I check in with Kristen before clocking out and heading home. The babysitter, Tiffany, is sitting on the couch when I walk in, doing homework, and she closes her notebook and starts packing up. She is amazing with Lily and has a brilliant head on her shoulders. When looking for referrals, Tessa recommended her. Tiffany is a pre-med student, and one thing I can relate to is how stressful the med program is, not to mention how expensive it is, so when I found out that, she’s the first person I called.
“Any problems today?” I ask, pulling out my wallet from my purse.
“Nope. An angel, as always. Her homework is done, and there’s a paper that you’ll need to sign in her folder for tomorrow.”
I hand her sixty bucks, and she slides it into her back pocket. “Exams are killer this week. I don’t know how you did it.”
“It’s worth it. Just keep pushing through. See ya tomorrow.”
The front door shuts behind her, and I go to Lily’s room. “Hey, sweetie. We will leave for Aunt Britt’s soon. She wants us to meet her new boyfriend. I’m just going to change real quick.”
I don’t have enough time to take a shower and make it over to Plaza drive, so I just change out of my scrubs and into some black jeans and a black blouse and head right back out the door.
“Come on, Lil. We don’t wanna be late.”
She runs out of her room and straight out the door to the car. It’s been a while since she’s seen her, and it’s every Saturday night. I’m surprised she hasn’t asked where she’s been.
Brittaney isn’t the type to want kids because she is way too focused on where she wants to be in life. I think her exact words were, “I’m not mother material.” And I get it. Not every woman wants kids, but they are such a blessing. Maybe she will change her mind later on. After meeting the right guy and settling down.
This guy though, I’m not so sure it’s going to be long term and then she will crawl back under a rock, and be anti-relationship again. I hope he doesn’t break her heart, and they are both in this for the right reasons. Marriage isn’t a joke. Yet, so many people treat it like it’s not supposed to be a lifelong commitment. My parents raised me to believe you should only be married once, and believe me, did they have some things to say when Dean and I split up, but infidelity isn’t something I can overlook.
The sudden change in her attitude toward relationships is what gets me. How does one go from never wanting to settle down to being engaged in, like, three months? I could understand if they have been together for longer, but she hasn’t even known this guy that long, and he could be a fucking serial killer or something. Not to mention, my irritation about the fact they moved in together and not once did she even mention it to me. What are best friends for, if not to share good news with? Yet, I didn’t even receive a damn text about it. Practically just ghosted me for almost three months with a text every once in a while, and only because I’d ask if she is still alive. I try not to make such a big deal about it, but it hurts.
I want her to be happy, and I might be a bitch about this situation, but for valid reasons. She could have fallen in love with this man, it happens, but to already be engaged and living together is insane. That shit only happens in movies, not real life.
What if I hate the guy? Or, he hates me? I need to play nice tonight, because if she goes through with this wedding, I’ll be stuck with him. So, we need to get along for her sake. Here is best behavior, Raquel.
Pulling onto Plaza drive almost makes me cringe, seeing all these three story mansions, and knowing that I have to have dinner at one. I don’t hate rich people, but the ones I’ve met are obnoxious and so self-obsessed that I wouldn’t ever want to carry on a conversation, let alone have dinner with them. Brittaney better give me brownie points for tonight.
Lily is out of the car before I am, and at the door to give Brittaney an enormous hug.
“I missed you, sweet girl. Are you excited to meet Chad? He’s cooking us a special dinner.”
She gestures us inside, and we follow her through one of the biggest living rooms I’ve ever seen to the kitchen where he is standing over the stove.
“Sweetie, this is Raquel and her daughter, Lily.”
He puts the utensil down and smiles. “It’s nice to meet you. She talks about you all the time.”
A fake smile is all I can muster, but try to focus the attention on him. “So, what you got going there?”
“It’s a surprise. She doesn’t even know yet. You ladies go chat and it should be ready in about ten minutes.”
He is the epiphany of a rich boy living off his parent’s money. What the hell is she thinking? The man is wearing salmon colored board shorts and a white polo with boat shoes. His hair is slicked back with way too much gel and a perfect set of teeth.
She takes us back to the living room and hands Lily the remote before pulling out a binder and handing it to me.
“So, I picked out a venue. The Haddonfield Mansion,” she says, flipping it open. “Chad’s parents have agreed to pay for the wedding, not that they needed to…”
She has printed out pictures and pasted them into the binder. The name is forthcoming, because it looks like it has fifty bedrooms or something, and has a good amount of property.
“Here is a picture of where the ceremony will be. They have an arch already for outside weddings, and if we need to have it inside, god forbid, then we will do that, too.”
The nosey part of me wants to know how rich Chad’s parents are to be able to afford a place like this. It must be at least a hundred grand or more to rent this out for a day. And then you have to add catering, suits, dresses, and everything else.
“Don’t you think you should do something more modest? These venues are for people who want huge weddings. How many people are you inviting?” I ask.
She slams the binder shut. “Chad has a huge family, and his side will be a hundred.”