New to the Family

Wedding Night

 Jared made me stay in this wedding dress for dinner. He sat next to me at the dining room table. His hand was on top of my thigh. My leg was bouncing, and he squeezed my knee.

"Calm down, Leah," he whispered into my ear.

I stopped shaking when I saw Lindsay walk into the dining room. She was the only somewhat friendly face that I had in this house. She set a platter full of slices of a roast. She sat at the end of the table across from Gabe. Jenny was scratching her fingernail along the grooves in the wood. Theo was beside her and leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed over his chest.

Jared filled my plate and set it down in front of me. The rest of the family shovelled food onto their plates. I stared down at the food while my stomach twisted into a knot. I spun the ring around my finger under the table. The clang of forks against plates echoed through the room.

"You need to eat," Jared said.

"I'm not hungry," I said.

"It's not an option," he said. "You need to eat everything that is on that plate. You need to stay healthy."

"I don't -"

"Leah!" Jared picked up my fork and dropped it on the plate. "Just eat. Don't ruin tonight."

I let out a shaky breath as I reached out for the fork. I glanced up to see that the family was staring at me. I took a small bite of the mashed potatoes and then picked at the vegetable one by one.

The family was quiet. Whenever I looked up, Gabe or Theo were staring at me. Lindsay had to keep piling food onto a spoon and forcing it into Jenny's hand. Jenny's shaky hand would then bring the food up to her mouth.

I cut a piece of the meat off. The meat was tough. I raised my eyebrow when I held up the meat and looked at it.

"What is this?" I asked.

Jenny broke out into laughter. Her cackle was high pitched. She held onto her arms and rocked herself back and forth on the chair. Lindsay rubbed her back, and her eyes darted over to Gabe.

"Eat the meat," Gabe said.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Did Jared not already talk to you about asking questions?" he asked.

"I have," Jared said. "She is just not listening to me."

"I should have taught you better," Gabe said. "It seems like this day snuck up on it. Next thing I know it will be Theo's wedding."

"I won't be getting married for a while," Theo said.

Jared put his hand on my back, and he ran his hand down the veil. The bobby pins holding it in place pulled at my scalp.

Jenny stopped laughing, but she was still rocking in her seat. Her hands were covering her mouth, and strands of her grey hair was escaping from her braid. Lindsay stopped trying to calm her down, and continued eating her dinner.

"It's okay," Jared said. "Eat it."

I sniffed the meat, and it smelled like beef. I bit into it. The taste was sweet, but it reminded me of beef. I chewed the meat, and swallowed it. Jared leaned in, and kissed my cheek.

I finished eating the food on the plate as Jared talked to Theo. When I was finished, Jared grabbed my hand and pulled me up from the chair. I was tripping on the skirt of my dress as Jared pulled me behind him up the stairs and into his bedroom. He slammed the door shut before wrapping his arms around my waist. I put my hands on his chest to keep somewhat of a distance between us.