It had been Jane's idea to have a brunch with just the immediate family members the morning before the wedding. As the meal progressed, she wasn't sure that it had been thought out enough. They had been seated at a round table, big enough for twelve people. Jane sat between Bing and her own mother. Next to her mother sat her father, then Lydia, Lizzie, and Darcy. On Bing's left were his parents, then Caroline and her husband. Jane could tell from across the table how grateful Darcy was for the empty seat between himself and Caroline.

The first hour of the brunch had gone smoothly. Bing's parents had become acquainted with Jane's, and Jane had done her best to avoid the touchy topics. But of course, now that Mrs. Bennet was done eating, there was no stopping her.

"So, Bing," Jane's mother started, "what have you been up to lately?"

Bing swallowed his food. "I've actually been volunteering at a non-profit in Hell's Kitchen. We help out kids in, uh, less-than-favorable circumstances; providing tutoring, counseling, balanced meals. It's really rewarding." He smiled.

"That's… wonderful," Mrs. Bennet replied. Jane knew how her mother had felt since Bing had quit med school. Jane also knew that her mother would take Bing's mention of kids as a segway to another topic altogether. Jane had prepared for this, and almost effortlessly navigated around it.

"Lydia, how's school?" she asked. Lydia looked up from her food.

"School's good," she said, flustered.

"What are you studying?" Jane was as surprised as Lydia that this question had come from a genuinely curious James Elton.

"Psychology. This year will be my-"

"You're getting your PhD?" Caroline interrupted.

"What? No, I, uh, I'm only getting a bachelor's degree," She sat up straight and looked Caroline directly in the eye. "As I was saying, I've only got one year left. Then I'll be done with school."

"Shame," Jane heard Caroline mutter.

"What was that?" Lydia asked. Jane saw her father put his hand on Lydia's arm as if to stop her from charging at Caroline.

"Nothing," Caroline replied with a smile, "I just think it's a shame that you're spending all that time in school with barely anything to show for it." Jane was getting angry, and noticed Lizzie was, now, as well.

"Barely anything to-? I can't believe what I'm hearing right now!" Lydia was almost yelling now. Jane could tell this would soon become about money, and needed to be stopped immediately. Luckily, that was when the waiter came and started clearing the plates. Jane promptly excused herself to use the restroom and summoned Lydia to go with her. Lydia got up, fuming, and followed Jane. Caroline was still smirking.

"I'm sorry Lydia," Jane said as they went into the bathroom. She covered her face with her hands. "I'm so, so sorry. This was all my fault. It was a terrible idea."

"Hey. No it wasn't. It was a great idea," Lydia said, hugging her. "I just can't believe you're marrying into, well, that."

"Trust me," Jane said, smiling, as she let go. "It's worth it."

"This is great," Mary said, mouth full of ice cream. Lydia looked around. Somehow Mary had found a little ice cream shop a couple blocks away with unusual, delicious flavors and decorated chalkboard walls.

"Yeah, it is," Lydia replied. She ate another spoonful of peach-rosemary. It had been Mary's idea to come here. The two of them had barely spoken since Mary had dropped the bomb on Lydia, even on the day they moved out.

"Lydia, I'm sorry. It was really stupid of me not to tell you. I thought-"

"Hey, what's done is done. Don't worry about it," Lydia insisted. "Where did you find this place?" Mary looked down at her passionfruit-orange-guava sorbet.

"Pinterest," she ventured. "But that's it? You're not mad at me for, I don't know, making you homeless?" Lydia shook her head.

"Nah, I was just upset about my lack of roommate. But that problem's solved itself now, so it's fine."

"You already found a roommate?" Mary asked. Lydia laughed.

"Don't act so surprised. I'm not that intolerable."

"Who is it, then?"

"Ty."

"Ty? You're kidding right?"

"No, I'm not. He's flying in next week so we can start looking for an apartment. It's happening."

"Alright. If you're sure it's what you want, who am I to question you?"

"The one who made me homeless." Mary jokingly shoved her in the arm and they both laughed. Lydia held up her empty bowl. "Thanks for this, Mary. I needed it. Brunch was a living hell this morning. Plus, this was really good. Like, really good."

