"Do we really have to invite him?"

"Laurie, you know we do. All the time we spend with him? How awful would it be if we didn't?"

"I know, I know," said Laurie with a sigh. "I know that he's your friend and that I've put up with him just fine for the past year, and maybe he's not the absolute worst, but that doesn't make me want him at my wedding any more. It's supposed to be a happy day, and all."

"I don't have that many friends, and I was hoping to have him as one of my groomsmen," Dan replied. "And he's with Walter. How can we invite one and not the other? That would be petty."

She groaned in frustration, but he didn't seem willing to back down on this one and if she didn't tell him her real reasoning, he wouldn't. After all, she almost got along with Eddie these days; Dan was justified in thinking it was petty of her to decide not to invite Eddie to the wedding after that. But she didn't tell him what was really on her mind and instead said, "Fine, you win. But I don't have to like it."

"Can you try to play nice?" he asked with a teasing smile.

"Only if I have to," she replied with a laugh.

But it was not herself that she was worried about, not when she knew that her mother was going to be in the same room as a man she had a very bad past with. Laurie hadn't forgiven him for what had happened, and she had not even been born yet when it did. She worried about how her mother would feel, knowing that Laurie was almost the man's friend and that they were close enough that he would be at the wedding, a part of the groom's party.

The only thing she could do, she knew, was let her mother know about it ahead of time, to give her a chance to come to terms with it before she had to face him again. Talking to Sally was not one of Laurie's favorite activities, and this call was not one she was excited to make, but she knew that putting it off would not solve her problem and so she dialed her mother's number. Sally lived in California now, and the time difference made it hard to find a good time to talk, so she had to do it while she could.

"Laurie? What's got you calling?" asked Sally, sounding pleased to hear from her. She almost felt guilty about delivering bad news.

"I wanted to talk to you about the wedding," she said. "I mean...look, this isn't easy to say, but when I met Dan, he introduced me to some of his friends and...one of them is someone you know."

"Oh? Who?" She sounded interested, as if she did not suspect a thing.

"Eddie Blake," said Laurie, and took a deep breath. "I know he's one of the last people you'd want to hear about, but I didn't know Dan knew him before he introduced us. I only put up with him because they're friends, but he's going to...he's going to be at the wedding."

Sally was silent for only a moment before she said, "So, why are you telling me this?"

"Are you kidding? Because I thought it would bother you, having to see him again." Laurie huffed. "He's going to be a goddamn groomsman, I thought you'd want to be prepared, at least."

"Oh, Laurie." Sally sighed and then laughed. "It's like you don't know I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself. What happened between me and Eddie Blake happened a very long time ago. So what if I happen to bump into him somewhere? I really don't care about any of that old stuff."

"You're not just bumping into him! He's in the wedding. You'd be seeing a lot of him if you were around for all the planning."

"Who do you have doing the planning, by the way?" she asked, changing the subject.

"I...don't know, I haven't thought about it," she said, already not liking the direction that this was taking. "But, mother-"

"But nothing. If you want a bigger reaction out of me, then tough, because you're not getting one." Sally sounded almost defensive and Laurie regretted pushing her. She should have been happy that her mother wasn't bothered, rather than trying to push her until she was. "Though I am curious how you ended up friends with Eddie, of all people, I really couldn't care less about the fact that you are friends."

"We aren't friends. I can't stand the guy, not knowing what he's like," said Laurie. "But Dan knows him well, goes to some comedy club. Eddie always has a routine on amateur night. Almost every week, me, Dan, and one of his other friends would go to it, and that's how we met."

"So he's a comedian now," she said, a hint of amusement in her voice. "He always did think he was hilarious, and sometimes he was right about that. Suits him."

"He's not a real comedian. By day, he's a store manager." Laurie snorted, rolling her eyes even though her mother couldn't see that.

"You never did give me a full answer about who you have planning the wedding," Sally chided. "You're not planning to do the whole thing by yourself, are you?"

"I really don't know. It's cheaper that way, isn't it? And it can't be too hard. It's just a really big party, when you think about it."

The gasp on the other end of the phone sounded positively scandalized. "Laurie! It's a lot more than just some party, you know. It's supposed to be the most important day of your life...if you're getting married, you've got to do it right. I can understand not wanting to hire some stranger to plan it for you, but you can't honestly expect to be able to do it on your own."

"Mother-"

"Mother nothing. I've been married before myself and I know how this sort of thing goes. I'm just going to have to come visit you a little early and help you get things underway." Sally sounded so proud of herself and so sure of herself that, though Laurie tried to talk her out of it, she wouldn't have it. She was coming to New York to plan the wedding, whether Laurie liked it or not.

Suddenly, her mother having to see Eddie Blake again felt like the least of her concerns.