When Amy announced she was getting married, stepfather Drew spared her no expense for the wedding reception. But then she revealed something that broke his heart and made him re-evaluate his position in the family.
When Drew met Eileen, he accepted right from the start that her little girl Amy was part of the package. And it wasn’t all that difficult to include her either. At 4 years old, she was cute as a button and really easy to love. He also accepted right away that he could share the burden of expenses such as school and college. Although he was not her biological father, she became his little princess. And when she announced that she and Lewis Bailey, her boyfriend of three years, were getting married, he felt as proud as any father would be in the same shoes.
Soon after Amy shared her intentions, she and her mother started spending hours clustered together browsing through catalogs and squinting over websites and Pinterest boards. After 2 weeks, they had the dress list down to 12 dresses and wanted Drew to weigh in on his preference. His eyes watered when he saw some of the price tags, but it got worse when Eileen and Amy began debating bridesmaid’s outfits. He realized that these opulent bridal dresses would only be the tip of the iceberg.
The guest list was finally capped at 250, a number that seemed exorbitant to Drew. He could only think of a couple of people he wanted there: his longtime golf partner Richard, who was a family friend, and his practice partners Dr. Linda Clarkson and Dr. Matt Ellis. However, this was his daughter’s wedding, and whatever she said went.
Next, the great debate about a suitable venue began. Eileen and Amy flew into a small panic when they discovered that it was recommended to book a wedding venue at least 12 months in advance. Again, Drew’s input was sought on the matter, and he tried to steer them to a few of the more economic options. He would be footing the bill, of course, and while he was making good money as a physician these days, Amy’s wedding, which was fast being transformed into the event of the year, would set him back quite a bit. And there was still catering, flowers, and entertainment to consider too.
Drew’s dismay grew as his pretty little princess turned into a proper bridezilla, and Eileen was playing along with just as much enthusiasm. Drew could not help but wonder whether this event was somehow touching a nerve with Eileen. He had proposed to her a couple of times in the first few years of their relationship, but every time she had turned him down.
She had told him that after her ex, it was really difficult to trust someone again so fully to make such a commitment. Drew accepted her answer at the time, and although they never made their union official, they did enjoy something that was very close to a marriage, or so he thought. Now though, he couldn’t help but feel that somehow she was vicariously experiencing the romantic wedding she never allowed herself to enjoy through her daughter.
Drew kept his silence, though he considered it a victory for his bank balance when he was able to persuade one of his partners, Dr. Ellis, to pull a few strings to get the prestigious Jade Hall venue at a vastly discounted rate. He expected the two women to be all over him at this coup and organizational prowess, but Amy complained that it would be inconvenient because Jade Hall was right on the other side of town. Fortunately though, LS Bailey’s Family were suitably impressed, and Eileen and Amy kept the arrangement.
Drew’s receptionist Mary offered to speak to her sister Gloria about doing the flowers. Drew cautiously thanked her, but despite Gloria being an award-winning florist, he decided to run the suggestion by Eileen and Amy first. After their reaction to his Jade Hall deal, Amy promised to contact Gloria, and Drew heaved a sigh of relief.
But soon after, the wedding arrangements would take a turn that would shock Drew into questioning everything he held dear for the past 18 years. As wedding preparations got serious and slightly out of hand in his humble opinion, he comforted himself with the fact that he would be glowing with pride on the day that he took Amy’s arm and walked her down the aisle towards her bridegroom Lewis.
But then one Friday morning, one of his practice partners said something alarming. Dr. Matt Ellis, Drew’s longtime friend and colleague, wanted to know whether Amy and Lewis had a gift list and then said, “The invitations will probably be sent out soon, I suppose. In AR, they did things a little earlier, but I suppose today’s young people do these things digitally.”
Drew frowned slightly. The wedding invitations had gone out over a month prior, and he had paid for printing costs and the expensive paper they were printed on. “I’ll look into it,” he promised. “You should have gotten yours already. I haven’t gotten mine either,” his other partner, Dr. Linda Clarkson, said. Drew made a note to look into it.
