3.

Joel's parents broke into smiles at once and sat down, without so much as a nod, in the seats that had been meant for my parents.

At that, my father's face changed.

He had always been a stickler for manners.

But he said nothing.

I knew it was for my sake.

I clenched my teeth, the anger rising and rising in my chest.

My father said, low and even,

"Don't let your temper run away with you. Don't forget what you once said."

I had once said, stubbornly, that Michelle was the one I most wanted to marry.

Her or no one.

My father still remembered those words.

Just then Michelle told me to hurry and serve the tea.

I picked up the cup and walked over to her parents.

Once they had finished drinking, I raised my head, only to find that Michelle hadn't served my parents. She'd served Joel's.

My mother quickly smiled and said to me,

"Lionel, I don't mind. It's all the same. Don't hold it against anyone."

After that I moved through it all in a daze.

Seeing how bad my face looked,

Michelle turned to me.

"Lionel, Joel's parents always wanted me to be their daughter-in-law when we were kids."

"Think of it as making a little dream of theirs come true."

"Once the wedding's over, I'll serve your parents another cup of tea."

My father waved his hand quickly, smiling.

"As long as things go smoothly, that's all that matters."

"We're the ones who weren't careful about hygiene. Our fault, our fault."

My mother wore the same strained smile and said it was fine.

At that, they laughed all the louder.

Then the wedding car arrived.

Only, before we left, I saw Joel lean toward Bertha and say something with a smile.

I didn't think much of it, but just as I was about to help Michelle into the car, Bertha suddenly stepped in and blocked the way.

"Wait a minute!"

"The two hundred thousand dowry gets paid before anyone leaves!"

My parents' faces changed at that.

My father asked carefully,

"Bertha, didn't we agree on eighty-eight thousand for the dowry before? How did it turn into two hundred thousand? This..."

Bertha only sneered.

"That eighty-eight thousand was just to cover the engagement. The other hundred and twelve thousand is the actual dowry!"

"Two hundred thousand all together. A penny short and don't even think about my daughter getting in that car."

My parents looked stricken.

For the wedding, the car, and the house, they had already emptied every bit of their savings, and even gone into serious debt.

I looked at Michelle, my gaze cold.

"You knew about this ahead of time too?"

A flicker of guilt crossed her face.

The hardness from a moment ago was gone, her voice softened.

"Lionel, don't blame my mom. We're not doing an engagement, we're going straight to the wedding. Everyone else pays it in two rounds. Two hundred thousand is a little more, sure, but it's still a normal expense."

"Don't worry, as long as you can come up with it, I promise I'll build a good life with you afterward."

My face went hard as iron.

"Michelle, I'm pretty sure I told you my parents already put in everything they had for this wedding. This two hundred thousand, where exactly do you expect them to find it?"

But at that, Bertha started spouting off, grabbed Michelle's hand, and shoved me aside.

"How is it any business of ours that you can't find it?!"

"You marry a wife by the rules. No money, so what kind of wife did you think you were marrying?!"

Everyone there was on Michelle's side, and they jeered at once.

"That's right, hand over the dowry, or don't think about taking our girl anywhere!"

4.

The anger nearly spilled off my face.

I looked at Michelle.

"I already said it before. Whatever the costs were, we'd lay them all out at once. Now you're adding to the dowry on top of that. This is nothing but making things hard for people."

"I'll ask you one thing, and one thing only. Are you leaving with me or not?"

Hearing how heavy my voice had gone, Michelle hesitated.

But Bertha only sneered.

"You little punk, who do you think you're scaring?"

"Joel already told me all about it. You've been head over heels for my daughter for years, dying to have her, refusing to marry anyone else."

"You like her that much, then twenty thousand extra isn't asking too much!"

At that, Michelle found her nerve again.

"Lionel, if you really like me, if you really want to be with me, then take the money."

For a moment the air felt like drawn swords.

I looked at Michelle.

All those years between us twisted something in my chest.

Dad saw how torn I was.

"Ma'am, don't put it so harshly."

"Twenty thousand altogether, right? I'll go find someone to scrape it together right now."

I grabbed the hand he was reaching out to make the call.

"Dad..."

He gave me a small smile and patted my shoulder.

"Don't worry. Whatever the trouble is, your dad's got your back."

And with that he started calling relative after relative.

