“Why? Is Rosemary pregnant?” I asked Bob when he called and invited me to his wedding. Rosemary and Bob had been living together for ten years. There was rumor about them getting married five years ago. They denied it and we all felt stupid to have helped spread the rumor. This time it sounded real as the word came straight out of the horse’s mouth.

“No, she is not pregnant. Just that Rosemary’s mother won this Christmas lucky draw and the first prize was this wedding reception,” Bob explained.

“You’re sure this is not a scheme?” Bob and I went to high school together and could tolerate all levels of rudeness from each other.

“Why does it matter, as long as I’m not paying?” Bob had always opined that marriage was a waste of human emotions and weddings were insults to men’s intelligence and hard-earned savings.

On the wedding day, Rosemary looked great, and the slimmest she had been in ten years. She had the high cheeks of make-up models. She would easily qualify and even win a weight loss contest. Her girl friends were so jealous that only one person commented on her weight loss. When Bob kissed the bride, the girl friends couldn’t help weeping in joy for her. Ivy and Joan, in particular, having always known about Rosemary’s dream of getting married and disappointment, cried loud and long. Their make-up was trashed, but they could not stop those tears running down like rain. Beth, my ten year old daughter, whispered to me, “Daddy, why are they crying like that? Are they all right?”

“They sure are all right, Honey. They are just so happy that this is really happening.”

The rest of the wedding reception went very well indeed, except that I could notice Bob looking a little uneasy whenever he was not talking to his guests. I got close to him, thumped his chest gently and asked him with a wicked smile, “so, is it as bad as you thought?”

Bob pretended to be upset, “I thought I had come prepared, but this is really bad. Really bad, pal.”

Later that day, Bob made a short but touching speech thanking his bride, the bride’s parents and his own parents. I thought he was exceptionally serious and solemn for the care-free guy I’d known for thirty years. “Weddings are unbelievable mood enhancers,” I said to myself.