I Promise (9 page)

“I think we should help my dad unload the car first,” Christy said.

“I'll make some coffee,” Marti said. “As soon as you're finished, please join me.”

“Where's Uncle Bob?” Christy instinctively knew it would be a good idea to have her uncle nearby when Marti started in on the two of them.

“He went to pick up our Christmas Eve dinner. We ordered everything from D'Angelo's this year. Bob is going to prepare it for us, and we'll eat at six. That gives us a little more than an hour for our meeting. I mean, our discussion.”

Christy's dad entered with his arms full, and Mom was right behind him.

“Does anything else need to come in?” Todd asked.

“No, this is the last of it,” Dad said. “Would someone move this bag of gifts so I don't knock it over?”

Christy quickly scooped up the handled bag Marti had left in the middle of the floor. Carrying it into the living room, she placed each of the gifts under the tree. Bob and Marti had set up the Christmas tree in its usual spot in front of their beach-front home's huge window. Marti went all out decorating and changed her theme every year. This year the tree was a Douglas fir that touched the ceiling and filled the living room with a fresh, outdoor fragrance. Marti had chosen to decorate with just two colors, white and red. She even had changed the window treatment to white velvet swags across the top, held in place with wide red velvet bows.

Tiny white lights, looking like icicles, hung from the ceiling. More tiny lights glimmered from every branch on the tree. All the ornaments were red. Christy examined a tiny red sled that hung from one of the branches. Beside it was a red apple ornament tied to the tree with a red-and-white-plaid ribbon.

Christy was about to return to the kitchen when she noticed an envelope attached to a red-striped ribbon that looped over one of the lower branches. The envelope had David's name on it, but for some reason, the sight of it reminded her of Rick's envelope.

I never did open that envelope. I wonder where I put it?

“Christina,” Marti called from the kitchen, “the coffee is ready.”

Christy drew in a deep breath and headed for the kitchen. Todd, her parents, and Marti were all seated, waiting for her.

As soon as Christy slid her chair close to Todd's, Marti dived in. “I should begin by telling you I took the liberty of calling my country club this week and found that they miraculously had a cancellation the last weekend of June. Of course, I reserved it. I had to put down a substantial deposit, but as you might guess, the only other opening was at the end of November and—”

“Wait,” Christy said. “Open for what? What are you talking about?”

Marti pointed to the first item of business on the printed agenda that rested on the top of the papers stacked in front of each seat. “The reservation for your wedding. I can't think of a nicer place to have your ceremony than at the Newport Country Club, can you?”

Christy shot a stunned look at her mother, who was sitting directly across from her.

Her mother said, “Your father and I were under the impression you would get married at our church in Escondido. We could hold the reception in the gym. They have lots of round tables that we could cover with—”

“A gymnasium!” Marti looked at her sister incredulously. “You can't be serious, Margaret. You wouldn't
want your only daughter to have her reception in a gymnasium!”

“Our church has receptions in the gym all the time. I went to a luncheon there last spring that was lovely. They hung ferns from the basketball backboards and—”

“I won't hear of it,” Marti said firmly. “Christy deserves an elegant, classy wedding. She and Todd should have the best facility available for the most memorable day of their lives. Don't you understand it was a minor miracle for me to secure the Newport Beach Country Club in June?”

Marti turned to Christy and Todd with a pleading expression. “I thought you two, of all people, would see this as a sign from God that you should get married the last Saturday in June.”

A dead-air moment followed. Christy didn't know where to begin in her argument with her aunt. Her mother appeared mortally wounded, and her father was looking down into his coffee cup.

Todd leaned back and broke the tension by saying in his raspy whisper, “I'm confident the Bridegroom will show up wherever we hold the ceremony.”

Marti's expression showed she didn't appreciate his comment. “Of course you will show up, Todd. That's not the point.”

“I didn't mean me. I meant
the
Bridegroom. Jesus Christ. He's with us here right now. He'll show up wherever Christy and I are on the day that we promise our lives to each other. That's all that really matters.”

Marti's face grew red. “Todd, I have held my tongue for a very long time, but I can't remain silent any longer.” She leaned across the table and with fire in her eyes said, “I love you like a son. You know that. There is nothing I wouldn't do for you or give you. But you have failed to show me the slightest courtesy in areas that matter the most to me. I've listened to you spiritualize for the last time.”

She rose to her feet and pressed white knuckles to the table. “This is not about your heavenly view of everything. This is the wedding day of my one and only niece. I am offering my time and my resources to help create an unforgettable day for the two of you. And how do you respond? By being rude, disrespectful, and inconsiderate. Well, that's it!”

Todd stood. “You're right.” His voice broke, and he reverted to a loud whisper. “I haven't honored your considerable efforts. I'm sorry. Will you forgive me for being insensitive and not appreciating all you do for Christy and me?”

Marti didn't seem to know how to respond. She stood rigidly and stared at Todd as if trying to determine if he was sincere or if this was another spiritual tactic to break down her defenses.

Todd waited. His expression was open and expectant.

Marti continued to stare at him; her jaw remained firm.

“Ho! Ho! Ho!” came a jovial voice as the door to the garage opened. “It's Santa and his helper! Have we got
a prime rib dinner for you! And wait until you see the cheesecake . . .” Bob stopped in his tracks and sized up the standoff at the kitchen table.

“What happened?” David asked, following Uncle Bob and carrying a large white cake box.

