The early hours of the day are still and quiet, but Karly wakes up suddenly, after tossing and turning all night. She looks next to her to see her husband of 27 years, Mark, snoring soundly. It's only 19 days before her daughter, Marley, is about to get married, and Karly is feeling anxious. She has a never-ending checklist of things that need to be done, but that's not what's keeping her up at night. The real issue is the idea of Marley marrying Steve. 

While Karly has always thought of Steve as a kind person, she's not sure if he's the best fit for Marley. In fact, Karly had big dreams for Marley, and she's worried that Marley has changed some of her life plans for Steve. Karly wonders if her tumultuous relationship with Mark played a role in Marley's decision to settle. She was young when she met Mark, and Marley was only a little older than Karly had been when she and Mark got married. People grow and find that life may not be what they once expected. 

To make matters worse, Karly had asked Marley for a walk three nights earlier and expressed her concerns about marrying Steve. Marley confided in her, telling her that Steve remained who he was, but Marley wanted new things in life and was unhappy with the idea of not having any future goals. Although secretly happy to hear Marley confide in her, Karly played it off as having cold feet. 

Unable to sleep anymore, Karly gets up to start laundry, and do the dishes. She hopes conquering her to-do list might help keep her mind clear and off of the conversation with Marley.

 At about 1:00 a.m., Marley walks through the door. Karly and Mark always have an open-door policy at their house, and their four kids know they can come whenever they want. Couches and beds are always available, and the fridge is stocked with food for hungry bellies.

 "Hey, Marley, what are you doing here?" questions Karly. 

“Ummm… well mom… ummmm… I just called off my wedding," responds Marley. 

“Oh my gosh! Are you okay? What did you say? How is Steve?” a million other questions swarm Karly’s brain.

 "I'm fine. I'm glad I did it. I told him that I wasn’t happy any longer and that I didn’t feel us getting married was the right thing to do, and he begged me to reconsider and told me we could work on our marriage and it would all be okay in the end, but I told him that I was not going to go into a marriage knowing we need to work on it.” 

“Where’s Steve now?” “I just left him at my house and told him that I was coming over here. He was sad. I didn’t have anything else to say, and he wasn’t going to change my mind, so I left to come here.” 

“You do know you’re going to have to tell your father when he gets home from work.” “Ugh, I know. That's the conversation that I am not looking forward to.” Karly knew that Mark loved Steve like a son from early on in their relationship. Marley had even expressed to Karly that she thought Mark loved Steve more than he loved her. Karly knew it wasn’t true, but she could understand where Marley was coming from. Marley fell asleep on Karly and Mark's couch for a couple of hours. As Karly walked by Marley multiple times, she couldn’t help but smile, knowing her daughter did the right thing.

 As time went on, Karly wondered how Mark would accept the news. How would the police department where Marley, Mark, and Steve all worked accept the news? How would a small community accept the news? What rumors would circulate? 

Like clockwork, Mark walked through the door at 6:00 p.m. Karly and Marley were in the living room when Mark walked in. He didn’t even say hi, he just scanned the room and asked, “Where’s Steve?” Karly and Marley exchanged glances. Marley nervously swallowed the lump in her throat and told him, 

“Uhhhhh… dad… I called off the wedding with Steve.” “What! When? Why would you do that!?” Mark exploded. “I can't stand the idea that I won’t be able to do what I wanted to do with my life because I have to be stuck down with Steve!” Marley responded. The room fell silent, and Karly wondered what would happen next.