The pickup hour was almost here, but the bridal car's GPS pin showed it parked outside Nora Swanson's building.

My mother stood at the entrance of our building, holding the gift envelope, and my father held up the red umbrella, his eyes fixed on the corner where the cars should come.

Daniel James's call came through.

"Nanette Fox, Nora couldn't get an Uber at the last minute, so I'm going to swing by and pick her up first."

"Just ten minutes. Tell your folks for me, all right? Don't let the relatives get worked up waiting down there."

I looked at the screenshot of the pin. "Today is the bridal pickup. And you're sending the wedding car to get her first?"

He sighed. "It's awkward for her to show up at the wedding alone. You're the sensible one—don't hold this against me today."

My mother was still standing at the entrance. When she saw my face change, she pressed the envelope down into her bag.

The red dot on the map hadn't moved. Still parked outside Nora's building.

I hung up and posted the screenshot of the pin to the family chat and the wedding-vendor chat.

【Bridal pickup cancelled.】

……

After the message went out, the family chat went quiet for a few seconds.

My aunt sent a voice message first, her voice pitched low.

"Nanette, what do you mean, the pickup's cancelled? The groom's cars aren't coming?"

I didn't answer.

The wedding coordinator called soon after.

"Miss Fox, we saw your message in the chat. Is the pickup fully on hold, or do we resume once the groom arrives?"

The photographer stood downstairs with his camera on his shoulder, looking at me, then at my parents.

My mother glanced down at the gift envelope in her hand.

She'd packed it herself the night before.

Worried Daniel would be nervous the first time he addressed them at the tea ceremony, she'd tucked it into the easiest spot in her bag to reach.

On the phone screen, the bridal car's pin was still parked outside Nora's building.

My mother gripped the envelope and said nothing for a long while. A crease formed where her fingers pinched the corner.

My father lowered the red umbrella from his shoulder.

The tip touched the ground, the red silk hanging down, and no one looked toward the corner anymore.

He only asked one thing. "Does he know we're all here waiting for him?"

I said, "He knows."

My father nodded and asked nothing more.

Daniel called again, quickly.

When I picked up, his first words weren't about how my parents were doing.

He said, "Nanette, don't let the coordinator stop the timeline."

I looked at the pin screenshot still sitting in the chat.

"And then?"

"I'm coming right now."

He answered fast, but his words were more scattered than before.

"I've already got Nora, the driver's heading to your place now. Just tell the coordinator we got held up on the road."

I asked, "You think this is just getting held up?"

The line went quiet for two seconds.

Daniel's voice finally changed.

"Nanette, don't let the hotel stop. And tell your parents not to go back upstairs—I'm driving to your place right now."

I said, "The car already picked up Nora."

"I'll have her get out."

He sounded panicked, then quickly forced his voice down.

"Nanette, me being a little late won't ruin the timeline. Give me ten minutes, I'll be there for sure."

"Just hold the hotel for me, don't let the vendors pull out. The second I'm there I'll go up and apologize to your folks."

When the engagement dinner needed one more chair, I was the one who went and told the restaurant.

When Nora couldn't make it at the last minute, I was the one who smoothed it over for him.

When we pushed the wedding date back, I was the one who sat with my parents and explained it to every table.

But today my parents stood downstairs with a gift envelope in hand, waiting for his wedding car.

My mother came over and lightly touched the back of my hand.

"Why don't we just let Danny come over. There are a lot of people today—don't make this hard on yourself."

She was still holding the envelope when she said it.

Daniel heard it too.

"Is your mom right there? Put her on, let me talk to her."

I didn't move.

He tried again. "Nanette, let's not let this get out of hand."

I looked up at my father.

He stood at the edge of the red carpet, the red umbrella already folded down at his side.

The relatives had gone quiet, their eyes settling on the gift envelope in my mother's hands. A few of them glanced at the empty driveway and the empty carpet.

Another message came from the wedding planner.

【Miss Fox, are we confirming the bridal pickup is on hold? The hotel needs to be kept in the loop.】

The relatives downstairs all turned to look at my mother. No one pushed about the car anymore.

In front of all of them, I typed two words back.

【On hold.】

Daniel called again almost at once.

"Nanette, I'm already driving over to your place."

"Just have the planners wait a minute, okay?"

I looked at the tea-ceremony envelope in my mother's hands, then at the red umbrella my father had folded away.

This time, I didn't smooth it over for him.

"There's no need to wait."

The line went silent.

I hung up and slipped the phone into my pocket.

Yuki came to my side and asked under her breath, "So what do we do now?"

I took my mother's arm.

"Let's go up."

"Don't stand here waiting."

As I was helping my mother up the stairs, another message popped into the family chat.

It was from Nora.

【Nanette, are you mad at me? Maybe I should just get out of the car now, so I'm not holding up your pickup.】

The chat went still all at once.

The relatives who'd just been asking where the motorcade was said nothing more.

My mother stopped at the top of the stairs, head bent over her phone.

She typed a few words, then deleted them.

She still hadn't put the tea-ceremony envelope down, and one corner of the red paper had crumpled under her fingers.

A long moment passed before she said softly, "Let's wait for him to come first."

