I wanted to assume that was a single case, but there was another one.
She walked past us wearing the same dress.
I looked at Marcus. “I thought there weren’t going to be flower girls.”
He acted like he had not heard me.
A few minutes later, I saw two little boys in matching suspenders holding the ring boxes.
Another child was helping hand out programs.
Every child in the immediate family seemed to have a role.
Except Sophie.
She noticed too.
Of course she did.
She leaned toward me and whispered, “Mom?”
“Yeah?”
“Why did Aunt Jenna lie?”
I didn’t have an answer for her.
I looked at her face.
She wasn’t crying.
That somehow made it worse.
She looked embarrassed.
Like she had finally understood that the story we’d told her about “simplifying” the wedding had never been true.
I was confused too, so I stood up.
Marcus grabbed my arm.
“Where are you going?”
“To talk to your sister.”
“Not now.”
“Our daughter is the only child here who got removed.”
“I can see that.”
“Then why are you not angry?”
He looked away.
“You knew.”
He was quiet.
“You knew there were still flower girls.”
“Please, let it go.”
“I can’t. I need to know why.”
“Not here.”
Something cold settled in my chest.
I pulled my arm away and walked straight toward Jenna.
She was near the side of the venue taking pictures with the two flower girls.
When she saw my face, her smile disappeared.
“Can we talk?”
She handed her bouquet to someone. “Sure.”
I pointed toward the girls.
“You told me there wouldn’t be flower girls.”
Jenna looked toward Marcus.
That made me angrier. “I am talking to you.”
She took a breath. “I didn’t take Sophie out because I don’t want her here.”
“Then why did you?”
Jenna hesitated.
Then she said, “Because your husband asked me to.”
“What?”
Marcus was already walking toward us.
“Jenna. This is not the time.”
She ignored him. “I was angry when I first removed Sophie.”
“So you had removed her? Angry about what?”
“Yes. I was angry about something between Marcus and me.”
I looked at him.
He said, “We are not discussing this now.”
Jenna laughed once. “Of course.”
I turned back to her.
“So you punished my daughter because you were angry at her father.”
Her face tightened.
“I said at first; I later changed my mind.”
