Chapter 2 - Two Empty Chairs
A few days later I sat across from my parents at their dining table, my engagement ring feeling heavier than it should have. Dad placed his fork down with slow, deliberate care.
"So," I began, "Julian asked me to marry him. I said yes."
Mom didn't move. She stared at her plate as though it had personally offended her. Dad's jaw tightened.
"You're throwing your life away on a waiter."
"He's a student, Dad. Just like I am. He waits tables because he doesn't want to depend on anyone financially. That doesn't define who he is."
"That's supposed to impress me?"
"It should. It impresses me every day."
Dad shook his head. "You'll regret this."
Mom finally spoke, quietly and coldly. "We raised you to make better choices, Priscilla."
That hurt more than Dad's anger. Mom never needed to raise her voice.
"Please tell me you'll come to the wedding," I said. "You don't have to approve. Just be there."
Dad shook his head. "I won't stand in a room pretending I support a mistake."
"I'm not asking you to pretend anything. I'm asking you to show up because I'm your daughter."
Neither of them answered. I left before dessert.
The wedding was small, but everyone who came genuinely wanted to be there. Julian's parents cried through the entire ceremony, which was sweet until his father started hiccuping and couldn't stop. Then everyone started laughing.
My friend Odessa walked me down a short aisle through a garden that smelled like fresh-cut grass and an aggressively ambitious lavender bush. Two chairs sat empty in the front row. My parents' chairs. I refused to look at them.
At the altar, Julian squeezed my hand. "You're stuck with me now," he whispered.
"Good."
Later, during the toasts, my new husband tried opening a champagne bottle and somehow sprayed half of it across his own shirt. Everyone lost it. So did I.
May you like
Empty chairs and all, it was one of the happiest days of my life.
The eight months afterward were quieter than I expected. Mom texted me once about a cousin's new baby. Dad didn't contact me at all. I told Julian I was fine. I told myself the same thing. I wasn't completely fine, but they had made their choice, and I knew I couldn't force them to accept mine.
