I called Mr. Diamond and told him about the wedding and that I needed to talk to him about how to pay for it. We agreed to meet for drinks.
Mr. D has handled my trust and helped me with all the financial decisions I’ve had to make since my parents died. He’s also treated me like the daughter he never had, and I don’t know what I’d do without him.
When I get to his favorite upscale restaurant’s bar, he’s already there, waiting for me.
He has a glass of scotch sitting in front of him, but, as usual, he hasn’t touched it. There’s a glass of deep red wine sitting across from him.
“JJ, look at you.” He stands up, kisses my cheek, and gives me a fatherly hug. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you look so happy.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy.”
“Well, it’s good to see. So, I ordered you a pinot noir this time. It’s red, but it’s pretty smooth. I think you’re ready for it.”
Mr. D has been teaching me about wine. Getting me to try new things. Like wine that doesn’t come out of a box. We started with whites; now, we’re working on reds.
He raises his glass, the way he always does when it’s just the two of us, and says, “To your parents.”
I take a sip of the wine and find it is very smooth. “Wow, this is pretty good. I like this one.”
He smiles at me. He looks a lot like Danny when he smiles. It’s not his mouth really, more the way his eyes crinkle up. “I’m glad you like it, and I’m glad you’re happy. My job though is to consider your financial future. You and Phillip might be perfect for each other now, but you can’t foresee the future. We’re going to have Phillip sign a prenuptial agreement.”
“No, we’re not. He’d be offended by that.”
“I don’t think he’ll be offended, honey. Phillip’s a strong man. He’ll want to earn his own money. He’ll agree to it; don’t worry.” He gets a big grin. “So, I have a confession. There were some extra funds that we had from a small account, and instead of adding them to the basic safe funds we put everything else in, I invested it in a riskier portfolio. You kids were buying Mac computers; Apple seemed like the wave of the future, and then with the iPhones and iPads—well, let’s just say, the little fund has done extremely well. I want you to use that money for your wedding. Your parents loved a good party. They would’ve wanted you to do it up big, and with this amount, you should be able to do just that.”
I look at the printout he set in front of me and am stunned by the amount. “Are you sure I should spend all this on a wedding?”
“I think you should. Of course, it’s your money. You don’t have to spend it, but I really believe it’s what your parents would have wanted. Your dad used to talk about how he would surely cry when you got married. How he couldn’t wait to walk you down the aisle someday. Well, providing you wanted to marry a good man. He planned on scaring off anyone he didn’t think was good enough.” He chuckles. “I think you know how he felt about Phillip. Your dad would have been thrilled.”
I smile at him. My eyes fill up with tears. It makes me feel good to hear him say that my dad would have been happy that I’m marrying Phillip. All I’ve ever wanted is to make my parents proud.
“Honey, I didn’t mean to make you sad. I know the Mackenzies are great, but I’m sure you’re wishing your parents were here with you for this.”
“I really do. Honestly, that’s why I was dragging my feet about planning it at first. It just didn’t feel right to plan it without them.”
He covers my hand with his. “They’re with you, JJ. You know they are, and so am I.” He takes a big drink and then slowly puts his glass down. “However, there’s something important I need to talk to you about.”
I tilt my head, look at him, and try to figure out what else there is. Based on the tone of his voice, I think I heard the good news first. “Okay.”
He points to the printout. “I’m holding this money hostage.”
“What do you mean?”
“Your parents put me in charge of your trust for a reason. They wanted me to help you make good decisions. I take that job very seriously.”
“I know you do.” I wanna ask him to walk me down the aisle, but I think I need to solve this hostage situation first.
He hands me another piece of paper. “This is the money you currently have control of. It’s what you have left after paying for college, buying your car, and the down payment on your condo. You recall, you had more than this but put it back in the trust. So, this is the available cash you have left until you turn twenty-five and gain full control.”
“I know, but I thought you had discretion. Like, I thought you could take money out of the trust for me if you thought it was necessary. I assumed that’s how we’d pay for the wedding, right?”
“That is right. I have discretion. What you have in your control is a lot of money, but I don’t think it will cover your dream wedding. And, if you did use it for that, you’d probably have nothing else left.”
“Right. That’s why you’re letting me use some of the trust money.”
“Well, I might be.”
“You might be?”
“Remember I said I’m holding the wedding money hostage?”
“Uh, yeah.”
“I heard that you don’t want Pastor John to marry you. That you’ve refused to go to church for couples counseling.”
“Well, yeah. He wasn’t very nice to me. There’s no way I’m letting him marry us.”
“The Mackenzies are very adamant about having him marry you. They feel your parents would’ve wanted it.”
I tilt my head and look at him. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Sure.”
