Emily needed an ally in the negotiations with Sylvia. If the wedding was going to be in any way less insane than what Sylvia envisioned, someone had to convince her, and Emily didn't want to be that someone. It was too dangerous.Her relationship with her mother-in-law was usually pretty good, but it was like a house built on volcanic soil, always under threat of complete destruction.Luckily, Emily's parents were coming for a visit. They could give her some advice, maybe even talk to Sylvia to sort out the wedding arrangements.The house was filled with their voices and laughter as soon as her parents got in. They praised the house and the décor, and even the dogs, who got lots of affectionate pats. Emily was so proud to show them the place."Is it true that epic weightlifting contests take place here?" her father asked."Yes, and I won the last one," Byron said, his lips curving into a satisfied smile. "He's very strong, but not much in the brains department, I'm afraid," Emil
The next day, Sylvia came over for lunch, and the meeting of the parents took place. Emily found it amusing to see her parents and Byron's mother side by side.Emily mother didn't look as polished as Sylvia, preferring to wear no makeup and casual clothing, but she had natural beauty and much more warmth and laughter than Sylvia did. Her father looked like a macho, slightly balding, and not too sophisticated guy, but he too had a lot of charisma, even if he was at times overbearing. He was almost as bossy and opinionated as Sylvia.Emily couldn't wait to see who would win in a battle of wills."It's great to finally meet you," Emily's mother gushed."Yes, I'm glad," Sylvia said in her reserved way.Emily detected a note of snobbishness. She didn't take offense because it was not as if her parents were singled out by Sylvia to be looked down on. She was snobbish when speaking to anyone. Maybe if Queen Elizabeth came to visit, Sylvia would have been slightly less arrogant."You're
"I think our parents are learning a lot from each other," Emily said.She and Byron were snuggling in bed after a long evening of observing their parents interacting."That's one way to put it," Byron said, making a slight grimace. "I wish my mom would be more open minded.""She is who she is," Emily said, "That's what makes it so amusing.""You find this all entertaining, do you?" He smirked. "Rotten kid.""If we can't make any decisions regarding our own wedding, we might as well enjoy this meeting of the minds." "I see…" Byron tickled her cheek then ran his fingers down a strand of her hair. "Does that mean you're going to enjoy tomorrow too?""I'm going to try."The next morning they all trekked into the mountains for a day trip in Sylvia's car, a classic restored model from the 1950s, which was roomy enough to accommodate both families."This is why having a car is convenient," Sylvia couldn't help lecturing."I could have rented a car," Emily retorted. Sitting with Byr
With her best friend now on her eighth month of pregnancy, Emily didn't get to see her as much as she liked. Pam had been working pretty much nonstop in the last few months until the doctor told her she was too stressed out and needed to go on bed rest."What have you got for me there?" Pam asked, lying back in her bed on a big pile of pillows."Who says it's for you?" Emily teased. She was holding a shopping bag with a paper-wrapped present sticking out of the top."You didn't just bring this present over here to torment me when it's meant for someone else?" Pam said, looking fake horrified."Okay, it's for you." Emily handed over the bag and watched eagerly as Pam unwrapped the shiny gift paper.A long-sleeved dress with cute ruffles emerged from the package."Maternity dress! Thank you, this is just what I need!" Pam said. "None of my clothes fit me anymore. I swear I go up a size every single day.""I'm glad this helps." Emily sat down on the bed and gave her friend a hug.
Byron's company Christmas party was a fairly boring affair. Emily didn't expect anything different. However, she did have a surprise for one of the guests. Byron had taken her advice and made it more of a mingling party with no assigned seating. People moved around, bringing snacks and drinks back to their tables and chatting with everyone in sight.Emily sighted the woman she had been looking for. Stacie, the one who only dressed in black and white. Even though it was a Christmas party, Stacie wore a typical white collared shirt over black trousers. She was selecting some pieces of cheese with a somber face when Emily came up to her."Hi Stacie," Emily said. "I got you a little Christmas present.""Oh, you shouldn't have." The woman looked terrified and perplexed. "I didn't get you anything.""I know," Emily said, "and that's perfectly fine. I just really wanted to give you this…" She pulled out a cherry red scarf from her bag. "I thought it matched your brown eyes."Stacie loo
Emily pulled on the gold ribbon to untie it and opened the little box. Inside was a pair of car keys. The symbol on the keys was a sun radiating curly beams of light."I know my mom's been bugging you to get a car, so you might be annoyed by this. I could return it…""You got me an Inclussa?" Emily stared at the keys in amazement."Yeah," Byron said casually, even though the car cost nearly a hundred thousand dollars. "I thought you might like it. It's the lowest-emission car in the world. Certainly cuts back on pollution. And maybe you could use a car to get around once in a while, like if you need to transport something—"She interrupted him with another fervent kiss. No one had ever given her such a thoughtful present, or two thoughtful presents counting the donation to help otters."So you like it?" Byron asked, catching his breath. "You're not mad at me for getting you a car?""No, it's so sweet! I never thought I needed a car, but since it comes from you, I'm going to cheri
Pam was not joking about going back to work. Only a little over a month after her baby was born, she reported in, and Emily met her by the reception desk."I see we have two new employees!" she exclaimed.Pam was carrying her baby in a colorful sling with a teddy bear print."I hope you don't mind," she said, "It's not like I'm going to have any sales meetings on my first day. I'll need to learn about the company first.""Of course I don't mind." Emily felt cuteness overload coming on when she saw the baby's sleeping face. "She's so adorable!""Thanks, I'm not going to bring her every day," Pam explained, "but it was hard to let her go today.""So we can bring our kids to work once in a while?" Allie, one of the designers asked as she passed by.Emily thought she had been a bit selfish since she never talked with her employees about bringing their kids to work. But since she had no kids, it just never occurred to her. She was still new to owning such a successful and large enter
"You invited how many people?" Sylvia shrieked.She and Byron made the announcement in a crowded downtown café overlooking the harbor. They really needed to finalize plans for the wedding soon before all the good spaces got taken in the busy summer season. "At least fifty people from my company," Emily said, "Not all of them have RSVPed yet.""Uh… I may have invited some people from my company too," Byron added, "About a hundred.""I told you that this wedding was going to have a huge guest list," Sylvia said haughtily, "but did you listen? No, of course not.""Now I concede, you were right." Emily grinned, trying to win Sylvia over with her honesty. "I had always pictured a smaller wedding with just close friends and family, but if all these people want to see us get married… why not?""Next time you can save time by doing exactly what I say," Sylvia concluded."Next time we get married?" Byron asked, raising his eyebrows."Next time you do anything," Sylvia replied dryly."