Save the Date

41

One day when I got home from school, my mother gave me a white envelope which had my name in hand-written cursive in the middle. I pulled out a simple piece of white paper. It was an invitation to Lauren's wedding. The next day at school I asked around if anyone else had received an invite but it seemed like I was the only one.

I was extended a plus one so I took my best friend Hayley with me. The ceremony took place at a small chapel that was in the town. Lauren's family didn't have a lot of money so the ceremony was very plain. Her wedding dress was a sleeveless satin gown with a round bust line that fitted at her waist and then flared into a very simple knee-length skirt. I remembered her telling me that her parents were pushing for the wedding to happen as soon as possible so that she wouldn't be "showing" yet. I remembered Steven looking so much older than Lauren in his hand-me-down brown suit but now when I thought about it twenty-two wasn't really that old. Knowing how Lauren felt about the whole thing, the wedding felt like a sham. I felt terrible for Lauren, as the minister was talking and asking them to repeat their vows. She looked like she was about burst into tears at any minute. I remembered just repeating a prayer of thanks that it wasn't me.

Once the ceremony was over we were driven by some of Lauren's cousins to a hall in one of the poorer areas of our town. The stage had been draped with plain white cloth and fairy lights were strung up haphazardly across the room. Hayley and I just looked at each other. It wasn't dirty but I felt like I needed to wash my hands after everything I touched. We sat down to a meal of cold meat starters, soup mains and a slice of ice-cream wedding cake for dessert.

It was probably the worst wedding I had ever been to, and not because I thought I was any better than Lauren Pope but because I felt so incredibly sorry for her.