The Wedding Gift - Chapter 1 - Paulina

A perfect wedding? Not in my case. It was nowhere near as I imagined it to be. And all that because of a stupid gift we got.

Harrison and I were never big on weddings. Especially Harrison, who didn’t care about having one at all. For all I know, he could’ve got married anywhere, be it a barn or a video call. We weren’t sure whether throwing a party was a good idea, but in the end, I, I mean, we decided to go for it, so one day we wouldn’t regret not having one at all. I mostly took it upon myself to plan everything—starting with the most important thing, like the venue, then the food, music, to the not-so-important ones, like flowers, renting a car, or booking classes for our first dance. I knew there’d always be a nitpicking aunt or a fussy friend with their unsolicited remarks on the food quality, poor music choice, or comments like Of all the dresses she could’ve picked… she chose that one? Yes, I did actually overhear it at my wedding reception. It didn’t bother me, though. I knew that most guests, the sane ones, wouldn’t be complaining and would rather focus on having fun and celebrating our special day instead.

It was never my dream to have a princess-like wedding with a venue the size of a castle, three hundred people dancing at my reception, and acrobats hanging from the ceiling. I wanted to keep it small and simple. That’s why we only invited our closest friends and family—around ninety people in total.

My parents paid for the wedding, even though we assured them we were perfectly fine with waiting an additional year or two to save up enough money and cover all the expenses ourselves. They were very persuasive, and we felt that it would be rude to say no. Besides, free money is free money.

My dad was the one who insisted on helping us out the most. I guess it’s because first, I’m an only child, and second, he owns a pretty successful software house, so I believe money is rarely the issue for him. When I was a child, I never felt we were poor. But we also hardly ever talk about money, and so I have no idea how wealthy he actually is. Children don’t care how much money their parents make as long as they are fed, get new clothes once in a while, and receive birthday gifts once a year.

Both of my parents work in tech, and so I decided to follow in their footsteps. I ended up studying software engineering, where I met Jack and Hannah, the two people I couldn’t imagine not having at my wedding party.

When I met Jack at the university, he was a very shy guy, rarely speaking, except when he was solving an equation half the class had no idea where to even begin. Hannah was different; Hannah was cheating a lot on her exams. Once she realized Jack was the smart one, she made sure to sit beside him in every exam. But she was also very joyful and funny.

Hannah and I clicked instantly and were both intrigued to get to know the nerdy-looking yet unconventionally attractive guy a little more. He couldn’t say no to us—two objectively attractive blonde girls who wanted to talk about math and computers with him? Please. And also we happened to be two out of five female students in our year, among nearly two hundred male wannabe programmers and future potential startup founders.

When we go on a group vacation, Jack is the kind of person who agrees to hiking in the mountains at six in the morning, then visiting an old castle in the afternoon, and driving fifty kilometers to a winery for a wine tasting tour in the evening—all to make each and every person happy and not cause any kind of tension or drama. He rarely comes up with his own ideas, though. He’s very adaptable, as he puts it.

Jack has been working at my dad’s company for a little over two years. That’s also where he met his fiancée. I always joke that if it wasn’t for me, Jack wouldn’t have met the love of his life, or anyone really. He’s not so closed off anymore, but he would not dare to come talk to her if I hadn’t set them up on a blind date. It’s fascinating how even the smallest decision can completely change the course of someone’s life. They would’ve never gotten to know each other had I chosen to study at a different university. The same way Harrison and I might’ve never met at the karaoke night at a local bar, if my friend Hannah hadn’t literally forced me out of my house that night.

I don’t see Hannah as often as I used to when we were students. We used to share the same room, but she’s been living in Ireland for a few months now to be closer to a guy she claimed she's head over heels in love with. 

All I know is that the morning after our wedding, Hannah hopped on a plane to Dublin, and I haven’t heard from her since.

My wedding didn’t have to be perfect. All that mattered was gathering the people I care about in one place, simply enjoying each other’s company, and celebrating our special day. However, things started to get very intense well before midnight. All because of this one particular wedding gift we received—a lottery ticket worth one million euros.