Chapter 12

Since we can't PM a guest, I thought it best to clarify what may be confusing.

After Noah and Rachel were married for a few years, he decided to surprise her with a "real" wedding, perhaps to make up for the hell he was putting her through. I didn't dig deeper into the character's rationale; I used this so there would be an available Ketubah at the end.

I assume he would have told her at some point so she could have some input (being such a "type A" personality and all) and pick out a dress, flowers, etc. He designed and ordered a special Ketubah, but she was fed up with his behavior and divorced him. The Ketubah was too far along to be canceled, so it was delivered, and his mother held onto it.

When he found out that Sebastian was a fraud, he took a chance and called in a favor from a judge to obtain a marriage license, which is valid after 48 hours (this is the favor, because it wouldn't have been quite 48 hours) and good for two months. He took a gamble that Rachel would marry him.

There were no alternate plans for the wedding. Sebastian had called the guests he had invited (since his family was unaware, there were probably only a few), and aside from Noah's drinking-buddy cohorts, their friends were shared. The wedding was at home, so it would've been small. His mother and sister were already there, and he flew in his grandmother, ensuring that his most important family members were present.

In the play/movie, the couple are divorced because he becomes an alcoholic and she finds it intolerable. She meets a man with a humble background and political aspirations, and at the point the film begins, they are already engaged.

At the end, the fiancé wants to call off the wedding because he thought Tracy (the main character) had an affair with Mike, the reporter (I switched the reporter and photographer roles). When he learns that the "family friends" are reporters and the publisher of the gossip magazine will be attending in person (see the movie for details), he believes it would be advantageous for his career, and decides to "forgive" Tracy and marry her after all.

He asks if she'll promise to "behave" going forward, but she says "no" and breaks up with him. Mike then proposes to her (I omitted this), but she thanks him and turns him down, too.

When she goes before her guests to tell them that the wedding is canceled, her ex-husband (Dexter) suggests that they get re-married, which she accepts, and they do.

Since it bothered me that they were married without a license, the proper waiting period, and, in those days, a blood test (for VD), I decided to tie this up for my story (a blood test is no longer required).

This play was considered to be in the genre "Comedy of Remarriage", which was extremely prevalent at the time.

As ever, please feel free to PM me with any questions.