"What stone?"
"The stone that Grandpa left me." Jen glanced at the bed again as if tempted to continue her search. Inside, however, she knew it was useless.
"Grandpa left you a stone?"
Jen hesitated. "I-I think so. It may have changed things so I never got it."
"You're not making any sense, Jen, and it's starting to scare me. To be honest, you're in no condition to get married. Until we can figure this out, I think you should postpone the wedding. I only hope Martin won't be too upset."
"Martin?"
Jessica blinked. "You know. Martin, the man you're going to marry. Don't you remember?"
"I know who Martin is, but he's your fiancé, not mine. You're the one he's supposed to be marrying. In fact, I'm not even old enough to get married. I'm only sixteen!"
Jessica shook her head, trying to fight her own panic. "Don't be silly. You're eighteen."
"Eighteen!" Jen gasped.
"And as for me marrying Martin, that's just impossible. Martin and I have no feelings for each other. Sure, we went out a couple of times, but then you caught his eye. After that, it was clear you two were meant for each other. I would never dream of coming between you two."
Jen felt dizzy. "Oh, Jess. I-I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I never meant to do this to you. I-"
Just then, Zoe returned. "I told them. Mom's absolutely livid, of course."
"There's no helping that. Jen's still incoherent." Jessica observed that neither parent had shown up. "Where's Mom and Dad?"
"They're keeping the guests occupied and trying to stall. It was Martin's suggestion."
"Wait. You told Martin?"
Zoe rolled her eyes. "Uh, yeah. Why wouldn't I? He's the groom and all."
"Whatever, it's fine. How's he taking this?"
The youngest sister shrugged. "Okay, I guess. He's on his way here."
On cue, someone knocked on the door, and Zoe opened it. Martin entered, looking understandably worried but collected overall. Normally, Jessica would have scolded him for coming to see his bride on the morning of, but circumstances seemed to have thrown all propriety out the window. She noticed, briefly, that having his own wedding disrupted had not dampened his good looks. It seemed, for as long as she had known him, that he never had a hair out of place regardless of the situation.
Like a prince rescuing his maiden, he rushed over to Jen and knelt by her side. "Jen, darling, what's wrong?"
Instinctively, Jessica backed away to give the lovebirds their space. Meanwhile, Jen found herself having to talk to her sister's former fiancé. What could she say to him?
