head.
“All I want is for Steven to focus on recovering, and I believe postponing the wedding will help him to do that.”
For a moment, Lanie studied her, then she nodded, seeming to accept Rose’s explanation. “I agree. But you should still talk to Steven before you do anything. I’ll even try to help him see reason.” She bit her lip. “Just as long as you remember, his whole world—both of your worlds—have been turned upside down. It’s not a bad idea to take some time and let the dust settle before rushing to a decision.”
Rose nodded. “I can agree with that.”
Lanie turned her attention back to the menu. “Let’s discuss our options with Carissa first. Once we have a clearer picture, we can go from there.”
The next day, Rose walked into the hospital with her heart pounding in her chest. With Carissa’s help, she and Lanie had contacted all of the vendors and had a better understanding of the situation with the wedding. Their responses, though not unexpected, were disappointing.
Most had pointed to the contract and the deadline for cancellation, which had already passed. If she canceled now, she would lose her deposits, which were too large to swallow. The one bright light was many of the vendors were willing to work with her on a postponement using what had already been paid to secure a new date. However, the vendors weren’t willing to commit to altering the contract itself until the new date was determined. They all sympathized with her, but sympathy went only so far.
The only place that had extended her a month’s grace period to decide was the church. She supposed they were doing Steven and her a favor since he’d been a member of the congregation since childhood.
Though Lanie had cautioned her against talking to Steven about a postponement while he was in the hospital, Rose had decided to go ahead with the conversation. It didn’t seem appropriate to wait until he was discharged to the rehab facility. She hoped he would listen to reason. Her arguments were sound, and she’d even chosen a few potential dates for next summer.
But she wouldn’t settle on one until they had a better sense of Steven’s prognosis or until she spoke with her mother. She hadn’t mentioned the possibility of buying her parents’ plane tickets herself because she didn’t want to risk upsetting anyone. It still felt selfish to postpone the wedding so her parents could attend, and she didn’t want people to think her parents were her driving motivation to postpone. Because they weren’t. Steven’s recovery was her main focus. Yet the more she considered it, the more she hated the idea of her parents not being there for the wedding.
When she entered Steven’s room, he was watching television. As he turned his head, his face lit up in such a way that it broke her heart, and she faltered in her resolve. But they needed to have that discussion, and with the wedding date rapidly approaching, the time to decide had arrived.
“I missed you yesterday,” he said as she kissed his cheek in greeting. “I thought you’d stop by after work.”
“I had a few things to take care of, but I wanted to see you before my shift this afternoon.” She nervously pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. “We need to talk.”
“The dreaded words,” Steven joked, then his smile fell. “What’s wrong?”
Steeling herself for his reaction, she took a deep breath and met his gaze. “I want to postpone the wedding.”
Several emotions flitted across his bruised face. His eyebrows jumped up in surprise before furrowing with concern. As the reality of what she’d said sank in, his lips turned down, and his eyes widened. “No, Rose, I—”
“Let me finish!” She raised her hands to stop him before he could derail her carefully rehearsed speech. “We don’t know what will happen with your recovery or how long it will take. And we’re losing money every day you’re in here.” He opened his mouth as if to protest, but she hurried on, determined to show him she’d considered his counterarguments. “It’s not just that you’re not working right now.” She waved a hand around the room. “The hospital bills are going to be high as well.” Thanks for nothing, US health care. “We have enough on our plates right now without throwing the wedding into the mix. It makes sense to postpone until things are better. That way, you can focus on your recovery.”
“But we’ve already put so much work and money into planning this wedding. At this point, we’re just making final payments to the vendors, aren’t we?”
“Yes, but with what? I can’t afford to pay for it all myself on my salary, and since you don’t have a partner, there’s no one who can cover for you while you recover.”
“We could ask our families for—”
“We agreed we would pay for this ourselves,” Rose retorted. “And I don’t need to remind you my parents are struggling to make ends meet as it is on the other side of the world. My mom told me they’re putting my grandparents into a nursing home, and the last thing they should be worrying about is funding our wedding.”
“I understand, but I’m sure my dad would be more than willing to contribute—er—loan us the money in the meantime.”
