Paula’s father studied him for a second. “That’s a big sacrifice to make, and there might come a time when you regret it,” he said. “Where will that leave Paula?”
“Sir, I’ve never cared about the money, it causes more problems than it’s worth,” he said. “When I chose to go into education, my mother refused to help me in any way. I found a scholarship to pay for my education and I’ve made it just fine without her money. I have to no reason to think that will change.”
This time it was just that intense stare that made him want to squirm, but he sat there as calmly as he could, aware that his future depended on what Paula’s father had to say next. The silence lasted for so long, he began to think nothing that he’d said had made any difference, then Mr. Tucker began to shake his head and a smile spread across his face.
“You’ve talked me into it, son,” he finally said. “It looks like we’re planning a wedding.”
There was another short silence, then Paula jumped to her feet, ran over to her dad, and gave him a big hug. “I’m so relieved, I was afraid you weren’t going to give us your blessing,” she said, then stepped back. “We’re going to need your help, weonly have a day to plan this wedding, and we have to do it on a tiny budget.”
Paula’s father looked over at her mother, then back at them. “We might be able to help with that,” he said. “Your mother and I have been putting a little bit of money away for your wedding. It’s not much, but I think it should be enough to get by.”
“Thank you, sir, that’s very generous,” he said. “We don’t want anything fancy, just a few friends and family, maybe a nice meal.”
“That sounds doable,” Mr. Tucker said. “But I think you should call me Paul, we’re going to be family after all.”
***Paula***
When Hattie heard the good news, she called an emergency meeting for the next morning, and they all crowded into the kitchen at the fraternity house for breakfast and a planning session. They chatted while they ate and it wasn’t long before Hattie and her parents were talking shop, but she was happy to see them getting along. When everyone was fed and the kitchen put back together, they met back at the table to figure out how to pull a wedding together in just a couple of hours.
“Let’s hit the highlights to start with,” she said, consulting the list she’d made the night before. “We need a place to have the wedding, food, clothes, a cake, and maybe some decorations.”
“I think I can help with the place,” Hattie said. “I made a call to Dean Proctor, and he said we could use one of the reception rooms in the administration building for nothing. He’s going to get back to me today with the details.”
“Oh, Hattie, that’s perfect,” she said, marking it off the list. “That brings us to the food. I was thinking we could keep it simple, maybe some finger food, that kind of thing.”
“My daughter is not having finger food at her wedding,” her father said. “We’re going to have a real meal, even if I have to rent a kitchen and cook the food myself.”
“That won’t be necessary, we have a perfectly good kitchen right here,” Hattie said, then looked over at her. “I agree with your dad, Paula. Let us cook for the wedding. Between the three of us, it will be no problem.”
“I just didn’t want to make this too difficult,” she said, then looked over at her mom. “What do you think?”
“Your father is right, we need a real meal,” her mom said. “I’ll be making the cake, of course.”
“Then I’ll leave it up to you. I trust your judgement,” she said, then looked down at her list. “That leaves my dress and decorations.”
“Leave the decorations up to us,” Stephanie said. “The girls and I will see to everything.”
“Oh, that would be perfect, thank you,” she said, smiling at her new friends. “I’ve been thinking about who is going to be in the wedding with us. I wish I could have you all stand up there with us, but if we do, there won’t be anyone else there. I hope no one will be insulted if I ask just Connie to stand up with me.”
“We understand, there’s a lot of us,” Abby said, smiling at her. “We’ll all be happy to watch as long as you let us help you get ready.”
“That’s a deal,” she said, relieved. “Okay, then that just leaves my dress. The bridal shop opens in an hour, and I’m going to be their first customer of the day. Hopefully I can find something that doesn’t have to be altered.”
“That won’t be necessary. I called our neighbor last night, and she boxed up my wedding dress and sent it overnight,” her mother said. “It should be here later this morning. We just have to go over to the hotel and pick it up.”
Tears sprang to her eyes; they’d always talked about her wearing her mom’s dress, but she’d given up on the idea. “Oh, Mom, that’s wonderful, I didn’t think…” She had to stop to take a breath. “This is turning out better than I thought it would.”
“It’s going to be a wonderful wedding,” her mother said. “We wouldn’t let you and Ryan have anything else.”
“Thank you all,” Ryan said. “This means so much to both of us, this really is going to be a special day.”
For the secondtime in less than a week, Paula stood in front of the mirror, looking at herself, stunned by the woman looking back at her, but this time it felt much different. She was about to marry the man of her dreams, and if there were a few doubts, she knew that was perfectly normal, especially considering how quickly they’d gone from enemies to friends, well, more than friends. The smile on her face broadened a little more, and then thoughts of the night to come popped into her head, making her suddenly nervous. She wasn't sure if she was ready to spend the night with Ryan.
Reminding herself that he’d promised not to push her, she let out the breath she’d been holding and brought herself back to the present. “Oh, honey, you look beautiful,” her mom said, walking up behind her. “That dress is perfect for you. I’m so glad I saved it.”
“I love it, Mom. I’m glad you saved it too,” she said, turning and giving her mom a hug. “Maybe someday I’ll have a daughter who can wear it too.”
“That would be wonderful,” her mom said, smiling at her. “I’m going to go join your father now. I’ll see you in there.”