Marti tilted her head slightly and in a low voice said, “I suggest we start over. Let's all take a deep breath and go on from here.”

“That won't erase the offense.” Todd cleared his throat and tried to continue. “I hurt you, Marti. I was wrong. I apologize. Please forgive me.”

With a wave of her hand and a stilted laugh, Marti said, “Don't worry about it, Todd. We're all running on heightened emotions. I suggest we take a five-minute break and then reconvene with an agreement to all communicate with a renewed level of respect.”

Christy thought her aunt had turned into a robot and was spouting phrases she had heard before rather than saying what sprang from her heart. Maybe that was how issues were discussed when Marti was involved with the art colony.

“What did we miss?” David asked.

Mom shot him a look that said, “Don't ask such questions, David!”

“Are we still on for a six-o'clock dinner?” Bob asked, unloading his bags of food on the counter. “Or should we adjust that?”

“Six-thirty would be better.” Marti moved over to the coffee maker and poured a fresh cup of coffee. “We're just getting started.”

Uncle Bob caught Christy's eye. He held her gaze with a silent, questioning look. Christy gave a little nod and mouthed the words, “It's okay.”

Bob slowly nodded.

“Would it be all right if I made some tea?” Christy asked.

“Of course,” Bob said. “You know where it is. Help yourself. I bought some Christmas peppermint tea yesterday that you might like. How about you, Todd? A little something warm for your throat? Or would cold feel better? We have plenty of everything.”

“Tea.”

“I'll get it.” Christy rubbed Todd's back as she slid past him. “Is peppermint okay?”

He nodded.

Christy had just turned on the flame under the teakettle when Marti returned to the table and announced they were ready to continue.

“Go ahead and sit down,” Bob suggested to Christy. “I'll bring your tea over to you.”

With fresh determination, Marti went back to her agenda, skipping the first point until later. “Let's go on to the third point. The cake. If you will look at the third and fourth pages on your handout, you will see some color copies that are examples of Cakes by Emilie. Her bakery is in great demand because she interviews the couples, finds out what is meaningful to them, and then designs a cake specifically for them. No two cakes are ever alike.”

“Are those skateboards on the border of that yellow
cake?” Christy's mom asked.

“Cool!” David looked over Christy's shoulder. “How did they make the little black wheels? Is that a birthday cake?”

“No, these are all wedding cakes. The groom was an architect. He met his bride when he was designing a skate park for the city of Solana Beach. I asked about that one because I thought it was unusual, too.”

Christy wanted to protest the use of skateboards as an appropriate decoration on a wedding cake so Todd wouldn't get any ideas about using surfboards on theirs. But she knew it would be better not to challenge her aunt. At least not yet.

Marti seemed to have calmed down. David went into the den to watch TV, and Bob brought Christy and Todd their tea and then quietly worked in the kitchen while Marti worked her way down the list. She went on with her presentation for fifteen uninterrupted minutes. No one else said a word. No one agreed or disagreed or challenged her on any of her seven points. When she returned to the first two points, she presented her opinions with an enthusiastic tone.

“As I mentioned earlier, I went ahead and reserved the country club for June. Point number two is the wedding coordinator I've been working with to gather all this information. Her name is Elise, and I made an appointment for us to meet with her on Saturday afternoon at two o'clock. Now for discussion. Who has questions?”

No one moved or spoke up.

Christy had so many conflicting feelings she didn't dare try to say anything. Todd was the brave one again. For a man with so little voice left, he was sure set on having his say. “Thank you, Marti. You worked hard on all this. I appreciate it. This will help Christy and me as we make our decisions and put everything together.”

Christy thought his choice of words was great. “Put everything together” could mean they would take all Aunt Marti's ideas, some of her ideas, or none of her ideas. The part Marti heard was the thank-you. That seemed more important than anything else.

“You're welcome. This is only the beginning, you know. We have much more planning to do. That's where Elise will help us out on Saturday.”

Christy determined right then and there that she and Todd would find time in the next day and a half to talk through all their wedding plans. They would decide on their own, just the two of them, when, where, and how they would get married. If they had to stay up all night for the next two nights, they would form their own plan. If they had to go somewhere else to talk, they wouldn't come back until they had their own completed list. Even if Todd lost his voice completely and could only communicate by sign language, they
would
figure out everything before two o'clock on Saturday. And the decisions would be all theirs because, after all, this was their wedding.

7
“Wait a minute,” Katie said, stopping in the middle of the produce section at the grocery store. “Todd and you went ahead and met with the wedding coordinator on Saturday even though you guys don't want to get married at the yacht club?”

It was the Monday after Christmas, and Katie and Christy had returned to Rancho Corona to prepare for the Mexico outreach trip with Todd's youth group. Christy and Katie hadn't seen each other since the night they went caroling but had agreed earlier on the phone to meet in front of the grocery store down the hill from their college campus.

They stood in the parking lot talking for nearly ten minutes before Christy suggested they shop while they talked. Entering the grocery store with Katie pushing the cart, Christy continued to summarize her Christmas weekend at Bob and Marti's in a more positive tone than she felt.

“Yes, we met with the wedding coordinator,”
Christy said. “She's not from the club. She's independent. I liked her. She had a lot of good ideas for us.”

“So when did you tell your aunt that you don't want to have the ceremony at the yacht club?”

“We haven't told her yet, but we will,” Christy said. “Todd and I spent hours discussing everything even though his voice was barely above a whisper.”