“When my parents died, did you think I needed counseling, or did you think I handled it well?”
He thinks about it for a second and straightens the napkin under his drink. “Maybe both. I think we were all shocked at how well you seemed to handle it. We kept wondering when you were going to break down. We worried that you were holding it all in. Not allowing yourself to grieve.”
“I didn’t do that. The night of the funeral, after everyone left, I went back to my house and lost it. Cried my eyes out. Phillip was there. He knows.”
“What about after that?”
“What do you mean?”
“Danny says you never let yourself cry. That’s not normal, honey. You’re supposed to cry.”
I shake my head at him. “Not me. I just suck it up. Although I did cry onstage when we got engaged, so you can’t say I never cry.”
“Okay. Is it true that you’ve never visited their grave? Not once?”
His comment makes me feel really guilty, especially since he’s looking at me in a way that makes me know he thinks I should have. Like I’ve been a bad daughter for not going.
“Yeah,” I say, “but I don’t go there because I don’t believe they’re there. I believe they’re in heaven.”
Plus …
I can’t go back there.
Thinking of their bodies buried in the dirt.
Um, no. Not going there.
Ever.
“What about hospitals? Is it also true that you didn’t visit your best friend, Lori, when she had her appendix taken out?”
I start to fidget. I’m feeling a bit uncomfortable about all this. I try to explain myself, “Um, it’s true, but I had a test, and Lori was home the next day. I visited her there.”
He nods his head at me. I can tell he sees right through me.
And I did kinda lie to everyone about the test.
I hate hospitals.
Nothing good happens there—at least for me—and I didn’t wanna, like, jinx her.
He smiles at me. “I’ll always worry about you, you know?”
“I know, and I really appreciate it. Appreciate everything you’ve always done for me.”
His smile turns to a grimace. “You might not feel that way after I tell you this. I agree that you should choose who marries you, but I’m going to insist you go to couples counseling. All of us go through it. It’s really a good thing. I know you and Phillip get along well, but being a couple is different from being friends. There are a lot of issues to deal with as a married couple. Marriage counseling helps prepare you for that. You’re moving very fast, and I’m sure there are things you and Phillip have never discussed before, like money, budgets, life goals, how many kids you want, how to handle conflicts, things like that. So, if you choose to go through couples counseling with Pastor John, you can send me all the bills for the wedding. If you choose not to, then you’ll have to pay for it on your own. I’m sorry if he upset you, honey, but I really believe your parents would have agreed with me on this.”
“Did the Macs tell you that Pastor John said my parents abandoned me, and that’s why I’m mad?”
“I heard that he asked if you ever felt abandoned. There’s a big difference between the two.”
I can’t talk about this. I won’t talk about it. There is no way that I’m ever going to talk to Pastor John again, but I adore Mr. D. I won’t be disrespectful. He’s done too much for me, and I know he’s been brainwashed by the Macs into thinking this is in my best interests.
I give him my best puppy-dog eyes. They used to work on my dad when I was little. They probably won’t work on him, but they can’t hurt. “I’ll talk to Phillip about it, but I’m pretty sure I’ll be having a very small wedding now. Thanks for the wine.”
I was fairly calm when I left the restaurant, but by the time I get home, I’m fuming.
I’m trying to figure out if I can sue Mr. Diamond, fight him. I want the big wedding. I think he’s right that my parents would have wanted it. It’s not his money; it’s mine. Who does he think he is? And why was I so stupid? Why, at eighteen, did I tell him I didn’t need that much money? Why did I let him put it back in the trust? What was I thinking?
That’s it. I wasn’t thinking.
My parents had just died.
I was under stress.
Or duress.
Or whatever it’s called when you don’t make the right decisions because you’re temporarily not thinking straight. I’ll hire a lawyer. I’ll …
I storm into the house and throw my purse against the wall.
Phillip’s sitting on the couch. He looks at me with concern. “What’s wrong?”
I plop on the couch next to him. “We’re … we can’t … I don’t … he said …” Then, I start crying.
I tell him how we had our dream wedding planned. How I can’t afford it now. How it probably doesn’t matter because we have nowhere to have the dream wedding anyway. How I just wanna go to Vegas, have strippers for bridesmaids, and get married by Elvis. How it will just be Phillip and me. How we’re not doing couples counseling. How everyone should just mind their own freaking business. How I’m glad we’re moving, so we don’t have to go to any more stupid Sunday dinners.
Phillip holds me and lightly pats my back. “We’ll figure something out, Princess. Don’t worry,” is all he says.
But it’s enough.
Phillip always knows exactly what to say.
I lay my head on his shoulder and stop worrying. Phillip has that effect on me. He calms me down. I know we’ll figure out something together.
