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“And talking kept you up all night? Somehow I think there is something to tell but you don’t want to give it up,” she said, prying again.
“Okay. I kissed him. Well not really. It was only on the cheek.”
“Oh. Well guess it is a good thing you didn’t wear that red dress. It might have made you go batshit crazy and actually kiss him on the lips.”
“You know, I have other things to do besides listen to this,” she snapped. She wasn’t really angry at DeeDee, as much as she was embarrassed already.
“Like get ready for your lunch with Kenneth? I expect to receive a call tonight and hear how it went. If I don’t, then I might just have to come knocking on your door,” DeeDee warned.
“I promise. Until then, you can talk to Mom about your wedding plans. Unless you’re avoiding that?” Like I’m doing with you.
“Trust me, there is no hiding from Mom. She called this morning at five. I wasn’t even out of bed.”
“What did she want?”
“To talk about wedding cakes and flowers and…I don’t know. It was five. I’m lucky I knew my name at that god-awful hour. You know I’m not a morning person,” DeeDee said.
“That explains why you went to the shop so early. You had nothing better to do,” Shanda said. “Sorry I wasn’t there. You could’ve called or stopped in at my house if you needed to talk.” She could tell the moment she’d answered the phone that something was troubling DeeDee. She hoped she and Larry weren’t having problems already. She heard sometimes marriage changes things. And it must add stress trying to keep it a secret.
“Shanda, I am not sure I can do this,” she said, her voice shaky.
This wasn’t like DeeDee. She was upbeat and happy all the time. Right now, she sounded like she was about to burst into tears. “Do you mean the wedding? I mean the second one?”
“Yes,” she choked.
Shanda said, “I’ll cancel my plans. Let’s do lunch.”
“No! I…I will be…okay. It’s just…I hate…”
“Lying to Mom?”
“Yes. But I…I don’t want her to…to blame Larry for us eloping. It…it was…my idea,” she sobbed.
“DeeDee, you can’t have a wedding just because of Mom and Dad. They wouldn’t want you to, either.”
“You say that, but you know Mom has been waiting to plan a wedding since we were little girls. I can’t take that away from her,” she sobbed even harder. “How can I be happy about being married to Larry when I’m so…miserable about hurting Mom?”
“I’ll let her plan mine. I promise. And then finally I can be the favorite daughter,” she joked, trying to brighten her sister’s spirit.
It didn’t work. DeeDee broke down even more. “See? You know it’s true. Mom won’t forgive me. I…I have to do this.”
“No you don’t. If you want, I’ll tell her.”
“God no. That is even worse.”
“DeeDee, you’re unhappy. No matter what you think, Mom and Dad wouldn’t want that. Please, trust me. Tell them the truth. If you want, I’ll even go with you.” Shanda knew no matter what, her parents would be hurt, but they wouldn’t show that in front of DeeDee.
“Maybe you and Kenneth and me and Larry could over there this weekend and break the news to them.”
That wasn’t going to happen. The last thing she wanted was to bring Kenneth into family drama. “This weekend sounds good.” The door to the shop opened and Kenneth walked in. She raised her finger letting him know she just needed to finish this. He nodded and began looking around the shop. She didn’t even bother to hope he’d buy anything. This wasn’t his style. But right now, she needed to be there for her sister. “What day? Saturday or Sunday?”
“How about Friday night? I want to get this over with. Larry does too.”
“DeeDee, I’ll be there. You just tell me when.” I’ll always be there for you. Like you’ve always been there for me.
“Thanks sis. Hey, it’s almost lunch time. Has that guy of yours shown up yet?”
“Just arrived,” she replied.
