Chapter 3

When I came back to the banquet hall, the positions for the group photo had already been set.

Arnold's parents sat in the middle.

My parents sat off to the side, with hastily added name cards taped to the backs of their chairs.

Lucinda stood behind Arnold's mother, the run sheet pinched in her hand.

She didn't even need to say anything; the emcee had already handed her the cue cards.

"Are we still going with the version from before?"

Lucinda looked up at Arnold.

Arnold nodded.

"Stick with the earlier plan."

My mom's expression shifted.

"Mrs. James, it's my daughter getting engaged today."

Arnold's mother smiled and patted the back of her hand.

"Of course I know that."

"Lucinda knows the flow, so she's just lending a hand."

"Sybilla ought to learn from this too. She can't leave everything for other people to worry about for her."

The words weren't harsh, but they landed right in front of my parents.

My dad didn't say anything.

His hands rested on his knees, his knuckles taut and white.

When Lucinda handed the run sheet back, she smoothed out Arnold's mother's shawl on the way.

Arnold's mother didn't pull away. She squeezed Lucinda's hand instead.

"Thank you for all this."

The lady next to her smiled and chimed in.

"This girl really knows how to take care of people."

"Any family with a thoughtful girl like her at their engagement would save themselves so much trouble."

Arnold's mother smiled too.

"She grew up right under my eyes, so of course I trust her."

I stood off to the side, suddenly not sure where I was supposed to be.

The photographer raised his camera.

"Could the couple move closer together?"

Arnold reached a hand toward me.

"Come here."

The moment I reached his side, Lucinda had already stepped out of the frame.

But every part of the plan was still in her hands.

Someone asked which side to set the ring box.

Someone asked which table to toast first after the group photo.

Someone asked the emcee whether any lines needed adding.

Every single question circled back to Lucinda in the end.

Arnold heard it and didn't correct anyone.

My mom went to speak, and my dad gently pressed her hand down.

She looked at the run sheet, then at Arnold.

The light in her eyes dimmed, little by little.

The cash gift she'd prepared for today was still in her handbag, bulging out one corner of it.

But no one there asked the bride's parents whether they wanted to confirm anything.

Arnold just tilted his head to remind me.

"Smile."

I looked at the camera.

Lucinda stood off-camera and flipped the run sheet to the next page.

Her thumb pressed down on the line that read Exchange of Rings.

The shutter clicked.

I heard the relatives praising her quietly beside me.

"Lucinda really keeps things steady."

"If it weren't for her, this whole thing would've fallen apart already."

Arnold's mother heard it and didn't deny it.

She just lowered her head and adjusted her corsage.

The corsage Lucinda had pinned on her a moment ago.

The flower on my mom's chest was a little crooked.

No one went to fix it.

I reached over and straightened it for her.

She held my hand; her fingertips were cold.

My parents sat off to the side.

Arnold's parents sat in the middle.

Lucinda wasn't in the photo, yet she held everyone's next move in her hands.

Once the group photo was done, Arnold glanced down at his watch.

"We still have the ring segment to get through."

The relatives nearby immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

"Good, as long as it can keep going."

"That was terrifying. I really thought it was going to break up."

No one looked at my parents anymore.

My mom raised a hand to straighten her collar, then slowly lowered it again.

She'd worn a new cheongsam specially for today, and she'd been placed at the very edge of the frame.

Yet the run sheet in Lucinda's hands kept being passed in front of everyone, over and over.

The wedding planner came over with a pen.

"Should we confirm these few spots?"

He looked to Lucinda first.

Lucinda took the pen, then handed it to Arnold.

Arnold gave it a glance.

"This is fine."

That pen was never passed to me.

It wasn't passed to my parents either.

I stood where I was.

I looked at the tray at the end of the red carpet.

One more step onto the stage, and I'd be stepping back into the spot only after she'd finished arranging it.

Arnold had already walked ahead.

Lucinda held the run sheet, standing in the spot closest to the main table.

She turned the run sheet to the next page.

The emcee glanced at her before raising the microphone again.

My mom's cash gift was still tucked in her bag.

No one asked her anymore whether she wanted to change the plan.

Arnold turned back and hurried me along.

"Sybilla."

"The ring segment can't be put off any longer."

I let go of my mom's hand and walked up to the stage.

Behind me, someone breathed a sigh of relief.

"There we go."

"A young girl can throw her little fit, but she should know where the line is."