Excerpt from:         A Cup of Comfort for Parents of Children with Autism
                                              "Cake and Polyester Don’t Mix!"
                                              @2007 Elizabeth King Gerlach

      Nick paced back and forth on the sidewalk. Across the street, white paper wedding
bells hung on an iron post above the sign that said, “Scott and Elizabeth’s wedding.” The
bells were silent, but his mind was not.
“Curses, how could she!” His 15 year-old brain circulated through every beloved cartoon
movie he’d watched (over and over and over) that contained a wedding scene.  He was
trying to make sense of things. Cinderella got to marry her handsome prince. Was Scott
really Mom’s Prince Charming, or just some trickster, like Jafar in Aladdin? Worst of all, this
wedding meant change, big change. The world was always changing and that scared him
so much.
    In his hand he held the letter his mother had written him, now damp from his sweaty
palms. He read it one more time.

    “Dear Nick,
    This is a letter to talk about the wedding. Please read it. I know you are scared and
unsure about all of this. It will be different for you to have a step-dad and step-brothers. It
will be new for a while, but I think you will like it. Remember, you don’t have to give up your
room!
    Weddings are very special times. It is important to people that their family be there with
them at the wedding. My family lives far away. Because they live far away, they can't be
here at our wedding. You and your brother Ben are my family. I want you to be at the
wedding very much. Our wedding won’t be anything like a TV show or video.
    Our wedding will be at the gazebo across the street. Our friends will be there and they
will want to talk to you and share this happy time. I will walk down the path and I want you
and Ben to be with me arm in arm. Then you can sit down and just watch. It will be very
quiet there. We will light candles. Some people will talk a little bit. Then, when it's over we
will take pictures and go eat at a nice restaurant.
    Mostly, I love you very much. I will be so happy to look at you when I am getting married
and know that you love me enough to be there even if it scares you. Scott loves you too,
and he wants you there too. Once we are married we will all be a family. It will all be O.K.
                                                      Love, Mom

      Nick had changed his mind so many times in the last few days. Earlier that day, he had
promised her he would go, and a part of him wanted to. Another part of him was just too
scared. That made him angry. Soon he didn’t know what he felt. So much confusion!
His mother tried to talk him into it. Earlier that week she’d bought him new shoes, new
pants, a new belt and even a tie. Today, he put the clothes on, but as the time of the
wedding drew near, all he could say to her over and over was a line from the wedding
scene in The Little Mermaid, “Don’t you know cake and polyester don’t mix!”
      His mother finally gave up. She told him she would miss him, but that he could stay
home if he really needed to. He had watched through the window as his mother took the
arm of his brother Ben, and headed down the gravel path to the gazebo in the neighbor’s
yard. They disappeared behind the thick laurel hedge, as tall as the briar bushes in
Sleeping Beauty. Once everyone had left his house he realized how lonely and quiet it was
without them.
      Now Nick paced back and forth on the sidewalk, careful to avoid the cracks. He wouldn’
t want his mother’s back to break, especially at the wedding. He knew one thing: even
though Donald Duck had never married Daisy Duck and Mickey Mouse had never married
Minnie Mouse, they really loved each other. He really loved his mom and wanted her to be
happy.
      He looked down at the frogs on his tie. His mom had bought him a silly tie with frogs on
it and a new green shirt too. Nick loved frogs. They changed from tadpoles to pollywogs
and finally to frogs. Maybe tadpoles were scared of change too, but somehow they
managed to become  frogs. Why couldn’t he just hop across the street?
    No, it was too wide. He had never crossed the street alone before. He’d always had
someone with him. Now it was too late. Everyone was already across the street at the
wedding. Still, he had practiced before and after all, he was fifteen. It was time to learn how
to be a man.
    His heart was pounding. He looked both ways. There were no cars coming. He took a
deep breath and stepped out into the street. He dashed across to the other side. He still
gripped the letter in his hand. Now he carefully folded it and put it in his back pocket.
    On the other side of the hedge he could see the people gathered for the wedding.
There were roses and candles and he recognized everyone there. He had known most of
them since he was a very little boy. He didn’t feel as afraid as he did a minute ago and he
had proven himself brave and unselfish, like Pinocchio. He had kept his promise.
    When he reached the gazebo everyone turned to look at him. Scott smiled and waved.
His mother was smiling too, but tears were spilling out of her eyes. He wasn’t sure if this
meant she was sad or happy, but he suddenly felt very warm inside and safe. He’d finally
reached the shore after swimming in very deep water like Piglet from Winnie the Pooh
during the big flood.
    Nick listened as everyone took turns saying things. He understood the words “Love,
Family, Togetherness.” He rocked slightly back and forth, waiting patiently for his turn.
Even though his words often didn’t come out just right, he knew what he wanted to say and
when it was his turn he did.
    “Mom, Scott, Keep the faith. I love a miracle. Now you two can really get on to loving.
After all, everyone just loves a happy ending.”