Our only son stunned us when he announced that he wanted to get marriedhe was a mere 22! But my husband and I decided not to put a spanner in the works, as we ourselves had tied the knot when we were quite young. My husband had just turned 22, and I wasnt even out of my teens at 19. Clearly, fate was having a bit of a chuckle at our expense. And we actually liked his fiancée: Emily, as she was called, studied with our son at university and was quite a bright spark. Once we realised the matter was settled, we set about planning the big do.
Properly, we thought, as Victors our one and only, we ought to give him a proper English wedding.
So, as tradition dictates, off my husband and I trotted to meet the parents of this Emily, our soon-to-be daughter-in-law. Truth be told, we didnt know much about her, just what wed glimpsed on the odd occasion when shed popped by with our lad. Shed mentioned living with her mum in a village not far from our town. So off we went on our grand visitadvance warning given, lest we turned up like unexpected relatives at Christmas.
My husband grabbed a bouquet, I baked a Victoria sponge, and off we set to make our acquaintance with the future in-laws, if you can call two people a crowd. On arrival, we were first struck by how immaculate the garden washonestly, the gnomes looked like theyd just had a spa day.
The house itself, though no spring chicken, was spotless and ever so welcoming. We were met at the door by the future mother-in-law herself, Janet. We took to her immediatelya lovely woman, cheerful, and with that sort of warmth that made you feel right at home. Janet invited us in, laid on a spread worthy of Bake Off, and really went the whole hog. We had a lovely afternoon, with Janet proving to be excellent company, but we didnt quite get round to settling the wedding business.
As it turned out, Janet let us know straight off the bat that she didnt have the money for a traditional English wedding. Bless her, you could tell Emily was mortified, and our Victor looked rather deflated as well. He didn’t want the big day for himself, mindhe just knew how much Emily dreamed of it. My husband and I quietly decided wed take care of the wedding ourselvesa little family investment with hopefully big returns.
We told Janet she should invite as many nearest and dearest as she deemed vital; after all, people never turn up to a wedding empty-handed. Whatever they brought in their envelopes would go towards paying for their seats at the table. Janet was hesitant, but eventually, we won her round. We were just keen to make sure the youngsters had their moment.
Then, on the Wednesday before the wedding, there was a knock at the door. Who should be standing there but Janet herself! Still in a bit of a whirl, we invited her in for tea. She dithered for a while, then finally pulled a white envelope from her bagand out fell a wad of £20 notes. Turns out, she was so embarrassed about us footing the bill shed gone and taken out a bank loan.
We tried to convince her to pay the money back to the bankafter all, wed seen how simply she and Emily lived, nothing fancy, no frills. But Janet was having none of it. She insisted it was settled, and that was that.
The wedding day was a smashing affaireveryone thoroughly enjoyed themselves. The biggest surprise, though, was Janet. At forty-five, divorced and having raised Emily on her own, she absolutely shimmered that day. Hair, makeup, dressthe works. We barely recognised her! Nor, it seemed, did my brother-in-law, Michael. Michael, at forty-six, was also divorced, living and working in Manchester for the past decade, but had returned specially for the wedding.
All evening, Michael couldnt take his eyes off Janet. After the wedding, he announced hed be lingering in town a bit longer. One didnt need a crystal ball to know why And sure enough, by the next weekend, we found ourselves loading up the car and heading back to Janets for another round of meet the parents, only this time, it was for her!
Michael and Janet hit it off, and before long, theyd tied the knot themselves. She moved up to Manchester with him, becoming not just my co-in-law but now proper family. Janet is a marvellous person and thoroughly deserves every bit of happiness coming her way.
