Fairview Presbyterian Church was filled with guests attending the wedding of Katherine Mayfair and Mike Delfino. There was the family of the wedding party, seated in the front row, the reporter covering the event for the next day's edition of the newspaper, and there were the friends of the bride and groom. Nearly everyone in Fairview had come to see the ceremony of the happy couple, including the ex-wife of the groom, Susan Mayer.
Susan had promised herself that she would attend the wedding for her son Maynards' sake, a moral support of sorts during the ceremony. All of her friends on Wisteria Lane, including Katherine herself, had offered to take MJ to the wedding so that Susan could get away for a few days, but she respectfully declined each offer in favor of the brave face. Susan had realized months ago that she had lost Mike to her former best friend Katherine Mayfair, and this wedding cinched the apparent reality: Mike had moved on with someone else, and it was time for her to follow suite.
Susan sat tall and proud in the third row, holding little MJ's hand in hers. She couldn't believe that it was only two months ago that she had shared a kiss with her ex-husband, and it was one day after that that he had assured her of his intentions for Katherine.
"Then you've decided?" Susan asked coolly, biting her lip to keep from crying.
Mike placed a gentle hand on Susan's shoulder. "I made up my mind a while ago." Susan turned her face away from him, not wanting his pity. "We've talked about this..."
"I remember," she interrupted. "You said you love her."
"Which is why I'm marrying her," Mike said with a soft firmness.
"And then last night you said you loved me," Susan blurted out, turning on him. "Or was that only the in the heat of the moment?"
Susan shuddered as she recalled the harsh conversation that followed a blissful kiss. Mike had come to rescue her and MJ from their crazed neighbor Dave Williams, formerly known as David Dash, who they had a very tragic past with. A few years ago Susan, Mike, and MJ collided with Dave's family, killing his wife and daughter in the process. Susan had been so racked with guilt over the incident that she pulled away from Mike to the point where they were sitting across a table armed by lawyers, splitting the assets and custody of MJ. They were not the only ones scared by the crash; Dave had never forgotten the accident and vowed revenge on the person that caused it. After finding out it was Susan, Dave plotted to kill MJ and force her to witness death in the same way he had. At the last minute, he had a change of heart, and released MJ, nearly killing himself in the process. Mike had found his family together and pulled his ex-wife and son into an embrace. Mike kissed Susan with all of the urgency and anticipation of the evening.
Susan sat forward, feeling a chill as she recalled the feeling of Mike's lips on hers, believing that there was a chance that they could erase the past and start over.
"Susan, I do love you," Mike said frustratedly.
Susan glared exasperated at Mike as he continued. "A part of me will always love you – you're MJ's mother."
"You kissed me," Susan spat angrily, stunned that she was being rejected.
"It was a mistake," Mike said firmly, more for himself than for her.
Susan shook her head. He had called her that morning, telling her that he needed to talk to her. She had been filled with hope since that evening and he had taken it all away in one brief moment.
"So nothing's changed?" she asked softly.
"Nothing," Mike said gently, offering her his hand.
Susan watched the I-dos being said, her vision clouding with tears; she saw that nothing had changed. She was still the woman pining for her ex-husband while another woman lived her dream.
"But I have," Susan whispered hoarsely, pulling on Mike's arm. "I have changed; I'm not the woman who wanted the divorce, who feel into a deep depression over an accident – I'm a woman who is in love with you."
"I'm sorry Susan."
Those were the final words that he had spoken to her since the accident. Immediately following Mike's rejection, Susan left MJ with him and went to visit her mother Sophie and her husband Morty for a week to recuperate. She couldn't stay on Wisteria Lane with Mike and Katherine living right across the street from her.
Susan felt a pang in her stomach as the preacher pronounced them man and wife. Susan struggled to stand with the rest of the guests as the happy couple went down the aisle to the sound of wedding bells.
"Mamma," MJ whispered softly as everyone stood to leave.
"Yes baby," Susan whispered.
"What do I call Katherine now that she and daddy are married?" he asked earnestly, looking to his mother for guidance.
Susan's heart broke at MJ's little smile. After a little resistance in the beginning, he had grown very fond of Katherine, who was the perfect homemaker, the exact opposite of Susan. Susan caressed MJ's cheek and lifted him in her arms. "You can still call her Katherine," she whispered as she walked out of the church, refusing to let her son see her cry.
