Nice Day. For A. White Wedding.

Since she didn’t know how to respond, Rachel sat quietly as the bus continued down its path. She knew what most girls thought about marriage, but she never met anyone this predisposed to it at such a young age. If propriety permitted, she would lean across the aisle and shake this girl into a better frame of mind.

For Brenda, she wasn’t sure why this girl was sitting across from her and just staring; all she said was that she wanted to have a wedding as soon as possible. She already had everything planned, the pale yellow bridesmaid dresses her cousins would wear, the way the sun would hit the flower arch, the five tier fondant cake, everything. It was already prepared inside her head. Didn’t everyone think about this?

“So, have you met anyone that you would want to marry?” Rachel asked. “Is that why you are so...excited?”

“Oh no, no,” Brenda said quickly, “No I haven’t really thought about that part, just the wedding.”

“Oh, yeah?”

Rachel couldn’t believe that this topic had arisen from casually asking an acquaintance what her major was. Brenda and Rachel knew each other from a class they had taken together last semester, and were attempting to get to know each other more on a mid-day crowded shuttle ride.

Brenda continued to sit with a smile on her face and, with her thumb, caressed the gold ring that she wore on her left ring finger. At that feeling, her wide smiled lessened into a thoughtful look.

“Nice ring,” Rachel said as she shielded her eyes from the glare.

“Oh, thanks,” Brenda said and held out her hand to Rachel. “It’s my promise ring. My dad always gives us girls one before we start high school.”

“Aren’t promise rings usually given from a boy to a girl, promising that they’ll be engaged someday?” asked Rachel.

“No, I don’t know, maybe,” Brenda said. “This is from my dad; he’s given them to me and my two sisters in a promise that we’ll save everything for when we’re married. It looks just like our mother’s wedding ring.”

Brenda pulls her hand back to look at the ring close-up.

“I hope to continue to the tradition when I morally raise my children.”

Rachel’s curiosity made her brave.

“Do you really need a ring to keep that promise?” Rachel asked Brenda.

Brenda’s eyes shoot up to look at Rachel, at which point she immediately slips her hand under her arm.

“It’s not like it’s for keeps, I’m not planning on wearing it forever.”

Rachel nodded but couldn’t help smiling at the awkward thought of Brenda having to return the ring to her father the day after the wedding, if that’s how those things work.

Brenda has worn the ring for five years. Each time, a man would show any interest in her and just act like a guy; she would squeeze her left hand and caress her ring.

She never got close to any man. Physical attraction scared her because she knew where it could lead to. Boyfriends were for girls who needed that kind of attention. Brenda could wait, wait until that one, perfect man who was made for her would come into her life and then all her hopes would come true.

Rachel thought back to Brenda’s original answer as to what her major was. It was a common form of small talk that she reserved for things like shuttle rides. “Oh I don’t have a major; I just take classes that will benefit my future husband and children.”

However, it was the way Brenda smiled proudly after she said that was what bothered Rachel the most. She then thought back to her mom, who had been emotionally abused by her father, who taught her that marriage isn’t the answer for everything and that supporting yourself first is most important.

Rachel also came from a big city where most people she knew didn’t think about marriage until their early thirties, if they got married at all. However, by the time she had gotten to her sophomore year of college, this small town has taught her not to voice her negative opinions too much when it comes to marrying young.

“So, what else do you want to do besides get married?” Rachel asked Brenda.

“Oh, have children. Of course, have a lot of children,” Brenda said, “At least six, three boys and three girls, and I have all of their names picked out.”

Brenda smiles at the thought of having a large family. She herself grew up with two brothers in addition to her sisters. Her parents used to fill her head with ideas for the future. As they planted their garden together, they would tell her how beautiful it would be for her wedding.

She couldn’t wait to see it decorated like they had planned, to see it how it looks inside her head. To walk down the aisle on her dad’s arm, her ring gleaming in the sunlight. She would look and see her mother smiling and all eyes would be on her. Then she would spend her time raising a family like you’re supposed to.

“What if you end up having less than six kids? Or what if you have four boys and two girls?”

“Why would I have less than six children if that’s what I want?” Brenda asked plainly.

“Well, I mean, realistically what if it just doesn’t, or maybe can’t, happen? I mean you can still have a happy family without lots of kids,” Rachel said.

Rachel herself was an only child despite her parent’s best efforts. Rachel couldn’t help but feel a little sad as she remembered the sounds of shouts and screams that were a constant flow of her parent’s company. Mostly they would hurl accusations at each other.

Her mother would say that things like this happen and he was being an ass about it. He would say that the real ass was her, that he was swindled in taking her as a wife since she could only produce one child. Not that her mom wanted anymore children with her dad anyway. Once her father came upon her mom’s birth control pills, it took everything Rachel had to keep him from getting at her mom.

“No, believe me, large families are the happiest; and marriage is a beautiful, wonderful thing, Rachel,” Brenda said. “Don’t be so pessimistic about it. Besides, you don’t want to end up alone, do you?”

“Maybe,” Rachel said and turned to look adamantly out the window.