Instead of happily planning weddings together, my two daughters-in-law were always arguing. But when I discovered my youngest daughter’s wedding dress torn to shreds and my stepdaughter standing over it crying, I realized that I had completely misinterpreted the signs of what was really going on in our home.
I am the mother of two daughters: my biological daughter Hannah (22) and my stepdaughter Christine (23). They grew up together after my husband passed away years ago, and I have always done my best to keep our blended family together.
Last year, the two of them were still living at home with me, well, almost always. They spent quite a bit of time at their fiancés’ houses.
Our house should have been buzzing with the excitement of two impending weddings. Instead, the atmosphere grew more strained every time Hannah looked at wedding ideas on her phone while Christine sat across from her, barely hiding her anger behind a forced smile.
“Look at these centerpieces, Mom.” Hannah lifted her phone one afternoon, her blue eyes shining. ”Aren’t they beautiful? They’re doing this thing with floating candles and flower petals. John says it might be over budget, but I think we can fix it if we make some of the arrangements ourselves.”
Christine picked up her glass and headed for the kitchen. “I need it refilled. Because apparently we have to find out all the wedding details every night.”
“Christine,” I warned her.
“What? She turned around. ”I’m just saying that some of us try to have dinner without having a Pinterest board shoved in our faces.”
It was typical of Christine. She had always turned everything into a competition with Hannah, from their grades to their hobbies and even the attention she paid to them after their father’s death.
Hannah never played along, which only seemed to frustrate Christine even more.
“Christine, darling,” I called out. ”Don’t you want to show us your wedding ideas too? You mentioned that vintage theme last week.”
“What’s the point?“ She leaned against the kitchen door frame. ‘It’s not like I can get the place I want anyway. All the decent places are booked up until the summer.’
“There are other beautiful places,” Hannah said softly. “I could help you look…”
“Of course you could,” Christine interrupted. ”Because you’re better at Googling than I am.”
I sighed. They continued arguing until I intervened. I didn’t know that this was just the beginning of an implosion for our family.
A few days later, Hannah bounced into the living room, practically beaming. “John and I have a date.”
Christine froze with the TV remote in the air. “What?”
“The end of January!” Hannah spun around the room. ‘The Winter Garden had a cancellation, and everything fit together perfectly. The coordinator said we were very lucky.’
I watched Christine’s face fall. She had been engaged to Eric for eight months, but she was having trouble finding a venue. I also suspected that Eric was hoping for a longer engagement before their wedding.
Meanwhile, Hannah had only been engaged for two months and was on track to get married first. John also seemed happy to move forward with his plans.
“They can’t get married in January,” Christine said, throwing the remote control at the sofa and standing up. ”It’s too soon. Can’t they wait?”
“But we’ve already booked everything,” Hannah replied, her enthusiasm deflating a little. ‘The deposit is paid and… oh! Do you want to see my dress? I still can’t believe I found it.”
Without waiting for an answer, Hannah took out her cell phone and showed us a photo of herself in a stunning $1,500 wedding dress.
“I bought it yesterday,’ she added softly. “I’m sorry. I wanted to do a test run with my bridesmaids and you, Mom, so we could all choose. But this one was on sale online and I made up my mind. It just needs some alterations. It’s all custom made.”
“Honey! It’s beautiful. Is it safely locked in your room?” I asked. ”We can take it to the seamstress today.”
“Of course! I was thinking…”
“I need some air,” Christine snapped, storming out of the room.
Hannah sighed at the interruption and returned to her room. Christine might have been disappointed by the delay in her wedding, but she had no right to make this experience miserable for everyone.
I didn’t know how to say all this without seeming to be taking sides.
A week went by, and Christine avoided us completely. My messages received brief replies such as “busy” or “with Eric.” But a few days before Hannah’s wedding, Christine showed up for dinner. John was there too, and something didn’t add up.
The dining room was unusually quiet. John was picking at his food, avoiding eye contact with everyone, especially Christine. Even Hannah seemed to realize that something was wrong.
“Is everything all right, dear?” she asked John, touching his arm gently. ”You’ve hardly touched your food.”
“Yeah, just… work stuff.“ He pushed his chair back and his fork clattered against his plate. ‘Do you mind if I get some air? I need to clear my head.”
“Do you want me to come with you?’ Hannah asked.
“No!” The word came out too sharply, making us all jump. “I mean no, thank you. I just need a minute.”
A few minutes after John left, Christine excused herself to go to the bathroom. When she took a while to return, I began to worry. Then she suddenly appeared at the door to the dining room.
“Eric is waiting for me outside,” she announced, her voice tense. ‘I have to go.”
“But you just got here,’ Hannah said. ”Can’t she come in? We haven’t had dessert yet.”
“No, it’s just… er… I have to go. I’m sorry.” Christine turned on her heel.
Something in her tone made me follow her. I stayed behind for a few seconds, but the front door was already closed. I also noticed that her coat was still on the hanger, which was strange for such a cold January afternoon.
When I went outside, there was no sign of Eric’s car. Had they left in a hurry?
