"Kate Wilhelm - Happiest Day Of Her Life" - читать интересную книгу автора (Wilhelm Kate)

events. Near the bottom of the list the announcement of her wedding party, to be held in the Blue Heron
Room. At least that part was okay, she decided, and continued toward the information counter.

The clerk at the counter called Mr. Warner, who would be out in just a minute.

Leaning against the counter, waiting, she watched the railroad buffs setting up a maze of tracks complete
with tunnels, bridges, switching yards. A lot of onlookers were calling out encouragement,, giving advice,
heckling.... And up on the mezzanine another group of spectators was laughing, pointing, nudging one
another. The computer people, she thought; their meeting rooms were all on the mezzanine level. They
looked very young for the most part, dressed in jeans, sweatshirts, with too-long hair.... Stereotypes all,
she mocked herself. Then she noticed that one of the upper-level spectators was gazing fixedly at
something other than the trains, something that held him with rapt attention, apparently. She turned to see
what it was and was shocked to see the lab technician whose day she had ruined talking to the old bald
man near the bulletin board.

The older man was red-faced, furious looking; the other man more abject, more miserable than before,
his head ducked, hands twitching at his sides, not saying a word. Abruptly the bald man turned and
stalked away; the young man followed, keeping a few steps behind him.

Reba looked again at the mezzanine, but now the rail was just packed with the young jeans-clad men.
The one who had been watching the little scene at the bulletin board was out of sight.

Then Mr. Warner appeared from his office and he held her hand with both of his and called her my dear.
Of course, it was no problem to seat two additional people, he reassured her. She gave him the names to
put on the new place cards,

Sonya and Robert Zucker, and if she had left it at that, she would have been done with it in five minutes,
but she added that Mrs. Zucker was her mother.
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"Oh dear! We'll have to rearrange the entire seating plan!"

"No, we won't, lust put Mother down at Dr. Gilford's right, and Mr. Zucker at her side, and leave the
rest alone."

"No, no, my dear. It's customary to have the mother of the bride-to-be at one end of the table, and the
father of the groom-to-be at the other end. And of course the happy couple side by side in the center
with the bride-to-be closer to her mother."

Very carefully she said, "I don't want my mother to take my aunt's place at the head of the table. I don't
care what is customary." The wedding party was for the immediate families, the attendants, and, of
course, the bride and groom, twenty-two in all now. She wanted the New Guy as far away from her as
possible.

"But the arrangements, the flowers, the little special things that make it so very unique. Think of the
photographs, your keepsakes.... Think how it would look if you didn't honor your mother by letting her
have her proper place."