Chapter 8

"Mom!"

"How..what are you doing here? John asked stunned by Eve's presence.

"Hello Mrs. McBain," Evangeline smiled nervously extending her hand to Eve.

"You must be my new daughter in-law," Eve smiled sweetly giving Evangeline a hug and cutting John a sharp look. "Apparently, my ungrateful son didn't feel I needed to know he was married."

"How did you know I was here?" John cut in, trying to keep from getting a backhanded slap upside his head.

"I called her," Lisa replied, as she refilled Eve's coffee.

"But, how did you find her?" John wondered.

"I called your brother," Lisa smiled. "Now, there's a good son, Eve. He was so sweet about giving me your telephone number."

"Michael has always been honest with me, unlike some people," Eve replied rolling her eyes at John.

"I'm going to kill Michael!" he thought.

"Mom, how could you?" Evangeline asked, surprised by her mother's gumption.

"As a mother, I felt Eve had the right to know that we both had selfish and ungrateful children," Lisa replied defiantly. "She hopped on the Red Eye and I picked her up at the airport this morning."

"Mom, there's a reasonable explanation," John pleaded, trying to get his mother's attention.

"Lisa, did you know I was in labor with John for seventy-two excruciating hours," Eve replied, ignoring Johns pleas. "When he was nine years old, he wanted this blue Schwinn banana seat bike for Christmas. I worked overtime for a month in order to get him that bike. "Of course that's what any loving mother would do for her child."

"Girl, I know what you mean," Lisa shook her head in agreement. "I was in labor with Cookie for fifty-two gut wrenching hours. When I saw that beautiful face, every second of pain was worth it. Who would have thought, she would break my heart."

"Mom!"

"When Cookie was eleven, she broke her arm ice skating," Lisa continued. "She was so miserable and wanted me to stay home with her. So, I took three weeks off from work, without pay, to tend to my baby, because that's what any good mother would do for her child."

"Maybe they won't notice if we sneak out," John whispered to Evangeline, as he felt the walls starting to close in.

"Okay, let's go," she agreed.

"Are you two going somewhere?" Lisa and Eve asked in unison, daring John and Evangeline to make a move from the kitchen table.

"Well....um..no," they said, slowing sinking down in their seats.

"We didn't think so!"

Two hours passed before John and Evangeline finally cracked from their mother's guilt trip. "We're sorry!" they shouted.

"Did you hear something, Eve?" Lisa asked.

"I didn't hear a thing," Eve replied.

"We're truly sorry, that we hurt you. We'll do anything to make it up to you," they pleaded. "What can we do?"

"What do you think Lisa?" Eva asked, taking a bite from her muffin.

"Well, the ideal thing would be for the two of us to live long enough to see your children grow up and break your hearts," Lisa stated.

"I'd love to see that!" Eve exclaimed.

"But, since there's no guarantee we'll live that long, I suggest you give us our wedding," Lisa replied.

"I agree," Eve said.

John and Evangeline looked at each other and breathed a sigh of relief. Although neither wanted a big fancy wedding, they were more than willing to endure a small and intimate wedding with a the immediate family and a few friends.

"That sounds fine," John replied happily.

"Yeah, we could handle a nice small wedding," Evangeline added.

"Obviously, your not listening to us," Lisa interjected. "We want our wedding."

"What are you talking about?" they asked, looking at each other in confusion.

"What we mean, is that we want the wedding we always envisioned for our oldest children," Eve replied, pointing to Lisa.

"That's right!" Lisa said. "That means a big church wedding with all the bells and whistles and a huge reception."

"I think we should have a say in planning our wedding?" Evangeline stated defiantly. "I mean it is our wedding!"

"Yeah!" John said, supporting his wife.

Lisa was about to cut loose, when Eve held her back. "I've got this one Lisa," Eve replied, calmly turning to John and Evangeline.

Eve had a look in her eyes that John had only seen a few times. The look meant his mom was about to blow a gasket.

"When the two of you flew off to Las Vegas and got married in a hotel suite by Al Green, that was your wedding!" Eve laughed bitterly. "Do you have the right to have any kind of wedding that you want? Certainly. However, if you don't want to be disowned, you will give us our dream wedding."

With that said, John and Evangeline knew they were defeated. "All right," they agreed. "Do we have a say in anything?"

"You can choose the bridal party, their dresses, tuxes and the color scheme. But, you will be on call, when we pick out wedding dresses for you try on," Lisa stated.

"I can't choose my own wedding dress!" Evangeline exclaimed in disbelief. "Don't you think that's a little extreme?"

"No!" Lisa exclaimed, as Eve shook her head in agreement. "This isn't about what you and John want. It's about what you owe us. Case closed."

Evangeline turned to John who put his hands up in defeat. "Fine," Evangeline replied with resignation.

"Good. Now, everyone is out doing their own thing and Eve and I have a lot of errands to run. So the two of you will have the house to yourself until this evening," Lisa playfully replied. "Therefore, don't do anything in my kitchen, on the dining room table or on my living room furniture."

"Mom!" Evangeline shouted, as John blushed from Lisa's comment.

"What? You know what I'm talking about," she replied. "Just because I'm you're mother, doesn't mean I've forgotten what it's like to be passionately in love."

"Lisa, let's go!" Eve called from the dinning room.

"Coming!" Lisa called back. "You two have fun!"

"Well, I guess our three month rule is off," Evangeline shrugged shyly. "Do you have a problem with that, Mr. McBain?"

John smiled, pulling Evangeline into his arms. "I look forward to everyday of the rest of my life with you, Mrs. McBain."