My stomach dropped at the realization. Mother’s intuition, I guess, because I ran back inside and headed straight for Hannah’s room. As I approached, I heard a muffled scream.
I pushed open the door and froze. Hannah’s beautiful wedding dress lay on the bed, torn to shreds from the waist down. Christine was standing next to it, her face streaked with tears.
“I SWEAR TO GOD I DIDN’T DO IT,” she said, her hands trembling. ”Mom, I know how it looks, but you have to believe me. I didn’t do it.”
My mind raced, trying to make sense of the scene. But Christine’s raw emotion, her desperate plea of innocence, made me pause.
“Okay, if you didn’t do it, tell me what’s going on,” I whispered.
With a fresh wave of tears, Christine told me everything. The truth was that she hadn’t been angry with Hannah for getting married first. She had been worried about her because of… John.
Months ago, during Hannah’s birthday barbecue, she had seen him acting suspiciously and had even caught him texting someone in our backyard.
“He said they were just messages from his ex,” Christine explained, wiping her eyes. ‘When I pressed him, he broke down and admitted that he had doubts about the wedding and that he had talked about it with his ex. I told him, ’You better figure it out quick, because if you hurt my sister, I swear to God…’.”
She took a shaky breath. “I gave him a deadline to tell Hannah or I would. Days later, he promised me everything was fine, so I let it go. I should have known.”
I closed my eyes, shaking my head. “Yes, you should have said something, but I understand. You’re the oldest. You wanted to protect her,” I sighed and something occurred to me. “How did you end up here?”
“I saw him leave Hannah’s room on my way to the bathroom. He looked… guilty of having been caught and he walked past me and out into the backyard. I followed him and confronted him again. I asked him, ‘What have you done?’ He just said everything was fine, but his hands were shaking.”
Christine twisted her fingers. “Since he didn’t confess anything, I pretended I was leaving with Eric, but I went to check Hannah’s room. That’s when I found the dress.”
“Oh my God,” I said. “He must have destroyed the dress to delay the wedding. Why didn’t he talk to Hannah?”
“That’s what I’m saying,“ Christine huffed. ‘But it’s not just that. Mom, I think he’s cheating on you. We have to tell her the truth.”
I nodded. ’Of course. Otherwise, she’ll think it was you,” I pointed to the dress. “I’m sure he was counting on that too. What a nerve that man has. Come on, it’s time to stop our little girl from making a mistake.”
Christine took my hand and we left.
We confronted John right there in the living room. I thought he would defend himself, but he broke down almost immediately, admitting that he had destroyed the dress to delay the wedding and that he had taken advantage of Hannah’s problems with Christine to cover his tracks.
Hannah was devastated. “Why didn’t you talk to me?” she sobbed when he confessed. “If you had doubts, why didn’t you say anything? Anything would have been better than this.”
“I’m sorry,“ he muttered, not looking her in the eye. ‘I’ll pay for the dress. It’s just… I couldn’t go through with it and I didn’t know how to tell you.”
“Tell her about the messages!’ Christine demanded.
“What messages?” Hannah asked.
“Nothing, I…
“Tell her the truth!” I shouted. Enough was enough! He wasn’t going to mess with my baby anymore.
Under my hard gaze, John confessed that he had been seeing his ex for a while and that was why he was rethinking the wedding.
“Get out of here,” said Christine, standing protectively in front of Hannah. ”Now! And don’t ever come back!”
I backed away and John slunk away like a coward. When the door closed behind him, something extraordinary happened.
Christine sat down next to Hannah, who was sobbing on the sofa, and took her hand.
“Do you remember when Dad taught us to sew?” Christine asked in a low voice after a while. ”That summer we made those horrible matching summer dresses?”
Hannah let out a watery giggle. “They were so crooked. Dad said they had ‘character’.”
“Yes! Well, actually I learned how to do it properly later. Give me the dress.” Christine squeezed Hannah’s hand. “I have an idea. Let me fix it, okay? Not the wedding part, but… maybe I can salvage something from this mess.”
“Why would you do that?” Hannah sniffed. ‘I thought you hated me.”
“I never hated you,’ Christine said softly. ”It’s just… I always felt like I had to prove that I belonged here. After Dad died, I was so afraid of losing my place in this family. But you’re my sister, Hannah. I should have always protected you instead of competing with you.”
That’s when I started to whine.
Christine spent the next day transforming the ruined wedding dress into a stunning cocktail dress. So when the original wedding date arrived a few days later, instead of a ceremony, we held a small family gathering at the venue.
Some of our relatives had traveled from the other side of the country, so it was the perfect way not to waste the money we had already spent. Everyone was happy, including Hannah, who was able to talk to her cousins and tell them how we discovered that John was a coward.
I was glad that my daughter could smile after something like that, and I knew that it was partly because Christine had tried to protect her all the time. Our family changed that day… for the better.
“Mom,“ said Christine as we watched Hannah twirl around in her redesigned dress, showing it to her aunts and cousins, ‘will you and Hannah walk me down the aisle when it’s my turn? Both of you? I know it’s not traditional, but . . .”
“It would be an honor,’ I said, pulling her closer.
“Me too!” Hannah added, joining us in our embrace.