Philip closes my laptop, sets it on the coffee table, and kisses me. "You're lucky. We'll find somewhere."
"Speaking of getting lucky," I say with a smirk.
Phillip smacks my butt as he follows me into the bedroom.
Phillip and I didn't talk about when exactly he'd make the big announcement today. It's been really hard for me to keep my mouth shut. After my meeting with Pastor, I'd really like to give Mrs. Mac a piece of my mind, my middle finger, and then say something like, There's no way in hell that Pastor John is marrying us, so there. I'd even stick out my tongue for good measure.
But then I remember I'm an adult.
Darn.
Finally during dessert, Phillip turns to his dad and says, "Dad, I have some good news."
His dad says, "Does that mean you finally asked her?"
Mrs. Mac says, "Asked her what?"
Phillip turns to his mom. "I know Dad told you all about us building in Kansas City."
She nods.
Phillip continues. "The good news is we offered Jadyn the opportunity to design it, and she's accepted."
Mrs. Mac smiles and starts to say something, but Phillip keeps talking. "And there's more."
"More?" Mr. Mac says with a confused look.
"A lot more. We've decided to start looking for a house in KC right away. We've also decided to get married right away."
"Why?" Mrs. Mac says. The she turns to me with an accusatory look. "Are you pregnant?"
This is the same woman that told me just a few weeks ago that I should get pregnant and make Phillip marry me. Now, she's pissed.
Phillip says, "She's not pregnant." He covers my hand with his. "Although that would be amazing."
I melt. Phillip just makes me melt. Always.
I went from feeling like a cat with her back all hunched up and readying her claws, to a little puddle of mush.
"How soon are we talking? You know, most weddings take fifteen months to plan."
"I do know that," I say. Ha! I've been secretly planning for a week. I know lots of stuff you don't. So there. "We're still working it all out, but we're shooting for December or January."
"December or January!!! That's only a few months! I have no idea how we're going to plan a wedding that fast."
She seems really stressed by this thought, which I think is a bit odd, as she managed to help her son plan a surprise engagement party in less than a week. So I say, "You don't have to worry about it. Phillip and I will do all the planning."
She looks at me, obviously reading my mind and knowing I don't have a clue. "So have you set a date? That's the first thing you need to do."
"We disagree. We decided to set a timeframe. A lot of the places I've called are already booked, so we're not setting a date until we find a place."
Philip says, "That sounds reasonable, don't you think, Mom?"
His mom huffs, "Are you sure you want to rush this? You just got engaged, and you're wrong. The first place you need to reserve is the church."
I wanna tell her I'm never wrong, but this will be more satisfying.
What the hell.
Call the president. Give him the launch codes.
It's time to drop the bomb.
"We're not getting married at the church," I say.
"You're what!? Why not? You HAVE to get married in the church."
Here we go. Here's where I'm gonna have to spill it. I haven't told Phillip yet. I've sorta been afraid to.
Phillip comes to my rescue. "We thought since it will be winter, and there will probably be lots of snow, that we would have everything in one place. It makes sense, and it's what we want."
"Phillip, you HAVE to get married in the church."
"No, we don't," he tells her. "It's our wedding. We can do whatever we want."
"Well, we still need to call Pastor John and see when he's available."
I grab Phillip's hand and hold it tightly for strength. "I met with Pastor John. I don't want him to marry us. We'll be having someone else do it."
Phillip turns to me. "You said something about that after you met with him. What's going on?"
I look at Phillip then lower my head and look at the kitchen table. I take a deep breath and say, "Pastor John told me that your mom's concerned about you marrying me, Phillip."
Phillip's eyes get big. He faces his mom angrily. "Is that true? You were so excited about us getting engaged. You've been pushing us to plan the wedding."
She sighs. "I was, yes."
"And now you're not?"
"I'm just concerned, Philip. We heard about Cancun. How she pushed you away. How she's never had a serious relationship."
"I haven't had a serious relationship either. And you know why that is," Phillip says sternly.
Phillip is pissed. I like it.
He's standing up to his mom for me. It makes me love him more, which I didn't think was possible.
"She went through a lot with her parents' death. I don't think she ever dealt with it. I love you both. I want your marriage to work. That's why I talked to him."
"She is me," I say. "Don't talk like I'm not here. I did deal with my parents' death, and if anyone knows that, it's Phillip. He's always been there for me. And just for the record, I don't feel like my parents abandoned me."
Phillip stands up quickly and glares at his mom and dad. "Did you say that? That her parents abandoned her?"
Phillip's dad says, "We would never say that."
"Pastor John suggested it. Suggested that I have abandonment issues. Maybe your mom is right, Phillip. Maybe I'm screwed up, and you shouldn't marry me. Which is fine, then I won't have to deal with all this bullshit."
I get up.
I want to run. Run away. Run home. Hide under my blanket.
Phillip pulls me into his arms and looks straight into my eyes. "We're getting married, Princess. Whenever we want, however we want. I don't care what anyone thinks. If my parents don't want to be supportive, then we'll go to Vegas or some beach and get married by ourselves." He turns to his parents. "Do you want to be part of our wedding?"
"Yes," his mom says.
"Then remember it's our wedding, our life. We make the decisions. I'm not putting up with this shit."
His dad says, "Phillip, calm down. We get it."
Phillip sits down, pulls me onto his lap, and wipes a few stray tears from my face. I tried to hold them in, but I lost the fight. A few managed to sneak out.
"You still okay with moving up the wedding?"
I kiss his cheek. "Yes."
I can't wait to be Phillip's wife.
I really can't wait.
His dad says, "So December or January it is. Your parents got married in January, JJ. That's kinda cool, huh?"
"I kind of forgot that. You're right though, it is cool."
Mr. Mac gets down a picture of my parents' wedding day from the family room shelves and hands it to me. Mr. Mac is the best man. My dad looks so young and handsome. My mom was a beautiful beaming bride.
We didn't stay long after dinner. Phillip always tries to protect me, even from his own family. I'm sitting on the couch, leaning on his shoulder, and watching Sunday Night Football. My mind flits back to the picture of my parents' wedding. I get up quickly, run into the guest bedroom, flip open Mom's hope chest, and dig out their wedding album.
If I'm going to get married near their anniversary, maybe I could find something. I'm not even sure, some little detail from their wedding that I could incorporate into mine. A way to honor them and a way to inspire me.