Chapter 7 - The Wedding Standoff
Savannah sped away from Oak & Vine like a hurricane, leaving cloud of gravel dust behind her car.
At 1:00 PM, an hour before the ceremony, my mother called me again. Her voice was no longer angry; it was entirely broken.
"Lila... please," my mother wept over the phone. "Savannah is hyperventilating in the bridal suite. Derek is refusing to put on his tuxedo until he knows Eleanor is coming. Please, Lila... I know I’ve made mistakes. I know I favored Savannah. But please... don't let her wedding fall apart."
I sat in my study, looking at a framed photograph on my desk—a picture of my grandfather and me working in his garden when I was twelve years old.
"Mom," I said gently. "Do you remember when I graduated from college top of my class, and you cancelled my celebratory dinner because Savannah had a breakdown over a bad haircut?"
My mother went silent.
"Do you remember when I bought my first five acres out here, and you called it a waste of money without even coming to look at the land?"
"Lila... that was years ago..." my mother whispered.
"It was a pattern, Mom," I said. "You spent thirty years sacrificing my dignity to feed Savannah’s ego. Today is the day the bill comes due. I won't force Grandma to go anywhere. If she wants to attend, I will drive her myself. If she doesn't, I will respect her choice."
Ten minutes later, I walked down to the guest house where Grandma Eleanor was sitting on the porch, reading a magazine and enjoying the quiet country breeze.
"Grandma," I said softly, sitting beside her. "Savannah’s wedding starts in forty-five minutes. Do you want to go?"
Grandma Eleanor set her magazine down, adjusted her glasses, and looked at me with deep wisdom.
May you like
"Lila," Grandma said smoothly, "a wedding is a promise made before God and family to live in truth and love. Savannah doesn't want family there; she wants props for her stage performance. I have lived eighty-four years, my dear. I don't waste my remaining days acting as a prop for people who don't love me."
She patted my hand. "Tell them I am staying in Sonoma."