With the wedding committee comprising Eileen and Amy, he found them in the family room studying travel brochures. Neither of them looked up, but Drew greeted them both and then said, “I hear there’s been a bit of a hassle with the invitations.” “No hassle,” replied Eileen. “Everyone confirmed, and the caterers were happy to add the extra people to the budget.”
Drew took a deep breath. He did not like what he was hearing. “More people,” he said, trying to keep his voice down. “And by the way, everyone did not confirm yet. Matt Ellis and Linda Clarkson are still waiting for their invitations.”
Amy took her laptop and pulled up a document that looked like a long list. “No Clarkson,” she said, “No Ellis. They’re not on the list.” “They have to be on there,” Drew said, his voice rising despite his best efforts to stay in control. Amy shifted, and Drew peered over her shoulder. It was easy to scan the list as she had organized it alphabetically. He found neither Matt Ellis nor Linda Clarkson amongst the many names.
But that was not the worst of it. His golf partner Richard and his receptionist Mary were also missing from the list. This was embarrassing. “Where’s Richard?” he demanded, “And Mary, my colleagues? You didn’t include anyone from my list.” His stepdaughter met his eyes. “There were too many people already,” she said. “I didn’t think they were interested. They see you all the time anyway.
Drew sighed. “Matt and Mary used their connections to get you Jade Hall and the flower arrangements at a reasonable price. How can you not include them?” “Matt and Mary did it for you to save you money,” Amy replied defensively. “I don’t owe them anything. Besides, I had to make room for some of my friends from Canada.”
Then Drew caught sight of the proof copy of the invitation right at the top of the list. And what he saw on the invitation card felt like a stab to the heart. His name did not even appear on the invitation. But that was only the beginning because Amy would wound him more deeply in the days to come, making him wonder what had happened to the adorable little girl he had helped to raise. But she wasn’t the only one he was starting to doubt. Eileen was acting strange as well, a far cry from the woman he had met and fallen in love with all those years ago.
It had been a cold and wet evening almost 20 years ago when Drew came off his shift and stepped into a diner for something to warm him up. He was a young intern, and after wrestling for the life and health of patient after patient left him exhausted, the smile on the young waitress’s face when she took his order was like a shot of medicine to his system.
She had his coffee over and less than 2 minutes, and after he had half of that down, he felt almost human again. It quickly became routine to pop over to the diner after his shift was over, and the young woman who had introduced herself as Eileen often came over for a friendly chat. Because she had studied Premed, she had enough of a grasp of biology and medicine to understand what he was talking about when he mentioned one of his patients.
And that was attractive too. Although he warned her that dating a medical intern was a terrible idea, they soon made arrangements for a daytime meetup. The date did not go perfectly, though. She seemed preoccupied, and he noticed that she kept checking her watch. Was he boring her? When asked, she laughed and shrugged. “No, no,” she said quickly. “It’s not that. It’s just that I have a daughter, a little girl, and her sitter can only stay till 3.” Drew said, “It’s okay if she’s as pretty as her mom. I’d love to meet her.
Drew loved Amy from that first meeting, and she seemed in awe of him. The next dates were carefully planned to include her, and Drew found that he enjoyed making her smile, play-acting with her dolls, or watching one of the classic animated movies with the little girl.
Her natural exuberance often acted as the perfect antidote to the lingering melancholy his work sometimes left him with. Within a year, Drew moved in, and when he became a fully qualified physician, Eileen quit her job to become a full-time stay-at-home mom. But their happiness would soon be soured by an unexpected intruder, one that would return at the most inconvenient moments only to vanish unexpectedly, breaking his stepdaughter’s heart over and over again.
Drew’s first impression of Craig Fox was a pervading stench of cigarette smoke wafting through the atmosphere in his own home. He stalked into his living room and found this unshaven apparition in dirty faded denim stretched out on his sofa, smoking in his own living room. Amy sat on the carpet, gazing at him in open fascination.
Eileen had the good grace to look embarrassed. “I want more coffee,” the stranger said, as if Eileen was just his own personal waitress, and she jumped to serve. That made it even worse. Later, she would be crying in Drew’s arms in their bedroom, and later for a whole month after, Amy would ask when her daddy was coming back again like he’d promised. The later of Craig Fox’s promise would take over 2 years to be fulfilled. That, at least, was a minor blessing because Greg couldn’t often be bothered to take an interest in his daughter. He forgot birthdays, Christmas, and countless other milestones, only to swoop for the chaos of occasional disruptions.
