Amy and Ronald had consummated their relationship a year ago. Parents on both sides invested well and threw a fancy wedding. The boys were the only children of their parents, and so both families decided that the wedding should be top notch. The young couple’s suggestion of gathering their friends after the wedding for a shish kebab was not even considered by their parents, as their mothers dreamed of a wedding, a white dress, and a registry office.
The bride and groom realized that they could not do without a banquet, so they began to prepare the wedding with all the responsibility. There was a lot to do: to make manicure, makeup, to grow eyelashes, to buy a dress and a suit, as well as a whole bunch of important little things. My parents decided that they would cover all the expenses except for the bride’s dress and the groom’s suit. The parents booked the swankiest restaurant in town, a bouquet was chosen for the bride, and the cake was to be baked by a friend of the groom’s mother with extensive pastry experience.
The parents carefully worked out the guest list, as they wanted to invite all the relatives, even those with whom they did not actually communicate. Parents argued their choice of guests by saying that they are from the rich, and therefore can give a good gift, and the money they give you for the wedding you will collect and buy a car or set aside for an apartment. After fierce debate it was decided not to invite very distant relatives, and some of the relatives, coming up with plausible excuses, withdrew. In the end, the guest list consisted mostly, as the young couple had originally planned, of their friends.
On the day of Amy and Ronald’s wedding the weather was perfect, even though the weather forecast promised some rain in the morning. Amy looked gorgeous in a gorgeous silk dress embellished with delicate lace. Ronald’s fiancée was simply enchanting, and he couldn’t take his eyes off her all day. The whole day was filled with happy troubles – the photographer with commendable zeal tried to work off his fee and clicked his mirror photo camera tirelessly, by dinner it was getting hot, and all the guests could not wait to be invited to the banquet at the restaurant.
After the photo session was over, the young couple got into a snow-white limousine and went to the restaurant. The champagne and congratulations poured like a full-flowing river. Gradually it was time for presents: the master of ceremonies went around with a chest of guests one by one and gathered previously prepared envelopes with money and presents. The young people have warned all the guests beforehand, that they gave only money, but several guests of retirement age could not refrain and gave a blanket and a tea set.
The three-tiered cake amazed even the most sophisticated guests with its elegance and beauty, it was decorated with luxurious lace, cream flowers and pearls. The wedding was chic. Only by nightfall the tired guests began to disperse to their homes, and the young couple went to a pre-booked hotel room.
When the young couple arrived the next morning to celebrate the second day, their mother informed Amy that one of the envelopes was empty. Then she said that the envelope had been given as a gift by the young one’s close friend, Sarah. Finding out who had given the empty envelope was easy, because unlike the others it was unsigned. After this message, Amy felt so nasty in the shower that she even started to feel nauseous.
The situation was exacerbated by the fact that before the wedding, Sarah argued that now is not customary to give the young people for the wedding of less than five thousand and promised that be sure to support her friend with money.
Not even a year later, Sarah herself became a bride and invited Amy and her husband to her wedding. She immediately warned her friend to give her money, because the young couple hoped that the money she gave them would more than cover their wedding expenses. The couple began to decide what they should do! Amy suggested that her husband give her an empty envelope, just as her friend had done. Her husband suggested giving her more than she needed, to make the rascal feel ashamed. And her mother advised Amy to put in an envelope the minimum amount, because she then told her friend nothing about what she knows about her trickery, and therefore there is nothing to revenge her because of it now. Her friend’s wedding is coming up, and Amy can’t decide for herself what to do.
