Chapter 87
Wedding plans?

"What's the problem?" Dolores inquired. "We're going to marry anyway - what's so important about the timing? Every day we put it off is another night I spend without Tim!"

They were in Trish's kitchen, Padma and Trish seated at the table while Dolores paced. Tim had been 'encouraged' to be elsewhere while the women got down to 'girl talk'...

"I might ask you the same thing, Dear," Trish replied, "What's the big rush? Surely if this is purely that you want to be together..."

"No," Dolores announced, "there are other issues." Padma started - surely Dolores didn't expect Trish to buy into her wild plan! "We have a limited amount of time," Dolores mused, wondering to herself, 'How do I present this?' "If it was just me, I could probably wait - I wouldn't like it, but I could wait. But Mama..."

Trish swung around to the other woman. "Padma! Are you ill?"

Dolores' eyes widened. She spun, and from her position behind Trish, she made gathering motions with her arms, nodding wildly. Padma stared at her daughter in confusion for a moment, then understanding dawned. "I... have a condition..." she announced hesitantly.

"Oh, no! How bad is it? How long do you have?" Trish was all motherly concern.

"It doesn't hurt or anything," Padma temporized, "At least, not much... But it's unclear when things will change..."

Dolores was having a hard time containing laughter. Well, menstruation was a 'condition', wasn't it?

"I had no idea!" announced Trish, "This puts a different spin on things! I'm sure we can manage to deal with any other issues that come up! Uh, just how quickly were you two looking at?"

"Well," Dolores declared, "We're gambling somewhat with the timeframes, since we just don't know, so we were looking at the short term - say about six weeks. But if that's too soon..."

"Wow!" Trish exclaimed, "That's awful short notice for a big wedding! I don't know..."

"But I don't WANT a big wedding!" Dolores wailed, "I just want a few friends, and the families - nothing outrageous! Certainly not one of those awful costly things you hear about! We have to worry about college tuition! I'd much rather we were in fall classes than having some idiot in tight pants spread flower petals for me to walk on!"

"That's entirely sensible, Dear - but it IS your day! Let's make it nice!"

"Well, if you think it's too short notice - we were just trying to make sure that things don't get too advanced, before... Mama? Do you have any track record for this? Other family members?"

Padma caught Trish's questioning look. "Several members of my family have had it..." she amplified, while thinking 'and more will...' "I don't think it's ever showed up before the early forties, Daughter - we have a little time..."

Trish shook her head. "Well, maybe it's best that we don't tempt the fates, here. Still, another couple of weeks might make all the difference!"

"Hmmmm. First of July, maybe? What do you think, Mama?" Dolores asked.

"I think that would be fine," Padma agreed.

"Say, uh, listen," Trish asked conspiratorially, "This condition - Dolores doesn't...?"

"No one in Marcus' family has it," Padma assured Trish, "It's a problem unique to my side of the family. With Dolores' mixed heritage..."

Dolores blinked at this finely crafted bit of misdirection. Her grandmother on her father's side had died in an auto accident two years before, and Marcus was an only child - therefore there were no females left in Marcus's family, menstruating or otherwise. Still, the fact that Padma had stopped before completing the sentence, allowing Trish to draw her own conclusions...

Trish, relieved, moved on to other things. "I can understand why you wouldn't want to make it into a flea circus, Dear, - but we can still make it memorable. Have you thought about where you might have the reception? What about the guest list? Obviously, there will be a LOT of young people there..."

"What about the VFW? Your husband and Marcus are both members..." Padma suggested.

"I'll call," Trish volunteered.

An hour later, Bruce found his eldest son on the porch. "What's up?"

"They're scaring me to death in there," Tim replied, "Talking about food for the reception, now, I think..."

"Hmph. Sounds like your mother settled down!" Bruce observed.

"Yeah. I'd give a lot to know how they managed THAT!" Tim replied.

"Magic?" Bruce, too, was somewhat bemused.

"Bruce? Is that you?" wafted Trish's voice from the kitchen.

"Yeah..." Bruce knew that tone.

The follow-on surprised him, however. "Why don't you take Tim to dinner at the VFW, Dear. We're going to be a while."

The males' befuddled looks deepened when Padma's voice added, "Perhaps you would invite Marcus? He's unlikely to say no, and it will simplify things at our house..."

Bruce shrugged, "I'll get on the phone!"

Then the other shoe dropped. "Dear, while you're there, find out if the hall is available the first of July, won't you?" Trish asked sweetly.

Bruce clapped his hand to his forehead as Tim chuckled, murmuring, "That was slick, wasn't it?"

"What're YOU laughing at? They just announced the end of your bachelorhood!" Bruce pointed out.

Tim shrugged, "So who wants to be a bachelor?"

Bruce shook his head. "You're in for a tough time, Son - that pair is sneakier than Trish, and the three of them together..." He shuddered. "Let's go collect Marcus and have a drink."