It was less than a week before Dipper and Wendy were to be married. She was just a bit nervous.
Not really about the wedding, but about the fact that her father asked if they could spend some time together before the wedding. Because nothing can go wrong with that.
But, if she just went over without making a fuss, maybe she could get through it without any stressful moments. Or, at the very least, she could get out of there before her brothers found Dipper and murdered him.
Of course, Wendy knew her brothers were kidding when they said they'd so that. At least, she was pretty sure they were.
Anyways, a few days before the wedding, Wendy went over to the shack she once grew up in, now only populated by Manly Dan and her brothers. But, she knew that Manly Dan sent her brothers away for the night so it'd be just the two of them.
After Wendy couldn't find Manly Dan inside the shack, she checked the backyard to see him sitting in a comically tiny lawn chair, another one right next to him.
"Hey Dad," Wendy greeted, walking into the backyard.
"Sit down Wendy," Manly Dan stated. Wendy decided to sit in the chair next to him.
Manly Dan then grabbed two cans out of the cooler next to him.
"You want a beer," Manly Dan asked.
"What," Wendy questioned.
"I'm asking if you want a beer," Manly Dan repeated.
"I'd better not," Wendy rejected, "I'm kind of a lightweight and I still need to drive home."
"Alright," Manly Dan stated, putting the cans back into the cooler.
"You know," Wendy pointed out, "I know I'm not drinking, but you can if you want to."
"Wendy," Manly Dan asked, "Have I ever told you the story of your mother's drinking problem?"
"The only story you told me about mom was the time she fought off a colony of beavers with a notepad, a scallop shell, and a package of crip and crunchy edibles," Wendy stated.
"My favorite memory of your mother," Manly Dan reminisced, "But I'm talking about your mother's drinking problem."
"Mom had a drinking problem," Wendy asked.
"I just told you that she did," Manly Dan deadpanned, "Stop repeating what I say. And, yes, at one point, your mother was a drinker."
"Was she always a drinker," Wendy asked.
"No," Manly Dan answered, "It started a little while after we started dating."
Wendy tried her best to suppress a smirk at what her dad just said.
"It started off small," Manly Dan explained, "Just one or two drinks a day. I looked the other way at it because it didn't affect her too much. Then we got married."
"And she started drinking more," Wendy asked.
"Exactly," Manly Dan stated, "Are you sure I haven't told you this story already?"
"I know I would've remembered this," Wendy answered.
"Anyways," Manly Dan remembered, "When your mother started drinking more, she started acting different than usual. She became angrier, louder. It was a bit hard to be around her."
"Then why did you stay with her," Wendy asked.
"I was hoping she would start acting more like she used to when we first met," Manly Dan explained, "But she didn't for a long time."
"How long did she do stuff like this," Wendy asked.
"About three years," Manly Dan remembered.
"You stayed with an alcoholic woman for three years," Wendy yelled.
"I was never worried about her actually hurting me," Manly Dan explained.
"So, you said she became her old self after a long time," Wendy brought up, "What made her change?"
"She found out she was pregnant," Manly Dan answered, after a moment of silence.
"Really," Wendy asked.
"When she found out she was pregnant with you," Manly Dan remembered, "She admitted that she had a drinking problem and asked me to help her."
"What'd you do," Wendy asked.
"Took away all the alcohol she hid around the house," Manly Dan explained, "Signed her up for counseling. Told her she could come talk to me anytime she felt like drinking."
"Did it work," Wendy asked.
"It did," Manly Dan answered, "She didn't touch a bottle the whole time she was pregnant with you."
"And let me guess," Wendy deadpanned, "After that she magically became completely self sufficient and never touched liquor again."
"That's not true," Manly Dan corrected, "She still went to counseling, she still came and talked to me, and we got her fancy medicine since she wasn't pregnant. She stopped taking the medicine after your oldest brother was born, but she kept seeing the therapist until she died."
"And she never touched a bottle again," Wendy asked.
"She still occasionally drank," Manly Dan answered, "But not nearly as much as she used to."
"As much as I enjoy hearing that my mother was an alcoholic," Wendy stated, "What exactly is the point of this story?"
"Before your Mom died," Manly Dan explained, "She says she wished she'd never touched alcohol, because she says it wasted years of her life with a great guy."
"Huh," Wendy stated.
"You love Dipper," Manly Dan asked, "Don't you?"
"Of course I do," Wendy answered, "He's my dork."
"Then don't do something stupid and throw away your chances with him," Manly Dan stressed, "Even if he stays, he's going to be miserable if you do something to mess up both your lives. That's the best advice I could give you."
"Do you think I'll end up doing something to drive Dipper away," Wendy asked.
"If you keep doing what you're doing now," Manly Dan reassured, "I don't see that happening."
"Thanks Dad," Wendy thanked, giving her Dad a hug.
Later that night, as Wendy drove home, all she could think about was the story her Dad had told her.
That was the first time he'd ever opened up about her Mom. Why did he wait until she was about to get married to tell her this story?
Maybe it was just another story about the dangers of alcohol, or maybe it was a warning for Wendy not to screw up the marriage, she wasn't sure.
And why would he take a sudden interest in her love life? Really, he never said anything about any of her boyfriends, not even Dipper or Robbie.
Maybe this was Manly Dan's way of showing he approved of Dipper? He and Dipper have never really been alone together, since Wendy was the one to take Dipper's promise ring and turn it into an engagement ring.
This was all speculation, though, and it was a bit too much for Wendy to think about right now, while driving. All she knew for certain was that she would never make Dipper go through what her Mom made her Dad go through. Ever. She loved him too much to do that to him.
When she finally got back to her and Dipper's trailer, it was close to nine, which was early for Wendy to be returning home. Usually, she'd go out with Tambry or Dipper and do something.
But, after hearing that story her Dad told her, she just wanted to stay home with her fiance for the night.
"Hey Wendy," Dipper greeted.
"Hey Dipper," Wendy greeted as Dipper gave her a kiss on the cheek.
"How was your time with your Dad," Dipper asked.
"Weird," Wendy responded, "He told me a story about my Mom."
"Really," Dipper asked, "Was it a nice story?"
"Yeah it was," Wendy sighed, "I'll tell you about it some other time. Right now, I just want to relax."
As Wendy collapsed on the couch and switched on the TV, Dipper went to the fridge, grabbed two beers, and sat next to Wendy.
"Here you go," Dipper offered, "I wasn't sure if you had one at your Dad's."
"Thanks," Wendy thanked as she took a beer.
As she gulped her second beer of the night, watching TV with her fiance, sipping what's probably his first beer of the night, Wendy knew that she would do whatever she could to defend these simple moments.
Sure, she loved the big, romantic momemts, but she loved these nice and relaxing moments just as much.
"I love you," Wendy purred.
"I love you too," Dipper whispered, as he rested his head on Wendy's shoulder.
Wendy then put her arm around Dipper and they both fell asleep.