"Isn't it?" Mary asked, and they got up, threw out their trash, and headed out the door.

"Okay, we've talked about me enough," Charlotte laughed, "I know you've been waiting patiently to rant. How was brunch?"

"Brunch was lovely, except for the fact that Caroline Lee is insufferable!" Lizzie huffed. She lay at the foot of the bed in her hotel room, Charlotte sitting perpendicular to her against the headboard.

"Eh, it's to be expected," Charlotte said, shrugging. "Besides, isn't it Caroline Elton now?"

"Look, when she can treat my family with respect, then we can talk misnomers."

"Oh, no. What did she do this time?"

"So much, Char, so much. The worst thing by far, though, was definitely towards the end. Lydia was talking about majoring in Psychology, and Caroline just up and asked if Lydia was getting her PhD."

"An honest mistake."

"Easily. But, that wasn't the end of it. After Lydia explained what degree she was actually getting, Caroline stage whispered 'shame' and she said she meant that it was a shame that Lydia was, to paraphrase, 'wasting her time,' which is incredibly rude as it is. But oh, no. It was obvious that she was about to make it about money. She was all but saying that it was a shame that Lydia couldn't afford to get a PhD. I think she was about to actually go there, but luckily Jane managed to get Lydia to the bathroom before things could get worse. It's just- the audacity she has!"

"Wow," was all Charlotte could say.

"Yeah. I won't even tell you what she said when my parents were five minutes late." Lizzie groaned and sat up. She looked at Charlotte.

"This is how it is now, isn't it?" Lizzie asked. "Catching up on the incredibly rare occasion that we see each other? We only live a few hours apart, and it takes my sister's wedding across the country to bring us together?"

"It's ridiculous, I know. But, yeah. I think that's just how it is now. I think we make it work, though. At least it means we're both doing what we want."

"Yeah, I guess. I suppose I just miss living minutes away from each other."

"I couldn't agree more. But, hey, we've got the next few days. When you're not performing maid of honor duty, that is," Charlotte added, smiling. Lizzie nodded and glanced at her phone.

"Oh, speaking of," she began, standing. "I have to start getting ready for the rehearsal dinner. We can talk more then, okay?"

"Definitely. I'll be on my way then. See you tonight," Charlotte got up, hugged Lizzie, and let herself out.

"What is even the point of this? Rehearsing a dinner? That makes no sense!" Lydia slumped into her chair at the table.

"Hey, this is as much for Jane's benefit as is for ours. And it's barely about the actual dinner. It's more for our two families to get acquainted with each other," Lizzie explained, watching the slew of unfamiliar faces trickle in.

"Wasn't that the point of that hellish brunch this morning?" Lydia nearly shuddered at the thought of a repeat of that.

"That was Bing and Jane's immediate family: parents and siblings. This is the extended family: cousins, uncles, aunts, grandparents, family friends, etc."

"Why do we have to meet everyone though? I mean, you and I aren't the ones who have to deal with these people for the rest of our lives. After the wedding tomorrow, we'll probably never see a good chunk of these people again." Lydia objected. She looked across the dining room to where Bing and Jane were already talking with a couple that appeared to be Bing's grandparents. She turned back to the table to see Darcy returning from the bathroom.

"You ready?" he asked, grabbing Lizzie's hand and kissing her on the cheek.

"Just waiting on you," she replied with a smile. They began walking towards the ever-growing crowd of people across the room.

"So you're just going to leave me?" Lydia asked. They turned around and Darcy looked at Lizzie for an explanation.

"She doesn't see the point of meeting all those people if she's never going to see them again," Lizzie elaborated. Darcy smiled.

"Lydia, the Lee's are some of the nicest people I've ever met," he offered. Lydia raised her eyebrows.

"Are we forgetting about this morning?" she asked.

"Like I said, some of."

Lydia still didn't budge.

"This is going to be Jane's family. Come on," Lizzie insisted.

"Fine," Lydia groaned, standing up. "This is for Jane. And the food later." Lizzie smiled at Darcy as Lydia wandered off.