A Bride for Tom(33)
“Would you listen to yourself?” Jessica’s mother asked. “This is not your wedding. You’re not the bride. You’re the groom’s mother.” She stopped and glanced around at those watching her. “I mean, of course, that you aren’t the groom’s mother. Tom’s mother is the groom’s mother. Uh...That is to say if they get married. Not to say that anything is set yet. So...well...you’re Peter’s mother and Peter’s no longer getting married, which makes this whole thing a useless debate anyway.” She grunted and threw her hands up in the air. “Well, you know what I mean.”
Jessica nodded. “Ma is right. Tom’s mother is the groom’s mother now.”
“Jessica!” her mother warned.
She shrugged. “Just trying to clear up any confusion.”
“No, you’re not. You’re trying to sneak your wedding past me, and I won’t have it.”
“It’s as good as done.”
Joel cleared his throat. “You know that Tom is right here, don’t you?”
They stopped and turned to Tom whose eyebrows rose in interest. Jessica’s face grew warm. It wasn’t a good thing that she seemed that eager in front of him.
“I got a response!” someone yelled out.
Everyone’s attention turned to the door, giving Jessica a much needed reprieve from her slip of the tongue.
Margaret ran into the crowded hallway and held up a letter. “I think this is the one!” She nearly bumped into Joel. “Oh!” She quickly went over to Jessica and stared at her audience. “What’s going on?”
“Never mind all that,” Jessica replied, eager to switch topics. “What do you have there?” She pointed to the letter in Margaret’s hand.
Margaret’s gaze lowered to the piece of paper. “Someone answered my ad.”
“Already?”
“I know. I didn’t expect an answer this soon either, but he sounds like a good one. Read it and tell me what you think.”
Jessica took the letter.
Connie groaned. “We have more important things to discuss right now.”
“No, we don’t,” Jessica said. “It’s over.”
“What do you know? You’re still a child,” Connie replied. “You don’t know what’s good for you. You’re marrying Peter.”
“Oh, no she’s not,” Tom said. He pushed through the group and put his arm around Jessica’s shoulders. “She’s marrying me.”
“I am!” Jessica added. A quick look at her mother’s exasperated expression made her decide to change her tone. Glancing at Tom, she asked, “I am?”
“Well, if you want to,” he replied.
She counted to three so she wouldn’t seem too anxious. “Yes, I do.”
He smiled and squeezed her shoulders. “There,” he told Connie. “It’s all settled.”
“I don’t believe it,” Joel mumbled, shaking his head. “How did Tom pull it off?”
Connie turned to Peter. “Aren’t you going to stop this?”
Peter sighed. “Jessica’s right, Mother. It’s not meant to be between us.”
She sobbed into her handkerchief. “All my hard work is for nothing.”
“Why don’t you just have a Christmas party for your friends?” Tom asked. “That way, you still get to have your gathering.”
“That’s a great idea, Tom,” Peter said. “You can still show Maureen the white roses you made out of those cloth napkins.”
Connie stopped crying and glanced at Peter. “That might work.”
Looking relieved, he replied, “It would work very well. Maureen will be green with envy.”
“She will be, won’t she?” She smiled. “I suppose this might work after all.”
“And it will truly be your day.”
She clapped her hands. “We must continue our planning. And we should send out invitations. December is quickly approaching! Come along, Peter. We must get things ready.”
After they left, Joel wearily sighed and told Tom, “Just when things were getting good, you had to spoil it. Couldn’t you have bit your tongue for another two minutes?”
“What are you doing here?” Tom asked.
“Oh, Pa sent me to get your horse. You do want new horseshoes on it, don’t you?”
“Yes. Alright. Take it and go.”
“Alright. If that woman comes back, let me know how it goes.” Joel brushed off a piece of dirt that was stuck to his shirt sleeve. “Your house is awful, Tom. I can’t get it all off of me.”
“Don’t dirty up this house.” Tom picked up the small dirt clod and shoved his brother out the door. “Go home and take a bath.”