If At First

Part 3 - Chapter 2

2

I didn't have to break up with Danni after all. Our lease was up when I'd told her I was moving home, so she too decided it would be best to come back before the wedding. She figured it would be easier to have her belongings packed and ready so she and David could move directly into the house his parents were giving them as a wedding gift.

I've never heard of anybody getting a house as a present. And this house, which we heard about endlessly from Danni's mother, was less than a mile from Danni's future In-law's primary residence and bigger than both our houses put together. And then tripled.

Neither Danni nor I were raised under luxurious conditions. We were well provided for, but our chauffeurs more closely resembled our parents than hired help. So when Danni and David were engaged, she had a hard time accepting such extravagant gifts as, well, a house. She would have been happy with an espresso maker. She would have been happy with a spatula. But David was an only child from a wealthy family and had come to expect little else. Greg down the street was an only child, and the best gift I remember him ever getting was a bike.
It was an awesome bike though.

Danni's cousin Karen has a theory that his family was trying to make up for his regrettable appearance. Sure, it's shallow. But she might actually have a point. His much too long legs beneath his bulky middle made him ungainly; his long, droopy face reminded me a little of a horse, and already he was showing signs of having inherited his grandfather's hairline. Which really, would have been just fine if he had a great personality to match Danni's. Sadly, he did not possess such a thing and the result would seemingly benefit no one. But somehow he made Danni ridiculously happy, and with that I cannot argue.

Nearly everyone in Madison was invited to the wedding, though most couldn't afford the time off of work to go, and still, Danni's portion of the invitation list didn't make up a fraction of David's. His parents were popular among the social elite and his mother insisted on having "just everyone" there.

The whole thing was a bit overwhelming since, as most of us knew, Danni would have preferred a small wedding, perhaps at a beach on Lake Michigan somewhere with only their closest friends. But she never complained or raised any objection.

My top priority in all of this, for the moment anyway, was to arrange the bachelorette party. Most of the other planning processes that would normally fall to the Maid of Honor were taken out of my hands due to my apparent lack of sophistication. Again, they may have a point. But Danni deserved an incredible send-off.

The plan, if you could call it a plan, was simple. Vegas. We go; we play; and hopefully don't gamble away the wedding budget. It was exactly what Danni wanted and needed. The other four bridesmaids – college roommates and cousins – were going as well. Because Danni is the first of us to get married, the entire wedding party is young enough to be free from any serious responsibility and there was no difficulty in taking off for the weekend.

Reservations were made, tickets bought, and we would be on the first plane in the morning.

"I'll pick you up at five." Danni said, "And don't snooze, because I will totally leave without you. Everyone else is meeting us at the hotel."

"Snooze? Never." I answered. We hung up and I looked around my father's study, comforted by the fact that I was leaving again, even if for only a few days. The room was crowded, filled with the boxes containing my life. They stared at me. It felt like a stone weighing in my chest as I blinked back at them, unable to see what was next for us. The stone suddenly felt heavier.

I shook my head and took a deep breath, forcing those thoughts from my mind. I quickly packed a bag for the weekend and went to sleep on the couch without bothering to unfold it.