This is the fourteenth part in a series, so if you have not already done so, you might want to read Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI, Part VII, Part VIII, Part IX, Part X, Part XI, Part XII, and Part XIII before continuing.
Deciding how emotional to get during the ceremony was tricky. If Owen and I had been dating for more than a few weeks, I would have been giving him meaningful looks the whole time. As it was, I didn’t want to spook him.
On the other hand, this was my mom’s wedding. I was probably expected to get at least a little emotional, even if I was really just hoping he didn’t turn out to be a dick like my dad.
So I made my eyes get a little watery, and I held Owen’s hand, but decided against looking at him during the ceremony.
It seemed to work. The happy couple made it down the aisle, Owen clapped and even squeezed my shoulder. “You OK?” he said as everyone started vacating their seats.
“Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?”
He shrugged. “Because it’s your mom and you have a new stepdad now. It’s a lot, so I just wanted to make sure you were OK.”
I started to panic. Had I not shown enough emotion? Crap.
“It is,” I said. “But I think she finally got it right this time. He seems like a really nice guy, and I’m happy for her.”
Owen smiled and I had to hold in a sigh of relief as I realized I had given the right answer.
My mom beamed at us as we approached the end of the receiving line. She really did look happy. I was starting to wonder if it was more than just his money that was making her grin like a fool.
As if reading my mind, my mom said, “Craig has something for you, Kiera.”
“For me? But I thought the guests were supposed to give you gifts, not the other way around.” I hoped this wouldn’t draw attention to the fact that I had not gotten them a wedding gift.
“This is more of a welcome-to-the-family gift,” said Craig. “Or, at least a thanks-for-welcoming-me-into-the-family gift. I want you to have my car.”
I gaped at him. “Your car?”
“Yeah, I bought it for myself, but I don’t like the color, so I’m going to buy myself a different one. I thought you might want the blue one.”
I was so close to asking him why he would give away a new car when he could just trade it in, but the look my mom gave me reminded me not to look a gift horse in the mouth. If she could have jabbed her elbow into my side from where she stood, she would have. “Thank you,” I finally managed to gasp out. “Thank you so much. I’d love to take that off your hands for you.”
“Great. That way you two can drive back to campus together and we can enjoy our honeymoon without having to worry about dropping you off at the train station.”
The smile froze on my lips. I was only in town for the weekend. Was he already taking my mom away from me? Was this how it was going to be from now on?
My mom just kept smiling at him like this was normal, and a part of me wondered if I had already lost her.
Owen saved me by thanking Craig again and pulling me away before I could embarrass myself.
To be continued…