Chapter 20 - The Wedding That Never Happens
We lost deposits.
Good.
Consequences can be boring.
Venue:
$42,000 deposit.
Recovered half after cancellation.
Florist:
$18,000 committed; six thousand nonrefundable.
Planner:
$26,000 earned under contract.
Music.
Catering.
Invitations never mailed.
No million-dollar wedding destruction.
Our prenup negotiations ended.
Victoria’s belongings were removed through scheduled supervised access.
She had lived at the mansion about four nights a week but maintained her own Manhattan apartment.
No eviction crisis.
Her property returned.
I kept no jewelry.
She kept engagement ring after settlement.
No wedding dress burning.
No champagne revenge sequel.
Months later I received a storage invoice for monogrammed napkins.
R & V.
Four hundred.
I stared.
Margaret said:
“Donate.”
We did.
A nonprofit event center accepted linens after removing monogram concerns? They took them for craft/rag? Better.
We sent them back to rental supplier where possible.
The purchased ones became household utility cloths after the embroidery was covered.
Not symbolism.
Textiles.
One day Noah spilled juice.
Margaret handed me one.
Tiny R & V hidden beneath a stitched patch.
I laughed.
Then wiped the floor.
May you like
That was a better ending for wedding merchandise than fire.
────────────────────