Drew found it hard to understand the spell that the man held over his girlfriend and her daughter and tried to show them both how an actual good man acted. Taking care of Amy’s physical, emotional, and monetary needs had been a pleasure and a privilege for Drew, but with her wedding date drawing nearer, she became totally absorbed with the planning of her great event to the detriment of all else. Drew was not quite happy when he learned that longtime colleagues and friends of his would be excluded from the wedding reception and felt thoroughly disrespected when he noticed that her biological father, Craig Fox, was listed as the host for an event that Drew financed. But he was due for an even ruder reality check.
It all began in the week before the wedding when Amy informed Eileen and Drew that they were both invited to a special dinner that her future in-laws would be hosting. Several relatives of Lewis had flown in for the wedding, and they would be having a type of reunion dinner. Drew had only met the groom’s parents a few times and was curious about seeing their home. Amy told them that she had a special surprise announcement to make, and he was looking forward to that too.
The evening began pleasantly enough. Lewis’s parents were entertaining hosts and had prepared a good spread. Drew and Eileen were introduced to Lewis’s grandparents, two aunts, and an uncle, as well as Lewis’s younger siblings. There was an empty place at the table, but Drew did not take much notice of this until there was a knock at the door.
One dinner guest arrived late, and seeing a look pass between Amy and Eileen, Drew suddenly realized who was at the other side of the door. Craig Fox’s arrogant empty banter preceded him to the Bailey dining room, and Drew was sickened by how everyone fawned over him, laughing at his lame jokes almost as if he, who had contributed almost nothing to Amy’s upbringing, was now basking in her big day as a de facto guest of honor. And Amy and Eileen were lapping it up for the sake of politeness.
Drew held his tongue, smiled when he felt like scowling, said yes when go away hovered close to slipping off his tongue. That was until Amy got up, hugged her biological father, and remained standing, holding his hand. “This is my father,” she said, “It means so much that he has been able to be with us. It will make me so happy, daddy, if you’ll be the one to walk me to the aisle.
It will make this day, my wedding, the perfect day.” Drew could not believe what he was hearing. After all the tears, all the missed appointments, but then Lewis jumped up and embraced Craig. “Welcome to the family, Dad,” he blurted. Mr. Bailey poured him a drink. Then Eileen, his Eileen, got up and said, “So happy you could make it, Craig. This means so much to Amy.” Drew blinked and took a deep breath. He waited until Craig had his drink in his hand, then he rose and raised his own glass of wine.
“Congratulations, Amy,” Drew said, “On the eve of your wedding, I would like to propose a toast to you and thank you for providing me the gift of clarity and for reminding me of my true position in this family. I have always seen myself as your father and protector, but tonight I can see very clearly that I’m just an ATM and a placeholder for Craig.
His name appears on wedding invitations as host, and I am more than happy to cede that role to him with all it entails. I suggest you update the payment arrangements for the venue, catering, and entertainment as soon as possible. I can’t remember if I’ve gotten an invitation as a guest, but you can mark me down as a decline.” As Drew downed his glass of wine, he inclined his head towards the Baileys, who stared at him in shock, and walked to the door. No one tried to stop him as he got into his car and drove home.
The next morning, he found a note from Eileen saying that she was moving into Amy’s apartment. That made Drew question whether his girlfriend had been entirely honest with him about her past dealings with Craig. Perhaps she had not truly been afraid of commitment like she’d said. Perhaps she’d just been waiting for her ex-boyfriend to come back for her, using him like a pastime.
On Amy’s wedding day, Drew caught a flight to the Seychelles. If he had to be miserable and alone, at least he would do it on a gorgeous beach. And as he mourned the loss of the two most important women in his life, he found the strength to search for happiness again, knowing that he’d done his best and deserved someone better.
What a sad ending! Would you have gone to the wedding if you’d been in Drew’s place? If you have a similar story about someone who took a fitting revenge, tell us in the comments.