But my father leaned the red umbrella against the wall and said only, "Don't bother answering."

My mother looked up at him.

His voice wasn't raised. "His wedding car went to pick up someone else. What are you still defending him for?"

No one in the stairwell answered.

Yuki's eyes were red with anger. She bit down on her voice and muttered, "He's not even here yet, and already he's got you fending off the relatives for him."

I said nothing.

The phone buzzed again.

Daniel had sent two messages.

【Nanette, stop posting in the group for now.】

【The hotel's already asking me. Tell your mom and dad not to come downstairs. I'll be there any minute.】

I stared at those two lines for a long time.

The wedding planner called again, her voice even more careful than before.

"Miss Fox, the hotel's asking whether we're still filming the pickup."

"If the pickup is cancelled, the videographer will switch to shooting exterior footage at the hotel instead."

My mother asked first. "If we don't film it, will that hurt the rest of it?"

"There'll be a gap. The groom bringing the bride out, the handoff from her parents, and the tea ceremony for the parents—there'd be no footage of any of it."

The moment she said tea ceremony, my mother's hand pressed down over the mouth of her bag again.

That little red envelope shell was something she'd spent half the night before picking out.

Afraid it was too flashy, then afraid it wasn't festive enough.

Now, with the groom still nowhere in sight, she tucked the envelope a little deeper into the bag.

My father took the phone from her and told the planner, "Skip the pickup segment for now."

The line went blank for a second. "Sir, are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

He glanced at me, his tone level.

"The groom hasn't even shown his face. What is there to film?"

After the call ended, my mother turned her face away, her eyes going red all at once.

Daniel's call came right on its heels.

I didn't pick up.

He sent three voice messages in a row. Yuki went ahead and opened the last one for me.

Daniel's voice came through the phone.

"Nan, don't let your mom and dad come down yet."

"I'll be there in fifteen minutes, tops. Just message the planners for me and tell them we're keeping to the schedule."

Every relative in the stairwell heard it.

Aunt Margaret, halfway down with one hand on the rail, pulled her foot back up a step.

The little niece gave the bag of wedding candy in her hand a small shake, but nobody reached to open it.

Someone slid the confetti poppers they'd just taken out back into the cardboard box and left them there.

My mother went paler.

My father's fingers tightened around the red umbrella.

I picked up my phone and typed only two lines.

【You don't need to report her business to me.】

【You'd better start thinking about how you're going to face my parents.】

Daniel didn't answer right away.

It was Nora who posted again in the group chat.

【I'm so sorry, really. This is all my fault for causing trouble at the last minute.】

【I can ride in one of the back cars, honestly. Don't make Mr. and Mrs. Fox wait so long.】

My father flipped his phone face-down on the table.

"Sitting pretty in that car, and she's the one talking like she has manners."

My mother said quietly, "Don't."

She turned her own phone face-down on top of the gift envelope.

A long while passed before she spoke again. "Tell the relatives not to come down yet."

I walked over, took the cash envelope for the in-laws out of her bag, and set it on the table.

"Mom, put this away for now."

She looked at the envelope for a long moment before she nodded.

"All right."

She tucked it back into her bag.

Halfway in, she pulled it out again.

One corner of the red paper had creased, and she bent her head and smoothed it for a long time.

The "double happiness" decal was still up on the wall, and the red carpet at the door hadn't been pulled away.

It was just that no one told me to touch up my makeup anymore, and no one said the groom was almost here.

10:18 was the auspicious time we'd set to leave.

Twenty-two minutes left.

In the wedding chat, the emcee posted first.

【The welcome screen's already up at the hotel. How long until the groom's car procession gets here?】

The photographer asked too.

【If we're not filming the departure ceremony, we need to reset our camera positions over here.】

Then the planning lead forwarded me a screenshot from the drivers' chat.

The lead car's location was still on the access road outside Nora's complex.

The wedding cars behind it were parked along the curb, no one sure whether they should follow.

Someone was asking:

【Are we changing the route or not? Are we still going to the bride's place?】

My mother sat on the sofa, still clutching that emptied envelope.

My father stood at the window, looking down.

A few relatives were still downstairs, the red umbrella leaning against the base of the wall, no one picking it up again.

Daniel's call finally came through again.

This time I answered.

On his end there was the sound of a car door closing, and Nora's voice, very soft.

"Maybe I really should just get out, before this holds everything up."

Daniel didn't let her.

He said my name first.

"Nan, I'm already on my way."

"Get the pickup back on schedule, would you? Everyone's waiting at the hotel. Don't let this blow up any worse."

I asked, "Who's in the car with you right now?"

He was quiet for a second.

"Nora's with me."

He added quickly, "Her heel broke and there was no one at home to drive her. I just made a quick detour. I didn't think it'd hold things up this long."

I looked at my mother.

She couldn't hear all of what was being said on the phone, but she kept her eyes on me, the empty envelope crushed tight in her hand.

I said, "While you were making your quick detour, my parents were downstairs waiting for you."

Daniel's voice softened.

"I know, that's why I'm rushing over now, isn't it?"

"Nan, there are so many people here today. Just give me a little face for now. Once the wedding's over, you can be as angry as you want."