Chapter 20 #2
Shay was helping the family get organized, while Karen talked to Todd in the guest wing.
Anne and Judy were assisting the caterers to prep the food and store it in the house while the serving staff prepared the buffet in the tent.
They’d called the day before and insisted the seafood was not a great idea at an outdoor wedding, so they were preparing various chicken dishes.
Most of the guests had arrived by thirty minutes before the ceremony was supposed to start, and the entire property was buzzing with activity.
I took a moment to slip away to check on Alberto and my crew.
As I walked past the pool yard, I saw Karen and Todd hugging. She was apologizing to him. He was so kind to her, kinder than she probably deserved considering she’d canceled at the last minute, but his smile seemed a bit relieved. Perhaps he’d felt pressured to do this before he was ready, as well.
I nodded to them, and she waved as they held hands and walked back toward the house. Alberto was in the tortoise yard when I walked up, filling the hole with water.
“Everyone present and accounted for,” he said. “Just giving them some fresh water. It’s toasty already.”
“Thank you so much for being here. I really appreciate you, Alberto.”
“No need. I love these guys, and I’m enjoying my work here so much. I appreciate you giving me the opportunity. Plus, Foggy Basin is a pretty cool town. It’s nice to get away from the rat race for a few days at a time.”
“I’m glad. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got some wedding rings to grab.”
Alberto’s eyes bugged out, and he started to speak, but I held up a hand.
“I’ll explain it all later! Thank you.”
I pulled the rings out of my top drawer, where I’d wrapped them in one of Grandpa’s handkerchiefs.
They were both simple gold bands and both were probably too big for Francis, but we could get them sized.
I couldn’t believe I was even considering springing a proposal on Francis during his most chaotic day, and maybe I’d wait a bit until things calmed down, but today was decidedly the day.
I’d made up my mind. I would give him something positive to remember this day by.
And even if he wasn’t ready or said he didn’t want to get married, he’d know how much I loved him.
I ran back up the hill and saw Francis’s father standing at the edge of the pool yard, watching the goings on with and smoking a cigarette. Interesting.
Since it seemed I was all about the spontaneous decisions today, I walked right up to the man and stuck out my hand, the rings feeling warm in the chest pocket of my suit.
“I’m Kendall Warren. You must be—”
“Dominic. Liang. You’re Francis’s boyfriend.”
“I am.”
He nodded and stubbed out his cigarette, looked around for a place to put it, then shoved it in the pocket of his black slacks.
“Anne told me the two of you are close and that you’ve been a big help to Francis in his new life here. Thank you for that.”
He was about my height, a little taller than his son, but they were built exactly the same, all long lines and excellent posture.
Francis clearly got his mother’s facial features, however.
There was nothing mischievous or humorous in this man’s expression.
He looked sad. Defeated. Like a man whose pride had lost him a beautiful wife and an amazing son.
What was he doing here?
“No thanks necessary. Francis is brilliant. He had a plan, and he’s made something pretty amazing here.”
Dominic looked out over the crowd of guests that were now making their way to the seats for the ceremony, and he sighed. “He is a much better man than me.”
“Have you two had a chance to talk?”
He shook his head. “Not yet. I did not realize… He has a lot of things to do.”
“He does. And I hope you’ll forgive my forwardness, but he really doesn’t need more stress today. I know the two of you need to talk, but I hope you’ll respect his wishes if he’s not ready to speak yet.”
“I had no idea that he had such an involved operation. There must be close to two hundred people here.”
“Yes, and the wedding party has been particularly difficult to deal with. And now they’ve called off the wedding, so Francis is going to have to make the announcement here pretty soon.” I hated this for him. I’d wanted everything to be perfect, as if it were his own wedding.
“He can handle it. He’s handled so much more…” He trailed off and rubbed at his mouth.
I knew I should keep my mouth shut, but all I could think of was Francis’s reaction to me and Shay having an argument.
“Mr. Liang?”
“Dominic, please.”
“Okay. Dominic. Your son is very important to me, and this might be out of line, but if you’re here to further criticize his choices, I would ask that you not do that today. Please.”
He gazed at me for a long moment with dark eyes and a furrowed brow. I wasn’t intimidated by him, but I could see why Francis had been.
“I have dishonored my son and my wife. I only recently learned just how badly I misjudged them. I’ve come seeking forgiveness and nothing more.”
Francis hadn’t given me any indication that his father was dishonest, so I took him at his word.
“All right. But he’s not going to be able to speak to you until much later.”
He nodded and looked down at his feet, his hands in the pockets of his slacks. “I will wait as long as it takes, and if he is unable, I will come back tomorrow. I’ve booked a room at the inn indefinitely. I must speak to my son. And my wife.”
I had a sneaking suspicion he found out what actually happened to Francis. Good. The father in me appreciated what it took to admit you were wrong, and the strength necessary to make things better.
“That’s good. If you’ll excuse me, I want to be close by in case Francis needs me.”
Cocky, but this man was going to realize real quick that I would burn the world down for his son. And his ex-wife.
He nodded, turned his back, and lit another cigarette.
I saw Francis speaking with Evelyn and Karen near the gazebo and noticed that the seats were nearly full. Only a few folks were hovering around the patio talking, including Todd and his groomsmen. They were all consoling him, but he had a brave smile on his face.
Francis climbed the steps of the gazebo and raised his hands to get everyone’s attention.
“Thank you, everyone, for coming to Maison De Reve today for the Deevers-Davidson wedding. We’ve had a change of program, which we’ll explain in a moment, but I want to take this opportunity to share a bit about the mission statement for this house.”
He cleared his throat, and I walked closer, moving to stand on his right where he could see me.
“We’ve all committed to different paths in our lives, whether it be education, a relationship, a job, or something just as meaningful.
And sometimes those paths fulfill us in all the ways we thought they would.
But for many of us, the paths we choose define us in ways we never imagined or desired, and they don’t fill our souls.
I came here to Foggy Basin because the path I had chosen turned out to not be one that was healthy for me, nor did it fulfill me.
It took a lot of self-reflection and pigheadedness, I guess you would say, to get to this place in my life. ”
A ripple of laughter moved through the crowd. I could only smile at the man I loved and hoped he understood just how brave he was
“My mission in creating this retreat is to help people find the paths that bring them joy or peace or happiness, because sometimes we discover that the path we thought we should be on is not the right one for us, even if we had the best intentions. It’s important that we support the people we love, even if we don’t understand the choices they’re making or wouldn’t make them for ourselves, because oftentimes people are fighting battles that no one else is aware of.
I hope today you will have a bit of patience and grace, and remember a time in your life when you needed someone to support you, to stand up for you.
Karen and Todd would like to speak to you all, and I ask that you give them your complete attention and support. ”
There was a bit of confused chatter through the crowd this time, as Karen and Todd—dressed nicely but not in their wedding attire—climbed the steps together and turned to address their loved ones. Todd took her hand, and she smiled at him gratefully.