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The wedding had reached the ring exchange when my best friend walked up in a bridal gown, beaming.
And in front of a whole room of guests, my fiancé, Eugene Weiss, slid the wedding ring onto her ring finger.
Eyes stinging, I demanded an answer.
The two of them exchanged a glance and burst out laughing at the same time.
Maura Hughes laughed so hard she had to bend over.
"Marilyn Henson, last night Eugene and I made a bet."
"He said you'd definitely notice, before the ceremony started, that the wedding photo on the welcome board had been swapped for a picture of the two of us."
"I said you trust us so much, you'd never check."
She waggled the wedding ring on her hand.
"Now Eugene lost."
"So by the terms, this wedding has to go to me."
Eugene circled an arm around her waist, his tone easy.
"It's just letting Maura be the bride for one day."
"The dress, the venue, the whole program are all ready anyway. It'd be a waste not to use them."
"We'll just hold another one next month. Don't be such a sore loser."
They always liked to bet with me on the table.
At the engagement, he lost a bet, so the proposal ring went onto Maura's hand first.
When we shot the wedding photos, he lost a bet, and took the snow-scene set I loved most with Maura instead.
Even the master bedroom of our new home had been renovated to Maura's taste because of some wager.
Every time I was hurt, they'd smile and say, "It's only a bet. Why take it so seriously?"
But it wasn't until today that I finally understood.
In their eyes, my wedding, my love, my whole life were just chips they could toss onto the table whenever they pleased.
I looked at Eugene, and something in me finally let go. When I spoke, my voice was utterly calm.
"You're giving her the wedding. Give her yourself too, while you're at it."
1
The moment I finished, I turned to leave.
But Eugene grabbed my wrist.
"Marilyn, that's enough."
"With all these relatives and friends here, are you really going to make a scene until nobody can save face?"
I shook his hand off.
"Am I the one making a scene?"
"This was supposed to be my wedding!"
Eugene frowned, his tone thick with impatience.
"I already told you, it's just letting Maura experience it for one day."
"After the wedding's over, nothing changes between us."
"You're going to break up with me over a formality?"
He paused, as if something had just come to him, and gave a short scornful laugh.
"Last month you said you'd stop dealing with us too."
"And in the end, didn't you go and buy Maura a birthday cake yourself?"
Maura laughed too.
"Marilyn, every time you can't take losing, you say you're cutting us off."
"Three days at most, and you're back looking for us."
She waggled the ring on her finger, her smile heavy with meaning.
"This time I bet two days."
"Eugene, do you dare bet with me?"
Eugene looked down at her.
"Bet what?"
"How long before Marilyn comes crawling back to us."
"If she begs you to make up within two days, you give me the vanity from the master bedroom."
Eugene barely hesitated.
"Fine."
"She'll last a day, tops."
The two of them, right in front of me, were betting on me all over again.
As if the breakup I'd just declared were nothing but a new game to amuse them.
I looked at Eugene.
"You're that certain I'll come back?"
Eugene's voice was calm.
"We've been together six years."
"You spent a whole year planning this wedding just to marry me."
"The hotel, the dress, the guests, you arranged every bit of it yourself."
"Marilyn, could you really bear to leave me?"
He understood the old me too well.
That was why he dared bet against my limits, again and again.
Because win or lose, I was always the one left to clean up the wreckage.
Maura ruined my engagement gown, and I reordered it.
She tore up the photo of Eugene and me, and I was the one who said it was fine.
She even redid our wedding home in her own style.
And in the end I was the one who apologized to Eugene, said I shouldn't have fought with them over the renovation.
It wasn't that they didn't know I'd be hurt.
They were just sure I wouldn't leave.
Someone down in the crowd smiled and tried to talk me around.
"His wife, don't take it so seriously with them."
"Eugene and Maura have similar temperaments. They've always teased and scuffled like this."
"And Maura's against marriage, so she'll never really get married anyway."
"Letting her experience a wedding once, you could call it making up for what she'll never have."
"Calling off the engagement over something this small is a little petty of you."
One line after another.
Everyone was urging me to be gracious.
But not one of them asked whether I was willing to give my own wedding away.
Vanessa Weiss came up onto the stage from the head table too.
She took Maura's hand, her eyes full of approval.
"You know, that ring actually suits Maura's hand better than Marilyn's."
Maura pouted playfully.
"Auntie, don't say that."
"Marilyn will be hurt if she hears you."
Vanessa shot me a glance.
"She's about to marry into the Weiss family. If she can't take even this much, how is she going to be a daughter-in-law in our house?"
Then she patted Maura's hand.
"To be honest, Auntie has always liked you more."
"You've got a lively personality, you know how to make people feel good."
"Not like some people, who have to fight over who's right and who's wrong about everything, who turn every little thing into something unpleasant for everyone."
Nelson Weiss came over too, wine glass in hand.
"Since Eugene lost the bet, he should be a good loser about it."
"The most important thing for a man is keeping his word."
"We'll hold another wedding for Marilyn next month. It's no big deal."
I looked at him.
"In your eyes, a wedding is something you can just hold over again?"
Nelson's face showed his displeasure.
"It's only a ceremony."
"As long as Eugene is willing to marry you in the end, what more do you have to be unhappy about?"
"And to be honest with you."
"If Maura weren't against marriage, we really would have preferred Eugene marry her."
