My Day by Rhona Gorringe
But, but…Melissa This is an explosive pink, not my colour. It clashes with my hair and I’ve just had it done. Ryan said it made me look like a femme fatale from the forties, you know Rita Hayworth or Katharine Hepburn.
Steph, you’re being dramatic, it’s not a exploding pink, more a muted… Umm, I know, Raspberry Sorbet. But what about this one, Sugared Fuschia? After all, as you’re only maid of honour it won’t really matter that you’re not the same as the little ones, you know, Henry’s children. Mummy’s been colour co-ordinating the flowers since the Autumn for this, My Big Day. We can’t possibly let her down at this late stage. Lawrence agrees. You’re my big sister and I want to share this day with you.
You weren’t this fussy at Uni. We swapped clothes, cribbed homeworks, made excuses to spotty-faced boyfriends and held hands and heads over bowls when it was a case of too much Chardonnay. Strangely enough, it might surprise you that these days my life does not revolve around your wedding day. I’ve had to change holiday dates and rebook Merlin into the kennels. What’s brought on this change?
Mummy’s got a new outfit and doesn’t think there would be enough contrast between her outfit and your dress. You might even be mistaken for Mother of the Bride!
That’s not very complimentary and stop laughing! This colour will make my bottom look twice as large and I don’t want Henry’s snide remarks about ‘bringing up the rear’.
Rubbish! but I’ll spot you when I throw the bouquet. I want you to catch it, you’re my big sister after all. By the way, Great Aunt Beatrice is coming with her guide dog, I thought you would like to keep an eye on her and Caesar. Make sure the little ones don’t get him over excited. Lawrence agrees, too.
Melissa, you know I love dogs but Raspberry Sorbet, Sugared Fuschia or not, I do not want a slobbering, slavering mutt with smelly breath around me. I am very fond of Great Aunt B and the dog but with everything else that’s going on and the other duties you expect me to cope with I’m not sure I can take on anything else. I don’t mind Henry’s children and being a taxi for Aunt Muriel and Uncle Albert and any other remaining Root Vegetables you and Mummy have dug up but Aunt B and Caesar as well is too much.
C’mon, Steph, don’t be so mean. We’re family. All those scrapes you got me out of at college. The Dean was right when he said “a very capable person, your sister.” and Lawrence agrees. You know I’d do the same for you when your day might come. After all, this is My Day!
You can wheedle all you like. You’d think this was a ceremonial pageant all the fuss and planning. I’ll think about it.
Yes, but it is My Day.
Convincingly sisterly chat.
Ah a Bridezilla meeting a mountain of resentment, a great setting for a showdown. Weddings are always a great setting for anger and family roles to be laid bare. And because it was pure dialogue it read well.
Simon says: I like the fact that the dialogue is allowed to speak for itself, unsupported by ‘she said’s. And what the two sisters say is very believable. On the surface they are friendly, and yet one gets the feeling of deep-rooted resentments. Melissa has the sense of selfish entitlement which is common to many brides. As the title says, for her the forthcoming wedding is going to be ‘My Day’ – and heaven help the person who tries to change how I want it to be! The way she undermines Steph is subtle. The unspoken truth is that Melissa is ecstatic to be getting married before her elder sister. The suggestion that Steph might be mistaken for the Mother of the Bride is very bitchy, and Melissa’s insistence that she must be the one to catch the bouquet is frankly patronising. So is the recollection that, at university, the Dean described Steph as ‘a very capable person’ – was there ever a more diminishing compliment? The piece cleverly describes the way that roles within a family get fixed at a very early age. Melissa has always been seen as the more glamorous sister, whereas Steph was cast as the dogsbody who would sort out inconvenient details. And, though she raises objections to the role, that is the one she will continue to fill on her younger sister’s Big Day.