Dad had always been good to people, and it wasn't long before he'd borrowed the twenty thousand.

Seeing this, Bertha smiled and held out her hand.

"Hand it over. Pay up and you can get in the car."

But I stopped her, my face cold.

"You get this twenty thousand after the wedding."

"That's my bottom line."

The smile vanished from Bertha's face in an instant.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"What if you don't pay once the wedding's over?"

Joel sidled in again, begging to be hit.

"Ma'am, don't worry. We'll draw up a written agreement. Then there's no way he can back out."

I had no idea what he stood to gain from any of this.

But his words gave Bertha her footing.

"Right, a written agreement!"

Then she had someone bring paper and a pen.

I signed.

Michelle got in the car.

We finally reached the hotel just before noon.

On my family's side, the friends and relatives my parents had invited kept asking my dad what was going on.

He sighed and didn't say much.

"As long as Lionel can marry the person he loves without trouble, then I haven't failed as a father."

They glanced over at my side and asked nothing more.

With the ceremony almost upon us, the host came over to run through the details.

But right then, Michelle suddenly spoke up.

"Lionel, Joel wants to know what it feels like to be the groom."

I froze.

Joel stood off to the side, the corner of his mouth curling up.

"Don't read too much into it. I'm not trying to steal your spot as groom."

"She just promised me she'd let me have a little taste of it."

I looked at Michelle.

Her tone left no room for refusal.

"When we were kids, Joel's parents wanted me to be their daughter-in-law. It was just playing house, but I did promise I'd be Joel's wife."

"His parents have already drunk the tea I served them. Letting Joel have his turn now just makes good on a promise from childhood."

Then she turned to the host.

"All right. There's still half an hour before the ceremony."

"Go ahead and change the groom's name to Joel's for now."

The host looked at me.

"Mr. Dickerson, do you mean...?"

I looked at the certainty in Michelle's eyes.

From start to finish, she had taken the Henson family's side.

Humiliated my parents. Ignored how I felt.

I couldn't feel a shred of love in any of it.

And in that moment, this wedding suddenly seemed pointless.

"Let her do whatever she wants."

At that, Michelle smiled.

"Don't worry. Once Joel's had his turn, we'll hold the real ceremony, you and me."

With that she paid me no more attention, took Joel's hand, and walked up onto the stage.

Under everyone's startled eyes, the host recounted the two of them's history and offered them his blessings.

At the end of the ceremony, the groom and bride were supposed to embrace.

But the moment the host finished speaking, Joel kissed Michelle instead.

Michelle kissed him back, lost in it.

They held each other tightly and didn't part for a long time.

The Pruitt relatives and Joel's parents watched the scene and broke into applause.

But my parents' faces, in that instant, went as ugly as they could possibly be.

They went over to confront Michelle's parents.

"What is the meaning of this?"

"They do something like this, and where does that leave my son's face?"

Bertha only smiled, unbothered.

"Young people fooling around a little. Lionel hasn't said a word about it. You two are the elders, and you're overstepping quite a bit, don't you think?"

My parents were too furious to speak.

And by then, the two on stage finally pulled apart, reluctant to stop.

Coming down, Joel licked his lips and looked at me with a sneer.

"I tested it out for you."

"Michelle's lips are very soft."

Michelle's face flushed red.

"All right, I've helped Joel have his turn."

"The ceremony's about to officially begin. Lionel, let's get up on stage."

Expressionless, I walked up onto the stage.

Beside me, the host was recounting my history with Michelle, just as he'd done for her and Joel.

Words that should have been moving, but since they'd already been said once, they now seemed nothing but a joke.

I looked at my parents.

They were watching me with anxious, pleading eyes.

My mom was even crying against my dad's chest, hurting for me.

And in that moment, I thought back over everything from going to Michelle's house to arriving here at the wedding.

All the ways they'd cornered and humiliated my parents.

I bowed my head, my body trembling slightly with the depth of my shame.

Michelle thought it was because I was overcome at finally being with her.

"You did well today. Don't worry, I'll build a good life with you from now on."

Then the host asked me.

"Groom, is there anything you'd like to say to everyone?"

I slowly took the microphone.

Under Michelle's gaze, so sure I was about to declare my love for her, I swept my eyes across the crowd.

"Sorry, everyone. This wedding, I'm not going through with it."