Chapter 33

The wedding countdown was at three weeks. Craig, Ken, and a few other buddies from Chicago had flown in for the bachelor party, along with his brothers-in-law. It was a night of men-only fun, featuring cigars, hefty steaks, top-shelf liquor, and a stripper.

The party was the brainchild of JJ and Craig, with Johnathan playing the role of the responsible chaperone, ensuring things didn’t spiral out of control. The morning after, all the guys, except Johnathan, woke up at JJ’s place, nursing hangovers and cursing the bright sunlight.

Anelise had her bachelorette party the same night. They went to an all-male revue that was in town, hooting and hollering at the chiseled abs, broad chests, and tight asses that could bounce a quarter.

They dined at one of their favorite sushi spots before painting the town red. The night ended at the Rothschilds, where Ashley and Naomi were babysitting Ollie.

She joined them for dinner, but wasn’t old enough for the show or the club they hit before heading back.

Fast forward two weeks, Leslie, Tiffany, and Monica all graduated. The weekend was a whirlwind of parties, leaving Anelise and Michael completely drained. They collapsed into bed Sunday night.

“Sweetheart, would you be upset if I don’t rock your world tonight?” he asked, a playful tone in his voice.

“Not at all, because I’ll be asleep before you can even get started!” she replied, punctuating her sentence with a yawn.

“Promise me we have nothing planned until our wedding!” Michael pleaded.

“Nothing, I promise. So we can chill for two weeks until your family arrives,” she said, her words trailing off as she fell asleep.

He planted a kiss on her cheek, rolled over, and drifted off to sleep.

—

A week later, Michael was a bundle of nerves when his flight touched down in Chicago. It wasn’t the business meeting that had him on edge—that was just a formality. It was what he planned to do afterward that had his heart pounding.

He survived the meeting, changed at his hotel, and hailed a cab to his destination. Upon arrival, he stepped out and asked the driver to keep the meter running.

He walked up to the front door and rang the bell. Neil opened the door and stared at him for a few moments before asking, “What do you want, Michael?”

“I wanted to talk to you and Kim. Can I come in?” he asked.

Neil sighed, opened the door wider, and led him to the living room. Kim walked in, alerted by the doorbell, and froze when she saw their visitor.

“I can only guess what you’re thinking right now,” Michael began. “But I know you received the wedding invitation.”

“Yes, we did,” Kim said, her voice shaky.

“Are you going to come?”

“No, we made our stance clear to Anelise in October,” Neil replied.

“So you’re going to miss another milestone in her life because you can’t control her decisions?” Michael asked, confusion lacing his words. Neither of them responded, though Kim was nervously wringing her hands.

“Do you even understand where she’s coming from? Can you see that maybe what you were doing wasn’t in her best interest? That maybe you were just scared?” He tried to reason with them.

“Of course we were scared!” Kim cried. “You have no idea what it’s like to lose a child!”

Michael looked up at them and softly said, “Yes, I do. Ani and I lost one too. And while we never got to hold him or her, we’ve felt and still feel the pain and longing of what might have been.”

“Did you know that on what would have been our baby’s due date, Ani was a wreck the whole day? She cried tears of pain that I never want to hear from her again.”

“And instead of using that time in October to bond with her and accept her as an adult, you chose to make ultimatums and called her a whore.”

Neil stiffened. “Well, you can’t know what it was like to find out your daughter got pregnant out of wedlock!”

“You’re right. I don’t know what that feels like. But if I’m ever blessed with a daughter, I sure as hell won’t call her a whore if she gets pregnant! She would need love and support, not blame and ridicule!” Michael shot back.

He felt like he wasn’t getting through to them and sighed. “Look, I came here to convince you to come to our wedding. Ani would like you to be there.”

“I don’t think that’s something we can do,” Kim said, shaking her head. “I can’t watch her marry you. You’re not right for her, and you’re stifling her future. She’s too young to make this decision for herself.”

Michael was taken aback. “So you don’t want to see your only child get married because you think I’m too old? You won’t see her get married because you think at twenty-one, she’s not capable of choosing who she should marry?”

When they didn’t respond, he stood up. “I can see this was a waste of time. You truly don’t understand your daughter. You have no idea how brilliant, smart, caring, compassionate, and loving she really is.”

“I just want you to know that Ani is the love of my life. I’ve never loved anyone else, except Ollie, the way I love her. I would have asked for your blessing, but I can see that’s not going to happen.”

“I sincerely hope you both know what you’re doing. I just want to leave you with this; someone else will be performing the mother-of-the-bride duties, Kim.”

“And some other man will be walking her down the aisle, Neil. Is that what you really want? To miss out on the biggest day of her life because you can’t control it?!”

“I’m speechless. All I know is that if I ever have a daughter with Ani, there’s nothing in the fucking world that would keep me from being there on her wedding day! ~Nothing!~”

He walked to the door. “If you change your mind, you have the invitation, and Peg and her family are coming. You can get the details from them.”

“I’m relieved I kept my visit a secret from Ani. This conversation would shatter her, and I can’t bear to see her upset. She deserves a lifetime of happiness, and I’ll use my last breath to ensure she gets it.”

With that, he shut the door with a bang and climbed back into the cab.

“What a complete shit show!”

At least he could say he gave it a shot if anyone ever asked. But he prayed Ani never would.

***

Annelise was wide awake at the Rothschilds’ place, the night before her wedding. She’d spent the entire day at the spa, indulging in head-to-toe pampering, a generous gift from her Aunt Peg.

Over the past few months, they’d shared many conversations and grown closer. Annelise cherished this newfound bond.

They’d discussed her parents, and while neither of them could fathom their reluctance to let Annelise lead her own life, Annelise had made peace with it. She just wanted to move forward.

Did it hurt that they wouldn’t be there on her big day? Absolutely! But she was also incredibly angry at them and refused to waste another moment of her energy on them. They’d made their choice, and she wouldn’t let it spoil her wedding.

She rolled over in bed, a smile playing on her lips as she thought about her love for Michael and Ollie, and the wonderful life they were about to embark on together. She was brimming with excitement for tomorrow and found herself lost in dreams of their future.