When I saw the photo that appeared in the family chat room, I couldn’t believe my eyes. My mother-in-law, Dorina, was glowing in her wedding dress – with veil, bouquet, everything as it should be. I nearly dropped my phone. At 70, she’s getting married? And to someone she only met a few months ago in a nursing home? Is this some kind of midlife crisis?
‘Can you believe it?’ – I muttered to my husband, Igor, holding out my phone to him.
He glanced at the screen and shrugged. ‘So what, her happiness.’
‘Her happiness?’ – I interjected, not believing my ears. ‘She’s seventy, Igor, seventy! Isn’t that… ridiculous? And where’s the money for the wedding coming from? Shouldn’t she be saving for grandchildren?’
Igor frowned but didn’t answer, focusing again on the match he was watching. That only added to my annoyance.
The next morning I was still seething, leafing through the chat room. More and more pictures of Dorina and her fiancé, Fyodor, filled the feed. They were holding hands, laughing, trying on matching trainers in some shopping centre.
I couldn’t shake the thought that it was absurd. A wedding? At her age? It seemed…wasteful. Shouldn’t she be thinking about her health or spending time with her family instead of bouncing around in a wedding dress?
I decided to complain to my sister, Carina.
‘Can you imagine Dorina getting married at seventy?’ – I blurted out, pacing around the kitchen with my phone in hand. ‘She’s going to have a whole wedding! You could do something modest if you absolutely had to, but no, she wants to have a real event.’
‘Why are you so worried?’ – Carina asked. ‘Honestly, I think it’s sweet. Everyone needs to be happy, no matter what age they are.’
‘Nice?’ – I snorted. ‘It’s a disgrace! Imagine her walking down the aisle in a puffy white dress like some 20-year-old bride. It’s excruciating!’
Carina sighed. ‘Or maybe it’s brave? Do you know how many people her age just exist rather than live? If she’s found someone who makes her happy, isn’t that worth celebrating?’
Her words made me think, but I wasn’t ready to give up my outrage just yet.
Later that week, Igor asked me to go with him to Doreena’s nursing home. There was a small engagement party going on there, and he wanted me to go with him. I reluctantly agreed, already imagining the awkward speeches and Dorina’s overly enthusiastic behaviour.
