DING! Another message.

Dave picked up his phone. It was a text from his best man, Mike.

“We need to talk about the bachelor party.”

Dave sighed. “What now?”

Mike called, and Dave did something he rarely does…he answered the phone.

“Please tell me you are calling about something fun.”

“I am.”

“Great.”

“Your bachelor party.”

Dave paused. “Why does that sound like a threat?”

“Because we have a problem.”

Dave rubbed his forehead. “Of course we do.”

Mike explained that the guys had been arguing about what to do for the bachelor party.

One guy wanted to go away for the weekend. Another wanted to stay local and rent a party bus. Someone suggested the casino, another wanted to golf.

Dave sat silently.

“Dave?”

“I’m here.”

“What do you want to do?”

Dave thought about it. “Honestly, all I want to do today is watch football, eat chicken wings, and not make any decisions.”

There was silence on the other end. “That’s the most reasonable thing you’ve said all week. Okay, I’m the best man, I’ll make the decisions and it will be a surprise. You’ve been warned.”

“Thank you.”

Another notification popped up on Dave’s phone. This one was from Emily.

“How’s the bachelor party planning going?”

Dave stared at the message.

Mike asked, “Who was that?”

“Emily.”

“What did you tell her?”

“Nothing yet.”

“Good.”

“Why?”

“Because I have another problem?”

Dave closed his eyes. “Of course you do.”

Mike explained that someone had accidentally sent the bachelor party group chat to Emily.

Dave looked at his texts…47 unread messages.

His eyes widened. “What exactly did you guys say?”

Mike paused. “Nothing terrible.”

“Mike…I need to know what was said.”

“Okay…there was some discussion about the guest list.”

Dave slowly lowered the phone. “The wedding guest list?”

“Why were you guys discussing the wedding guest list?’

“Because three of the guys think you invited too many people.”

Dave stood up. “I didn’t invite them. Emily did!”

“I know.”

“Then why are we discussing this?”

“Because it seems that your cousin Kevin has strong opinions.”

Dave stared at the ceiling. “Of course he does. He has opinions on everything, whether it pertains to him or not.”

Just then, Emily entered the mancave with her laptop.

Dave put down his phone.

Emily asked, “What are you two talking about?”

“Football.”

Emily looked at the television. “The game isn’t even on yet.”

Dave nodded. “Planning ahead.”

Emily smiled. “Dave. I just got a message from Mike.”

Dave froze. “What did he say?”

Emily held up her phone. “He said the bachelor party is going to be legendary.”

Dave looked at Mike’s name on the phone. “I’m sure he means that in a good way.”

Emily raised an eyebrow. “Probably.”

A long silence followed. Then Emily said, “I need your help with something.”

“With what? The game is about to start.”

“The seating chart.”

Dave groaned. “What happened now?’

Emily opened her laptop and pointed at the screen.

Dave asked, “Why does table four have fourteen people?”

“I fixed table three.”

“And why does table seven have six people?”

“I fixed table four.”

Dave stared at the screen. “Where did my parents go?”

Emily smiled. “I moved them.”

“Together?”

“No. I put them on opposite sides of the room.”

Dave nodded approvingly. “Excellent.”

Emily closed her laptop. “Now I have one more question.”

Dave looked nervous. “What?”

“Your bachelor party. Apparently, I’m invited and Mike told me about the secret stop at the end of the night.”

Dave eyes widened. “What?”

Emily laughed. “Relax, I’m just kidding.”

Dave exhaled and said, “That was cruel. I almost told you to call 911. My heart was racing.”

Emily smiled. “Welcome to wedding planning.”

Emily turned to walk out of the mancave…and her phone buzzed.

She turned around and said to Dave, “It’s your mother.”

Dave frowned. “What does she want?”

Emily handed him her phone.

“You gotta be kidding me. She wants to bring another guest.”

Emily stared at him. “How many people does she think we are feeding?”

Dave shrugged. “At this point…I think we are going to need a bigger room.”

Stay tuned for Part 11 of The Ring, The Stress, and The Dress…

Because if the guest list keeps on growing, they are either going to have to play musical chairs, or someone is going to end up sitting at the DJ table!