There were green fields, soft sunlight, and laughter coming from the barn on our wedding day. It was everything we could have hoped for. It smelled like daisies on the wind for a while, and it felt like something from a movie. But Jenna, my sister-in-law, was like a cloud in the sky that wouldn’t go away.
Jenna made her dislike known as soon as the bridal group got together. She squinted at the sun as if it were bothering her, yanked at her dress, and mumbled something about how it stuck to the wrong places. When the photographer tried to get everyone together for a group picture, she glared at herself in the mirror and said, “Great.” “I look like I put my finger in a hole.”
Nine, my wife, tried to calm her down. As she smiled through what must have felt like grit, she gave her a water bottle and brushed back a loose hair. I knew Jenna had mood swings in the past, but seeing her sulk and sneer at us on our wedding day made it even worse. Nina still found a reason: “She gets nervous in crowds.” I didn’t want to say that thirty people wasn’t really a stadium.
During the day, Jenna hung out on the edge of every picture, unwilling to take part. The photographer tried her best to get pictures of Nina and her sister, but Jenna’s sneers, eye rolls, and fake smiles were hard to miss. Nina smiled the whole time and pretended not to notice the jabs and bad mood. Jenna was picked to be a bridesmaid so that she could get back in touch with her. I could tell she still wanted things to go well.
Nina and I were curled up on the couch with a glass of wine and memories of the happiness when the pictures finally arrived weeks later. There were real moments, sun-drenched hugs, and laughter that seemed to have been frozen in time in the room. Nina sent the link to the wedding party and told them we’d make some posts on social media.
That’s when angry Jenna called. “You let the photographer take a picture of me looking like THAT?” Delete every picture of me, or I’ll ruin you both!” She said mean things about her hair, dress, and face during her rant. Nina tried to make her calm down, but Jenna wouldn’t listen.
Nina was almost in tears when the call ended quickly. That was so hard for her, and now she felt like she was being punished for it.
I made up my mind later that night, while Nina slept. If Jenna didn’t want to be in the pictures, I would let her. I stayed up late and carefully cut her out of all the pictures. It wasn’t hard for her because she was always on the edge. When I was done, I put our best pictures on Facebook without Jenna.
My phone lit up the next day. Jenna once more. This time, she was very angry that we took her out of the pictures. She yelled, “You erased me like I wasn’t there!” I quietly told her that was exactly what she had asked for. She hung up when she didn’t hear back.
Natasha was shocked when I told her what had happened, but then she laughed. It was the kind of laugh that comes from finally breaking a bad loop, not a happy laugh. “You stood up to her,” she said with tears in her eyes. “Maybe that was what had to happen.”
The damage was done quickly. Jenna broke off the talk. Nina’s parents added their voice with guilty words about forgiving and sticking together as a family. Nina didn’t bend, though. She got a little taller every day. She finally said it out loud one night while folding laundry: “I should have stopped protecting her years ago.” It’s wearing me out.
She didn’t have to do it anymore, I told her. In the quiet, she leaned in close to me and said, “Thank you.”
It felt like we could both breathe for the first time in a long time. Oh, and the wedding pics? They were beautiful, just like the day we had.