Carol Delgado and I had planned an island wedding, and we'd agreed to bring both sets of parents along.

The day we were supposed to leave, I waited a long time at the airport.

What I got instead was Carol showing up with her childhood friend Harry Weiss and his whole family, plus seven or eight of his relatives.

Every one of them had a boarding pass in hand.

Everyone except my parents.

I asked Carol, "Where are my mom and dad?"

She was pushing a suitcase for Harry's mother and didn't even look up.

"There weren't enough plane tickets."

"I booked them coach seats on the train."

Over thirty hours in a hard seat.

Then a transfer to a bus, then a ferry.

But my dad had just had spinal surgery, and my mom got motion sick. Two hours in a car and she'd throw up.

My voice was shaking. "Then why does every one of Harry's relatives have a ticket?"

Carol frowned.

"Harry's parents are getting on in years. They can't take that kind of wear and tear."

"Besides, his relatives were all last-minute additions. We can't just make them come out here for nothing."

My phone rang then.

Her voice on the other end was careful, cautious, like she was afraid of being a burden to me.

"Tom Gilbertmy, it's just that the two of us have never flown before. We were afraid we'd embarrass you."

"The train's just fine. You sit a while and before you know it you're there."

My nose stung. Before I could say anything, I heard my dad in the background, smothering a cough.

He seemed afraid I'd hear it, and quickly dropped his voice.

"Don't tell the boy. It's his wedding, a happy day. Don't make him worry."

In that moment, I looked at the lively crowd of people clustered around Carol.

And all at once I felt there was no reason to go through with this wedding.

——

Harry came over then, his face uneasy.

"Tom, don't blame Carol."

"How about I have my aunt give up her ticket?"

He paused, then added in a small voice,

"It's just that it's my aunt's first time going to the island. She's been looking forward to it for so long."

Carol immediately patted the back of his hand.

"What does any of this have to do with you? I'm the one who arranged the tickets."

She turned to look at me, her tone already edged with impatience.

"Harry's relatives are already here at the airport."

"We can't just make them come out for nothing."

Someone nearby laughed under their breath.

"Country folks are probably more comfortable on a train anyway."

"There are so many rules on a plane. Wouldn't want them making fools of themselves."

Carol clearly heard it.

But all she said was, "They didn't mean anything by it."

"It's a happy day. Don't be so sensitive."

I stared at her.

"My dad just had spinal surgery. My mom gets carsick."

"And you're sending them to my wedding on the island by train?"

Carol's brow creased.

"Don't make it sound so dire."

"Your parents are used to being frugal. They won't mind taking the train."

"Besides, I already sent them the route. They transfer to a bus and a ferry when they arrive. It's very convenient."

She said it so easily.

But the second I pictured my dad's back that couldn't bend, my mom's face going white the moment a vehicle started moving, something clamped down hard on my chest.

My phone rang right then.

It was my mom.

It was loud on her end, train station announcements bleeding through.

Her voice was careful.

"Tommy, we're on board now."

"The train's nice. Don't worry."

My throat closed up in an instant.

"Mom, get off the train right now."

"I'll book you both plane tickets again."

My mom said hurriedly,

"No, no, don't go wasting money."

"Our daughter-in-law arranged everything just fine."

"I've never flown before. I was afraid I'd embarrass you."

My dad's muffled cough came through beside her.

As if he was afraid I'd hear it, he quickly said,

"Don't tell the boy."

“It's a happy day. Don't let him worry.”

My throat closed up.

“Dad, does your back hurt?”

My father let out two quick laughs. “It doesn't hurt. Don't worry, not one bit.”

But the next second, someone on the other end of the line shouted impatiently.:

“Hey, old man, can you stop blocking the aisle?”

My mother rushed to apologize.

“Sorry, so sorry, his back's bad, he's a little slow.”

The hand holding my phone tightened, little by little.

I could almost picture them.

My father, one hand braced on a seat, unable to straighten his back.

My mother, guarding the luggage with one arm while apologizing to everyone around her.

Neither of them had ever been on a plane in their lives.

Yet before this trip, they'd been as excited as two kids.

Two weeks ago, I'd gone home to get our household papers.

My father was standing in front of the mirror, trying on a suit.

He'd saved a month's pay to buy it, said he couldn't embarrass me at the wedding.

The cuffs ran too long, and the shoulders didn't fit right.

But he still smiled and asked me.:

“Tommy, will I make you lose face, showing up on the island like this?”

My mother was packing the dried fish, pickled radish, and peanut brittle into the suitcase, bag by bag.

“It's our first time meeting that many of the in-laws' relatives. We can't show up empty-handed.”

“Your bride treats you well. We have to mind our manners too.”

Back then I'd laughed at how seriously they took it.

I said. “Carol's got everything arranged. Just stick with me.”

When my mother heard that, her eyes lit right up.

The next day she told everyone she ran into.:

“My son's getting married on an island.”

“His bride says she's flying us out there.”

But now.

They weren't on a plane.

They didn't even have a boarding pass to their name.

