Holly's Wedding

“Lori, let's not get together Monday night and take the decorations down,” I plead over the phone. “It really would be easier for me to just pick away at it a little at a time tomorrow during the day. There's no reason for you guys to come over and have another big get-together.”

“We want to,” Lori told me determinedly. “We'll make it into a family night, and working together it will come down quickly.”

“I know,” I assured her, just as determinedly, “but I have nothing to do on Monday, and I'd like to get at it early and have it done.”

The truth was, I just didn't want to have another 'get-together' with my ex-husband, his estranged wife, and her kids and their kids. We'd been doing nothing but that for the past couple of weeks, and I was emotionally worn out, not to mention tired of having to run interference between my husband, Moe, and my ex-husband, Sheldon. There was no way in the world that Moe would be happy about having family night with those guys. Anyway, Lori had seemed pretty stressed out having to be around Sheldon. She looked and acted like her nerves were shot. It seemed better to avoid putting her in that position again.

“We really can't do it tomorrow night,” I apologized. “I'm sorry, but it just won't work out. I'll take the decorations down myself during the day.”

“Fine!” she huffed. “I'll be over early to get my stuff!”

“But you don't have to do that,” I quickly stopped her. I hadn't meant to inconvenience her. “You can still come over Monday night to get everything, or whenever. I'll just stack your back-drops and the tables and chairs up in the back yard, and they'll be fine. There's no hurry.

“I'll be there first thing in the morning to get everything out of your way!” she informed me in an angry voice. “I won't impose on you any longer.”

What on earth? I thought Lori and I had been getting along pretty well since she'd kicked Sheldon out for being a jerk and playing around behind her back. I was totally shocked that she wanted to be together with him for another night? After all, we'd just spend a whole week together.

Holly's wedding had been lovely, but stressful. We'd had a bridal shower for her as soon as she came home from school the week before the wedding. Her fiance', Jason, came a couple of days later and we had a groom shower for him. His family drove down from Idaho Thursday, Holly went through the Temple Friday, and the wedding was Saturday. Each event was wonderful, but nerve wracking. I spent the whole time playing peacemaker between Sheldon and Moe, Sheldon and my family, and Sheldon and Lori. I was worn out!

The reception in our back yard turned out beautiful. Linnea did the decorations and flowers and made the wedding cake, and everything was perfect. Lori brought over her beautiful backdrops and tables and chairs (she had owned a wedding catering service at one time) and Linnea turned our yard into a beautiful garden reception. I made the rest of the refreshments, as well as cooking a turkey and rolls so our family, Jason's family, Lori's family and Sheldon would have something to eat between the wedding and the reception. Then I tried to focus on family and the wedding, and it had been lovely. Dad got to perform the wedding in the Temple, and that was really tender. The reception that evening worked out perfectly, and everyone seemed happy.

It was too late to take down decorations after the reception on Saturday night, but I didn't mind doing it Monday. Jason's parents left to go back to Idaho Sunday morning. Holly and Jason stopped by Sunday afternoon to tell us goodby before they left for their honeymoon. We would see them again in a few weeks when we drove up to Idaho for their open house. Sunday afternoon I was just resting when Lori called to tell me her plan for getting together Monday night, but really, it was the last thing I wanted to do. Darn!

“Lori, really, you don't need to come over tomorrow.” I tried to tell her. “I can take everything down myself, and you can pick it up when you have time. I just don't think we need to get together with Sheldon again to do it.”

“I'll be there tomorrow morning,” Lori told me angrily, and hung up the phone.

Monday dawned warm and clear. It was only the first of May, but that doesn't mean cool weather on the desert. By 8:00 the temperature was climbing up into the 90's, and the bright sun beat down upon me as I worked in the backyard, rolling up yards of lavender tulle and pulling tablecloths off the tables. Lori got there about 9:00, still in a huff, and quickly packed up all her backdrops and loaded the tables and chairs into her trailer. She hardly spoke to me as she worked, and was done in less than an hour. It took me the rest of the day to finish taking the twinkle lights out of trees, to box up Linnea's decorations, and clean up the yard and house.

Tuesday I called Lori to try to smooth things out, but only made matters worse. She sounded on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

“You get the van and put it out in front of your house,” she shouted at me over the phone. “Sheldon will be there in half an hour to take it!”

What? Sheldon had given us a new mini-van a couple of years earlier, to replace the old one he'd given me to drive the kids around in not long after we got divorced. Moe didn't want to take the new car, but I finally persuaded him that Sheldon owed us at least that much in back child support payments. I was sure the reason Sheldon was offering us a car was because he needed a tax write-off for his business that year, not because he was being nice. He emphasized that the mini-van belonged to us, and that we were liable for insurance and car repairs and everything, so finally Moe gave in and accepted the car. Now Lori wanted it back?

It was a pretty silly thing for her to do, but it seemed better to just let it go than argue with her at the moment. I went out to the garage, cleaned our stuff out of the van, and drove it out and parked it on the street. Sheldon came and drove it away that afternoon.

A few days later Lori called dad and apologized. “I was wrong,” she told him, “and we want to give the car back to Gale.” Obviously, she had just been worn out like me, and she'd lost it. But to tell you the truth, it was kind of nice not having that gift from them hanging over our heads. Moe and I talked it over and decided we didn't want the car. Who was to say the same thing wouldn't happen again a couple of months later? I could drive the little old car Russell had left behind, until we found something better. Really, the only bad thing was we had nothing to drive up to Idaho for Holly's Open House, and even that was probably good. With the tension between Sheldon and Lori and us, perhaps it was better for us not to go, anyway.