"Jocelyn, what on earth happened?"
I turned my hand to hold my mother's and patted it, steadying her, then told them exactly what had happened up on the stage, start to finish.
My father's face went black on the spot.
"The Swansons have gone too far!"
He ripped the boutonniere off his chest, flung it to the floor, and turned to march straight up toward the stage.
By then Earl had chased his way down after me.
"Dad, don't be angry, it's all a misunderstanding."
"Jocelyn just has a stubborn temper. She blows the smallest thing out of proportion."
"Beth is her best friend. My mom took her in as a goddaughter, so the two of them will only be closer from now on. That's a good thing!"
My father stared him down, shaking with rage.
"A good thing?"
"My daughter gets married, and her welcome gift is eight dollars and eighty-eight cents."
"An outsider walks away with ten thousand and one?"
"Is that how your Swanson family treats people?"
The smile froze on Earl's face, but he still tried to talk his way out of it.
"Dad, more or less, the money's just a token of feeling—"
"Token of feeling, my ass!"
My father was a mild-mannered man. He'd spent half his life teaching, and never once raised his voice at anyone.
Today he swore outright.
He shoved Earl back with one hand.
"Get out of my way!"
Sharon came down from the stage too, dragging Beth along, her face sour, and she screamed across at my father.
"What's that supposed to mean, sir?"
"How exactly did we Swansons mistreat anyone?"
"Jocelyn's a cheap little gold-digger throwing herself at us for free, and she wants more welcome money on top of that? She's the one pitching a fit and calling off the wedding. It's your Henson family losing face here!"
Back then Earl had told me all the family money was tied up in an investment that had gone bad, that he had barely anything left on hand.
I'd felt for him, so I never asked for a bride price.
I'd even taken on some of the wedding costs myself.
And now, out of someone else's mouth, that made me the one throwing myself at them.
I looked at her coldly.
"Your family sent one person and nothing else to this marriage. Word gets around, and it's not so clear whose face is on the line!"
That stopped Sharon short. Her eyes started to dart away.
But her mouth still wouldn't back down.
"Our Earl is a fine-looking, accomplished man! Plenty of girls are lining up to marry him!"
"If so many girls are lining up, then go let him marry one of them."
I turned and took my parents' hands.
"Dad, Mom, let's go."
Earl panicked, strode forward, and grabbed my wrist.
"Jocelyn, if you walk out that door today, don't ever think about coming back!"
I wrenched my hand free.
"Earl, I'll say it one more time."
"This wedding is off. As of now, there's nothing between us."
With that I turned and walked straight to the dressing room in the back.
My mother followed behind me.
My father stayed out front, calling for our relatives to leave the banquet.
"There won't be any dinner today. I'm sorry to have dragged you all out here for nothing. Another day I'll set out a table myself and make it up to you."
The relatives stood up one after another, not one of them wasting a word on questions, and headed straight for the door.
The Swanson side stayed in their seats, looking at one another.
Inside the dressing room, I reached back and locked the door.
My mother, eyes rimmed red, helped me pull down the zipper at the back of the wedding dress.
Her hands were shaking the whole time, and the tears finally spilled over.
"Jocelyn, we can't let this go like this. They've bullied you too far."
I nodded.
"Mom, don't worry. It's not going to end like this."
Just then came a violent pounding on the door, along with Earl's furious, frantic shouting.
"Jocelyn! Open this door!"
I finished changing, twisted my hair up carelessly, walked over, and pulled the door open.
