Back at Trudy and Adrain's home, they were choosing their wedding parties.
"Let's see," Trudy said, "Well Ilizabeth is married so she can be my matron of honor. Angela can be my maid of honor since she and Scott are no longer together,"
Adrian grinned. He loved that Trudy wanted to include her two best childhood friends equally.
"What about the bridesmaids," he asked.
"Well Karen of course will have to be one of them," Trudy said.
She didn't remember much but she could remember Karen and Trudy were good friends.
"Can Sharona be included," Adrian asked.
"Of course," Trudy smiled, "Also Hannah and Beth."
"We should include Jennifer too," Adrian suggested.
"Jennifer can be my Junior Bridesmaid," Trudy replied, "She's a little young to be a regular bridesmaid. After what she went through, I don't want to put too much pressure on her."
"Good point," Adrian replied, nodding.
"Are we going to invite your half-brother," Trudy asked.
"He can be an usher," Adrian said, "I don't know him well enough to choose him as a groomsman. My dad can be an usher also."
Trudy knew how Adrian's father ran out on him and Ambrose when Ambrose was only 14 and Adrian was 12. That was when their family fell apart.
"It sounds like you forgave your dad," Trudy said proudly.
"I have," Adrian said, "That doesn't mean I wasn't hurt by what he did, but I forgave him."
"Do you still love him," Trudy asked.
"It's hard to love him," Adrian admitted, "He hurt my mom. He hurt Ambrose. He hurt me. I would have loved to have a relationship with my little half-brother. When I looked at him, I saw what my dad did to my mom and my brother and me. I love him because he's my father, but I don't have a relationship with him anymore."
"Well that makes sense," Trudy said, "Actions have consequences and what your dad did was not okay. Maybe one day you will have a relationship with him again but that's at your discretion not his. He gave up the right to a say in your relationship with him when he ran off with a woman who was not your mother and had Jack Jr."
Adrian grinned at Trudy's loyalty.
"Can Mitch Decker be an usher too? He's my friend and he saved my life."
Adrian nodded.
"Of course," he said, "He saved your life and for that alone I love him. What about a flower girl?"
"Well Mitch has two girls. Julie is twelve. She can be a Junior Bridesmaid. She and Jennifer are best friends. Taylor on the other hand is three and she would make a great flower girl."
Adrian nodded and smiled.
"We could also use a reader," he said.
"We could use several," Trudy said.
Dwight came home in a great mood.
"Hi honey," Marsha said, "How was your day?"
"Wonderful," Dwight replied, "I'm looking forward to our trip to Spain and Argentina."
"Yes. You've been working hard," Marsha replied, "I talked to Trudy and Adrian today. They're looking forward to the trip too."
"Great," Dwight smiled.
"We should go visit them tonight," Marsha suggested.
"Sure," Dwight said, "Let's just call them up to make sure they're available."
"Sure," Marsha replied.
Marsha went into the other room. She called Trudy.
"Hi mom," Trudy said smiling.
"Hey honey," Marsha said, "Can we visit tonight?"
"Actually that's perfect," Trudy said, "But why don't we come and visit you. It's the weekend so Adrian isn't working tomorrow. We could stay like four or five hours."
Marsha grinned widely.
"Sounds great," she said, "I'll make dinner."
"Great," Trudy said, "Chicken cacciatore?"
"I know it's your favorite," Marsha replied brightly, "I'll make baked potatoes with it."
"Perfect," Trudy replied
"How about Chocolate Cake for dessert? We'll pick up pretzels too."
"That's perfect," Trudy said, "Okay we'll be over around five?"
"See you then. I love you Trudy."
"I love you too mom," Trudy replied.
They said goodbye and hung up.
"So," Dwight asked, "Are we going there?"
"They're coming here," Marsha explained, "I'm going to make dinner."
"We're going to make dinner," Dwight corrected, "What are we making?"
"Chicken cacciatore, baked potatoes and chocolate cake. We're gonna pick up pretzels too."
"Of course," Dwight laughed good-naturedly.
It was all of Trudy's favorites.
"I know it sounds crazy to make so much," Marsha said, "But-"
"It's not crazy," Dwight assured Marsha, "It's wonderful. Frankly nothing is anything but wonderful," he added, stroking her cheek gently.
"I was thinking about the music at the wedding," Marsha said, "Let's hire Bryan Adams. We can get Willie Nelson too."
"Was that Trudy's idea," Dwight asked.
"It was my idea," Marsha told him, "But Trudy loves those singers."
"I'll talk to them tomorrow," Dwight promised, "But let's talk to Trudy and Adrian before we do this."
"We'll talk to them tonight," Marsha promised, "Oh my GOSH they're going to love that idea."
"Are you serious," Trudy exclaimed excitedly, "That must be a fortune."
"Maybe," Marsha said, "But you're worth every penny."
"Dinner is delicious," Adrian told them, swallowing the last of his food.
Marsha's eyes lit up.
"Thank you, sweetheart," she said.
"It really is," Trudy added, "You're a great cook mom."
"I made dinner too," Dwight told them.
"Sorry dad," Trudy said, "You're a great cook too."
After dinner they all cleaned up. It only took a few minutes and they had fun doing so.
"So," Dwight asked, "Have you picked a color for the bridesmaids yet?"
Trudy and Adrian looked at each other and smiled.
"Green," they said together.
"It was the green sweater that brought us back together," Adrian added.
"The sweater you had custom made for Trudy for her birthday?"
"Yes. It's a long story," Trudy said.
She told them the story starting with the nightmares.
"So you knew she was Trudy because of-"
"The green sweater," Trudy and Adrian both said.
"That's incredible," Marsha said.
She brought out the chocolate cake.
"So," Dwight said to Trudy, "Your mom was telling me between the dress and the veil and the shoes and the jewelry it came to about $6,000."
"Mom and I both thought it was perfect," Trudy said, blushing a little embarrassed.
Was she taking advantage?
"It is perfect," Dwight replied smiling, "What I was going to say is your first wedding was not as sophisticated so after the wedding save the dress and the shoes as well as the jewelry."
"Oh," Trudy said, "Of course. I was worried I was taking advantage of you guys."
"That's not possible," Dwight laughed, "First of all we can afford it easily now and secondly we had no idea for 10 years that you were alive. The grief you feel in your heart when you lose anyone you love is a major blow but when it's your child… It's an effort just to breathe. Parents aren't supposed to say goodbye to their children. We are thrilled to be able to take care of you."
"I love you," Trudy said, "You guys are the best parents on GOD'S green Earth."
"Just wait until you become a mom," Marsha said, "You may just start to understand our love for you."
After a couple of hours passed Trudy and Adrian both started to feel tired.
"Do you guys' mind if we sleep over tonight," Adrian asked, "I don't think it's safe for me to drive."
