Why Did You Bring Your Son to the Wedding? We Didn’t Invite Children!

Why did you bring your lad to the wedding? We didnt ask for any children!

My boy, Tom, is nine years oldcheerful and calm as a summers day. Not long ago my sister, Eleanor, was to be married in a little village hall near York. The invitations plainly stated the event would be adults only. I didnt agree with that rule, but I had arranged with a friend, Molly, to watch Tom while the ceremony went on.

The night before the wedding, Molly rang me in a panic, saying she felt ill. She kept apologising, wondering whether it was her fault for leaving me in the lurch. I tried to soothe her and then sat in the kitchen, turning the matter over in my mind. Tom was already fast asleep, and the next morning the wedding would begin. What was I to do? I resolved to take Tom with me to the reception. Would my sister throw out her own nephew?

Thomas, my brotherinlaw, is a welloff man, so the wedding was bound to be a grand affair. Eleanor was a bundle of nerves in the days leading up to the big day, and I hadnt told her that Tom would be in tow. When she spotted the boy, her expression shifted instantly. She went pink with fury and shouted:

Why have you brought your son to the wedding? We never invited children! Youve ruined everything!

I was mortified. Tom stood there, bewildered, having no idea what all the commotion was about. And honestly, why make such a fuss? Yet, as it turned out, this was only the beginning.

Its his right to be here. Where he goes is his own business, Thomas declared.

I was taken aback. Eleanor refused even to hear an explanation. I tried to reason, but it fell on deaf ears.

In a flash of anger I gathered Tom and left for home. Mother and father stayed at the celebration, though they scarcely seemed in the spirit for merriment. The festive atmosphere was thin.

Eleanor was offended and now expects an apology. I dont feel Im at fault. Her behaviour doesnt make her look good, especially now that shes about to become a mother herself. Should I ask her to forgive me? What would you have done in my place?