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Chapter 29

Chapter 29

After a brief premarital preparation course, Delaney and Shane were married by a city clerk in a no frills ceremony where the bride didn't even wear white. Feeling as though the traditional color would be too hypocritical given her situation, she opted for a simple lavender empire waist dress that skimmed rather than clung to her now prominent belly. Shane originally wanted to be married in a small ceremony at his parent's church, however, once again Delaney protested. She was happy to be marrying Shane, of course, but throwing a church into the equation made her question the morality of the entire situation even more than she already was.

A small reception included Delaney's mother and Shane's immediate family, and took place at his parent's house. A lavish tiered wedding cake was presented on the table, and even though the size was scaled down the presentation was not. It was covered in smooth white fondant with fresh flowers surrounding the perimeter of all three layers. Tamara had even affixed small bride and groom figurines on top—even though the bridal figure appeared to not be in quite the same condition as Delaney.

Despite her mother's original objections, she never said another word against Delaney and Shane marrying. However, when Delaney first announced the engagement to her mother, she was glad that Shane was not there to witness the reaction. First her face fell, quite dramatically, and was followed by a barrage of questions, for example: "Are you sure this is the right choice?" and Delaney's favorite, "What about the other one?" The 'other one' she assumed was a referral to Fin, even though Rose refused to speak his name aloud—and it was just as well, because Delaney didn't feel quite up to handling hearing his name spoken.

"Well that was a really nice ceremony and party," Rose said. She had excused herself and made her way toward the door after a final toast had been issued to the bride and groom. Delaney felt the injustice of not being able to participate in a champagne toast at her own wedding was just par for the course—another consequence of her actions, if you will. "It's too bad that Genna wasn't able to make it. I know she'll be disappointed not to have been your maid of honor," she said to Delaney before turning to Cindy to continue with an explanation. "Genna and Delaney have been almost inseparable since birth. I remember the days of the pair of them in our backyard, taking turns wearing an old white veil in make-believe marriage ceremonies. Oh," she paused remembering with a smile. "They were at that for years! Sometimes they even made the little boy down the street stand in as groom. I'll never forget the first day, he ran home crying because he thought he'd really gotten married." A smile of fond remembrance rested upon her face.

"Does she have school? Is that why she couldn't make it?" Cindy asked politely.

"I decided I'd rather have her come here after the baby's born, since she won't be able to make two trips down here in such a short amount of time," Delaney responded. She moved toward her mom to hug her goodbye.

"Yeah, its too bad Shane's best friend couldn't be here either. He's probably languishing away on a beautiful beach in the Caribbean as we speak," Tara said, then sighed dramatically.

Delaney's sharp intake of breath was muffled by her mom's hair as she squeezed her daughter in a tight hug. No, no, no. Please, not now, she thought. Delaney hung on tight, clenching her fists together behind Rose's back, not wanting to let go in case inexplicable tears began to stream down her face. She was most relieved to have not been facing anyone since her perfectly composed face transformed into a mask of horror in an instant.

"He's Delaney's friend too, you ninny. I'm sure you probably know Fin, right Mrs. Parker?"

"Of course." Her voice sounded unaffected. She released her daughter and stepped to the side to partially block Delaney. "Yes, he came to our house for Thanksgiving," she finished.