On the other end of the line, my mother was still carefully coaxing me.

On the phone, my mother was still coaxing me.

“Tommy, don't be angry.”

“Your bride's busy with work. Arranging for that many people isn't easy.”

“The two of us taking the train, we even save a little money.”

I closed my eyes for a moment.

“Mom, get off the train.”

“This wedding, I'm calling it off.”

My mother was terrified.

“Don't say something so foolish.”

“The train's really fine for us. Don't be stubborn.”

But I couldn't listen anymore.

After I hung up, I turned and headed for the exit.

Carol grabbed my arm.

“Where are you going?”

“To go get my parents.”

Her face darkened.

“We're boarding any minute. If you leave, what happens to the wedding?”

I looked at her.

“My parents won't even be there. What wedding is there to have?”

Harry's mother gave a soft little cough.

Carol let go of me at once, turning to drape her coat over the woman's shoulders.

“Ma'am, is the air conditioning too cold?”

The motion was practiced, attentive.

I stood where I was, and suddenly even confronting her felt pointless.

So it turned out she knew elderly people were frail and couldn't be put through hardship.

She knew too that elders needed to be looked after.

It was only that all this thoughtfulness.

Never once reached my parents.

Carol turned back, her tone impatient.

“Tom, stop making a scene.”

“I've already arranged everything for your parents.”

I gently pulled my hand free.

A coach seat for over thirty hours.

A route that meant switching to a bus, then a boat.

And my parents covering for her with their careful dignity the whole way.

This was her arrangement.

I was about to leave the airport when my phone rang again.

My mother, still.

This time, her voice was even more frightened than before.

“Tommy……it looks like we can't take the train after all.”

My heart dropped hard.

“What do you mean, you can't take the train?”

The line was loud on the other end, threaded with the impatient voice of a train attendant.

My mother kept her voice low, like she was afraid of being overheard.

"They're saying the tickets are wrong."

"They said these are yesterday's tickets, that we can't ride today."

"They've already made us get off."

My head went blank with a roar.

Carol had said she'd taken care of everything.

So this was what "taken care of" meant. She'd bought my parents two expired coach tickets.

I gripped my phone tighter.

"Mom, where are you right now?"

My mother said quickly,

"Tommy, don't blame your daughter-in-law."

"She had so many people to arrange for. A slip-up in all that chaos is only normal."

Beside her I heard my father swallowing back a cough.

"We'll just wait here at the station for a bit."

"It's no trouble."

"Don't let it hold up your boarding."

They'd been kicked off the train.

They were standing in some unfamiliar station.

And still they were making excuses for Carol.

My chest went tight. I turned to face her.

"You bought my parents yesterday's tickets?"

Carol's expression shifted, just barely.

"What?"

I held the phone out in front of her.

"They got thrown off the train."

"Is this what you meant by 'taken care of'?"

Carol finally frowned.

It was like the trouble was only now registering with her.

"The assistant must have made a mistake when booking."

"Don't panic just yet."

She lifted her own phone and made a call.

"I'll have my assistant go pick up your parents."

"Let's not fly today after all."

"We'll rebook and all go together tomorrow."

She spoke fast, her tone softening a little.

Like she was handling some minor, temporary incident.

But watching her, my heart went cold by degrees.

If I hadn't kept pressing.

If my mother hadn't called.

Would my parents have been left in that train station, clutching their luggage, waiting until dark?

Harry came over just then, his face uneasy.

"It's my fault."

"If my relatives hadn't added people at the last minute, your parents wouldn't have gotten bumped off their flight."

He went on, his voice dropping lower.

"It's just, this is my parents' first trip far from home. I was worried there'd be no one to look after them."

Carol's eyes snapped to him at once.

"How is any of this your fault?"

"Don't take everything on yourself."

Watching her shield Harry like that, a sense of absurdity washed over me.

My parents had been sold the wrong tickets and dragged off the train.

Her first reaction was that it was a nuisance.

Harry's face went a little pale.

And she ached for him at once, as if he were the one who'd been terribly wronged.

A little over half an hour later, the assistant brought my parents to the airport.

The moment my mother spotted me, she hurried to hide the plastic bag in her hand behind her back.

Inside was the peanut brittle she'd made to bring to the island.

She must have been jostled on the platform, because the bag had split open, the brittle cracked into pieces, sticking to the clear plastic.

My father had a hand braced at his back, his face frighteningly pale.

Yet the first thing he said when he saw Carol was,

"Carol, sorry to have caused you so much trouble."

"It was us old folks not reading the tickets right."

My nose stung.

"Dad."

But Carol only lowered her head to glance at her watch.

"Good thing it didn't hold us up too long."

My mother held out the broken plastic bag, her smile careful.

"Carol, this is peanut brittle I made myself."

"And a little dried fish, for the in-laws."

"It's my first time meeting all those relatives on your side. I couldn't show up empty-handed."

Carol lowered her eyes and took one look.

Her brow creased, almost on reflex.

"Ma'am, the island resort provides all the meals."